University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
ITA All-American Championships
Libietis, Reese Win 75th, Advance at ITAs
October 03, 2014 | Men's Tennis
TULSA, Okla. -- Tennessee seniors Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese won their 75th career match together Friday to reach the quarterfinals of the ITA All-American Championships.
Libietis and Reese, ranked No. 1 nationally, won the first nine games of their second-round match in a 6-0, 6-2 victory Minnesota's 11th-ranked team of Jack Hamburg and Mathieu Froment at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
Libietis and Reese also collected a pair of straight-set victories in morning consolation, setting the tone for an improved second day on Tulsa's courts.
"Today was a much better day based on attitude and also in the way they listened on court," Tennessee associate head coach Chris Woodruff said. "Yesterday, not only did we lose our singles matches, but we were negative. I had meetings with both of them and we addressed some of those issues.
"We only have 30 more weeks with these guys at Tennessee, and I feel like we are on the same page going forward."
Libietis got the winning ways rolling for the Vols to start the morning, beat No. 27 Jason Tahir of Duke 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of consolation singles. Reese followed two hours later with a 6-2, 6-3 victory of N.C. State's Austin Powell.
The Vols returned to the courts for their doubles match in the late afternoon, jumping ahead early and never looking back against Minnesota's leading team.
The victory was the 75th for Libietis and Reese as a pair at Tennessee, moving them into a tie for third on the all-time UT career wins list with Pablo Montana and Chris Mahony (1993-96). They are five away from second place (John-Patrick Smith and Davey Sandgren, 2008-10).
"They both competed well and played well today," Woodruff said. "When you can do both, that usually adds up to a win."
Libietis and Reese next face Columbia's Ashok Narayana and Max Schnur, the sixth-ranked team in the country. In front of their home fans, Narayana and Schnur defeated Libietis and Reese in the finals of the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships last season.
SAWICKI ADVANCES TO SEMIFINALS AT UTC
Junior Bartosz Sawicki advanced to the semifinals of the second flight of the UTC/Steve Baras Fall Classic on a rainy Friday in Chattanooga.
Sawicki, the top seed in his draw, got a bye in the first round and then defeated Belmont's Robin Demasse 6-3, 6-3.
In the third draw, sophomore Sunay Bhat won his first match over Tennessee Tech's Othon Lima 6-4, 6-4. He lost his second match of the day to Belmont's Bruno Russo 6-3, 4-6, [10-7].
Sawicki and Bhat also reached the semifinals of the second flight of doubles, beating EKU's Jonas Stropus and Juanjo de la Llera 8-3.
ITA All-American Championships
Friday Results
Main Draw Doubles
Round of 16
[1] Mikelis Libietis/Hunter Reese, Tennessee, def. Jack Hamburg/Mathieu Froment, Minnesota, 6-0, 6-2
Consolation Singles
Second Round
Mikelis Libietis, Tennessee, def. Jason Tahir, Duke, 6-4, 6-2
Hunter Reese, Tennessee, def. Austin Powell, N.C. State, 6-2, 6-3
