University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
UTC/Steve Baras Fall Classic
Sawicki Wins 1st Title at UTC
October 05, 2014 | Men's Tennis
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Tennessee junior Bartosz Sawicki rallied from the brink to win his first career singles title Sunday at the UTC/Steve Baras Fall Classic.
Sawicki came back from a set and two breaks of serve down to defeat Belmont's Cedric Dejacquier 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 and capture the flight 2 title at Chattanooga's courts.
"It was good because I didn't start well," Sawicki said. "I can't remember the last time I won when I didn't start well. I'm happy that I picked my game up. I raised my level as the match went."
Dejacquier fended off Sawicki's rally in the first set and immediately took a 3-0 lead to start the second set. Sawicki headed to the bench and resolved to make changes to his game.
"I thought Bart was outstanding," Tennessee head coach Sam Winterbotham said. "He just competed. The match wasn't going his way. His opponent is very good, and you really do have to beat him. Bart made and adjustment and played at a very high level the rest of the way.
The adjustments Sawicki made to his game plan on the changeover paid off immediately. He reeled off 9 of the next 10 games, winning the second set and heading into a third-set lead.
"Throughout the weekend, It was great to see him executing the things we've been working on in practice," Winterbotham said. "I think that last week Bart really understood that's what he needs to do in these situations. He worked through it and really worked hard to find his groove."
Deep in the third set, Sawicki held serve at 5-5 and broke Dejacquier's serve in the next game to take the victory.
Sawicki is now a team-leading 6-3 this season.
"I was just trying to get better and work on my game a little more against different guys," Sawicki said. "This tournament helped my confidence a lot and I feel good now. I think I got better this weekend. I can't wait until the next one. "
The Vols have won two individual tournament titles this season. Igor Smelyanski and Andrew Dromsky won the Southern Intercollegiate Championships in September. Hunter Reese and Mikelis Libietis look to make it a third on Monday when they play in the finals of the ITA All-American Championships.
