University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
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#72 North Florida
Vols Beat UNF in Tennis Opener
January 17, 2015 | Men's Tennis
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- After a close doubles point that came down to a tiebreaker, the Vols won at the top of the singles lineup for a 5-2 victory over North Florida to open the 2015 season at Goodfriend Tennis Center.
Freshmen Igor Smelyanski and Luis Valero won their debut singles matches on courts 2 and 3 in straight sets, and senior Mikelis Libietis clinched the match at 4-2 with a 6-4, 7-6 (6) victory over No. 72 Jack Findel-Hawkins on court 1.
Sophomore Jack Smelyanski wrapped up the match after the clinch with a 6-1, 6-7 (8), [11-9] win against Yannick Zuern on court 4.
The Vols continue their doubleheader when they take on Southern Illinois at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free.
The doubles point required a major rally by the Vols' new No. 3 team of Schipanski and Andrew Dromsky. After Luis Valero and Igor Smelyanski lost their debut match 6-3 on court 2, the Vols' staple squad of Libietis and Hunter Reese evened the point with a 6-4 victory over 28th-ranked Jack Findel Hawkins and Norbert Nemcsek.
Dromsky and Schipanski were down two breaks of serve 5-2 in the set before reeling off four games in a row, fighting off a match point down 5-4. The set went into a tiebreaker, and the Vols won the tiebreaker 7-4 to give the Vols a 1-0 lead.
The Ospreys got two points on the board via straight-set wins at the bottom of the lineup. Lasse Muscheites beat Bartosz Sawicki on court 5, and Julian Bradley beat Jess Jones 6-2, 6-2 on court 6.
It was North Florida's fourth match of the season. The Ospreys had defeated ETSU 4-0 to start the Tennessee Spring Invitational on Saturday.
Reese, who is recovering from an ankle injury, was limited to doubles.
Tennessee 5, North Florida 2
Singles
1. #16 Mikelis Libietis, UT, def. #72 Jack Findel-Hawkins, UNF, 6-4, 7-6 (6)
2. Igor Smelyanski, UT, def. Caio Gomes, UNF, 6-2, 6-1
3. Luis Valero, UT, def. Norbert Nemcsek, UNF, 6-3, 6-4
4. Jack Schipanski, UT, def. Yannick Zuern, UNF, 6-1, 6-7 (8), [11-9]
5. Lasse Muscheites, UNF, def. Bartosz Sawicki, UT, 6-0, 7-6 (3)
6. Julian Bradley, UNF, def. Jess Jones, UT, 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
1. #2 Mikelis Libietis/Hunter Reese, UT, def. #28 Jack Findel-Hawkins/Norbert Nemcsek, UNF, 6-4
2. Caio Gomes/Yannick Zuern, UNF, def. Luis Valero/Igor Smelyanski, UT, 6-3
3. Andrew Dromsky/Jack Schipanski, UT, def. Zack Goldberg/Lasse Muscheites, UNF, 7-6 (4)
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles ().
Players Mentioned
