University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#55 Elon
Vol Veterans Lead UT to Third Win
January 19, 2015 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 19, 2015
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Two days after the No. 17 Tennessee men's tennis team opened up the 2015 season with a doubleheader sweep, the Vols' veterans stepped up and led the way to a morning victory over No. 55 Elon, 5-2, on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day in Knoxville.
After earning a sweep of the doubles matches to go up 1-0, Hunter Reese and Mikelis Libietis won their second singles matches of the spring with identical 6-1, 6-3, scores over Robert Lindgren and Stefan Fortmann respectively. Freshman Luis Valero clinched the match for the Vols on court four, defeating Brian Kowalski, 6-1, 6-2. Valero now has won three straight matches to open the spring season, all three in straight sets.
Elon tied the score at one apiece after Brandon Fickey retired from his match on court six due to an injury. He was up 5-4 over Juan Madrid before the stoppage in play.
After the match outcome was decided, the Phoenix earned another point on court five, where Jordan Kaufman defeated Jack Schipanski by a straight-set score of 6-4, 6-3. Tennessee matched that point with a straight-set win from freshman Igor Smelyanski, whose 7-5, 6-4 win over Josh Luck was the Israeli's tenth win of the season and second of the spring.
Tennessee won the doubles point after all three teams won to start the morning. The No. 3 team of Andrew Dromsky and Schipanski cruised to a 6-1 win, followed by the freshmen duo of Valero and Smelyanski's 6-3 victory. The win is Dromsky's 10th of the season and third in a row with his Aussie partner.
After falling behind midway through their matchup on court one, the No. 1 team of Libietis and Reese pulled away with a 6-4 win. This gives the nation's No. 2 team their 16th-straight win and both players improve to 10-1 this season.
The doubleheader continues later this afternoon, when UT will take on the Bears of Mercer University at 2 p.m. at the Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center.
Tennessee 5, Elon 2
Singles
1. #16 Mikelis Libietis, UT, def. #Stefan Fortmann, ELON, 6-1, 6-3
2. Hunter Reese, UT, def. Robert Lindgren, ELON, 6-1, 6-3
3. Igor Smelyanski, UT, def. Josh Luck, ELON, 7-5, 6-4
4. Luis Valero, UT, def. Brian Kowalski, ELON, 6-1, 6-2
5. Jordan Kaufman, ELON, def. Jack Schipanski, UT, 6-4, 6-3
6. Juan Madrid, ELON, def. Brandon Fickey, UT, 4-5, ret.
Doubles
1. #2 Mikelis Libietis/Hunter Reese, UT, def. Stefan Fortmann/Brian Kowalski, ELON, 6-4
2. Luis Valero/Igor Smelyanski, UT, def. Chris Humphreys/Jordan Kaufman, ELON, 6-3
3. Andrew Dromsky/Jack Schipanski, UT, def. Juan Madrid/Robert Lindgren, ELON, 6-1
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,2,1,4,5,3).
Players Mentioned
