University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#24 Oklahoma State
Vols Fall to OK State to Finish Weekend
January 25, 2015 | Men's Tennis
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Mikelis Libietis reeled off his ninth-consecutive win for the Vols but Tennessee could not rally in singles in a 4-1 loss to Oklahoma State to finish the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
As they did in their 4-3 loss Saturday to Columbia, the 17th-ranked Vols (4-2) started four newcomers on courts 3-6: Igor Smelyanski, Luis Valero, Jess Jones and Jack Schipanski.
On Sunday, Smelyanski and Jones both picked up losses, as did senior Hunter Reese on court 2. Valero and Schipanski did not finish their matches.
"In singles, we're playing four guys and it's their first season," Tennessee head coach Sam Winterbotham said. "Quite frankly, there was no relief for them. They had to step up to make it happen, and they didn't do that.
"That doesn't mean that they're not going to be able to do that two weeks from now or a month from now. They have to get better."
The doubles point ended up putting a finish to Libietis and Reese's career-best 18-match winning streak. Facing 12th-ranked Jakob Sude and Arjun Kadhe for the second time this season, there were few surprises on court. Both teams combined for seven break-point chances but were unable to convert any, resulting in a tiebreaker after the other two courts had split sets.
The Vols fought off three match points in the tiebreaker, but Kadhe reeled off a big serve on match point to win 7-6 (7) to clinch the doubles point.
"I felt we played pretty well in doubles," Winterbotham said. "The doubles came down to two very very good teams, One point here or there. I thought our 2 and 3 teams played very solid, so we're getting better in that regard."
In singles, the Vols and Cowboys each won three first sets. After losing the doubles point, the Vols needed to win four matches.
Libietis was the only Vol to wrap up a victory at the top of the lineup, beating No. 98 Sude 6-3, 6-1 to improve to 11-2 this season.
The Vols do not play next weekend and are back in action Feb. 6 and 8 at Duke and Wake Forest.
"College tennis is fantastic," Winterbotham said. "This is just an opportunity for us to grow up. Our seniors need to grow up just as much as our freshmen. You don't stop growing just because you're a senior. It's an evolution for everybody.
"We've got good tools to work with, and we'll be fine."
#24 Oklahoma State 4, #17 Tennessee 1
Singles
1. #16 Mikelis Libietis (TENN) def. #98 Jakob Sude (OKST) 6-3, 6-1
2. #74 Arjun Kadhe (OKST) def. Hunter Reese (TENN) 3-6, 6-1, 6-0
3. Lucas Gerch (OKST) def. Igor Smelyanski (TENN) 6-0, 6-1
4. Luis Valero (TENN) vs. Tristan Meraut (OKST) 6-3, 3-6, 1-4, unfinished
5. Jack Schipanski (TENN) vs. Lukas Finzelberg (OKST) 5-7, 4-5, unfinished
6. Nicolai Ferrigno (OKST) def. Jess Jones (TENN) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1. #12 Jakob Sude/Arjun Kadhe (OKST) def. #2 Mikelis Libietis/Hunter Reese (TENN) 7-6
2. #45 Igor Smelyanski/Luis Valero (TENN) def. Lukas Finzelberg/Nicolai Ferrigno (OKST) 7-5 (9-7)
3. Tristan Meraut/Lucas Gerch (OKST) def. Andrew Dromsky/Jack Schipanski (TENN) 7-5
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,1,6,2).
Players Mentioned
