University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Start 2015 Ranked 17th in Tennis
January 06, 2015 | Men's Tennis
SKILLMAN, N.J. -- The Tennessee Volunteers enter the 2015 ranked 17th in the ITA national team preseason rankings, the college tennis governing body released Tuesday.
The Vols moved up one spot in the national rankings after finishing last year ranked 18th and reaching the round of 16 of the NCAA Championships.
Individually, senior Mikelis Libietis is only Vol in the national rankings, checking in at No. 16 after playing in just two college fall tournaments. It is his highest ranking in a year.
Libietis and Hunter Reese are ranked No. 2 nationally. The reigning NCAA champs were 8-0 in two tournaments during the fall, defending their national title at the ITA All-American Championships. They also teamed up to win the Knoxville Challenger in November.
Senior Andrew Dromsky earned his first career national rankings, checking in at No. 45 in doubles with freshman Igor Smelyanski.
The ITA Ohio Valley Regional Rankings were also released. Four Vols are in the top 20 in singles: Libietis (No. 4), Smelyanski (No. 12), Reese (No. 16) and freshman Luis Valero (20th). In doubles, Libietis and Reese are No. 1 and Dromsky and Smelyanski are No. 3.
The Vols start their season Jan. 17-19 with the Tennessee Spring Invitational. They start the year on the 17th against North Florida at 10 a.m. and Southern Illinois at 2:30 p.m. at Goodfriend Tennis Center. Admission is free.
RULE CHANGES FOR 2015
ITA president David Benjamin also announced the no-ad scoring format, as approved by the ITA Division I Operating Committee in December. Rule changes for non-conference play include:
• No-ad scoring in singles and doubles.
• Three doubles matches played, each match one set to 6, with a tie-break at 6-all.
• Followed (after a 5-minute intermission) by six singles matches, each match 2 out of 3 sets, with tie-breaks at 6-all.
• No warm-up with opponents (in doubles and in singles)
Like last year, Doubles will end when the doubles point is clinched by a team. Any match still on court will remain unfinished. Singles matches will all be played out during non-conference play even after one team clinches the team victory.
