University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Tennessee Tech
Vols Win Doubleheader Over TTU
February 14, 2015 | Men's Tennis
Photo Gallery 
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- In a doubleheader that started indoors finished outside Saturday, the 20th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers returned home for two victories over Tennessee Tech.
The Vols (6-4) defeated the Golden Eagles (1-4) in the first match 6-1 inside Goodfriend Tennis Center. The Vols followed with a 4-0 victory a few hours later in their outdoor opener at Barksdale Stadium.
Senior Hunter Reese, sophomore Jack Schipanski and freshman Jess Jones paced the Vols with two singles victories each on courts 1, 2 and 4 respectively.
Both matches were scheduled to be outdoors, but weather forced play indoors for the first contest.
"You can never underestimate the power of a win," said Head Coach Sam Winterbotham. "You don't want to get up in the wins and losses. It's really about the process, but we had some hard matches (on the road), so coming home and playing a really competitive Tennessee Tech. We needed to come home and regroup, so it's certainly nice to come home and get a couple wins under out belt."
Once in Goodfriend Tennis Center, the Vols won the doubles point and then clinched the match via straight-set wins by senior Brandon Fickey, junior Bartosz Sawicki and freshman Jess Jones. With the Vols leading 4-1, Reese and Schipanski both rallied after losing first sets and won 10-point tiebreakers seal the 6-1 victory.
For Schipanski, the first win of the day proved to be a tough one to collect. The sophomore from Adelaide, Australia, was down a set and a break 4-3 against Alberto Esteban before reeling off three games in a row to win the second set 6-4. Schipanski relied on aggressive baseline play and never trailed in the deciding tiebreaker as wrapped up the match 6-7 (4), 6-4, [10-7].
Schipanski led the way for the Vols when the two teams moved outdoors for the afternoon match. Singles was played first and play was stopped when the match was clinched.
"(Andrew Dromsky and I) played really good doubles and then I got into a little trouble in the singles, down a set, but I picked up my game and played well," said Schipanski. "I think I carried the momentum pretty well into the second match. It's a little different than indoors, worrying about the conditions a little bit. We've been hitting outdoors for a week now, getting used to the cold weather and the elements, so I think we're ahead of the game in that point. We're pretty comfortable outdoors a little bit."
The Vols won all six first sets under overcast skies. Schipanski was first off the courts with his first career 6-0, 6-0 shutout, coming against Othan Lima.
Following Schipanski, Jones defeated Gagan Jain 6-2, 6-0 on court 4, and Reese beat Eduardo Mena 6-2, 6-3 at the top of the lineup. Freshman Luis Valero rebounded from a loss in the first match to beat Carlos Tejas 6-1, 6-4 to clinch the shutout victory, the Vols' first shutout of 2015.
The Vols' next five matches will be on the road. The team travels to Troy, Ala., on Feb. 22 for another doubleheader, playing Georgia Southern at 11 a.m. and Troy at 3 p.m.
"As a team, I think we're a better outdoor team," said Winterbotham. "With our schedule heading into SEC play, that's obviously a reason why we're wanting to get our matches outdoors. That's going to give us really good preparation heading into the SEC season. We're actually excited to go on the road."
MATCH 1: Tennessee 6, Tennessee Tech 1
Singles
1. Hunter Reese, UT, def. Alex Arovin, TTU, 7-5, 3-6, [10-4]
2. Jack Schipanski, UT, def. Alberto Esteban, 6-7 (4), 6-4, [10-7]
3. Eduardo Mena, TTU, def. Luis Valero, UT, 6-4, 6-4
4. Jess Jones, UT, def. Alvaro Cintas, TTU, 6-3, 6-1
5. Bartosz Sawicki, UT, def. Carlos Tejas, TTU, 6-2, 6-3
6. Brandon Fickey, UT, def. Jorge Alfonzo, 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
1. #3 Libietis/Reese, UT, led Arovin/Esteban, TTU, 5-4 unf.
2. Sawicki/Valero, UT, def. Mena/Cintas, TTU, 6-3
3. Dromsky/Schipanski, UT, def. Lima/Tarasov, TTU, 6-3
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,3,5,4,1,2)
MATCH 2: Tennessee 4, Tennessee Tech 0
Singles
1. Hunter Reese, UT, def. Eduardo Mena, TTU, 6-2, 6-3
2. Jack Schipanski, UT, def. Othan Lima, TTU, 6-0, 6-0
3. Luis Valero, UT, def. Carlos Tejas, TTU, 6-1, 6-4
4. Jess Jones, UT, def. Gagan Jain, TTU, 6-2, 6-0
5. Bartosz Sawicki, UT, led Artem Tarasov, TTU, 6-3, 4-1 unf.
6. Brandon Fickey, UT, led Jorge Alfonzo, TTU, 6-2, 3-2 unf.
Note: Singles was played first. Doubles was not played.
Order of Finish: Singles (2,4,1,3).
