University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Georgia Tech
Schipanski's Comeback Lifts Vols Past GT
February 24, 2015 | Men's Tennis
ATLANTA, Ga. -- For the second time in as many days, a newcomer delivered a 4-3 victory for the Tennessee men's tennis team.
On Monday, it was Jess Jones at Troy. On Tuesday against Georgia Tech, the duty belonged to sophomore Jack Schipanski.
Trailing 4-0 in the deciding third-set tiebreaker, Schipanski reeled off seven consecutive points beat Michael Kay and clinch the 4-3 win in the Vols' final non-conference match before Southeastern Conference play.
Senior Mikelis Libietis and freshman Luis Valero helped Tennessee (8-4) rally from a 3-1 deficit to tie the team score at 3-3. After Libietis shook hands at the net on court 1, Schipanski was just starting his third set.
Schipanski, a sophomore from Adelaide, Australia, was down a break early in the third set but won four consecutive games to take a 5-3 lead. He had a chance to serve out the match, but Kay broke his serve and eventually forced a tiebreaker.
Kay jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the deciding tiebreaker with aggressive big-swinging play at the baseline, but Schipanski slowly edged his way back into the tiebreaker. The Vol got back on serve and took a 6-4 lead when his return solidly clipped the tape and dribbled onto Kay's side.
Kay came to the net on match point, and Schipanski passed him down the line with a clean winner and celebrated with teammates on court No. 3 seconds later.
"That's for sure the best part, getting to celebrate with teammates at the end," Schipanski said. "It was an incredible experience having the whole team on the sides trying to get them over the line. At the end of the day, it was a great team match."
Schipanski has now won five consecutive matches after starting the spring 2-3.
"Jack is coming around nicely," Tennessee associate head coach Chris Woodruff said. "He has enormous potential. He's really rounding into form. The guy sat out a long time without playing competitive tennis. He has the right mindset when he comes to practice. There's no substitute for hard work."
Before Schipanski even had a chance to stage his wild tiebreaker comeback, the Vols needed a rally in the team score. Tennessee won the doubles point but fell behind 3-1 when Georgia Tech collected straight-set wins on courts 2, 5 and 6.
Libietis and Valero evened the match with straight-set wins of their own. Valero beat Cole Fiegel 7-6, 6-3 on court 4, and Libietis followed with his career-best 13th consecutive win, beating No. 90 Nathan Rakitt 6-4, 7-5.
The Vols now have a quick turnaround before the start of the SEC season. Tennessee plays at LSU on Friday and Texas A&M on Sunday.
"I'm really proud of the guys in general," Woodruff said. "We have to have a mindset to compete and do our best. If we do that, the winning will take care of itself. We'll enjoy these wins and then get ready to put together a good game plan for LSU.
"The coaching staff views the SEC season as very important. It's a league with a lot of opportunities to excel and put yourself in a good spot for the tournament."
There were four tiebreakers played during singles play, and the Vols won three of them.
Georgia Tech is 5-3 this season with three 4-3 losses at home to SEC schools: Georgia, Auburn and now Tennessee.
Tennessee 4, Georgia Tech 3
Singles
1. #15 Mikelis Libietis, UT, def. #90 Nathan Rakitt, GT, 6-4, 7-5
2. #59 Christopher Eubanks, GT, def. Hunter Reese, UT, 6-4, 6-1
3. Jack Schipanski, UT, def. Michael Kay, GT, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-6 (4)
4. Luis Valero, UT, def. Cole Fiegel, GT, 7-6 (3), 6-3
5. Eduardo Segura, GT, def. Bartosz Sawicki, UT, 7-6 (3), 6-1
6. Carlos Benito, GT, def. Brandon Fickey, UT, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
1. #3 Libietis/Reese, UT, def. #51 Benito/Segura, GT, 6-2
2. Valero/Sawicki, UT, def. Rakitt/Fiegel, GT, 6-4
3. Schipanski/Dromsky, UT, vs. Eubanks/Kay, 5-6 unf.
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,6,5,4,1,3).
