Vols Shut Out Alabama 4-0 in Tennis

Friday, March 27

Knoxville, TN

2 PM

University of Tennessee

#62 Alabama

March 27, 2015 | Men's Tennis

March 27, 2015

Photo Gallery 

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Led by seniors Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese atop the lineup, the Tennessee Volunteers shut out Alabama 4-0 on Friday afternoon at Barksdale Stadium.

The Vols (11-8, 3-4 SEC) won the doubles point and kept the momentum going against Alabama (13-13, 2-6) in singles, winning five of six first sets. Tennessee eventually earned straight-set wins from Libietis, Reese and freshman Luis Valero to seal the victory.

"It was a comprehensive effort, and everyone played their part," Tennessee head coach Sam Winterbotham said. "We're just feeling like the fog's clearing. We can sense it. This has been a very emotional year for the team. Like any other coach in any other sport would say, you have to keep going and keep fighting and keep taking one day at a time."

Tennessee hosts Mississippi State on Sunday at 1 p.m. to close the weekend. Admission is free.

In doubles, senior Andrew Dromsky and freshman Igor Smelyanski were the first ones off the court with a 6-3 victory at the No. 2 position. Minutes later, Libietis and Reese clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win on court 1, their 30th career SEC victory together.

The Vols kept up their pace in singles, eventually winning five first sets when Smelyanski rallied to win five games in a row to take the opening set on court 5, 7-5 against Stuart Kenyon. Freshman Jess Jones, in the lineup for the first time since the SEC opener against LSU, won his first set on court 6.

From there, Tennessee started putting the team points on the board.

Libietis reeled off the last 8 games of his match to beat Korey Lovett 6-4, 6-0 on court 1, good for his 98th career singles victory. Valero followed with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Danny Kernerman on court 4 to put Tennessee ahead 3-0.

Reese completed the shutout with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Nikko Madregallejo on court 2 to snap a 6-match losing streak.

The road back to winning form has been a long time coming for the All-American, with lots work on the practice courts to regain his form. His last two matches against South Carolina and Vanderbilt had been unfinished three setters, but Friday's win was -- at last -- the 89th of his career.

"I've got a light course load, so I'm up here every day in the mornings ... trying to get in as much practice as I can," Reese said. "I've been working on the things that make me who I am on the court. We've been doing a lot of side to side, just hitting a ton of balls. That's who I want to be out there."

After a 4-1 loss to Vanderbilt last week, the Vols have put together a week's worth of practices outdoors thanks to the good weather.

"I think these guys deserve to have a little bit of fun with their tennis and with their practices," Winterbotham said. "They've done a great job of that. Practices have been excellent. They've been really good, really focused, but they've also been enjoyable for everyone. I want to keep encouraging them to do that because that's what they need. They're doing a great job that."

Tennessee 4, Alabama 0
Singles
1. #16 Mikelis Libietis, UT, def. #88 Korey Lovett, UA, 6-4, 6-0
2. Hunter Reese, UT, def. Nikko Madregallejo, UA, 6-3, 6-2
3. #119 Jack Schipanski, UT, vs. Becker O'Shaughnessey, UA, 4-6, 1-4 dnf.
4. Luis Valero, UT, def. Danny Kerznerman, UA, 6-2, 6-3
5. Igor Smelyanski, UT, vs. Stuart Kenyon, UA, 7-5, 3-2 dnf.
6. Jess Jones, UT, vs. Sam Edwards, UA, 6-3, 2-4 dnf.

Doubles
1. #2 Libietis/Reese, UT, def. Lovett/O'Shaughnessey, UA, 6-4
2. Dromsky/Smelyanski, UT, def. Donohue/Kenyon, UA, 6-3
3. Schipanski/Valero, UT, vs. Edwards/Madregallejo, UA, 5-3 dnf.

Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,4,2).