University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#52 Auburn
Smelyanski Clinches Vols' 4-1 Win vs. Auburn
April 10, 2015 | Men's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Freshman Igor Smelyanski recorded his first career SEC singles win to clinch the Tennessee Volunteers' 4-1 victory over Auburn on Friday at Barksdale Stadium.
Smelyanski rallied from 2-5 down in the second set to beat Petar Tomic 6-3, 7-6 (4) on court 5 as the Vols (13-10, 5-6 SEC) now prepare for Sunday's regular-season finale against 15th-ranked Florida.
The senior day match against the Gators starts at noon. Admission is free.
"It was a great team performance, but now we prepare for Florida," Tennessee head coach Sam Winterbotham said. "We've really appreciated all the support from our fans this year. As always, they're fantastic.
"I just want to encourage everyone to come on out. I would love to see a packed house to give this amazing group of seniors the kind of support only Vol Nation can provide."
Seniors Mikelis Libietis, Hunter Reese, Brandon Fickey and Andrew Dromsky will be honored during the singles and doubles break.
On Friday, The Vols won the doubles point and collected straight-set victories from Libietis on court 1 and freshman Luis Valero on court 4. Libietis defeated Lukas Ollert 6-4, 6-2 at the top of the lineup to improve to 6-1 in SEC play. Valero led nearly wire to wire, beating Dante Saleh 6-3, 6-3.
"I thought Mikelis was outstanding; his singles match was tremendous," Winterbotham said. "Luis continues to impress. I thought he had a stranglehold on his match, and you just had the confidence he was in control and he was going to stay in control."
Auburn slowed the momentum after that. The Tigers got their point on the scoreboard when Maxime Hinnisdaels defeated Jack Schipanski 6-3, 6-4 on court 3. Smelyanski and Jess Jones had both won first sets on courts 5 and 6, but Auburn went up breaks in the second set, and senior Hunter Reese found himself down a set and a break.
Smelyanski was down 2-5 and faced three set points but rallied back. He took a 6-5 lead over Petar Tomic and had a chance to serve out the match but lost the next game to bring up a tiebreaker. Smelyanski stayed ahead from the start of the tiebreaker and clinched the match 6-3, 7-6 (4).
"Igor coming through and clinching a match as a freshman is always a special moment," Winterbotham said. "Doing it in the fashion he did was great."
When the match was clinched, Reese had reversed the momentum on his court and was one point away from taking a 5-4 lead in the second set against Marko Krickovic. Jones had also gotten back on serve at the bottom of the lineup against Oliver Plaskett.
"I thought it was fantastic how Jess continues to compete," Winterbotham said. "Probably the most impressive thing was how Hunter just kept coming, point after point after point. He did not take one of them off tonight."
Tennessee 4, Auburn 1
Singles
1. #17 Mikelis Libietis, UT, def. #88 Lukas Ollert, AU, 6-4, 6-2
2. Hunter Reese, UT, vs. Marko Krickovic, AU, 5-7, 4-4 DNF
3. Maxime Hinnisdaels, AU, def. Jack Schipanski, UT, 6-3, 6-4
4. Luis Valero, UT, def. Dante Saleh, AU, 6-3, 6-3
5. Igor Smelyanski, UT, def. Petar Tomic, AU, 6-3, 7-6 (4)
6. Jess Jones, UT, vs. Oliver Plaskett, AU, 6-3, 4-5 DNF
Doubles
1. #3 Libietis/Reese, UT, vs. #25 Krickovic/Ollert, 5-4 DNF
2. Dromsky/Smelyanski, UT, def. Hinnisdaels/Van Dooren, AU, 6-3
3. Schipanski/Valero, UT, def. Plaskett/Tomic, AU, 6-3
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,4,3,5)
