University of Tennessee Athletics
Libietis, Reese Invited Again to NCAAs
April 29, 2015 | Men's Tennis
Tennessee seniors Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese were invited to the NCAA individual championships for the fourth time, the national governing body released Wednesday evening.
Libietis will play singles for the fourth time, this year as a 9-16 seed. He and Reese, last year's tournament champions, will take the court in doubles as the No. 4 seed.
The singles and doubles championships will be held at Baylor's campus May 20-25 at the conclusion of the team tournament. The tournament draws are not released until May 19.
After an up-and-down junior season, Libietis has rebounded back into the top of the college tennis ranks to conclude his career. The powerful right hander has compiled a 23-3 overall singles record this season, including 17-1 dual matches at the top of the lineup. He was ranked 16th in the most recent national rankings and has been as high as 12th.
Libietis stands as the seventh Vol in program history to earn All-SEC honors all four years of his career and just the third to earn four first-team honors.
This is the second time Libietis has been seeded in the singles tournament. He was the No. 1 seed as a sophomore in 2013 but was injured in the NCAA team quarterfinals and lost in the opening round.
In doubles, Libietis and Reese will close the book on what has been the most successful four-year run by a doubles duo in program history. They have won three national titles over the last two seasons, last year winning the closest doubles final in NCAA history: 7-6 (4), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6) over Ohio State's Peter Kobelt and Kevin Metka.
This year, Libietis and Reese are 20-7 and successfully defended their title at the ITA All-American Championships in October, becoming the first back-to-back championship team in tournament history. They also won the Knoxville Challenger in November.
By virtue of being seeded in the NCAA field, Libietis and Reese will earn their third All-America honors each at season's end. They will become the seventh and eighth three-time All-Americans in program history.
