University of Tennessee Athletics
Serve & Volley: Hunter Reese
April 30, 2015 | Men's Tennis
2011 Interview | 2012 Interview | 2013 Interview | 2014 Interview
By Amanda Pruitt
UTSports.com
As the school year winds down, senior Hunter Reese and the Vols are preparing to return to Duke for the opening round of the NCAA championships next week.
Like last year, the Vols are back in the Durham regional, set to take Stanford in the opening round. First serve is on May 8 at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Reese will also be returning to the NCAA individual tournament in doubles with Mikelis Libietis, the committee announced Thursday. It will be their fourth time in the NCAA doubles draw.
In his record-setting fifth Serve & Volley interview, Reese talks preparation for the NCAA tournament, being president of Tennessee's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, a pet fish named Killer and more in this extended Q&A:
Q: Let's start with some current events here. It's been a few weeks since the SEC Tournament. What have practices been like getting ready for NCAAs?
A: They've been good. It's been nice. I feel like the past two weeks have been the first time we've been able to get outside for an extended period. We've had good weather. It's not been windy, rainy, that kind of thing. We've really been able to get our feet under us. We've gone back to the gym, on the track, we're doing some really good off-court training. I think we're heading in the right direction going forward.
Q: What people may not know is that we're going back to traditional scoring for the NCAA Tournament. Have practices been adjusted to account for that?
A: A little bit. It's been an overarching focus in practice in terms of with no-ad scoring, matches were shorter. There was kind of an end. The most you could play was 14 points if you played two deuce point games. Then you got a break. Now, we've had a little more focus with extending points, extending our drills. It's more mental than physical. Everyone on the team can handle it physically, but it's just kind of getting the right mindset. I don't think it'll be too big of a shift. Everyone has played 10-plus years of normal scoring. One semester of no-ad is not going to be a huge change, I don't think.
Q: In these last few weeks, you're also wrapping up school. How about that?
A: It's pretty weird. It's cliche, but it almost seems like yesterday that I got here. I know you hear that from everyone, but it's flown by. I can't believe it's done. I got here and thought 120 hours of coursework. That's 12-15 hours a semester. That's going to take forever. Now it's all done. I even got done a bit early, so I have a lighter load this semester. It's crazy to think about, but at the same time, I think I'm ready. I think I've spent my time here well. I've gotten all I could out of my time at Tennessee. I've given back what I can, and I'll be ready to move on to the next step.
Q: Lest people forget, you have been here longer than any Vol on the roster, coming here in January 2011. Three guys from that team have been ATP top 200 (John-Patrick Smith, Rhyne Williams, Tennys Sandgren). What did you get out of that semester?
A: I think five of those guys have won pro titles since then, and that's absurd. To come into that as a 17-year-old, just turned 18, still kind of a high-school mindset, I felt like I didn't belong and these guys were so good. Just getting that semester in and seeing them off court and being accepted, and then really pushing myself and making it a reality in my mind that I can play here and play with these guys, I'm not saying they wouldn't beat me, but they weren't out of my league, which was important to me. I think it gave me a huge head start for that fall. I played one or two ranked guys and had a couple good wins and went into the spring playing 2 my freshman year. The experience of that first semester was invaluable.
Q: Way back in your first Q&A that semester, you hoped you'd play four or five as a freshman.
A: Back in the recruiting process, that was the goal, to find a place where I could fit in the low lineup and move up as my career went on and end up playing 1 or 2. To get thrust into that and then be successful, I'm pretty proud of.
Q: What are your goals here heading into the home stretch?
A: Personally, my goal is to win the NCAA doubles title with Mikelis. I'm really trying to start focusing on that. I'm working on a lot of doubles stuff. That's important to me because that helps everything else. The more confident I am in doubles, the more confident I am in singles. That's kind of on the forefront of my mind.
For the team tournament, obviously I want nothing more than to have these freshmen see the Sweet Sixteen and go to the final site and see that. All the upperclassmen know, when you get to the Sweet Sixteen, anything can happen. I don't want the freshmen putting the tournament on a pedestal, or anything like that. It's going to be really important for us to go to Duke and that's the main team goal: to show the guys we can get to the Sweet Sixteen and anything can happen. In the future, they can have that goal and know no matter where they are in the season, knowing it's about who's peaking at the right time.
Q: Speaking of doubles, many people have seen the doubles video. Let's pull back the curtain on that a little bit. 1. How much Latvian can you really speak? and 2. What was it like shouting in a classroom?
A: As far as Latvian goes, I think the translator got a little messed up because I am pretty good at Latvian, I feel like. I know in the video it was saying some weird things, but I'm pretty sure I was spot on. Yeah, the whole classroom yelling thing was kind of awkward, but we got through it. We actually went to a real classroom with a real teacher and real students and we asked if we could do it. Give them a shoutout and thank them for that, but it was a bunch of strangers and I had to go in pretending they were taking a test and start yelling and screaming. (laughs) Can't say I'd like to do that again.
Q: Speaking of Latvia, when you and Mikelis accomplish something big in doubles, stories of you guys will show up on Latvian sports sites and that kind of thing. If you visited over there, do you think anyone in the Latvia tennis community would recognize you?
A: (Laughs) You know, I don't know. Mikelis says that we're kind of a big deal over there. I think that's kind of cool to think about, but I can't imagine they'd recognize me. Maybe if I was wearing Tennessee gear or something like that or if I was with Mikelis, they'd know who I was by association. But I dunno. It's weird to think that a bunch of people I've never met or been in the same country as would know who I was. Maybe Valdis and Matiss are spreading the word. Who knows.
Q: Now that you've taken all the classes you need, what's been your favorite?
A: It was this past fall. I took a metaphysics class. It was my favorite. I'm a philosophy minor. All my philosophy classes have been pretty enjoyable, except for bioethics. All of them have been pretty enjoyable, but that one was pretty cool. Everything was discussion based and we had five grades in class based on essays I'd write. We just read every night and came to class and talked about anything. Everything was pretty contemporary. One issue was why is there the universe and why is it the way it is. That's kind of an age-old question but we studied a lot of contemporary stuff from the last 20 years. Just theories and ideas. It was really really interesting. I like that kind of stuff.
Q: You are now finishing your second term as president of SAAC (student-athlete advisory committee). How'd you get into that and what do you do as president?
A: It all started when I was a sophomore. I was one of the team representatives with John Collins. I had a good time going to the meetings and I met a bunch of athletes. Before that, I was a little more sheltered. I knew all the tennis guys, but that was kind of it. I felt like I was going to the Thornton Center to study or go to the dining hall, and I'd see all these athletes, but I didn't really know them. Getting into SAAC and getting to know all the other representatives, it was really cool for me.
I never really thought about being president, but the last meeting of my sophomore year, they guy running it said, `We're going to start this thing with officers. Does anyone want to be president?' No one raised their hand. Then I thought, I'll do it. It was kind of spur of the moment. I became president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
As far as my role, it's been cool this year. It's kind of expanded. The department has given a lot more control to the officers, which are myself and six other officers who head other committees in SAAC. It's been really cool. We take a really big role in Volscars and planning the food, the awards and that kind of thing. A lot of the presenters are SAAC members. With all our community outreach, we get to pick what we do, which programs we send to. We're kind of the liaison between the community and the athletes. It's been a cool organization and a pleasure to work for them.
Q: What was Volscars like for you this year? It was like a never-ending trip to the stage for you between presenting and accepting awards.
A: (Laughs) Yeah, I kicked it off, and later we gave Justin (Karl) his plaque. Then I got the last two awards. Mikelis and I were athletes of the year, and then I was awarded Mr. Tennessee. At the end of the show, there was a lot of walking. I was in a full suit, so I got a little hot and sweaty. But it was cool. It was fun. This was the best year yet. We had a great time. The time ran great. The food was good. People were happy. It was a fun event.
Q: What does it mean for you to get voted Mr. Tennessee, not once but twice the last two years?
A: I think that's what I'm most proud of. It has nothing to do with tennis, but at the same time, tennis is what has allowed me to be in the position that I am. Coming here because of tennis, then getting involved in SAAC and then letting me meet so many awesome people. It's cool that it's voted on by my peers, the other student-athletes. That's really an honor to be recognized by being a good person and not just a good athlete. That's something I can always hold onto.
Q: Are you ready to go into the weird questions?
A: Let's do it.
Q: First off -- for the final time -- let's address the singing. Brandon Fickey has claimed multiple times you'd be the worst singer if the team formed a band. Your response?
A: I get this every year. As the last Serve & Volleyer of my college career, I am just going to put it on the record that I would be lead singer in any band that this team -- or any future or previous team -- would form, and I would be really good. That's just it. There would be no room for discussion. Luis could do backup maybe. He's got a nice Latino voice. We could put a little mix in with some salsa. I think I'd lead vocals.
Q: Who would be the backup dancers in the team band?
A: Jarryd Chaplin. He's notorious for his dance moves. He's not on the team currently, but he's still very involved with our team. I'd throw him back there. I'm not sure Bart would like to dance, but it'd be funny. I'm going for performance. This is a serious band we're talking about. I think Jess would do just about anything. And Brandon. Brandon will follow Jarryd anywhere with the dancing and the silly stuff. I think Brandon, Jess and Jarryd would make a lethal backup dance combo.
Q: Did you learn any moves from Jarryd onstage at the luau in Hawaii as a freshman?
A: (Laughs) That was a long time ago. I learned pretty quickly he doesn't care. He's out there and that's who he is. That rubbed off on me a little bit, but I can't say in that moment that I was headed to the front of the stage with a couple hundred people looking at me. I left that to him. Maybe now I'd be more outgoing.
Q: If you ran a restaurant, what kind would it be and what would be your best dish?
A: If I were chef, I don't think I'd do Mexican. It would be everything. I cook everything. I don't have favorites or anything. It'd be a varied menu if I were chef. If I owned the restaurant, it'd be Mexican and it'd be dirt cheap and really, really good. Nachos would be the specialty.
Q: Best driver on the team?
A: I think me. Su's (Sunay Bhat) is a little bit choppy, hard on the gas, hard on the brake. Not always paying attention. Brandon's safe, but I don't think that necessarily means good. You know, Bart's not bad, but he's used to Polish driving. When we're going around, he can't cross the double line and on the highway, he wants to pass people on the shoulder, and I have to remind him that you can't do that. I haven't ridden with Mikelis or Igor. I think Jack's started to take over with Sunay. I think overall, getting where we need to be on time, fairly aggressively but safe, that's me.
Q: And worst?
A: Depends on what you mean by worst. Most terrifying to ride with is Bart. He's pretty scary sometime. He's always in control, but the fact that I'm the passenger seat with no control, that bothers me a little bit. I'll stick with Bart there. Sorry.
It's his birthday, by the way, so everyone make sure you wish him happy birthday. I'm taking him out to dinner. He doesn't know where, so I can't tell you guys. He might read it and I don't want to ruin the surprise. Special dinner. Stay tuned.
Q: You're on a desert island that -- for some reason -- has one TV that works but it only plays one show. Go figure. What show would you want it to be?
A: Only one show? Dexter. That's going to be one. I love that serial killer. It's a great show. Colton, Bart and I watched it last year.
Q: If you could play any other college sport, what would it be?
A: Maybe football, but I'd want to be one of the stars. I wouldn't want to be just a guy on the team. I feel like there are so many people, you'd get lost sometimes. Maybe a stud football player. Other than that, I'm not sure if Ultimate Frisbee is officially an NCAA sport yet, but I know the movement is there. Maybe I'd spearhead that and become an All-American in Ultimate Frisbee. That'd be pretty cool.
You know, Atlanta has a professional team, the Atlanta Hustle. Brandon sent me a link about that last year. I follow them on Twitter now.
Q: Colton Norton was, of course, very good at video games. Of the guys currently on the team, who would be most likely to be a professional video game player?
A: It depends on what game. Mikelis is into some serious games on the computer, I believe, but not Xbox or anything. Bart's big time into Call of Duty. He plays that a lot in his room. He's gotten Grand Theft Auto recently. I like watching, so I'll go in there and watch GTA. One of those two for sure.
Q: Have you ever collected anything?
A: Beanie Babies when I was a kid. I mean, I had hundreds of Beanie Babies.
Q: Did you have a favorite?
A: The only one I can remember its name was a koala named Eucalyptus. The Ty Beanie Babies all came with names. I remember I really liked it. I asked my mom was `Eucalyptus' was. I was kind of obsessed with learning about animals when I was younger. Eucalyptus trees are where koalas live and what they eat. They came out with birthstone bears way back then too. I had a bear with a garnet nose, since I was born in January. My nana got that for me.
Beanie Babies. Not many guys will admit to that, whether they did or not.
Q: Well, it was a big thing back then. Followed by Pokemon cards.
A: Ah, that's it. I was big in Pokemon. I had a ton of Pokemon cards. I had all 150 of the first ones. Holograph. All the good ones. I had them all. I played all the Gameboy games. That was always fun. I still have the Yellow version. I play it sometimes on my Gameboy Advance. I've got it at home.
John Collins is big into Pokemon as well. He and I do some Pokemon now and again.
Q: Would you rather have super strength, super brains, or super speed on the tennis court?
A: (Sarcastic pause) I kind of got those, don't I?
Q: Super human?
A: I think with my current level in everything else, I'd probably want super strength. I'm pretty fast and I'm pretty analytical on court. I think if I could just have Mikelis' strength, that'd be pretty good. In the weight room, I'm pretty strong. I don't know why that doesn't translate to the court.
Q: Have you had any pets?
A: Tragically, I lost Killer in the fall. He was my betta fish. I got him between my freshman and sophomore year but lost him last fall. I buried him outside. Had a little memorial service. It was a tough day, and it was probably his time. I read betta fish usually live one or two years, and he was pushing three. He was a good fish.
Back home we have two cats. We've always had cats, but we used to have dogs.
