University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
NCAA Championships (Singles & Doubles)
Libietis, Reese Reach NCAA Quarterfinals
May 22, 2015 | Men's Tennis
WACO, Texas -- Tennessee senior Mikelis Libietis' day at the NCAA individual championships began with disappointment but ended in celebration with Hunter Reese in doubles Friday.
In a close back-and-forth match, Libietis and Reese staved off a set point late to earn a 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over Denver's Henry Craig and Alex Gasson in the second round of the doubles tournament.
Libietis and Reese, the defending champions, are now back in the quarterfinals, where they will face host Baylor's Diego Galeano and Julian Lenz on Saturday.
Libietis narrowly missed advancing to the singles quarterfinals but lost 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to TCU's Cameron Norrie in a morning match that spanned over four hours because of rain delays.
The ending of the singles match was a disappointing one, with Libietis leading 4-2 in the third set. Less than two hours after his loss, Libietis was back at Hurd Tennis Center with Reese to face a Denver pair that had ousted Ole Miss in straight sets the day before.
"It was a tough day for me, but I pulled it together and Hunter helped me," Libietis said.
Libietis and Reese broke Denver's serve in the fifth game to go up 3-2 in the first set. The Vols consolidated the lead in the next game when Libietis climbed back from 0-40 to hold and take a 4-2 lead. They eventually served out the set 6-4.
"We were a little sluggish at the beginning, we stole a break and then held serve the whole time," Reese said. "He fought off a 0-40 game, which was huge."
The second set stayed on serve with no break point chances for either team until Reese found himself a set-point down serving at 4-5. He served his way out of danger, and Libietis held serve again to force a tiebreaker.
The Vols had won a tiebreaker in their opening match against TCU and, like Thursday, took an early lead via a good return by Libietis. Libietis put the Vols up 4-2 at the changeover when he reflexed a volley winner near the sideline with all four players crowding the net. The shot got the attention of the crowd and Tennessee seized momentum and never looked back.
Tennessee won the final four points of the tiebreaker, with both Reese and Libietis coming up with strong returns on the final two points.
"The point at 3-2 inspired me a lot," Libietis said. "Denver was good. They were different. A lot of credit to them. They fought hard."
In singles, Libietis was looking for his third three-set win in as many days.
Libietis led 4-2 in the final set and had three break point chances on Norrie's serve that would have given him a 5-2 lead. Norrie warded off the breaks and hung in the match, then went on to win the final four games.
Libietis finishes his senior year with a 26-4 record, the second-best win total of his career. His 106 singles win rank ninth in program history. The third-round performance at NCAAs is the best of his career.
