University of Tennessee Athletics
M TENNIS CENTRAL: Georgia Tech/TN Tech
February 26, 2016 | Men's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee men's tennis team opens the outdoor season Saturday with a doubleheader against Georgia Tech and Tennessee Tech at Barksdale Stadium.
The Vols (5-3), back in action for the first time since Feb. 7, play Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. and Tennessee Tech at 5 p.m. Admission is free to both matches and parking is available in Lot N-2, north of the stadium.
The spring tennis season is unofficially split between the indoor and outdoor year with teams moving outside in the second half of February, weather permitting. With Saturday's forecast calling for partly sunny and a high of 54 degrees, it looks like the Vols will be outdoors for the first time in 2016.
Barksdale Stadium received a new paint job during the offseason. For the first time, the six courts are smokey grey with orange lines. The area around the courts is a lighter grey. The courts used to be the current US Open colors, blue courts surrounded by green.
ENTER THE RANKINGS
Sophomore Luis Valero made his career debut in the national singles ranking at No. 125. The native of Cali, Colombia, is 15-9 this season and has started the spring with wins at the three top spots in the lineup. He played No. 4 as a freshman for the Vols.
Valero and junior Jack Schipanski, 11-2 in doubles this year, fell from 16th to 42nd in the rankings despite not playing any matches since the last ranking period.
Georgia Tech is led by Christopher Eubanks, now No. 12 in the rankings. Tech's brother duo of Casey Kay and Michael Kay are ranked No. 41.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Tennessee and Georgia Tech have been frequent non-conference foes in recent years, this season marking the fifth meeting between the schools since 2012. The Vols and Jackets had a close one last year with the Vols winning 4-3 via a furious third-set tiebreaker comeback from Jack Schipanski.
The Vols lead the all-time series 21-14 in a matchup that dates all the way back to 1927. Georgia Tech won the first 10 meetings but the Vols have won 21 of the last 25.
The Vols and Tennessee Tech have met 14 times, including four times in the last three years. The Vols won a doubleheader last season.
Players Mentioned
