March 4, 2014
Knoxville, Tenn. – Freshman Will Showers grabbed a straight-set victory for Georgia Tech, but 13th-ranked Tennessee eased to a 4-1 men’s tennis victory over the Yellow Jackets Tuesday afternoon at Barksdale Stadium.
Tech, ranked No. 52, dropped its fourth match in the last six to fall to 6-4, and returns home this weekend to face Georgia State on Friday and Miami on Sunday.
The Volunteers (11-4) bounced back from a 4-0 loss to Georgia over the weekend, capturing the doubles point and singles matches on courts 1 and 2 before the Yellow Jackets got on the board.
Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese, the nation’s 2nd-ranked doubles team, set the tone with an 8-5 victory over Tech’s top team of Carlos Benito and Eduardo Segura at No. 1 doubles, and Bartosz Sawicki and Jarryd Chaplin finished off Cole Fiegel and Will Showers, 8-1, at No. 3.
Reese, ranked No. 21 in singles, ranked gave the Vols their second point with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Tech’s Nathan Rakitt at No. 2 singles, and Libietis, ranked No. 32, outlasted Benito, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, to make it 3-0 for Tennessee.
Showers, a freshman from Gainesville, Ga., took a 6-2, 6-3 from the Volunteers’ Markus Kerner to improve to 3-2 this spring for Tech’s point, but Sawicki closed it out for Tennessee on court 6 with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) win over Anish Sharma.
#13 Tennessee 4, #52 Georgia TechMar 4, 2014 at Knoxville, Tenn. (Barksdale Stadium)
Singles competition 1. #32 Mikelis Libietis (UT) def. Carlos Benito (GT) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 2. #21 Hunter Reese (UT) def. Nathan Rakitt (GT) 6-3, 6-4 3. Jarryd Chaplin (UT) vs. Eduardo Segura (GT) 5-7, 6-2, 0-0, unfinished 4. Andrew Dromsky (UT) vs. Cole Fiegel (GT) 6-1, 6-6 (6-6), unfinished 5. Will Showers (GT) def. Markus Kerner (UT) 6-2, 6-3 6. Bartosz Sawicki (UT) def. Anish Sharma (GT) 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
Doubles competition 1. #2 Mikelis Libietis/Hunter Reese (UT) def. Carlos Benito/Eduardo Segura (GT) 8-5 2. Andrew Dromsky/Markus Kerner (UT) vs. Casey Kay/Nathan Rakitt (GT) 7-7, unfinished 3. Bartosz Sawicki/Jarryd Chaplin (UT) def. Cole Fiegel/Will Showers (GT) 8-1
Match Notes Georgia Tech 6-4 (0-1); National ranking #46 Tennessee 11-4 (0-1); National ranking #11 Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,5,1,6)
