University of Tennessee Team Page
Redshirt freshman Max Stevens and true freshman Edward Jones advanced to the final qualifying round Thursday at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships in Bloomington, Ind.
Stevens and Jones both received first round byes. A victory in the third round of qualifying Thursday morning means a spot in the main draw of singles. There are eight qualifying positions in the 64-player draw.
Stevens defeated Memphis’ Michael Janz 6-1, 7-6 (3) in the second round of qualifying. He faces Indiana’s Alex van Gils on Thursday.
Jones dropped his first set to Butler’s Chris Herron but quickly rebounded in the final two sets to win the match 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. Jones plays Wright State’s Tore Waldhausen in the third qualifying round.
Doubles Schedule Released: Senior Davey Sandgren and junior John-Patrick Smith, the top-ranked doubles team in the nation, team up again Friday for the first time in nearly two months. The Tennessee duo won the top flight of the UVa Invitational in September and has a 3-0 record this season. Smith and junior Boris Conkic won the doubles title at the ITA All-American on Oct. 11, boosting Smith’s doubles record this year to a perfect 8-0 and 4-0 against ranked opponents.
As the top seed, Sandgren and Smith received a first-round bye.
Conkic and true freshman Rhyne Williams are seeded sixth and also earned a bye. They reached the finals of the second flight at the UVa Invitational and have a 2-1 record as a pair this year. Thanks to the five wins at the All-American, Conkic is 7-1 in doubles this season and 53-16 in his career.
Senior Matt Brewer and junior Matteo Fago are scheduled to be doubles partners for the first time in their careers and are seeded ninth. Brewer is 0-2 in doubles with two different partners this season, but he is off to one of the best singles starts of his career with a 5-3 record. Fago is 1-2 in doubles and 6-3 in singles this season.
Stevens and Jones are also making their debut as a doubles team. Stevens is 6-3 in doubles, and Jones is 2-4. They play IUPUI’s Daniel Klingenberg and Jorge Yunes on Thursday afternoon.
ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championship
Bloomington Indiana
Singles Qualifying
Second Round
Max Stevens, UT, def. Michael Janz, Memphis, 6-1, 7-6 (3)
Edward Jones, UT, def. Chris Herron, Butler, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3