CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- It’s practically an understatement to say the Tennessee Volunteers have played their first-round opponent in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships recently.
The Vols (7-0) defeated Illinois 6-1 on Sunday afternoon in Knoxville. They face the very same Fighting Illini squad Friday at 3 p.m. at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
However, Friday’s matchup should look much different than the one just five days ago. Junior John-Patrick Smith and senior Matt Brewer were both missing from the Vols’ lineup because of illness.
Tennessee had to rearrange the lineup as a result, with junior Boris Conkic moving up to the No. 1 spot for just the third time in his career. He and freshman Rhyne Williams, ranked 12th, played at No. 1 doubles for the first time and won. Senior Davey Sandgren and freshman Edward Jones played at the Nos. 5 and 6 positions, both picking up wins.
Illinois (3-2) is led at the top of the singles and doubles lineup by 43rd-ranked Dennis Nevolo. Conkic defeated him 6-3, 7-6 to clinch the match.
Neither Rain, Nor Sleet: The Vols departed Knoxville on Wednesday afternoon under snowy skies toward Charlottesville, Va., which has received blizzard-level amounts of snow in the last two weeks. Good news is that the team arrived safely at the Boar’s Head for practice in the evening.
The Vols are set for another practice in the afternoon Thursday.
Rare Indeed: In facts that have almost no practical purpose, it’s been 20 years since the Vols played a team in consecutive meetings.
Tennessee defeated Ole Miss to end the regular season in 1990, then defeated them again in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. That season, the Vols collected a record 34 wins and reached the finals at the NCAA Championships.
Countdown from 9: It’s time to start crossing numbers off the chart. Smith is starting the tournament just nine singles victories away from the 100th in his career. Only six Vols in history have cracked 100 wins.
Smith, ranked second nationally, picked up his 91st win last week against No. 105 John Peers of MTSU. He is now 22-4 this season and on pace to surpass his win total of 36 recorded during his sophomore season.
He has been ranked in the ITA top 10 since March 17, 2009. Last season, he vaulted from No. 50 to No. 9 following the Indoor Championships.
Not Far Behind: Williams became the second Vol behind Smith to reach 20 singles victories this season after stepping into the No. 2 position to get a straight-set win over Illinois’ Johnny Hamui. He currently has a 20-4 record.
The UT record for wins in a season for a freshman is a pretty lofty number, 43, set in 1999 by three-time All-America Peter Handoyo. Conkic holds the freshman record for best winning percentage for a freshman after going 28-6 (.826) in 2008.
10 for 10: Conkic has not lost a match since starting 2010. He opened the year by winning the SEC Indoors title and has won 10 consecutive matches heading into the Indoor Championships. His career best for consecutive wins is 12, set last season. He is currently ranked 68th and has a 16-4 record this season.
Following the Tournament: An interactive, live blog of all the Vols’ tournament matches will be available at UTSports.com and begins approximately 30 minutes before the start of the match. Live scoring and a day-by-day tournament schedule can be found at
virginiasports.com.
