Mikelis Libietis
| School: |
University of Tennessee |
| Year: |
Junior |
| Home Town: |
Priekuli |
| Home State: |
|
| Home Country: |
Latvia |
| High School: |
Murijanu Sprota Gimnazija |
| Height: |
6-2 |
| Weight: |
199 lbs. |
| Birth Date: |
|
| Dominant Hand: |
Right |
| Major: |
Undecided |
| Singles Record: |
30-9 |
| Doubles Record: |
34-8 |
RECORD & HONORS
Career Singles Record: 64-24
Highest Singles Ranking: No. 1 (5/2/2013)
Career Doubles Record: 69-24
Highest Doubles Ranking: No. 1 with Hunter Reese (4/23/2013)
Awards
2013 ITA All-American
2013 ITA National Player to Watch
2013 ITA All-Star Team
2013 ITA Ohio Valley Region Player to Watch
2013 SEC Player of the Year
2013 ALL-SEC (First Team)
2013 SEC All-Tournament Team
2013 SEC Player of the Week (1 time)
2012 All-SEC (First Team)
2012 SEC All-Freshman Team
2012 SEC Freshman of the Week (3 times: 2/1; 2/29; 3/7)
2012 ITA Ohio Valley Region Rookie of the Year
Singles Titles
2012 Tennessee Fall Invitational (Flight 1)
2011 Tennessee Fall Invitational (Flight 1)
Doubles Titles
2013 ITA All-American Championships (with Hunter Reese)
2012 USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships (with John Collins)
2011 USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships (with Hunter Reese)
2011 Tennessee Fall Invitational (Flight 1) (with Jarryd Chaplin)
2013-14 - JUNIOR
Singles Record: 7-3
Doubles Record: 11-2
FALL SEASON:
Opened the fall season of competition by returning to Latvia to represent his homeland in a Davis Cup tie against Finland. He lost his singles match in four sets but teamed up with Ernests Gulbis to secure a straight-set doubles win. Latvia won the tie 3-2 and will be promoted to Europe/Africa Group I next year.
Captured the ITA All-American Championships doubles title with junior Hunter Reese, their first collegiate national title and the third ITA All-American won by UT (Talbot/Cannon - 1986; Smith/Conkic - 2009).
Had illness to start the ITA All-American and lost in the second round of the main draw of singles. He had entered the tournament seeded No. 1 in both draws.
Reached the singles finals of the USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships for the second consecutive year. Pulled out of the singles final up 6-4, 1-3 with a back injury against teammate and doubles partner Reese. Reached doubles semifinals with Reese.
Reached the doubles final of the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships with Hunter Reese to end the fall with an 11-2 fall record with six ranked wins. Made it to the second round of singles, upsetting top-seeded Patrick Pradella in the first round.
SUMMER 2013:
Put together a productive four weeks on the Futures tour through Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
Captured first career Futures singles title, rolling to the title in Kuressaare, Estonia. In three weeks, he reached the semifinals or better in singles.
Won two doubles titles, one coming with freshman Markus Kerner. Now owns three doubles titles on the Futures Circuit.
2012-13 - SOPHOMORE
Singles Record: 37-7 (8-1 SEC)
Doubles Record: 32-10 (10-1 SEC)
Awards
2013 ITA All-American
2013 ITA National Player to Watch
2013 ITA All-Star Team
2013 ITA Ohio Valley Region Player to Watch
2013 SEC Player of the Year
2013 ALL-SEC (First Team)
2013 SEC All-Tournament Team
2013 SEC Player of the Week (1 time)
SPRING SEASON
In second season, back at playing No. 1 singles and doubles with Hunter Reese
Started spring season on nine-match winning streak in singles and eight-match winning streak in doubles with Jarryd Chaplin
Has rolled through the dual match season in singles with a 21-2 record with 12 wins over ranked opponents during that stretch
Earned SEC Player of the Week honors thanks to an undefeated weekend against Kentucky and Vanderbilt in singles and doubles. He clinched the match with a 3-set win over Rossi and then avenged a fall loss against Ryan Lipman
Libietis and Reese rejoined forces at the No. 1 doubles position in the second weekend of SEC play and went 10-0 in their SEC reunion tour
On March 26, Libietis became ranked in the top 10 in singles (3) and doubles (7) at the same time for the first time
Took just one loss in SEC play at the No. 1 position, going 8-1 in singles and 10-1 in doubles
He and Reese became fourth UT doubles team in program history to reach the No. 1 doubles ranking on April 23
Named to the SEC All-Tournament Team after leading the Vols to the title match. He went 2-0 in singles and 1-0 in doubles, highlighted by a straight-set win over No. 13 Lipman.
Helped the Vols to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships, going 2-1 in singles and 2-2 in doubles
Became the first Vol since Shelby Cannon in 1987 to be named the ITA National Player to Watch.
At the NCAA Individual Championships: lost in the first round in singles and the second round in doubles. He was the first Vol ever to be seeded No. 1 in both tournaments. Earned All-American honors for the first time since he was seeded in both.
FALL SEASON
Opened the season at the ITA All-American Championships, reaching the third round in singles and the quarterfinals in doubles with Jarryd Chaplin. Picked up three ranked wins between singles and doubles
Defended his top-flight singles title at the Tennessee Fall Invitational, beating teammate Brandon Fickey 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a rematch of last year's final. Also reached the doubles final in the second flight with Chaplin, but had to withdraw because of Chaplin's ankle injury
Defended doubles title at the USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships, winning with John Collins despite the two facing match points in the first round. Also reached the singles final, losing to Vanderbilt's Ryan Lipman 6-3, 6-4
Reached first national singles quarterfinal, earning two ranked wins on his way to the third round of the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. Lost in first round of doubles with Collins.
2011-12 - FRESHMAN
Singles Record: 20-14 (4-7 SEC)
Doubles Record: 26-12 (7-4 SEC)
Awards
2012 All-SEC (First Team)
2012 SEC All-Freshman Team
2012 SEC Freshman of the Week (3 times: 2/1; 2/29; 3/7)
2012 ITA Ohio Valley Region Rookie of the Year
Feature Content
April 2012: Serve & Volley: Mikelis Libietis
February 2012: Around the Ping-Pong Table (VIDEO)
January 2012: Family Sports Leads Libietis to Tennessee
SPRING SEASON
Played No. 1 singles and doubles in every match for the Vols this year, only freshman in the conference tasked with playing at the top of both lineups
Became first Vol to start at No. 1 singles as a freshman since John-Patrick Smith in 2008. Only one of seven freshman to play No. 1 singles as a freshman for UT. Four of those past top freshmen (Andy Kohlberg, Mike DePalmer Jr., Chris Woodruff, Smith) later went on to be ranked No. 1 nationally
Picked up SEC Freshman of the Week honors after going undefeated at No. 1 singles and doubles against Memphis and Eastern Kentucky
Earned a three-set victory against Ole Miss freshman Nik Scholtz, a former ITF top 10. Win helped Vols reach ITA National Team Indoors
Collected first top-40 wins of his career at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic, beating No. 33 Gonzalo Escobar of Texas Tech and No. 34 James Meredith of Boise State in straight sets
Started SEC career with 2-0 start in both singles and doubles at the No. 1 position. Against Florida, he and Hunter Reese collected their first top-10 win, beating eighth-ranked Nassim Slilam and Billy Federhofer 8-4
Cracked the national top-10 in doubles, coming in at No. 7 with Reese. Believed to be the first all-freshman UT pair to reach top 10 in program history
Snapped 4-match losing streak to go 2-0 in singles at the SEC Championships. He picked up his first top-10 singles win, beating No. 10 Artem Illyushin 7-6 (6), 6-2
Lost in the first round of singles and doubles at the NCAA Championships.
FALL SEASON
Wrapped up his first collegiate season by posting 8-1 singles and 9-2 doubles records
Won both singles and doubles titles in his first collegiate tournament, sweeping the top spots at the Tennessee Fall Invitational, beating teammate Brandon Fickey 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the final. His doubles title came with sophomore Jarryd Chaplin
Missed several tournaments because of injury but returned to the court in time for the USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships
Reached the round of 16 in singles at the home regional, but his most notable performance came in doubles. He and fellow freshmen Hunter Reese teamed up to win the championship, knocking off the top two seeds in the tournament. They beat 25th-ranked Josh MacTaggart and Stephen Vogl of Indiana 8-5 in the semifinals, then defeated 19th-ranked
Eric Quigley and Alex Musialek of Kentucky in the championship
Traveled with Reese to the 20-team field at the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, where they lost in the opening round.
PRIOR TO TENNESSEE
Joined the Vols after a notable doubles career, both in the junior and Futures circuits
Achieved a career-best ATP doubles ranking of No. 624 after winning one title and reaching the finals of three other events
Had a career-best singles ranking of No. 1357
Represented Latvia in a 2011 Davis Cup singles match against Greece, making him the ninth Vol to participate in the international team event and the first to take the court since Simon Rea did so for New Zealand in 2007
Had a career-best combined junior ranking of No. 82
Reached the doubles quarterfinals of the Australian Open Juniors and the semifinals of the Eddie Herr Internationals
In singles, made it to the round of 32 at Wimbledon Juniors.
PERSONAL
Parents: Valdis Libietis and Evita Libiete
Born July 9, 1992 in Sigulda, Latvia
Older brother, Matiss, played for Hawaii Pacific
Father, Valdis, coached both Mikelis and Matiss growing up.
Recipient of the Markham Athletic Scholarship Endowment
