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Matteo Fago
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March 19, 2009
The fourth-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team defeated Penn State, 4-0 Thursday in the first round of the Blue Gray Tennis Classic played in Montgomery, Ala.
"It was a good challenge for us in the first round," head coach Sam Winterbotham said. "Coach (Todd) Doebler is doing a great job at Penn State and his team fought and competed very well. We had to play very well today to win. We're looking forward to playing a very good Texas Tech team in the next round. We will have to play very hard and very well to win tomorrow."
The Vols (11-3, 3-1 SEC) won at the No. 1 and 2 doubles positions for the third straight match to grab a 1-0 lead. Boris Conkic and Matteo Fago defeated Eddie Bourchier and Ryan Gormley, 8-2 at the No. 2 position to improve to 6-3 this season in dual-match play. The Vols clinched the point when their eighth-ranked duo of Davey Sandgren and John-Patrick Smith defeated Jason Lee and Adam Slagter, 8-4 at the No. 1 position.
In singles, UT won the first set in five of six matches to take total control of the match.
Smith won handily at the No. 1 position over Brendan Lynch, 6-1, 6-0 to give UT a 2-0 lead. Smith is 7-3 this season at the top-spot in the Vols lineup and is ranked seventh in the country.
Fago continued his perfect 2009 by dropping Lee, 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 3 position. The Ceprano, Italy native is 12-0 this season in dual-match play.
Conkic wrapped up UT's rout with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Slagter. The UT sophomore is 10-2 this season in dual-match play.
The match was suspended when the Big Orange clinched the match. Christian Hansen and Sandgren were both winning their matches in the second set when play was cancelled.
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The Vols face 33rd-ranked Texas Tech in the second round Friday at 1:30 p.m. CT. The Red Raiders (9-5) defeated Virginia Commonwealth, 4-0 in the first round.
| No. 4 Tennessee 4, No. 55 Penn State 0 | ||||
| Singles | ||||
| 1. | No. 7 John-Patrick Smith (UT) | def. | Brendan Lynch (PSU) | 6-1, 6-0 |
| 2. | No. 25 Boris Conkic (UT) | def. | Adam Slagter (PSU) | 6-4, 6-2 |
| 3. | Matteo Fago (UT) | def. | Jason Lee (PSU) | 6-2, 6-2 |
| 4. | Davey Sandgren (UT) | led | Eddie Bourchier (PSU) | 6-3, 3-2 |
| 5. | Ryan Gormley (PSU) | led | Matt Brewer (UT) | 6-3, 0-1 |
| 6. | Christian Hansen (UT) | led | Guillaume St. Maurice (PSU) | 6-3, 1-2 |
| Order of Finish: 1,3,2 | ||||
| Doubles | ||||
| 1. | No. 8 Sandgren/Smith (UT) | def. | Lee/Slagter (PSU) | 8-4 |
| 2. | Conkic/Fago (UT) | def. | Bourchier/Gormley (PSU) | 8-2 |
| Order of Finish: 2,1 | ||||
