May 3, 2010

The Tennessee Volunteers held their position at No. 2 nationally in the final ITA rankings before the NCAA Championships.

The Vols (26-1) have not played since April 25 when they swept sixth-ranked Florida to win the SEC Tournament and secure an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament field.

The NCAA tournament selection committee will release the team draw Tuesday from 5-6 p.m. on ESPNews. ITA rankings are taken into consideration. The first round of the NCAA Championships will be held May 15 at 16 host school sites. Tennessee has hosted the last two seasons.

In Singles

For the fourth period, junior John-Patrick Smith remained at the top spot in the singles rankings. He is the Vols' first No. 1-ranked player since associate head coach Chris Woodruff in 1993.

Smith has a 38-6 singles record with 28 victories against ranked opponents. Last week, he was named SEC Player of the Year and earned first-team All-SEC for the third time in his career.

Junior Boris Conkic moved back up three positions to No. 36 with a 27-10 overall record. He clinched two victories during the Vols' run through the SEC Tournament and was named to the all-tournament team.

Freshman Rhyne Williams slid four positions to No. 45. He is second on the Vols with a 34-6 record. Fellow freshman Tennys Sandgren, who is on a 12-match winning streak, moved up two spots to No. 111.

Also he has not played since March 28, senior Matt Brewer remained ranked at No. 116.

And in Doubles

Smith and senior Davey Sandgren slid one spot to No. 3 in the rankings. They have a 33-6 record this season and 72 wins together over the last three years. Smith and Sandgren reached the doubles finals at the NCAA Championships last season and will probably receive a high seed in this year's draw.

Conkic and Williams took a surprising fall from No. 7 to No. 12 in the rankings despite a 31-3 overall record. They had been ranked in the top 10 since February and have gone 22-1 in dual matches.

Conkic and Smith, winners of the ITA All-American Championships in October, climbed one spot to No. 7 in the rankings. They have a 5-0 record together. Conkic has a 36-4 overall record in doubles this season, good for a winning percentage of .905.

The Vols are likely to have two doubles in the NCAA Championships field for the first time since 1995. The draws for the individual singles and doubles tournaments will be released Wednesday.

ITA National Rankings
Singles
No. 1 - John-Patrick Smith
No. 36 - Boris Conkic
No. 45 - Rhyne Williams
No. 111 - Tennys Sandgren
No. 116 - Matt Brewer

Doubles
No. 3 - Davey Sandgren/Smith
No. 7 - Conkic/Smith
No.12 - Conkic/Williams