Oct. 6, 2009

Tennessee senior Matt Brewer took one step closer to entering the main draw at the ITA All-American, winning his second qualifying match in three sets Tuesday in Tulsa, Okla.

Brewer defeated Mississippi State sophomore Artem Ilyushen 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 in the second round of qualifying. Ilyushen, who was named to last season's Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team, was ranked No. 83 by ITA.

"It was another very good win for Matt against a nationally ranked opponent," Tennessee coach Sam Winterbotham said. "It shows how much Matt is developing as a player. He's playing at a very high level right now."

With the victory, Brewer improved to 2-1 against ranked opponents and 5-2 overall in singles this season. He won his first match of the qualifiers 6-4, 6-4 over Filip Miljevic of Illinois State.

Brewer must win won more match to earn a spot in the main draw of the All-American, which begins Thursday. He plays Henrique Cunha of Duke on Wednesday. Cunha defeated Mirko Zapletal of Fresno State 6-2, 6-3 in his second qualifying match.

Juniors John-Patrick Smith and Boris Conkic automatically qualified for the main draw.

"Matt is going to be playing against another tough opponent tomorrow," Winterbotham said. "If he can join Boris and J.P. in the main draw, that would be a big step for him, and I think he would do well. As coaches, we're very proud of Matt and what he's accomplishing."