University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Travel to Tuscaloosa for Weekend Tournament
October 29, 2009 | Men's Tennis
Oct. 29, 2009
Tennessee junior John-Patrick Smith returns to action in singles beginning Friday at the Crimson Tide Fall Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Smith has a 10-match winning streak on the line and is competing in singles for the first time since defeating five ranked opponents on his way to the ITA All-American championship Oct. 11. He and senior Davey Sandgren, the top-ranked team by the ITA, are also playing in the doubles draw.
Smith, ranked second nationally, is the only top-50 player in the tournament and is the No. 1 seed. Patricio Alvarado of Southern Mississippi is the only other ranked player at No. 67 and is in the top flight as well. Smith faces Tennessee Tech's Alex Chen in the first round beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Senior Matt Brewer and freshman Edward Jones are also in the first flight. Brewer plays Vanderbilt's Adam Baker, and Jones faces a second Vanderbilt player in Charlie Jones.
Sandgren received a bye in the first round of the second flight and plays his first singles match Friday afternoon.
In the third flight, redshirt freshman Max Stevens also received a bye. Stevens is 11-4 this season and is one of four Vols with 10 singles wins this season, joining Smith (11), Jones (10) and team-leading freshman Rhyne Williams (13).
Redshirt freshman Taylor Patrick rounds out the Vols' weekend lineup, competing in the fifth flight. He faces Eric Mattheison of Jacksonville State in the opening round.
In Doubles
Sandgren and Smith headline the doubles draw as well. They have a 7-1 record this season with their only loss coming against teammates Williams and junior Boris Conkic on Monday in the finals of the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships.
This weekend could hold some history for Sandgren and Smith. With a 4-1 record at the regional last week, they now have 46 career doubles wins. One more win will tie them for fifth place on Tennessee's career list with Andy Crews and three-time All-America Peter Handoyo, who were doubles partners from 2000-01. Bobby Cameron and Kaden Hensel (2005-07) are fourth on the list with 52 career victories.
Sandgren and Smith received a first-round bye and play Memphis' Spencer Heflin and John Taylor on Saturday.
Jones and Stevens are competing as a pair for the second time after going 1-1 at last week's regional tournament. They face Chattanooga's Ryan Poole and Roberto Viera in the first flight Friday afternoon.
Brewer and Patrick received a bye in the second flight and play Kentucky's Alex Lambropoulos and Chris Leeper on Saturday.
Players Mentioned
