By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- There are two very good reasons why the Tennessee men's tennis team is ranked sixth in the nation: The volunteers are strong and they are deep.

Saturday morning, sixth-ranked Tennessee swept to wins in every event at the Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center in handing Tennessee Tech a 7-0 loss in the season-opening dual match for both squads.

In doubles action, Golden Eagle pairs managed to win a point in all three events before each duo fell, 6-1. The top-ranked doubles pair in the nation, Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese tool the measure of Vasily Eremeev and Oleksiy Arovin in the No. 1 match, and in the No. 2 spot, the Vols pair of Jarryd Chapli and Brandon FIcke, ranked 28th nationally, downed Artem Tarasov and Alberto Esteban. At No. 3, it was Andrew Dromsly and Markus Kerner getting the win over Gagan Jain and Alvaro Cintas.

Tennessee also has two singles players ranked among the tops in the nation. In the No. 1 spot, 16th ranked Reese took a 6-0, 6-1 win over Ereemeev. Arovin put up a fight against Libietis, ranked 34th nationally, in the No. 2 singles spot before the host claimed a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

Tech won points in every set the rest of the day. At No. 3, it was Chaplin outlasting Esteban for a 6-2, 6-3 victory, while at No. 4, Bartosz Sawicki earned a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jain. Dromsky managed a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Tarasov at the No. 5 position, while Kerner downed Cintas, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 6.

The Golden Eagles were paying attention to Tennessee's performance, and hope to use it a a springboard into their next match. Coach Kenny Doyle's squad will play next Saturday (Jan. 25) at Chattanooga at 6 p.m.

#6 Tennessee 7, Tennessee Tech 0

Singles competition
1. #16 Hunter Reese (UT) def. Vasily Eremeev (TTU) 6-0, 6-1
2. #34 Mikelis Libietis (UT) def. Oleksiy Arovin (TTU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Jarryd Chaplin (UT) def. Alberto Esteban (TTU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Bartosz Sawicki (UT) def. Gagan Jain (TTU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Andrew Dromsky (UT) def. Artem Tarasov (TTU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Markus Kerner (UT) def. Alvaro Cintas (TTU) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. #1 Mikelis Libietis/Hunter Reese (UT) def. Vasily Eremeev/Oleksiy Arovin (TTU) 6-1
2. #28 Jarryd Chaplin/Brandon Fickey (UT) def. Artem Tarasov/Alberto Esteban (TTU) 6-1
3. Andrew Dromsky/Markus Kerner (UT) def. Gagan Jain/Alvaro Cintas (TTU) 6-1

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,5,6,2,3,4)