Fago's comeback lifts Vols in tennis

Matteo Fago couldn't have imagined a worse start.

Luckily for the University of Tennessee tennis team, the freshman knows how to finish.

Fago's comeback victory in singles helped UT clinch an SEC men's tournament semifinal berth with a 4-2 victory against No. 18 LSU (14-8) on Friday in Fayetteville, Ark.

The No. 3-seeded and 8th-ranked Vols (21-2, 9-2 SEC) advance to play Ole Miss, the No. 2-seed, at 11 a.m. today.

"That's what the SEC tournament is all about, two teams fighting to advance," UT coach Sam Winterbotham said of the LSU match. "I thought the guys did a great job of staying focused and played the big points well."

That was especially true of Fago.

After getting blanked in the first set, Fago rallied for a 0-6, 7-6, 7-5 match-clinching victory against James Cluskey. It was Fago's 14th consecutive singles victory.

Tennessee put itself in a good position when it won the doubles point from the Tigers with victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Kaden Hensel and J.P. Smith, the No. 12-ranked doubles team in the country, beat the No. 26 team of Michael Venus and Cluskey, 9-8. Davey Sandgren and Jeremy Tweedt won their No. 2 doubles match 8-6.

In singles, Smith (15-4) coasted to a two-set victory at No. 2 and Boris Conkic won at No. 3 singles to give UT a 3-0 match lead.

Ole Miss romped past Kentucky 4-0 in the quarterfinals. The Rebels defeated UT 4-3 in Knoxville on Feb. 29.