Lake Nona, Fla. – No. 1 Texas Men's Tennis fell to No. 5 Virginia, 4-1, in the NCAA Championship semifinals at the USTA National Campus on Saturday. The match concluded the Longhorns' season with a 26-4 record, which is the second-most wins for the program since 2010, trailing only the 29 from the 2019 National Championship season.
It was the third Final Four appearance for Texas in the last four tournaments, while the season also saw the Longhorns claim the outright Big 12 regular season championship, make the program's first appearance in the final of the ITA National Indoor Championships, and spend the last six weeks entering the NCAA Tournament with the nation's No. 1 ranking.
"I'm definitely really proud of the guys," head coach Bruce Berque said. "Obviously, every match in the NCAA Tournament gets tougher and tougher, and Virginia deserves all the credit in the world today. They played better than us in doubles, and they were really tough in some second sets when it looked like we had chances to get off the court and win some straight-set matches. They stayed the course and were tough, and unfortunately in the third sets, our bodies didn't hold up. It wasn't for a lack of preparation and trying, but we had a lot of guys have some cramping issues, but definitely Virginia won the match. Again, I'm very proud of the team. They were No. 1 in the country for the bulk of the season, and they won a conference championship and reached the Final Four. Only one team gets to be thrilled at the end of the season, and unfortunately, it wasn't us this time, but they'll be back fighting again next year."
After Virginia secured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 2, the Longhorns claimed four of the six singles first sets and just missed another in a tiebreaker. Junior No. 61 Micah Braswell evened the overall match with a 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 49 Jeffery van der Schulenburg at No. 3. Braswell broke first for a 3-1 lead, which he consolidated to 4-1 with a deuce-point hold. Braswell then broke again for 5-1, and although van der Schulenburg got one break back on a deuce point, Braswell answered with a deuce-point break of his own for the set. In the second, Braswell rushed out to a 5-0 lead on the way to the 6-1 win.
The Cavaliers reclaimed the lead as senior Nevin Arimilli was defeated by Mans Dahlberg, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 6. Dahlberg opened the match with two deuce-point wins for a break and a hold on his way to a 4-0 lead. Arimilli battled back with three deuce-point wins of his own to get within one, and although the next game also went to deuce, it was won by Dahlberg for a hold before he served out the set. Arimilli broke to begin the second set, however Dahlberg broke back to start another 4-0 run. Arimilli got one game back on a deuce point hold, but Dahlberg claimed the last two for the win.
Virginia then extended the lead as junior No. 54 Siem Woldeab was downed by No. 87 Ryan Goetz, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, at No. 4. Woldeab was the first to break for a 4-2 lead that he made 5-2 on serve. Goetz came back to take the next two games on deuce points, but Woldeab broke again for the win. In the second set, Goetz was first to break for a 2-1 lead, which he followed with a deuce-point hold for 3-1. Woldeab got the break back for 3-3, but Goetz grabbed another deuce point to answer it and pushed to 5-3 on serve. The last two games were also on serve to give Goetz the win and force a third set. There, with Woldeab limited in his movement, Goetz got out to a 3-0 lead on the way to a 6-1 win.
The clinch for Virginia came at No. 5 where junior Cleeve Harper was edged by Alexander Kiefer in a third-set tiebreaker, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5). Kiefer picked up an opening game break and held for a 2-0 first-set lead, but Harper got the break back for 3-3. Three of the last four games then went to deuce with Kiefer using one to answer the break and regain the lead. However, from there, Harper closed on a 3-0 run on the strength of deuce-point wins in the last two games. Kiefer controlled the scoring in the second set by breaking a 1-1 tie with a 5-0 run to send it to a third. That set stayed on serve up to a 4-3 lead for Kiefer when he broke for 5-3. However, Harper rallied with eight-straight points to even it, and the next two games stayed on serve to a tiebreaker. In the breaker, Kiefer won the first two points, but Harper responded with the next three. The players alternated the following three points until Kiefer took a second-straight for a 5-4 lead. Although Harper tied it, Kiefer closed with the last two points.
In the remaining matches, junior No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri trailed No. 9 Chris Rodesch, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 3-5 at No. 1, while sophomore No. 28 Pierre-Yves Bailly was behind to No. 26 Inaki Montes de la Torre, 6-2, 5-7, 0-3, at No. 3 when play stopped.
In Spizzirri's match, after the players exchanged deuce-point holds, Rodesch broke first for a 2-1 lead. Spizzirri later held off a set point for Rodesch on a deuce point to trail 5-4 and begin a 3-0 run to a 6-5 lead. Rodesch held in the next game to send it to a tiebreaker where Spizzirri won two of the first three points, but Rodesch went on a 6-0 run for the frame. The second set stayed on serve up to 4-4 when Spizzirri won a deuce point to keep it there and start a 3-0 run to force a third. There, Rodesch held in the first game and followed with back-to-back deuce-point wins for a 3-0 lead. Spizzirri held in the next game and had an opportunity to get the break back on a deuce point, but Rodesch was also able to hold, and the final three games were on serve to the final.
Bailly started strong in his match, breaking on a deuce point for a 3-1 lead. Montes answered it to get back to 3-2, but Bailly closed the set on a 3-0 run to win. The second set featured seven deuce points with Montes using two for a 2-0 lead. Bailly got the break back for 2-2, and the next six games stayed on serve despite four deuce points, one of which was a match point for Bailly up 5-4. However, Montes staved that off, broke again on another deuce point for a 6-5 lead and served out the set. At that point, Bailly was also limited in his movement, and Montes won the three games of the third set until play stopped.
Earlier in doubles, Virginia took the point with a pair of 6-1 wins. Senior Chih Chi Huang and junior Evin McDonald fell to Goetz and Kiefer at No. 3, followed by No. 75 Woldeab and Bailly to Rodesch and von der Schulenburg at No. 2. In the remaining match, No. 3 Harper and Spizzirri were even with No. 58 Montes and William Woodall, 3-3, with the match staying on serve starting with Texas.
Texas head coach Bruce Berque postmatch quotes
On the match:
I'm definitely really proud of the guys. Obviously, every match in the NCAA Tournament gets tougher and tougher, and Virginia deserves all the credit in the world today. They played better than us in doubles, and they were really tough in some second sets when it looked like we had chances to get off the court and win some straight-set matches. They stayed the course and were tough, and unfortunately in the third sets, our bodies didn't hold up. It wasn't for a lack of preparation and trying, but we had a lot of guys have some cramping issues, but definitely Virginia won the match. Again, I'm very proud of the team. They were No. 1 in the country for the bulk of the season, and they won a conference championship and reached the Final Four. Only one team gets to be thrilled at the end of the season, and unfortunately, it wasn't us this time, but they'll be back fighting again next year.
On the state of the program:
I think the state of the program is really strong, and it's strong mostly because of the culture that our guys have really worked hard to develop. I know it's cliché, but they truly are a family and truly care about each other. They set some goals at the beginning of the year, not just outcome goals, but how they wanted to do it. A lot of times you put these things up on the wall at the beginning of the season and then forget about them, but our guys backed it up, and I'm really proud of what they did this year. The bulk of the team is going to be back next year, and I'm pretty sure we're going to add some good recruits. We've built this culture, now we've just got to protect it and keep working to get better every day, and I have a good feeling these guys can get back.
On seniors Nevin Arimilli and Chih Chi Huang:
We just talked about what they've meant, and that wasn't an easy conversation, but I'm really proud of both of those guys. They've made a great contribution. First of all, they've both contributed at different times of their careers on the court quite a bit. Nevin has beaten some great players in his senior year, and for him to be able to have this experience as a senior as an Austin kid who was right on the edge of "should I come to Texas or am I not good enough," for him to be able to stay the course and keep working and slowly but surely get better and make a really meaningful contribution and be a starter on a No. 1-ranked team, a Final Four team and a Big 12 Championship team, that's something he's going to be proud of and value for the rest of his life.
Chih Chi was on the court playing for a National Championship in his freshman year, and I think he's been part of three conference championships and been a regular in doubles this year, and has won many massive matches for us in singles during his career. The thing they share in common, because they both spent significant time when they weren't in the starting lineup, is they've always been there for their teammates. In addition to what they've done on the court and being really high character guys, I'll always remember them, and I think they're teammates will too, as being great teammates.
On his final thoughts:
I feel bad for the guys that they're so gutted, but that's what happens when you're good enough and have a chance and you care. They'll have perspective in a couple of days, and the bulk of them will be back fighting strong next year.
#5 Virginia 4, #1 Texas 1
Singles – Order of Finish (3,6,4,5)
1. #9 Chris Rodesch (VA) vs. #1 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) 7-6 (2), 4-6, 5-3, unf.
2. #26 Inaki Montes (VA) vs. #28 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) 2-6, 7-5, 3-0, unf.
3. #61 Micah Braswell (UT) def. #49 J vd Schulenburg (VA) 6-2, 6-1
4. #87 Ryan Goetz (VA) def. #54 Siem Woldeab (UT) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
5. Alexander Kiefer (VA) def. Cleeve Harper (UT) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5)
6. Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. Nevin Arimilli (UT) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,2)
1. #58 Inaki Montes/William Woodall (VA) vs. #3 Eliot Spizzirri/Cleeve Harper (UT) 3-3, unf.
2. Chris Rodesch/J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. #75 Siem Woldeab/Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) 6-1
3. Ryan Goetz/Alexander Kiefer (VA) def. Chih Chi Huang/Evin McDonald (UT) 6-1
