Austin – No. 1 Texas Men's Tennis advanced the NCAA Championship quarterfinals with 4-0 sweep of No. 14 North Carolina at the Texas Tennis Center on Saturday. The Longhorns punched their ticket to Orlando, Fla., where they will face the 9 seed No. 8 South Carolina on Thursday, May 18, on the USTA National Campus.
It marks the third time in the last four tournaments and five of the last nine that Texas has reached the quarterfinals, including 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2021. In all, it is the 18th quarterfinals appearance in program history.
In a match that was delayed five-and-a-half hours due to weather and the resulting schedule adjustments, Texas won the doubles point at Nos. 2 and 1 and followed with singles victories by juniors No. 61 Micah Braswell at No. 3, No. 54 Siem Woldeab at No. 4, and Cleeve Harper at No. 5 for the clinch. It was the second-straight match the same singles players won in the same order, and the third-straight overall sweep for the Longhorns in NCAA tournament play.
After Texas took a 1-0 overall lead with the doubles point, Braswell was first off the singles court with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Will Jansen. Jansen's first three service games all went to deuce with Braswell breaking on the second for a 2-1 lead that he made 3-1 on serve. Jansen's final service game also went to deuce with Braswell breaking again for the set. Braswell then picked up the lone break of the second set for a 3-1 lead on the way to his win.
Woldeab would be next with a 6-4, 7-6 (1) victory over Karl Poling to extend the Longhorns' lead to 3-0. Woldeab broke first in the match for a 3-1 lead, however Poling answered it to get back on serve. That's where the first set stayed until Woldeab broke again in the final game for the win. Poling collected a break to start the second set, but Woldeab responded with 4-0 run capped by a deuce-point hold. Poling came back with a 3-0 run of his own to even it, but Woldeab regained the lead with another deuce-point hold for 5-4. After Poling held and broke to go up 6-5, Woldeab broke back on a deuce point to keep the set alive and head to a tiebreaker. There, Woldeab sprinted out to a 6-0 lead en route to a 7-1 win.
Moments later, Harper ended it with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Benjamin Kittay. Harper broke first in the match on a deuce point for 2-1 and then held for 3-1. Despite Kittay's next two serves going to deuce, he was able to hold both, and then got the break back to even it at 4-4. However, Harper answered the break in the next game before serving out the set. Harper grabbed another break to start the second set, but Kittay won consecutive deuce point to get back on serve up 2-1. Harper then captured the additional break he needed for a 4-3 lead with the rest of the match staying on serve, including the final game that Harper won on a deuce point.
That left three matches on the court, all of which were being led by the Longhorns. Junior No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri was up, 6-4, 6-6 (3-5) on No. 43 Brian Cernoch at No. 1 when play stopped. Spizzirri gathered the only break of the first set in the final game for the win. In the second, both players held their opening serve, but then three-straight breaks, including the first two at deuce, put Cernoch up 3-2, which he made 4-2 on serve on another deuce point. The next three games were then on serve with both of Spizzirri's going to deuce, but after that, he broke for 5-5 to get back on serve, where it stayed to the tiebreaker. In the breaker, Cernoch pushed out to a 4-1 lead, but Spizzirri had won two of the final three points when the match ended.
At No. 2, sophomore No. 28 Pierre-Yves Bailly was ahead of No. 58 Ryan Seggerman, 7-6 (6), 5-2, when play was done. The first set stayed on serve until Bailly broke for a 5-3 lead, but Seggerman responded with a 3-0 run that included a deuce-point break for a 6-5 lead. However, Bailly answered the break to send it to a tiebreaker. There, Seggerman moved ahead 3-0, but Bailly took the next two points, eventually evened it at 4-4, and then took his first lead at 5-4. The next two points would go to Seggerman, but Bailly fended off a match point to start a 3-0 run to his 8-6 win. In the second set, Bailly again broke first, this time on a deuce point, for a 2-1 lead that he made 3-1 on serve. The next three games all went to deuce with Seggerman holding in the first, but Bailly held and broke for the 5-2 edge at the end.
In the last match at No. 6, senior Nevin Arimilli led Logan Zapp, 1-6, 6-1, 3-1. Zapp controlled the first set by opening on a 4-0 run, but it was all Arimilli in the last two frames as he won nine of 11 games. Zapp's two wins were to trail 2-1 in the second and 3-1 in the third.
Earlier in doubles, Texas prevailed against two top-35 foes. Woldeab and Bailly swept No. 33 Cernoch and Kittay, 6-0, at No. 2, including deuce-point wins for 2-0 and 4-0. Harper and Spizzirri then topped No. 9 Seggerman and Casey Kania, 6-3, at No. 1. The Longhorns opened with a deuce-point hold and then captured two more deuce points on a hold for 3-2 and the first break of the match for 4-2. After Texas consolidated the break for 5-2, each team held its final service game at deuce for the UT victory.
In the remaining unfinished match, senior Chih Chi Huang and junior Evin McDonald were trailing Jansen and Poling, 5-4, at No. 3 but were on serve at the end. The first three games all went to deuce with Texas breaking first for a 2-1 lead. The Tar Heels broke right back, and the rest of the match stayed on serve until play stopped.
Texas (25-3) next faces the 9 seed No. 8 South Carolina in the Elite Eight on Thursday, May 18, at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla. The Longhorns and Gamecocks met at that same location in 2021 in the Round of 16 when there were 16 teams that advanced to the championship site, and Texas came away with a 4-3 win.
#1 Texas 4, #14 UNC 0
Singles – Order of Finish (3,4,5)
1. #1 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) vs. #43 Brian Cernoch (NC) 6-4, 6-6 (3-5), unf.
2. #28 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) vs. #58 Ryan Seggerman (NC) 7-6 (6), 5-2, unf.
3. #61 Micah Braswell (UT) def. Will Jansen (NC) 6-3, 6-3
4. #54 Siem Woldeab (UT) def. Karl Poling (NC) 6-4, 7-6 (1)
5. Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Benjamin Kittay (NC) 6-4, 6-4
6. Nevin Arimilli (UT) vs. Logan Zapp (NC) 1-6, 6-1, 3-1, unf.
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,1)
1. #3 Eliot Spizzirri/Cleeve Harper (UT) def. #9 Casey Kania/Ryan Seggerman (NC) 6-3
2. #75 Siem Woldeab/Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. #33 Brian Cernoch/Benjamin Kittay (NC) 6-0
3. Chih Chi Huang/Evin McDonald (UT) vs. Will Jansen/Karl Poling (NC) 4-5, unf.
