No. 1 Men's Tennis preview: NCAA First Round
No. 1 (1 seed) Texas vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
When: Saturday, May 6, 2023, 1 p.m. CT
Where: Texas Tennis Center, Austin, Texas
Team Records: Texas (22-3, 5-0 Big 12), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (20-7, 3-2 Southland)
Live Video: https://hookem.at/MTN-Watch
Live Stats: https://hookem.at/MTN-Stats
Web Broadcast (CrossCourt that will rotate matches around the country): Cracked Racquets (YouTube)
Updated Team Stats
Tournament Schedule
All times Central
Saturday, May 6 – First Round
10 a.m.: No. 32 Pepperdine vs. No. 39 UTSA
1 p.m.: No. 1 Texas vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Sunday, May 7 – Second Round
1 p.m.: Pepperdine/UTSA winner vs. TEXAS/Texas A&M-Corpus Christi winner
Notes
-Texas earns No. 1 overall seed in NCAA Championship
Texas earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 NCAA Championship, marking the first time in program history UT has been the top seed in the tournament, which dates back to 1977, after having been the No. 2 seed in 2019. It is also the third time in the last four years in which it has been played that the Longhorns have been a top-four seed, along with being No. 4 in 2021. It was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic. The Longhorns garnered their 31st consecutive bid to the NCAA Championships and their 40th overall selection since the NCAA bracketed tournament was introduced. They have compiled a 69-38 all-time record in the tournament. Texas hosts the opening rounds of the NCAA Championships for a sixth-straight year and for the eighth time in the last nine years in which the tournament has been held. Along with winning the 2019 National Championship, the Longhorns were the national runners-up in 2008, and additionally made it to the semifinals in 1993, 2006, 2009 and 2021. They have reached at least the round of 16 in each of the last eight years with four quarterfinals appearances in 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2021 in that span.
-Texas A&M-Corpus Christi series: Texas leads, 17-0
This will be the 18th meeting between the Longhorns and the Islanders with Texas winning the previous 17. They last met in 2021 at the Texas Tennis Center, which was a 5-0 decision for the Longhorns. Prior to that, they faced off in 2019, a 4-0 win for the Longhorns in Austin.
Last Meeting
#5 Texas 5, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0
Saturday, February 6, 2021
Austin, Texas • Texas Tennis Center
Singles – Order of Finish (6,2,1,3)
1. #120 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. Kyohei Yamanaka (AMCC) 6-3, 6-3
2. #78 Micah Braswell (UT) def. Ryuya Ata (AMCC) 6-1, 6-4
3. Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Nathan Schwartz (AMCC) 6-4, 6-3
4. Chih Chi Huang (UT) vs. Pascal Lorieul (AMCC) 7-6 (3), 1-1, unf.
5. Nevin Arimilli (UT) vs. Carlos Berna Ruiz (AMCC) 6-3, 1-6, 1-0, unf.
6. Leighton Allen (UT) def. Borja Delgado (AMCC) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,3)
1. Chih Chi Huang/Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. Ryuya Ata/Kyohei Yamanaka (AMCC) 6-1
2. Jacob Bullard/Payton Holden (UT) vs. Carlos Berna Ruiz/Pascal Lorieul (AMCC) 4-4, unf.
3. Micah Braswell/Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Chad Nguyen/Nathan Schwartz (AMCC) 6-2
-Texas vs. TAMCC in 2022-23 tournament play
N/A
-ITA Team Rankings
Texas was No. 1 in the latest computer rankings released May 4 by the ITA. The ranking is a return to the top spot for the Longhorns, which prior to this season, they last held in February of 2020. It's also the 75th-straight week in the top 15 dating back to April 2018. Meanwhile, TAMCC was not ranked.
-ITA Individual National Rankings
Texas had six listings in the ITA individual rankings that were released May 4 with four in singles and two doubles pairs. All four in singles were in the top 65 and one in the top five of doubles.
Texas
Singles
No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri
No. 28 Pierre-Yves Bailly
No. 54 Siem Woldeab
No. 61 Micah Braswell
Doubles
No. 3 Cleeve Harper/Eliot Spizzirri
No. 75 Siem Woldeab/Pierre-Yves Bailly
TAMCC
Singles
N/A
Doubles
N/A
-Trending
Eliot Spizzirri
The 2023 Big 12 Player of the Year and a first-team All-Big 12 selection in both singles and doubles, Spizzirri is now 32-4 overall in singles and 19-1 in dual matches, all of which have been at the No. 1 line. He became the first Longhorn since 2015 to ascend to No. 1 in the ITA singles rankings on Feb. 8 and has maintained that since. He has also been named the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Singles Championships and the No. 3 seed in the Doubles Championships, guaranteeing him All-America status in both when the ITA releases those later in the year. They will be the fourth and fifth All-America honors of his career and the second time he's earned them in both singles and doubles after doing so in 2021. His only four losses this year have come against Ethan Quinn of Georgia in tournament play, who later reached No. 1, Nishesh Basavareddy of Stanford, who later was ranked No. 2, in the final of the ITA Fall National Championships, and No. 77 Rafa Izquierdo Luque of NC State. Spizzirri lost twice to Quinn in the fall, but later avenged those by defeating him when Quinn was No. 1 in a dual match win over Georgia. Spizzirri is now 24-1 against all ranked singles players, including 16-0 against the top-50, and 11-0 versus the top-25. In doubles, he and Cleeve Harper are 20-13 overall and 15-9 in dual matches, all of those at No. 1, including six top-20 wins. They have registered wins in seven of their last nine matches. At the ITA Indoor Nationals, Spizzirri was named the Most Outstanding Player and to the All-Tournament Team at No. 1 singles. He was also tabbed to the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team at No. 1 singles and was the No. 1 singles position champion in the conference. Additionally, he has been named the Big 12 Player of the Week five times this season, which ties his own Big 12 single-season mark from 2021, and a record 10 times for his career.
Pierre-Yves Bailly
Bailly missed fall play with an injury, but has returned in the spring to garner first-team All-Big 12 honors in singles and second-team accolades in doubles, along with the conference No. 2 singles championship. He has posted a 14-8 overall record in singles, including 12-7 in dual matches, primarily at No. 2 where he is 11-5. Bailly has won eight of his last 10 matches, including coming up with one of his most impressive wins of the season when he defeated No. 16 Luc Fomba of TCU in straight sets to help defeat the top-ranked Horned Frogs in Fort Worth. He later clinched a second win over TCU that secured the outright Big 12 regular season title by downing No. 90 Jack Pinnington. He was also leading No. 26 Peter Makk of USC, 7-5, 5-2, when their match went unfinished. Bailly's highest ranked win of the season was another straight sets victory over No. 10 Philip Henning of No. 12 Georgia in January. He also clinched matches at No. 41 Baylor, over No. 18 Arizona, and the Longhorns' other win over a No. 1 when they topped Ohio State at the ITA Indoors. In doubles, Bailly has paired with Siem Woldeab in every dual match, compiling a 12-7 record with all but one of those wins coming at No. 2, while the other was at No. 3. They have also won six of their last nine decisions. The duo has combined for two top-50 wins, including the one match at No. 3, which was over No. 43 Jonah Braswell and Lucas Greif of Florida, along with a win against No. 29 Rafa Izquierdo Luque and Joseph Wayand of NC State. They have clinched six doubles points against Florida, Arizona, Wake Forest, Texas A&M and twice against Oklahoma.
Micah Braswell
Limited by injury recently, Micah Braswell returned to the singles lineup against Baylor on April 8 after missing the four previous matches against USC, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. He put together a solid win in his return, downing No. 53 Finn Bass, 6-2, 6-2, and followed with a victory over No. 25 Luc Fomba of TCU. He is now 13-11 overall this year and 9-9 in dual matches, primarily at No. 3 where he is 8-6. Of his 13 wins, eight have been against ranked opponents, including No. 9 JJ Tracy in the Longhorns' win over No. 1 Ohio State at the ITA Indoors. Braswell also clinched the match against No. 14 Arizona in the ITA Kickoff that sent Texas to the ITA Indoors with a win over No. 117 Gustaf Strom. In doubles, Braswell was not in the lineup to start the season, but returned with traditional partner Chih Chi Huang at No. 3, first for the match against Arizona in the ITA Kickoff and then for the rematch against the Wildcats in the regular non-conference match on Feb. 12. He remained in the doubles lineup through March 22 when he stopped due to his injury, registering a 5-3 record with Huang that has included three clinches in the second match against Arizona, followed by Michigan and Texas A&M. He again returned to doubles against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship semifinals.
Siem Woldeab
Woldeab, who earned second-team All-Big 12 honors in both singles and doubles, is 26-10 overall and 15-7 in dual matches this year, playing mostly at No. 4 where he is 8-6, but has also registered a 6-1 mark at No. 3. He got off to a blistering start in fall play, winning 11 of his first 12 matches with all but one of the wins coming against top-100 opponents, five of those against top-50 foes and two in the top 15. In dual match play, he is 4-2 against ranked players. In doubles, Woldeab has paired with Pierre-Yves Bailly in every dual match, compiling a 12-7 record with all but one of those wins coming at No. 2, while the other was at No. 3. They have also won six of their last nine decisions. The duo has combined for two top-50 wins, including the one match at No. 3 which was over No. 43 Jonah Braswell and Lucas Greif of Florida, along with a win against No. 29 Rafa Izquierdo Luque and Joseph Wayand of NC State. They have clinched six doubles points against Florida, Arizona, Wake Forest, Texas A&M and twice against Oklahoma.
Cleeve Harper
Harper has played through injury this season, notching a 16-10 overall singles record and an 13-6 dual match mark, mostly at No. 5 where he is 10-3. He has missed three singles contests in dual matches, but has played in all 25 in doubles. He and Eliot Spizzirri earned first-team All-Big 12 honors and the conference No. 1 doubles championship and are 15-9 in dual matches this season with all coming at No. 1, including six top-20 wins. Overall, the duo is 20-13 in doubles contests this year and has registered wins in seven of their last eight matches.
Nevin Arimilli
Arimilli has emerged as a regular at No. 6 singles line where he is 7-2 in this season, along with going 3-1 at No. 5 where he won the conference position co-championship. He has played singles in the last 12 matches, winning seven out of his nine decisions and clinching a string of three straight against Stanford, NC State and UCF. Against NC State, the overall match came down to his court where he emerged in a third-set tiebreaker after rallying from a 5-3 deficit in the breaker with four-straight points. He has also played in 16 of the last 18 duals. One of his best matches of the season came in the team's win over No. 3 TCU on April 15 to win the Big 12 regular season championship, which was also Senior Day. Arimilli's point evened the overall match at 2-2 on the way to the win.
Chih Chi Huang
Huang was limited in the fall while returning from injury, but began the dual match season at No. 6 singles, also playing some at No. 5 with others out of the lineup, and is 2-4 in duals, winning his first two matches at Florida and against UTSA. He has played in all 25 dual matches in doubles with 24 of those coming at No. 3 where he first paired with Eshan Talluri in six before reuniting with Micah Braswell for the next 10 after playing one earlier contest with Braswell. He had a 5-5 combined record in those and was 5-2 with Braswell (now 5-3), including three clinches in the second match against Arizona, followed by Michigan and Texas A&M. With Braswell injured and out for the next six doubles matches, he paired with Evin McDonald for a tiebreaker win at No. 3 to help Texas win the doubles point against the Trojans, and then clinched the point with McDonald against the Cowboys and Red Raiders. They also won at Baylor to give them victories in all four of their decisions and were reward with the conference No. 3 doubles title. Braswell returned to doubles with Huang against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship semifinals, but McDonald joined Huang in the final in a match that went unfinished in a tiebreaker against No. 18 Sander Jong and Lui Maxted of TCU.
Evin McDonald
McDonald is 13-7 overall in singles this year and 5-3 in duals, all coming at No. 6. He has won his four of his last five matches, including clinches over Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. His highest ranked win came in the fall over No. 113 Wojtek Marek of USC. With Micah Braswell injured, he saw his first dual match action in doubles combining with Chih Chi Huang at No. 3 to help secure the point versus USC, and then clinching against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. They also won at Baylor to give them victories in all four of their decisions and were reward with the conference No. 3 doubles title. McDonald joined Huang again in the final of the Big 12 Championship in a match that went unfinished in a tiebreaker against No. 18 Sander Jong and Lui Maxted of TCU.
Eshan Talluri
Talluri has developed his game, especially in doubles, going 8-4 in the fall with Siem Woldeab before moving into the dual match lineup for six of the first seven matches at No. 3 with Chih Chi Huang. He also went 9-5 in singles in tournament play, capped by a straight-sets win over No. 21 Blake Croyder of Georgia at the Miami Spring Invite, 6-1, 6-4.
-Berque at the Helm
Bruce Berque is in his fifth season as head coach, having taken over midway through 2019. From there, he has led the Longhorns to an 92-25 overall record (.786), including 22-3 this season with the Big 12 regular season championship and the program's first appearance in the finals of the ITA National Indoors Championship. During an injury-plagued 2022, the team still managed an 18-11 mark with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. His overall record at UT also includes a 24-6 mark in 2021 with an appearance in the Final Four, 13-3 in a pandemic shortened 2020, and 15-2 in 2019 en route to the guiding Texas to its first team National Championship. UT also earned the Big 12 regular season championships in 2019 and 2021. Texas finished ranked in the top four in three of those years at No. 3 in 2021, No. 4 in 2020 and No. 1 in 2019, while ranking No. 12 in 2022.
-NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships
-Texas had three singles players and one doubles pair selected to compete individually in the 2023 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. The singles players are Eliot Spizzirri, who was named the top seed, along with Pierre-Yves Bailly and Siem Woldeab, while the doubles team is Spizzirri with junior Cleeve Harper as the 3 seed. Additionally, Micah Braswell was named one of 10 alternates for a singles bid should there be withdrawals. With Spizzirri in singles and the duo of Spizzirri and Harper in doubles both earning seeded positioning, they are automatically qualified for All-America status by the ITA.
-Pulling in the Big 12 honors
Texas earned several Big 12 Men's Tennis postseason awards, including Eliot Spizzirri as Player of the Year, five All-Big 12 selections with three of those on the first team, and a conference-leading six individual champions. Spizzirri became the sixth Longhorn to be named the Big 12 Men's Player of the Year with the last being Christian Sigsgaard, who shared the honor in 2019. The others include Søren Hess-Olesen in 2014, Dimitar Kutrovsky in 2010, Travis Helgeson in 2006 and Jean Simon in 2002. The All-Big 12 team honorees included first-team selections in Spizzirri and sophomore Pierre-Yves Bailly in singles and the duo of Spizzirri and junior Cleeve Harper in doubles. Junior Siem Woldeab earned second-team accolades in singles, while the pair of Woldeab and Bailly was also on the second team in doubles. The conference also honored individual champions at each position based on record in conference play, and Texas garnered a league-leading six with no other team having more than two. In singles, the Longhorns had a champion at the top three lines, including Spizzirri at No. 1, Bailly at No. 2, and Woldeab at No. 3 as a co-champion. Senior Nevin Arimilli was then also a co-champion at No. 5. In doubles, it was Spizzirri and Harper at No. 1, along with the combo of senior Chih Chi Huang and junior Evin McDonald at No. 3.
-Texas-TCU round four
The Longhorns and Horned Frogs met for the fourth time this season in the final of the Big 12 Championship in Lawrence, Kansas, on April 22. TCU won the match to split the four contests, 2-2, and it was just the third loss of the season for Texas, all against teams ranked in the top three. That includes two to the Horned Frogs when they were ranked No. 3 both times, and one at Ohio State, which was ranked No. 2. Texas' two wins over TCU came when the Horned Frogs were No. 1 and No. 3, at Fort Worth, and for the Big 12 regular season title, respectively. The Longhorns also avenged the loss to the Buckeyes when they were No. 1.
-Red River sweep
Texas defeated No. 35 Oklahoma, 4-2, in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship on April 22. The Longhorns won a dramatic doubles point, taking matches at Nos. 1 and 2 with the deciding match at No. 2 coming down to a tiebreaker. They then followed with singles wins by Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2, Cleeve Harper at No. 5, and Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1. It was the second win of the year against the Sooners after a 6-1 victory in Austin on April 2.
-Big 12 Champs
The Longhorns finished their Big 12 slate with a perfect 5-0 record and captured the outright Big 12 regular season title with a 5-2 win over No. 3 TCU in front of a record crowd of 1,332 at the Texas Tennis Center on April 15. It marked the third regular season conference championship in the last four completed years and the 10th overall in program history, including six outright. After the Horned Frogs won the doubles point, the Longhorns picked up five singles wins from Cleeve Harper at No. 5, Nevin Arimilli at No. 6, Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2 for the clinch, and Micah Braswell at No. 3.
-Senior Day
Members of the 2019 National Championship team and 2021 Final Four squad, Nevin Arimilli and Chih Chi Huang have personified all of the values of the Texas tennis program both on and off the court and have defined what it means to be a great teammate over the course of their five years on the 40 acres. In addition to hoisting two Big 12 Championship trophies and reaching at least the NCAA round of 16 each year, their teams have finished in the top-12 of the ITA rankings every season with three in the top four. They also helped this year's team become the first in program history to reach the final of the ITA National Indoor Championships. For his career, Arimilli has posted overall records of 44-30 in singles and 21-18 in doubles. Huang has been a significant contributor in each of his seasons, totaling a 71-51 overall singles record, including 45-28 in dual matches, and an 83-60 doubles mark, going 54-43 in dual contests. They were honored on the court prior to the TCU match on April 15.
-Spizzirri ties Big 12 Player of the Week season record
Eliot Spizzirri was named Big 12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week for the week ending April 9. With the honor, he ties his own single-season Big 12 record with his fifth this year and extends his own career record to 10. He previously had five in a season in 2021. Spizzirri led Texas to two Big 12 road wins starting with a 5-2 victory at No. 37 Texas Tech on Thursday, followed by a 4-0 sweep at No. 41 Baylor on Saturday. In doing so, he went a combined 3-0 on the top line in singles and doubles with all three coming over top-80 opponents, including one top-20.
-Winning in Waco
The Longhorns swept No. 41 Baylor, 4-0, on April 8 at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco. Texas secured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 1 and followed with singles victories by Micah Braswell at No. 3, Siem Woldeab at No. 4, and Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2 to clinch. The win snapped a string of four-straight for the Bears.
-Hitting the road in the Big 12
Texas defeated No. 37 Texas Tech, 5-2, on April 6 at the McLeod Tennis Center in Lubbock in the Longhorns' first Big 12 road match of the season. UT secured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3 and followed with singles victories by Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2, Siem Woldeab at No. 3 to clinch, and Evin McDonald at No. 6.
-Red River victory
The Longhorns downed No. 39 Oklahoma, 6-1, on April 2 at the Texas Tennis Center to complete a home sweep of their opening Big 12 matches against the Sooners and Oklahoma State. Texas secured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2 and followed with singles victories by Cleeve Harper at No. 4, Siem Woldeab at No. 3, Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1 to clinch, Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2, and Nevin Arimilli at No. 5.
-Winning the Big 12 opener
Texas won its Big 12 Conference opener, 5-2, over Oklahoma State on March 31 at the Texas Tennis Center. The Longhorns secured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3 and followed with singles victories by Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, Siem Woldeab at No. 3, Evin McDonald at No. 6 for the clinch, and Nevin Arimilli at No. 5.
-Spizzirri sets Big 12 Player of the Week record
Eliot Spizzirri was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the week ending March 26, which was the ninth of his career, setting a conference record previously held by former Longhorn Yuya Ito, who had eight. It was also the fourth time he earned the honor this season. Spizzirri led Texas to a pair 4-1 wins against top-10 foes, including at No. 1 TCU and at home against No. 10 USC. In doing so, he went a combined 4-0 on the top line in singles and doubles with three of those coming over top-35 opponents. Additionally, he clinched the doubles point and the overall match in both contests.
-Victory over USC
Texas defeated No. 10 USC, 4-1, at the Texas Tennis Center on March 26 to conclude non-conference play and earn their fourth-straight win against the Trojans over the last two years in the series. The Longhorns captured a dramatic doubles point where all three matches went to a tiebreaker, winning at Nos. 3 and 1, before collecting singles victories by Siem Woldeab at No. 3, Cleeve Harper at No. 4, and Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1 for the clinch.
-Avengers take down their second No. 1
When the Longhorns defeated No. 1 TCU in Fort Worth on March 22, it was not only their second win over a No. 1 this season after topping Ohio State at the ITA Indoors, but it also made it to where they have avenged their only two losses. Texas had been defeated by the Buckeyes in Columbus prior to that, and by TCU in the final of the ITA Indoors before downing both in the rematches. In the 4-1 win over the Horned Frogs, the Longhorns won the doubles point in a tiebreaker of the deciding match at No. 1 by Cleeve Harper and Eliot Spizzirri, before singles victories by Nevin Arimilli at No. 6, Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2, and the clincher by Spizzirri at No. 1.
-Victorious return to Lake Nona
Texas defeated No. 67 UCF, 4-3, at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla., on March 18. The Longhorns won four-consecutive singles matches to clinch at 4-1 on the way to the final. After dropping the doubles point, UT picked up three singles victories within minutes of each other from Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, Evin McDonald at No. 6, and Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2. Senior Nevin Arimilli then clinched his third-straight match to cap the run with his win at No. 5.
-Comeback against the Pack
The Longhorns rallied for a 4-3 win over No. 20 NC State in Austin on March 14. Texas trailed 3-1 before winning three-consecutive singles matches, including the last two in three sets with the final match decided in a tiebreaker. In all, Texas won four singles matches, including Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2, Cleeve Harper at No. 5, Micah Braswell at No. 3, and Nevin Arimilli at No. 6 to clinch his second-straight match for the team. It was Arimilli who went to the tiebreaker and overcame a 5-3 deficit in that to win.
-Holding the Card
Texas downed No. 25 Stanford, 5-2, at the Bay Club in South San Francisco, Calif., on March 10. The match had been moved indoors and offsite from the Stanford campus due to weather, but the Longhorns prevailed for their ninth top-25 win of the season. Texas won the doubles point with victories at Nos. 2 and 3 and followed with singles wins by Siem Woldeab at No. 4, Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, Nevin Arimilli at No. 6 to clinch, and Cleeve Harper at No. 5.
-Spizzirri named Big 12 Player of the Week (Feb. 28)
Eliot Spizzirri was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 26. It marked the third time he earned the honor this season and the eighth time in his career. Spizzirri led Texas to a 5-2 win over No. 40 Texas A&M on Feb. 25 with a 6-3, 7-5 win over No. 63 Noah Schachter at No. 1 singles, along with a 6-2 win with partner Cleeve Harper over Schachter and Trey Hilderbrand at No. 1 that helped secure the doubles point against the Aggies.
-Four-straight over the Aggies
Texas defeated No. 40 Texas A&M, 5-2, on Feb. 26 the Longhorns' fourth-straight win in the all-time series. The Longhorns won the doubles point with victories at Nos. 1 and 2 and followed with singles wins by juniors No. 54 Micah Braswell at No. 3, No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, Evin McDonald at No. 6 to clinch at 4-1, and No. 22 Siem Woldeab at No. 4.
-The MOP
Eliot Spizzirri was tabbed the ITA Indoor Nationals Most Outstanding Player and to the All-Tournament Team at the No. 1 singles line. Spizzirri played four singles matches and went 2-0 with wins over Justin Boulais of No. 1 Ohio State, and No. 7 Andrew Fenty to clinch over No. 4 Michigan. He was also one game away from a potential win over Melios Efstathiou of Wake Forest when the match was clinched and had just forced a third set against No. 17 Jake Fearnley of TCU when that match concluded.
-First-ever final at ITA Indoor Nationals
Texas traveled to Chicago for the ITA National Indoor Championships from Feb. 17-20 and came home with the program's first trip to the tournament final and first runner-up trophy. In doing so, the Longhorns completed an impressive run that featured five victories over ranked opponents with three of those coming against the top-10, including No. 22 Cal and No. 14 Arizona at the ITA Kickoff Weekend earlier in Austin, followed by No. 9 Wake Forest, No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan before finally falling to No. 3 TCU in Chicago.
-Avengers top Michigan
The Longhorns avenged their 2022 NCAA Round of 16 loss to Michigan with a 4-3 victory at the ITA Indoors on Feb. 19. For the second-straight day, Texas earned a top-five win and delivered an opponent its first loss of the season as the Wolverines entered match at 12-0. The Longhorns captured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3, including a dramatic tiebreaker to clinch at No. 3, before adding singles victories from Cleeve Harper at No. 5, Siem Woldeab at No. 4, and Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1 to clinch.
-Avengers take down No. 1
Texas rebounded from its loss earlier in the season at Ohio State in Columbus on Feb. 5 with a 4-3 win over the Buckeyes at the ITA Indoors on Feb. 18 after the Buckeyes had risen to No. 1. Despite dropping the doubles point, the eighth-seeded Longhorns rallied for four singles victories, including Nevin Arimilli at No. 6, Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, Micah Braswell at No. 3, and Pierre-Yves Bailly for the clinch at No. 2. It was Ohio State's first loss of the season after starting 13-0.
-Sweeping the Deacons
The Longhorns swept No. 9 Wake Forest, 4-0, in the Round of 16 at the ITA National Indoor Championships. Texas won the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2 and recorded singles victories by Micah Braswell at No. 3, Cleeve Harper at No. 112, and Nevin Arimilli at No. 6 for the clinch.
-Spizzirri named Big 12 Player of the Week (Feb. 14)
Eliot Spizzirri was chosen Big 12 Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 12. It marked the second time this season and the seventh in his career. Spizzirri posted three overall wins during the week, including two top-100 singles victories, in leading Texas to a 2-0 record in home matches against Pepperdine (5-2) and No. 18 Arizona (4-2).
-Twice as nice against the Wildcats
Texas topped No. 18 Arizona, 4-2, on Feb. 12 at the Texas Tennis Center to give the Longhorns their second win over the Wildcats in two weeks. The teams met on Jan. 29 in Austin at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center as part of the ITA Kickoff Weekend with Texas winning that match, 4-0. The Longhorns took a tightly-contested doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3, including a tiebreaker at No. 3, and followed with singles victories by Siem Woldeab at No. 4, Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, and Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2.
-Surfing the Wave
The Longhorns defeated Pepperdine, 5-2, on Feb. 11 at the Texas Tennis Center by capturing five singles victories. Those included Micah Braswell at No. 4, Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, Siem Woldeab at No. 3, Cleeve Harper at No. 5 for the clinch, and Nevin Arimilli at No. 6. They lifted Texas past the Waves after having fallen in the doubles point earlier in the match.
-Spizzirri is No. 1
Eliot Spizzirri reached No. 1 in the initial spring Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) singles rankings released on Feb. 8. In doing so, Spizzirri became the first Longhorn to earn the top spot in singles since Søren Hess-Olesen in 2015.
-Top-10 matchup in Columbus
Texas dropped its first match of the season, falling to No. 2 Ohio State, 4-0, at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center in Columbus on Feb. 5. The Longhorns had a difficult time with deuce points throughout the early half of the match as the Buckeyes won the only two during doubles and then all 10 throughout the first sets across the six singles courts. Texas turned that around in the second sets, winning nine out of 12, but it was too late to rally in the overall match.
-Pac-ing up and heading to the ITA Indoors
Texas put together a pair of ranked wins over the Pac-12 to win the ITA Kickoff Austin Regional title and advance to the ITA National Indoor Championships for the fifth-straight year. UT downed No. 22 Cal, 4-1, on Jan. 28 and followed that with a 4-0 sweep of No. 14 Arizona on Jan. 29. Both matches were played at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center due to weather. Cleeve Harper went a combined 4-0 in the matches with a top-80 singles win against Arizona, while Eliot Spizzirri was 3-0 and in position for a top-20 singles win against the Wildcats in a match that went unfinished, and Siem Woldeab was 3-1 with a top-60 win against Arizona and his only defeat being a doubles tiebreaker against Cal.
-Spizzirri named Big 12 Player of the Week (Jan. 24)
Eliot Spizzirri was tabbed Big 12 Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 22. It marked his first this season and the sixth in his career. Texas opened the year with back-to-back awards following Siem Woldeab's the previous week. In two dual matches, he registered three top-20 wins, two top-10 victories and capped it with a win over the No. 1 singles player in the country Ethan Quinn to clinch both doubles points and both overall matches in Texas' wins against UTSA (7-0) and No. 12 Georgia (4-3). He also paired with Cleeve Harper for doubles wins over the No. 19 duo of Quinn and Trent Bryde and No. 6 pair Alan Magadan and Sebastian Rodriguez of UTSA.
-Horns take down Dawgs
The Longhorns downed No. 12 Georgia, 4-3, at the Texas Tennis Center on Jan. 22. Texas claimed the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 1, including clinching at No. 1 in a dramatic tiebreaker, along with singles victories by Siem Woldeab at No. 3, Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2 and No. 3 Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1 to clinch the overall match. Spizzirri's came over No. 1 Ethan Quinn.
-Texas sweeps UTSA in home opener
The Longhorns secured a 7-0 sweep over UTSA in the 2023 home opener on Jan. 20. Texas claimed the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 1, including a top-10 win for Eliot Spizzirri and Cleeve Harper at No. 1, along with singles victories by Siem Woldeab at No. 2, Evin McDonald at No. 6, Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1 to clinch, Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 3, Chih Chi Huang at No. 5, and Cleeve Harper at No. 4.
-Woldeab tabbed Big 12 Player of the Week (Jan. 17)
Siem Woldeab was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 15. It was Woldeab's first weekly honor of the season and the second of his career. He produced strong results in both singles and doubles in leading Texas to a 5-2 win at No. 13 Florida. Woldeab paired with Pierre-Yves Bailly to be first off the court on the way to the Longhorns winning the doubles point, downing the No. 43 duo of Jonah Braswell and Lukas Greif at No. 3. He was then also first off the court in singles with a victory over Greif at No. 4. The Longhorns clinched the match at 4-1 and extended to 5-1 before the eventual 5-2 final.
-Texas opens season with win at No. 13 Florida
Texas opened 2023 with a 5-2 win at No. 13 Florida in Gainesville, Fla., on Jan. 15. It marked the 26th-straight year the Longhorns started the season with a victory, dating back to 1998. The Longhorns put together two solid doubles wins at Nos. 1 and 3 before taking singles matches by Siem Woldeab at No. 4, Cleeve Harper at No. 5, Chih Chi Huang at No. 6 to clinch it, and Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1.
-Longhorns sweep titles at Miami Invite
Texas opened spring play by winning both the singles and doubles titles at the Miami Spring Invite in the tournament that ran from Jan. 6-8 in Coral Gables, Fla. Eliot Spizzirri posted a perfect 3-0 singles record to take that top honor, while the pair of Chih Chi Huang and Eshan Talluri matched it to earn the doubles nod. On the final day of play, the Longhorns secured three top-25 singles victories against players from Georgia with Pierre-Yves Bailly knocking off No. 1 Ethan Quinn, Spizzirri topping No. 10 Philip Henning, and Talluri downing No. 21 Blake Croyder for his first career win over a ranked opponent in singles.
-Challenging non-conference schedule
The Longhorns had 17 non-conference dual matches this season against teams that appeared in the ITA national rankings that started with a 5-2 road win at No. 13 Florida to open dual match play on Jan. 15. The Longhorns also had road matches at No. 2 Ohio State (Feb. 5/L, 4-0), No. 25 Stanford (Mar. 9/W, 5-2), No. 67 UCF (Mar. 18/W, 4-3) and No. 1 TCU (Mar. 22/W, 4-1) with the match against TCU coming prior to Big 12 play to make it non-conference. At home, Texas welcomed No. 12 Georgia (Jan. 22/W, 4-3), RV Pepperdine (Feb. 10/W, 5-2), No. 18 Arizona (Feb. 12/W, 4-2), No. 40 Texas A&M (Feb. 26/W, 5-2), No. 20 NC State (Mar. 14/W, 4-3) and No. 10 USC (Mar. 26/W, 4-1). The Longhorns also played No. 22 Cal (Jan. 28/W, 4-1) and No. 14 Arizona (Jan. 29/W, 4-0) in the ITA Kickoff Weekend, and No. 9 Wake Forest (Feb. 17/W, 4-0), No. 1 Ohio State (Feb. 18, W, 4-3), No. 4 Michigan (Feb. 19, W, 4-3) and No. 3 TCU Feb. 20 (L, 4-0) at the ITA Indoors.
-Back from 2022
In the fifth season under head coach Bruce Berque, Texas returned almost all of its singles and doubles lineups from a team that persevered through an injury-plagued 2022, but still finished with an 18-11 record, its eighth-straight season of 18-plus wins, an appearance in an eighth-straight NCAA Sweet 16, and a fourth-straight ITA National Indoors quarterfinals. The lone departure was senior Richard Ciamarra, who went out in style by combining with Cleeve Harper to win the NCAA Doubles National Championship. That duo earned doubles All-America honors, as did the combo of Eliot Spizzirri and Siem Woldeab. Micah Braswell was a first-team All-Big 12 selection in singles, while Spizzirri and Pierre-Yves Bailly were second-team in singles. Bailly was also named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Chih Chi Huang and Evin McDonald return after combining to play a majority of the matches at No. 6 singles, as do Nevin Arimilli and Eshan Talluri.
-Doubles National Champions
Cleeve Harper and Richard Ciamarra won the 2022 NCAA Doubles National Championship last May at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Champaign, Ill. It marked the seventh doubles title in UT history by six different pairs, and the first since 2015 when Lloyd Glasspool and Søren Hess-Olesen won it. It is also just the second since 1944 when John Hickman and Felix Kelley won it, while Hickman and Walter Driver took it in 1943. The others include Bruce Barnes and Karl Kamrath in 1931, and back-to-back wins by Lewis White and Louis Thalheimer in 1923 and 1924.
-Brown arrives on the 40
The Longhorns add one new face for 2023 in true freshman Lucas Brown from Plano, Texas. Brown is a January enrollee who was the top-ranked player in the state of Texas and rated No. 6 nationally by TennisRecruiting.net. Throughout his juniors career, he has earned a total of 19 USTA National Balls, including eight gold, nine silver and two bronze. He has also earned a No. 1 USTA national ranking in every age division from 12s-18s. Brown completed most of his high school coursework at iUniversity Prep and spent his final semester at the Laurel Springs School.
-Fall Wrap-up
The Longhorns had a number of impressive results during 2022 fall play, highlighted by Eliot Spizzirri making the singles final of the ITA National Fall Championships, and the semifinals of the ITA All-American Championships. Spizzirri also partnered with Cleeve Harper to reach the doubles semifinals of the All-Americans and the Round of 16 at Fall Nationals. The duo twice defeated the No. 2-ranked doubles pair of Stefan Dostanic and Bradley Frye of USC during the fall. Siem Woldeab was also exceptional in singles play, posting an 11-2 record with 10 of those wins coming against ranked opponents, two against top-15 players, and the lone two defeats both coming against top-40 foes. He reached the final of the Commodore Invitational and made the Round of 16 of the ITA All-Americans. Micah Braswell was limited in the fall, but still reached the quarterfinals of the All-Americans, while Evin McDonald (8-2) and Eshan Talluri (7-4) both registered solid fall records. Pierre-Yves Bailly missed the fall with an injury.
-Year Six at the Texas Tennis Center
Texas opened its sixth year at the Texas Tennis Center with a 7-0 sweep of UTSA and followed with wins over No. 12 Georgia, Pepperdine, No. 18 Arizona, No. 40 Texas A&M, No. 20 NC State, No. 10 USC, No. 34 Oklahoma State, No. 39 Oklahoma, and No. 3 TCU for a 10-0 mark this season and a 68-8 (.895) overall in its history. Additionally, an all-time Texas Tennis attendance record of 1,332 was set against TCU. Last season, the Longhorns posted a 10-3 record with the only losses coming to top-five teams by 4-3 scores against No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Ohio State, and 6-0 to No. 4 Baylor. Texas posted a 14-2 mark in 2021, which included wins over No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 9 Florida and No. 15 Arizona. In a shortened season in 2020, UT recorded a 9-0 record with wins against No. 8 Stanford, No. 18 Georgia and No. 21 Florida State. The Longhorns finished 2019 at 15-1, including wins over No. 1 Ohio State, No. 6 Baylor and No. 12 Columbia, along with three NCAA Tournament victories. The lone loss that year came to No. 15 USC. During its inaugural season, Texas posted a 10-2 record, including winning the 2018 Big 12 Tournament.
