Austin - Texas Men's Tennis juniors Eliot Spizzirri and Cleeve Harper were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Men's Tennis Team, the organization announced Wednesday. Spizzirri earned first-team honors, and Harper received second-team accolades for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom.
Texas was the only Division I school to have more than one representative on the overall team, which was made up of six selections each on first, second and third teams.
This marks the first year there have been all-district and All-America teams unique to tennis after it was previously part of an at-large category made up of multiple sports. Junior Micah Braswell and sophomore Pierre-Yves Bailly had previously been chosen to the all-district team with Spizzirri and Harper.
This season, Spizzirri and Harper combined to finish as runners-up the NCAA Doubles Championship, following Harper winning the title in 2022 with then-partner Richard Ciamarra. Spizzirri and Harper will both receive ITA All-America honors in doubles, which will be the third-straight year for Spizzirri and second-straight for Harper. Spizzirri will also be an All-American in singles for the second time after doing so in 2021.
Spizzirri was the 2023 Big 12 Player of the Year and ranked No. 1 in the nation throughout the dual match season, making him the first UT player to hold the top spot since 2015. He was also the conference position champion at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles. He registered a 36-5 overall singles record and was 20-1 in dual matches, all at No.1. A finance major with a better than 3.8 GPA, Spizzirri is a three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete, and a two-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection.
In addition to the NCAA tournament success, Harper garnered first-team All-Big 12 accolades in doubles with Spizzirri and won the conference individual title with him at the No. 1 position, while posting a 19-11 overall singles record, including 16-7 in dual matches playing predominantly at No. 5 where he was 13-4. A major in human dimensions of organizations with a better than 3.5 GPA, Harper is a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2020 and 2021, and a three-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection.
To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at their current institution. Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50-percent of the team's games. No student-athlete is eligible until they have completed one full calendar year at their current institution and been on a college roster in that sport for two years.
