Austin – No. 3 Texas Men's Tennis captured a 7-0 sweep over Abilene Christian at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center on Sunday. It marked the second-straight match the Longhorns produced a sweep without dropping a set.
The Longhorns claimed the doubles point, winning all three of their doubles matches, along with singles victories by seniors No. 101 Siem Woldeab at No. 4 and No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, junior No. 49 Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 3, sophomore No. 28 Jonah Braswell at No. 5, and freshmen Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 2 and Lucas Brown at No. 6.
In doubles, senior Micah Braswell and Gilles-Arnaud Bailly were the first off the court with a 6-0 win over Dario Kmet and Mihaly Deli at No. 2. Then, just seconds after, Pierre-Yves Bailly and Woldeab clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 win over Ethan Scribner and Daniel Morozov at No. 1. ACU's Scribner and Morozov managed to hold their first serve, which was decided by on a deuce point, but it proved to be all Bailly and Woldeab would allow in the match. Jonah Braswell and Brown played out the third match and took down Jose Maria Rastrojo and Merse Deli, 6-2, at No. 3. Texas held on a deuce point in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead on the way to the victory.
In singles, Woldeab was the first off the court with a speedy 6-2, 6-1 win over Merse Deli. Woldeab began the match with a 3-0 lead before Deli responded with a hold for 3-1. Woldeab answered the hold to make the score 4-1, and the final three games were breaks earning Woldeab the first set. The second set began with a 5-0 run by Woldeab until Deli snapped the streak on a deuce point hold in the sixth game, but it would be the only win in the set for Deli as Woldeab answered with a deuce-point hold of his own in the deciding game that followed.
Jonah Braswell extended the Texas lead to 3-0 with his 6-1, 6-1 win against Dennis Dutine. Braswell claimed the first five games before Dutine managed to break on a deuce point in the sixth game. However, Braswell would break back, giving him the first set. The second set once again saw the sophomore jump out to a commanding 4-0 lead. Dutine was able to hold in the fifth game, but lost his momentum by dropping the next game on a deuce point before Braswell proceeded to win the match in the next game.
Gilles-Arnaud Bailly then clinched the match for Texas with his 6-0, 6-2 win over Kmet. Bailly swept the first set with a break in the opening game, followed by deuce-point wins in the next two on his way to the 6-0 win. Kmet then held his first two serves of the second set on deuce points in the first and third games, but it was all Bailly from there, as he responded with a 5-0 run to win the match.
Pierre-Yves Bailly added to the Texas lead by taking down Mihaly Deli, 6-3, 6-1. Bailly trailed 0-2 at the beginning of the match, but answered with authority as he won the next three to take the lead. That was part of his capturing 12 of the following 14 games for the win.
With Texas leading, 5-0, two Longhorns were finalizing their matches. On court one, Spizzirri defeated Morozov, 6-4, 6-2. In the first set, Spizzirri broke in the opening game and then held on a deuce point for a 2-0 lead. That first game would prove to be the only break of the set on the way to his win. The second set began with a deuce-point break for Spizzirri, propelling him to a 4-0 lead. Starting in the fifth game, each player held serve for the remainder of the match with games five and six being decided on deuce points.
On court six, Brown downed Scribner, 6-2, 6-2, in the final match of the contest. Brown took a 5-1 lead in the first set before dropping a set point at deuce, but the freshman wasted no time and won the next game to take the set. In the second, Brown opened with a break, and the set stayed on serve from there until Brown broke again for 5-2. The final game went to deuce, when for the second-straight match, Brown delivered an ace for the win.
Up next, Texas will face the nation's top-ranked team, Virginia, on Thursday at 5 p.m. CT at the Texas Tennis Center in a rematch of last year's NCAA Final Four contest, which the Cavaliers won, 4-1.
#3 Texas 7, Abilene Christian 0
Singles – Order of Finish (4,5,2,3,1,6)
1. #1 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. Daniel Morozov (ACU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Gilles-Arnaud Bailly (UT) def. Dario Kmet (ACU) 6-0, 6-2
3. #49 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. Mihaly Deli (ACU) 6-3, 6-1
4. #101 Siem Woldeab (UT) def. Merse Deli (ACU) 6-2, 6-1
5. #28 Jonah Braswell (UT) def. Dennis Dutine (ACU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Lucas Brown (UT) def. Ethan Scribner (ACU) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,1,3)
1. Siem Woldeab/Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. Ethan Scribner/Daniel Morozov (ACU) 6-1
2. Micah Braswell/Gilles-Arnaud Bailly (UT) def. Dario Kmet/Mihaly Deli (ACU) 6-0
3. Jonah Braswell/Lucas Brown (UT) def. Jose Maria Rastrojo/Merse Deli (ACU) 6-2
