Austin – No. 3 Texas Men's Tennis rallied to top No. 20 NC State, 4-3, at the Texas Tennis Center on Tuesday. The Longhorns 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 sophomore No. 40 Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2, junior Cleeve Harper at No. 5, junior No. 67 Micah Braswell at No. 3, and senior 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 to win.
"It felt amazing to come through for my teammates and coaches," Arimilli said. "Even though I had a couple of match points on serve earlier in the set that I didn't convert, I was really just trying to focus on the present and do what the coaches were telling me to do. Even when I was down 5-3 in the breaker, I was confident in my game and leaned on my teammates to get me over the finish line, and it was an incredible feeling to have them all running to me after the win."
After dropping a close doubles point that NC State won, 7-5, in the third and deciding match at No. 3, Bailly was first off the court in singles and evened the overall match with a 6-3, 3-0 win with a retirement by Damien Salvestre. Bailly secured the only break of the first set at 3-1 and consolidated it to 4-1 with a deuce-point hold before maintaining his lead to a 6-3 win. He then broke twice in the second set for a 3-0 lead when Salvestre retired.
The Wolfpack regained the lead as junior No. 18 Siem Woldeab was defeated by Luca Staeheli, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 4. Woldeab opened the match with a deuce-point break, but Staeheli broke back in the next game to put it back on serve. That's where it stayed until Staeheli registered the only other break of the first set for a 4-2 lead on his way to a 6-3 win. In the second set, the players again recorded back-to-back breaks with Staeheli doing so on a deuce point for a 2-1 lead, and Woldeab following to even it. Once again, Staeheli would collect the only other break of the set to regain the lead at 4-3 en route to a 6-4 win.
NC State pushed its lead to 3-1 as junior No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri fell for the first time in dual match play this season after posting a 10-0 record. Despite the 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 loss to No. 77 Rafa Izquierdo Luque at No. 1, Spizzirri is still 23-4 this year with three of those defeats coming to players who have been ranked No. 1 or No. 2 at some point. Izquierdo Luque opened the match with a deuce-point break and then broke again for a 4-1 lead before holding serve on another deuce point to take the set at 6-2. It was the first of three-straight deuce points as each player held their first serve of the second set on one, starting with Spizzirri. He then broke again to go up 3-1 and extended it to 4-1 on serve, which is where it would stay despite the final two games also going to deuce. However, the third set belonged to Izquierdo Luque, who closed on a 6-0 run.
The Longhorns' comeback then started with Harper, who won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, over Robin Catry at No. 5. Harper opened the match with a deuce-point break and a hold for a 2-0 lead. He held his next serve on a deuce point for 3-1, but Catry went on a 3-0 run to take the lead on a deuce-point hold of his own. After Harper held again, he got the break he needed to move back into the lead at 5-4 and closed with another deuce-point hold for the set. In the second, the first six games stayed on serve despite a deuce-point win for Catry for a 2-1 lead, and one for Harper at 3-3. It would be Harper who would get the first and only break to take a 4-3 lead, and even though the next two games went to deuce, they stayed on serve to Harper's 6-4 win.
The final two matches both went three sets, starting with Braswell's 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over Braden Shick. In the first set, Braswell broke first on a deuce point for a 2-1 lead, which he extended to 3-1 on serve. He had a chance to increase it again on a deuce point in the following game, but Shick was able to hold for 3-2. Braswell registered the next break, as well, for a 5-2 lead, but Shick broke back on a deuce point and held to get within one. Braswell then served out the set and went on to win six of the next seven games to establish a 5-1 lead in the second, winning deuce points at 1-0 and 3-1 along the way. However, Shick then started a run of his own, collecting the next five games that included two deuce points at 5-5 and for the set at 7-5 to avoid a tiebreaker and go to the third. There, the first four games were all breaks starting with Braswell until Shick snapped the streak and held for a 3-2 lead. Braswell had another opportunity to break on Shick's following serve, which went to a deuce point, and although Shick again held to go up 4-3, Braswell didn't miss his next chance, as he broke for a 5-4 lead and then served out the match at 6-4 to pull Texas even overall at 3-3.
That left it to No. 6 where Arimilli went to a third-set tiebreaker against Fons Van Sambeek to decide it all and stepped up for a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5) victory to clinch. In the first set, each player broke the other's opening serve with Arimilli doing so first. He then broke again on a deuce point for a 4-2 lead that he increased to 5-2 on serve. Van Sambeek got one game back on a deuce-point hold, but Arimilli also held to take the set. The second started much like Braswell's third set where the first four games were breaks beginning with Arimilli. Van Sambeek held first to take a 3-2 lead and then broke again at 4-2, but Arimilli claimed the next two games on deuce points to even it. After Van Sambeek held to move ahead, 5-4, he broke again on a deuce point to send it to a third set. The first eight games of that set stayed on serve despite three deuce points with Arimilli winning two at 1-1 and 4-4, while Van Sambeek used one for a 2-1 lead. After using an incredible drop shot on the one at 4-4, Arimilli claimed a second-straight deuce point to break for the lead. However, Van Sambeek was able to break back to stay alive and then moved in front on serve, 6-5. Arimilli then also held to remain in the match and send it to the tiebreaker. In the breaker, Van Sambeek moved out in front as his opening serve hit the tape and dropped over. He then went ahead 2-1 on the first mini-break, but Arimilli answered by breaking both of Van Sambeek's serves for a 3-2 lead. It was then Van Sambeek's turn to break on both serves as put together on a 3-0 run for a 5-3 advantage. However, those would be his last points, as Arimilli finished with a 4-0 run of his own to complete the comeback and send his teammates streaming onto his court in celebration.
Earlier in doubles, each team started with a 6-3 win with NC State finishing first as the No. 55 pair of Catry and Staeheli downed the No. 3 duo of Spizzirri and Harper at No. 1. The Wolfpack picked up the match's only break for a 3-1 lead that they extended to 4-1 on serve. From there, the Longhorns held serve on a deuce point for 4-2 and had a chance to break on another deuce point trailing 5-3, but NC State held to take the match.
A short time later, Woldeab and Bailly picked up a top-30 win by downing the No. 29 pair of Izquierdo Luque and Joseph Wayand by the same score at No. 2. The first five games stayed on serve, capped by a deuce-point hold by Texas to lead 3-2. That started a string of four-straight deuce-point games with the Longhorns grabbing the next two for a 5-2 advantage. NC State took the last of the four on serve for 5-3, but Woldeab and Bailly closed out the match with a hold in the following game.
That left it to No. 3 where Braswell and senior Chih Chi Huang fell in a close match to Shick and Van Sambeek, 7-5. NC State earned a break in the opening game and maintained it until Texas got the break back at 4-4 before moving into the lead on serve at 5-4. However, the Wolfpack broke again for a 6-5 lead and clinched the doubles point on a deuce point in the next game.
Texas (13-2) will next head back out on the road to face No. 67 UCF at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla., on Saturday, March 18, at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT.
#3 Texas 4, #20 NC State 3
Singles – Order of Finish (2,4,1,5,3,6)
1. #77 Rafa Izquierdo Luque (ST) def. #1 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) 6-2, 3-6, 6-0
2. #40 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. Damien Salvestre (ST) 6-3, 3-0, retired
3. #67 Micah Braswell (UT) def. Braden Shick (ST) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
4. Luca Staeheli (ST) def. #18 Siem Woldeab (UT) 6-3, 6-4
5. Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Robin Catry (ST) 6-4, 6-4
6. Nevin Arimilli (UT) def. Fons Van Sambeek (ST) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,2,3)
1. #55 Robin Catry/Luca Staeheli (ST) def. #3 Eliot Spizzirri/Cleeve Harper (UT) 6-3
2. Siem Woldeab/Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. #29 Rafa Izquierdo Luque/Joseph Wayand (ST) 6-3
3. Braden Shick/Fons Van Sambeek (ST) def. Chih Chi Huang/Micah Braswell (UT) 7-5
