The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men’s Tennis signs three to National Letters of Intent
11.13.2019 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns will welcome three of the nation’s top-seven recruits in Leighton Allen, Micah Braswell and Eliot Spizzirri.
Austin, Texas – Texas Men's Tennis signed three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday.
All three signees are listed as top-seven Blue Chip recruits by TennisRecruiting and include Leighton Allen (Austin, Texas), Micah Braswell (Sarasota, Fla.) and Eliot Spizzirri (Greenwich, Conn.). Spizzirri, who will join the Longhorns in January, is ranked No. 1, while Braswell is No. 3 and Allen is No. 7.
"With the signing of Leighton Allen, Micah Braswell, and Eliot Spizzirri, we are adding three accomplished student-athletes who share an absolute passion for tennis, and a drive to reach their long-term goals in the sport," head coach Bruce Berque said. "While I am very pleased we were able to recruit three of the top seven players in this year's senior class, I am more excited to know that we will be adding three young men of high character and work ethic, and who have a shared mission to make the Texas Men's Tennis program a continued source of pride for our alumni and fans."
Born and raised in Austin, Allen has been listed as a Blue Chip recruit for the last five years and has been ranked in the top 10 of his class since 2014. He won the Gold Ball in singles at the 2019 USTA 18s National Clay Court Championships in Delray Beach, Fla., which qualified him for the U.S. Open Junior Championships. In both 2018 and 2019, he won a Bronze Ball in doubles at the USTA National Winter Championships. In March, Allen was a singles and doubles finalist at the Irvine Grade 4 ITF, while in 2018 he won the doubles title and was a singles finalist at the Evert American Grade 4 ITF in Boca Raton, Fla. In all, he has won four doubles ITF titles, including in Austin in both 2017 and 2018. Additionally in doubles, at the Eddie Herr International, he was the 14s champion in 2016 and a 16s finalist in 2017, while at the USTA Easter Bowl he was a finalist in both 2015 and 2017. Throughout his development, he has been ranked in the top eight nationally in boys 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s and has been ranked No. 1 in Texas in every age group since 2013. His mother, Louise, played tennis at Trinity University in San Antonio where she was a four-time All-American (1981-84) and won the 1983 NCAA Doubles Championship. The year, she received the Broderick Award as the top collegiate women's tennis player. Allen reached as high as No. 65 in the WTA rankings and played in all four Grand Slam tournaments, advancing to the third rounds of Wimbledon in singles and the U.S. Open in doubles in 1983.
"Leighton is a fighter, a worker, and a winner," Berque said. "His passion for the game and for competition is extraordinary, and we couldn't be more excited that he will be staying in Austin and officially becoming a Longhorn."
"Texas has been my dream school since I was 12 years old," Allen said. "I've always wanted to be a part of the Longhorn family. Growing up in Austin and getting to know the players and coaches during the recruiting process made my decision that much easier."
Braswell recently moved up to No. 3 in the country by TennisRecruiting and has had a high ITF junior ranking of No. 101. In 2019, he has won the Vancouver Grade 3 ITF singles title and the Irvine Grade 4 ITF singles title, and was a singles finalist at the College Park Grade 1 ITF and the Santo Domingo Grade 3 ITF. He also competed in qualifying singles of the U.S. Open Junior Championships. Previously, Braswell won the doubles title at the USTA Florida "Bobby Curtis" Junior State Doubles Championships in 2017 for 16s and in 2015 for 12s. His father, Ty, played college tennis at Florida State, was an assistant coach there from 2000-04 and has been Director of Tennis at Sarasota's Laurel Oak Country Club since 2004.
"Micah is highly athletic and competitive, and has been one of the most rapidly improving players in the country over the last six months," Berque said. "We are thrilled to have him join us on the 40 Acres, and expect him to make great contributions to our program throughout the course of his four years."
"I chose Texas because I felt like it was going to be the best place for me to accomplish my goals," Braswell said. "The coaching, the facilities, the team environment and the academics are all what I'm looking forward to the most."
Spizzirri is the top-ranked player in the country by TennisRecruiting and has a high ITF junior ranking of No. 20. In September, he paired with Tyler Zink, who is now at Georgia, to win the doubles title at the U.S. Open Junior Championships. He played singles and doubles in all four 2019 junior grand slam events, including Wimbledon, the French Open and the Australian Open, reaching the doubles round of 16 in all four, and the singles round of 32 at the Australian Open. While in Europe, he won the doubles title at the Santa Croce, Italy Grade 1 ITF and reached the doubles finals of the Roehampton Grade 1 ITF. He also represented the USA in the inaugural Paul Hutchins Trophy event against Great Britain this past summer. Earlier in the year, Spizzirri won the doubles title and reached the singles final of the Cricluma, Brazil Grade 1 ITF. In 2018, he captured the singles title of the Campeche, Mexico Grade 1 ITF and was a singles finalist in the Pan American ITF Championship in Charlotte, N.C. In 2017, he won the 16s doubles title of the USTA Easter Bowl. From 2016-18, he secured five other ITF doubles titles and two singles titles.
"Eliot has been one of the top juniors in the country and on the ITF circuit over the last several years," Berque said. "He is a team player, and we expect him to be a great addition to our lineup for the upcoming dual match season. We look forward to helping him reach his long-term goals in tennis, and have no doubt that he will give everything he has to win for Texas."
"I chose Texas because of the unlimited resources the school provides in both tennis and academics, the trust I have in the coaches, and the culture created amongst the guys on the team," Spizzirri said.
The Longhorns begin the 2020 spring season at the Miami Invitational from Jan. 10-12 with the first dual match taking place at Florida on Jan. 15. The home season opens with the ITA Kick-Off Weekend from Jan. 25-26 with Texas squaring off against Indiana, while Florida State will face Vanderbilt.