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No. 1 Men’s Tennis preview: at No. 6 Ohio State
01.31.2020 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns return to the road to face the Buckeyes in Columbus on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET.
No. 1 Men's Tennis preview: at No. 6 Ohio State
When: 11 a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET, Sat., Feb. 1, 2020
Where: Ohio State Varsity Tennis Center, Columbus, Ohio
Live Stats: https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/mens-tennis-live-scoring/
Live Video: https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/mens-live-tennis/
Notes
-Ohio State Series: Series tied, 8-8
Texas and Ohio State squared off twice last season, splitting those contests, with the first coming at the ITA Indoor Nationals, which the Buckeyes won 4-0, and the second coming at the Texas Tennis Center, which the Longhorns won, 4-1, while Ohio State was ranked No. 1. Prior to those matches, the teams also split the previous two meetings with each winning on their home courts as Ohio State defeated Texas, 4-0, in 2018 in Columbus, while the Longhorns topped the Buckeyes, 4-3, in 2017 in Austin. Texas and Ohio State have met five times at the ITA Indoors (2011, '12, '14, '15, '19) with the Buckeyes winning all five matches.
2019 Meetings
No. 4 Texas 4, No. 1 Ohio State 1
Thurs., March 14, 2019 • Texas Tennis Center, Austin, Texas
Singles – Order of Finish (2,5,6,3)
1. No. 4 Christian Sigsgaard (UT) vs. No. 27 John McNally (OSU), 4-6, 7-5, 2-0, unf.
2. No. 9 Yuya Ito (UT) def. No. 28 Kyle Seelig (OSU), 6-0, 6-3
3. Leonardo Telles (UT) def. No. 69 Martin Joyce (OSU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. No. 49 Harrison Scott (UT) vs. No. 81 Alex Kobelt (OSU), 7-6 (6), 6-6, unf.
5. James Trotter (OSU) def. Colin Markes (UT), 6-2, 7-5
6. Rodrigo Banzer (UT) def. Hunter Tubert (OSU), 7-6 (5), 6-2
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,1,2)
1. No. 24 Martin Joyce/Hunter Tubert (OSU) def. No. 13 Harrison Scott/Christian Sigsgaard (UT), 7-5
2. Leonardo Telles/Colin Markes (UT) def. Alex Kobelt/James Trotter (OSU), 7-6 (4)
3. Yuya Ito/Chih Chi Huang (UT) def. Kyle Seelig/John McNally (OSU), 6-3
No. 2 Ohio State 4, No. 6 Texas 0
Sun., Feb. 17, 2019 • Chicago, Ill.
Singles – Order of Finish (1,6,2)
1. No. 2 JJ Wolf (OSU) def. No. 6 Christian Sigsgaard (UT), 6-4, 6-1
2. No. 62 John McNally (OSU) def. No. 14 Yuya Ito (UT), 7-5, 6-3
3. No. 12 Kyle Seelig (OSU) vs. No. 91 Leonardo Telles (UT), 7-5, 5-2, unf.
4. Martin Joyce (OSU) vs. Harrison Scott (UT), 6-4, 3-6, 3-0, unf.
5. No. 86 Alex Kobelt (OSU) vs. Colin Markes (UT), 6-7 (6-8), 4-5, unf.
6. Hunter Tubert (OSU) def. Chih Chi Huang (UT), 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,1,3)
1. No. 13 Christian Sigsgaard/Harrison Scott (UT) def. JJ Wolf/Martin Joyce (OSU), 6-3
2. No. 7 Kyle Seelig/Alex Kobelt (OSU) def. Colin Markes/Leonardo Telles (UT), 6-2
3. John McNally/Hunter Tubert (OSU) def. Chih Chi Huang/Yuya Ito (UT), 7-6 (7-1)
-Texas vs Ohio State in 2019 tournament play
ITA Fall National Championships
No. 13 Christian Sigsgaard def. No. 11 John McNally, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
-ITA Kickoff Weekend
The Longhorns advanced to the ITA National Indoor Championships for the third-straight year by recording 4-0 sweeps against Indiana in the opening round and No. 21 Florida State in the championship. Freshmen Siem Woldeab and Eliot Spizzirri both posted 2-0 singles records to score for Texas, while the Longhorns won the doubles point in both matches. Senior Yuya Ito and sophomore Chih Chi Huang provided the other singles wins.
-Holding No. 1
Texas held its No. 1 ranking in the Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Rankings released Jan. 29, marking the first time in program history the Longhorns have had the top spot in consecutive weeks. When they returned to No. 1 in the Jan. 22 rankings, it was the third separate occasion in program history reaching that spot, all of which have come in the last two seasons. Texas was No. 1 in the final poll last year after winning the 2019 National Championship, and made its first appearance as the top-ranked team on April 9 of last year. The Longhorns have been ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the last eight polls going back to last season with their last time being ranked that high prior to that stretch coming as No. 2 in 2009.
-Sigsgaard named Big 12 Player of the Week
Christian Sigsgaard was named Big 12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 20. It marked Sigsgaard's first conference weekly honor of the season and tied a Big 12 record with the sixth of his career. It was also the second-straight week a Longhorn earned the honor after Yuya Ito did so in the first week.
-Ito dominant
No. 2 Yuya Ito has won 17 consecutive singles matches, 20 of his last 21, and 28 out of his last 30 counting tournament play and dating back to last season. Of the 28 wins, 17 have been against ranked opponents with only two of those coming against players outside of the top 50, while eight of them have been in the top 25. HIs only loss this since beginning fall play has been to teammate Siem Woldeab in the championship of the Gamecock Invitational. Ito is also 15-2 in doubles in 2019-20, primarily with Christian Sigsgaard, with one of the losses being a 10-8 superbreaker against the No. 18 pair Dominik Kellovsky and Matej Vocel of Oklahoma State.
-Completing the circuit
Texas finished their extended road trip with a 6-1 win at SMU on Jan. 18 to move to 2-0 to start the 2020 season after winning at No. 1 Florida and competing in individual play at the Miami Invitational. The Longhorns swept the singles matches over the Mustangs without dropping a set in a match played indoors at the SMU Tennis Center in Dallas. After dropping the doubles point on a tiebreaker, the Texas singles lineup rebounded with wins from senior No. 13 Christian Sigsgaard, and freshmen Jacob Bullard, No. 53 Siem Woldeab and Cleeve Harper to clinch the match, followed by freshman Eliot Spizzirri and senior No. 2 Yuya Ito to close for the 6-1 final.
-Taking down No. 1
Texas opened the 2020 team season with a 5-2 win on the road at No. 1 Florida on Jan. 15 in Gainesville. The Longhorns used five singles victories, all against ranked opponents, to secure a win in their first dual match since capturing the 2019 National Championship. It was also their second-straight win over a top-ranked team after defeating No. 1 Ohio State in Austin last March. Last season's championship match, a 4-1 win over Wake Forest, also took place in the state of Florida (Orlando) and followed a similar script. Texas dropped the doubles point and trailed in several singles matches before mounting comebacks, highlighted by senior Yuya Ito rebounding from a first-set defeat to earn a three-set win and clinch. It also marked the second time Texas and Florida met in the last three overall matches for the Longhorns, as they faced the Gators last year in the national semifinals, a match which the Longhorns won, 4-2.
-Freshman debuts
Four freshmen made their dual match debuts at No. 1 Florida, including Siem Woldeab at No. 3 singles (win), January enrollee Eliot Spizzirri at No. 4 singles (win) and No. 2 doubles (loss), redshirt freshman Cleeve Harper at No. 6 singles (loss) and No. 3 doubles (loss), and Jacob Bullard at No. 2 doubles (loss). The matches were highlighted by singles comebacks from Woldeab and Spizzirri, who both recovered from 5-1 first-set deficits to win their matches with Woldeab winning his first set and Spizzirri rallying but falling short in his, but recovering to win the second and third sets.
-Ito named Big 12 Player of the Week
Yuya Ito was named Big 12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 13. It marked Ito's first conference weekly honor of the season and the fifth of his career.
-Miami Spring Invitational
The Longhorns put together a solid showing at the Miami Spring Invitational, winning 31 of 42 total matches in individual singles and doubles play versus members of host Miami, t-No. 19 Georgia, and Wisconsin from Jan. 10-12. The No. 4 duo of seniors Yuya Ito and Christian Sigsgaard went 2-0 in doubles play and earned Doubles MVP honors. Ito did not compete on the final day of the tournament, but picked up two singles wins, including one over No. 12 Philip Henning of Georgia. Sigsgaard closed his singles play on Sunday with a win over No. 63 Adria Soriano Barrera of Miami, while freshman Jacob Bullard secured a ranked win over No. 88 Blake Croyder of Georgia. Bullard also went 3-0 in doubles, as did freshman Evin McDonald. Sophomore Nevin Arimilli and freshman Cleeve Harper both went 3-0 in best-of-three set singles matches, while freshman Eshan Talluri also posted a 3-0 singles record that included two one-set victories. Sophomore Chih Chi Huang and freshmen Eliot Spizzirri and Siem Woldeab all went 2-1 in doubles, while Woldeab also posted a 2-1 singles mark with his only loss coming in a third-set tiebreaker.
-ITA Preseason Rankings
Texas was ranked No. 2 in the preseason Oracle/ITA Division I Rankings released Jan. 8. It matched the Longhorns' highest preseason ranking in school history, which came in 2009. Texas registered four first-place votes, coming in just behind Florida, which had five, and just ahead of USC, which had three. Texas was the top-rated Big 12 team in the poll, which featured five of the six conference members. Baylor checked in at No. 5, TCU was No. 8, Oklahoma State was ranked No. 15, and Oklahoma rounded out the group at No. 22.
-Challenging non-conference schedule
The Longhorns have 10 non-conference dual matches scheduled this season against teams that appear in the ITA national rankings, including home matches with No. 11 Stanford (Feb. 28), No. 13 Columbia (Mar. 14), No. 18 Georgia (Feb. 8), and No. 21 Florida State (W, Jan. 26), and road or neutral contests at No. 1 Florida (W, Jan. 15), No. 3 USC (Mar. 17), No. 6 Ohio State (Feb. 1), No. 14 NC State (Mar. 1), RV Harvard (Mar. 20) and RV San Diego (Mar. 22).
-Big 12 Preseason Rankings
The Big 12 Conference men's tennis coaches selected Texas as No. 2 in the preseason conference poll, the league announced on Jan. 7. The Longhorns split the first-place votes with top-ranked Baylor with three each, while finishing just one point behind the Bears in the overall total, 23-22.
-Defending National Champions
The Longhorns entered the season as the defending National Champions and feature one of the top duos in college tennis in seniors Christian Sigsgaard and Yuya Ito. Sophomore Chih Chi Huang also returns with significant experience in both the singles and doubles lineups, in addition to sophomore Nevin Arimilli and redshirt freshman Cleeve Harper. That group will be joined by a host of talented newcomers who composed the nation's top-ranked recruiting class in fall participants Jacob Bullard, Evin McDonald, Eshan Talluri and Siem Woldeab, along with January enrollee Eliot Spizzirri. Head coach Bruce Berque enters his second season after guiding Texas to its first team championship in school history.
-3-for-3
During the fall, the ITA instituted its newly-created UTR/ITA National Player of the Month honor. In the three months of competition where it was awarded, it was a Longhorn who took it home all three times with freshman Siem Woldeab receiving it in September, and senior Yuya Ito doing so in October and November.
-One of only three
Senior Yuya Ito won both the ITA National Fall Championships singles and the ITA All-American Championships singles title during the fall. In doing so, he became just the third men's player since 1979 to win those two tournaments in the same season, joining Mitchell Frank of Virginia in 2011 and Sargis Sargsian of Arizona State in 1994. Ito ended the fall 15-1 in singles with a 12-match winning streak, and 11-1 in doubles.
-Bringing home the fall hardware
Yuya Ito
ITA Fall National Championships – Singles Champion
ITA All-American Championships – Singles Champion
ITA Texas Regionals – Doubles Champion (Christian Sigsgaard)
Gamecock Fall Invitational – Doubles Champion (Siem Woldeab)
Gamecock Fall Invitational – Singles Finalist
Christian Sigsgaard
ITA Texas Regionals – Doubles Champion (Yuya Ito)
Southern Intercollegiate Championships – Singles Champion
Southern Intercollegiate Championships – Doubles Champion (Siem Woldeab)
Siem Woldeab
Southern Intercollegiate Championships – Doubles Champion (Christian Sigsgaard)
Gamecock Fall Invitational – Singles Champion
Gamecock Fall Invitational – Doubles Champion (Yuya Ito)
- Final Fall ITA Individual National Rankings
Texas was the only team in the nation with two singles players ranked in the top 15 and a top-10 doubles pair in the final fall ITA national rankings.
Texas
Singles
No. 2 Yuya Ito
No. 13 Christian Sigsgaard
No. 53 Siem Woldeab
Doubles
No. 4 Yuya Ito/Christian Sigsgaard
No. 23 Christian Sigsgaard/Siem Woldeab
No. 38 Yuya Ito/Siem Woldeab
No. 46 Jacob Bullard/Eshan Talluri
Ohio State
Singles
No. 16 Cannon Kingsley
No. 24 John McNally
No. 28 Kyle Seelig
No. 40 James Trotter
Doubles
No. 2 Robert Cash/John McNally
-Year Three at the Texas Tennis Center
Texas began its third season of play at the Texas Tennis Center with two wins in the ITA Kickoff Weekend over Indiana and No. 21 Florida State, after compiling a 25-3 record during the first two years. The Longhorns finished 2019 with a 15-1 mark there, including wins over No. 1 Ohio State, No. 6 Baylor and No. 12 Columbia, along with three NCAA Tournament victories. The lone loss came to No. 15 USC. During its inaugural season, Texas posted a 10-2 record, including winning the 2018 Big 12 Tournament.
Players Mentioned
