The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Georgia
No. 4 Men’s Tennis downs No. 18 Georgia, 4-3
02.08.2020 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns won the battle between the two storied programs to move to 5-1 on the season heading into the ITA Indoor Nationals.
Austin, Texas – The No. 4 Texas Men's Tennis Team finished out the first part of their schedule heading into ITA Indoor Nationals with a 4-3 win over No. 18 Georgia at the Texas Tennis Center on Saturday to improve to 5-1 this season.
It marked the first time the storied programs had met in Austin since 1999, and only the fifth time since 1975 with all four previous matches won by the Bulldogs. Texas ended that streak by claiming the doubles point at both No. 1 and No. 3 by seniors No. 15 Yuya Ito and Christian Sigsgaard, and the duo of sophomore Chih Chi Huang and freshman Cleeve Harper, respectively. That was followed by singles victories for freshmen Eliot Spizzirri at No. 4, and No. 37 Siem Woldeab at No. 3, along with the clinching point by No. 12 Sigsgaard at No. 2. The clinch came with the Longhorns leading, 4-2.
"It's a good win for sure," head coach Bruce Berque said. "Georgia is a great program, one of the most successful programs in college tennis history, and anytime you can beat Georgia, it's a good day. I think a lot of our guys did a good job stepping up once things got difficult out there in singles, Cleeve Harper especially, even though he didn't win, he wasn't feeling well today and almost didn't play, and for him to come back, I think it took pressure off of Christian (Sigsgaard) and Siem (Woldeab), knowing he was still out there and it wasn't all up to them. I think Christian did a great job and played some really good, aggressive tennis consistent with the style he's supposed to be playing, especially in the third set. Siem also stepped up when he really needed to against a good player he had lost to the last time he played him, and Eliot (Spizzirri) also had lost to his opponent last time, and this time he won in straight sets. Of course, it's also good to win the doubles point, and Cleeve stepped up big at No. 3 doubles."
With Texas leading 1-0 after doubles, Spizzirri was first off the court in singles with a 6-3, 7-5 win over No. 101 Erik Grevelius at No. 4. Spizzirri rushed out to a 4-0 lead before Grevelius responded with two games to cut the lead in half. However, the set stayed on serve from there for the 6-3 win. The second set also stayed on serve for the first five games and a 3-2 lead for Grevelius, who then picked up a break on a deuce point to extend to 4-2. Spizzirri answered that break and held to even it at 4-4. The next two games stayed on serve for 5-5 when Spizzirri grabbed a break and a 6-5 edge before closing on serve. He upped his dual match record to 5-0 this season and gave the Longhorns a 2-0 lead.
Georgia responded with wins by No. 89 Blake Croyder over Huang, 7-5, 6-3, at No. 5, and No. 28 Trent Bryde over No. 2 Yuya Ito, 7-6 (1), 6-4, at No. 1 to tie the match, 2-2. The loss for Ito snapped his 18-match winning steak in singles. Just after that, Harper was able to pick up a win in a second-set tiebreaker against Baptiste Anselmo at No. 6 to force a third set. He established leads of 3-1 and 4-2 in that frame before eventually succumbing to the loss of deuce points in three of the last four games for a 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-4 result. That would end up being the final point of the match, however Harper's leads provided support to Woldeab and Sigsgaard as they closed down the stretch in their three-set matches.
Woldeab completed his first with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win over No. 79 Tyler Zink at No. 3. After picking up an opening break, Woldeab captured another to establish a 4-1 lead. Zink broke back and held to get within 4-3, but the set stayed on serve from there for the 6-4 tally. The second set stayed on serve for the first six games, including two deuce-point wins by Zink in the first and third games, leading to a 3-3 score. Back-to-back breaks kept it even, 4-4, but it then stayed on serve to a 6-5 edge for Zink when he claimed the set on a deuce-point break. Woldeab recovered and set the tone for the third by opening with a break, and despite three deuce-point wins for Zink, the set stayed on serve all the way to when Woldeab completed the bookend of breaks for the 6-3 win and a 3-2 Texas lead.
From there, Sigsgaard secured the match with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 downing of No. 17 Philip Henning at No. 2. The first set opened in unlikely fashion with breaks in the first four game and five of the first six, however it was Sigsgaard who got the hold for a 3-2 lead and the last of those breaks on a deuce point for 4-2. It stayed on serve for the final three games and a 6-3 win for Sigsgaard. That continued to the first two games of the second set when Sigsgaard got a deuce-point break to go up, 2-1. Henning answered the break before a string of seven-straight holds gave him a 6-5 lead. He then snapped the string on a deuce point for the 7-5 win to send it to a third set. The first three games of that frame followed the same pattern as the previous set, but this time Sigsgaard remained up a break by holding for a 3-1 lead. Henning got that break back at 3-3, but Sigsgaard reclaimed it again on a deuce point to go up, 4-3. He then held and clinched on another break for the 6-3 win and a 4-2 Longhorns lead.
Earlier in doubles, it was 6-4 decisions across the board as Texas won at both No. 1 and No. 3 to take the point and a 1-0 lead. After the Georgia duo of No. 51 Bryde and Zink held serve in the opening game at No. 1 doubles, No. 15 Ito and Sigsgaard won a deuce point to also hold and even the match, 1-1. Two games later, the Bulldogs earned a break to extend to 3-1, but the Longhorns answered it immediately and then held to get back to 3-3. The next two games stayed on serve, but Ito and Sigsgaard got the break they needed for a 5-4 lead before holding serve for the win.
After Spizzirri and freshman Jacob Bullard fell at No. 2 doubles to No. 16 Croyder and Henning, the deciding match came down to No. 3 doubles. Harper and Huang took a quick 2-0 lead on a hold and a break over Grevelius and Robert Loeb, but the Bulldogs grabbed the next two games with the first coming on a deuce point. The Longhorns got deuce points of their own on their next two service games to take leads of 3-2 and 4-3, and the match continued on serve until Harper and Huang broke through on another deuce point in the final game to clinch.
Texas now heads to the ITA Indoor National Championships in Madison, Wisc., from Feb. 14-17. Their first opponent and full bracket will be determined early next week.
No. 4 Texas 4, No. 18 Georgia 3
Singles – Order of Finish (4,5,1,3,2,6)
1. No. 28 Trent Bryde (UGA) def. No. 2 Yuya Ito (UT), 7-6 (1), 6-4
2. No. 12 Christian Sigsgaard (UT) def. No. 17 Philip Henning (UGA), 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
3. No. 37 Siem Woldeab (UT) def. No. 79 Tyler Zink (UGA), 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
4. Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. No. 101 Erik Grevelius (UGA), 6-3, 7-5
5. No. 89 Blake Croyder (UGA) def. Chih Chi Huang (UT), 7-5, 6-3
6. Baptiste Anselmo (UGA) def. Cleeve Harper (UT), 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-4
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,2,3)
1. No. 15 Yuya Ito/Christian Sigsgaard (UT) def. No. 51 Trent Bryde/Tyler Zink (UGA), 6-4
2. No. 16 Philip Henning/Blake Croyder (UGA) def. Eliot Spizzirri/Jacob Bullard (UT), 6-4
3. Chih Chi Huang/Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Erik Grevelius/Robert Loeb (UGA), 6-4
Players Mentioned
