The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Liberty
No. 6 Men’s Tennis preview: ITA Kickoff Weekend
01.21.2021 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns will host Liberty, No. 9 Florida and Arizona on Friday and Saturday at the Texas Tennis Center.
No. 6 Men's Tennis preview: ITA Kickoff Weekend
Please Note: Due to health and safety protocols, fans will not be permitted to attend home matches at this point.
When: Fri.-Sat., Jan. 22-23, 2021
Where: Texas Tennis Center, Austin, Texas
North Courts Live Stats: hookem.at/TTCNorthStats
South Courts Live Stats: hookem.at/TTCSouthStats
Live Video: hookem.at/Watch-Tennis
Tournament Schedule
Should play be forced indoors due to weather an alternate schedule will be posted.
Friday, Jan. 22
No. 9 Florida vs. Arizona, 1 p.m., South Courts
No. t-6 Texas vs. Liberty, 5 p.m., North Courts
Saturday, Jan. 23
Texas-Liberty winner vs. Florida-Arizona winner, 2 p.m., North Courts
Texas-Liberty loser vs. Florida-Arizona loser, 2 p.m., South Courts
Notes
-ITA Kickoff Weekend
Texas is hosting the ITA Kickoff Weekend for the seventh-straight year going back to the 2014 season when the Longhorns traveled to Nashville. Texas has advanced in the ITA Indoor Nationals in each of the last three seasons, and four out of the last six.
-Liberty Series: Never met
This will be the first meeting between Texas and Liberty.
-Florida Series: Texas leads, 11-6
Texas leads the all-time series with Florida, 11-6. Last season, the No. 2 Longhorns opened their dual match season at No. 1 Florida and came away with a 5-2 win, using five singles victories, all against ranked opponents. Prior to that, the teams last met in the semifinals of the 2019 NCAA Championship as No. 2 Texas defeated No. 4 Florida, 4-2. In front of loud crowd made up predominantly of Florida fans in their home state on the USTA National Campus in Orlando, the Longhorns prevailed in an exciting match that came down to the last two singles courts. Senior Leonardo Telles got the clinching point to send Texas to the finals for the first time in 2008.
The previous two matches came indoors with each team winning one of them. In 2017, No. 10 Texas defeated No. 7 Florida, 4-2, at the ITA National Indoors in Charlottesville, Va., while in 2016 No. 21 Florida downed No. 20 Texas, 4-0, during the ITA Kickoff Weekend at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center in Austin. The outdoor meeting, along with the last in the NCAA Tournament, came in 2008 when No. 7 Texas topped No. 9 Florida, 4-0, in the Round of 16 in Tulsa, Okla. Texas also went on to reach the finals that year.
Last five meetings
2020: No. 2 Texas 5, No. 1 Florida 2 – Gainesville, Fla.
2019: No. 2 Texas 4, No. 4 Florida 2 – NCAA Championship semifinals, Orlando, Fla.
2017: No. 10 Texas 4, No. 7 Florida 2 – ITA National Indoors, Charlottesville, Va.
2016: No. 21 Florida 4, No. 20 Texas 0 – ITA Kickoff, Austin, Texas (Weller Indoor)
2008: No. 7 Texas 4, No. 9 Florida 0 – NCAA Round of 16, Tulsa, Okla.
Last Meeting
No. 2 Texas 5, No. 1 Florida 2
Wed., Jan. 15, 2020 • Gainesville, Fla.
Singles – Order of finish (3,2,5,6,1,4)
1. No. 2 Yuya Ito (UT) def. No. 31 Oliver Crawford (UF), 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
2. No. 13 Christian Sigsgaard (UT) def. No. 4 Sam Riffice (UF), 6-1, 6-4
3. No. 53 Siem Woldeab (UT) def. No. 17 Duarte Vale (UF), 7-5, 6-1
4. Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. No. 72 Andy Andrade (UF), 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2
5. Chih Chi Huang (UT) def. No. 71 Lukas Greif (UF), 7-5, 6-3
6. No. 118 Blaise Bicknell (UF) def. Cleeve Harper (UT), 7-5, 6-2
Doubles – Order of finish (3,2)
1. No. 14 Sam Riffice/Oliver Crawford (UF) vs. No. 4 Yuya Ito/Christian Sigsgaard (UT), 6-5, unf.
2. Johannes Ingildsen/Will Grant (UF) def. Eliot Spizzirri/Jacob Bullard (UT), 7-5
3. Duarte Vale/Josh Goodger (UF) def. Chih Chi Huang/Cleeve Harper (UT), 6-3
-Arizona Series: Series tied, 2-2
Texas and Arizona have split four all-time meetings with the last coming in 1993, which was a 6-1 win for the Longhorns.
Last Meeting
Box Score Not Available
-Texas vs Liberty/Florida/Arizona in 2020 tournament play
None
-Ranked t-No. 6
Texas is tied for No. 6 in the Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Preseason Rankings released Jan. 14 by the ITA. It marks the 21st-straight time the Longhorns have been ranked in the top six dating back to January 2019.
-ITA Individual National Rankings (Jan. 13)
Texas
Singles
No. 57 Siem Woldeab
No. 78 Micah Braswell
No. 120 Eliot Spizzirri
Doubles
t-No. 43 Payton Holden/Siem Woldeab
Newcomers
No. 5 Micah Braswell
Liberty
Singles
N/A
Doubles
N/A
Florida
Singles
No. 8 Sam Riffice
No. 12 Duarte Vale
No. 68 Blaise Bicknell
No. 85 Andy Andrade
No. 96 Lukas Grief
Doubles
No. 45 Sam Riffice/Duarte Vale
Arizona
Singles
No. 50 Jonas Ziverts
No. 54 Filip Malbasic
No. t-105 Gustaf Strom
Doubles
N/A
-Back-to-Back Sweeps
The Longhorns posted their second 7-0 sweep in as many days as they down SMU by that score at the Texas Tennis Center on Jan. 16. Texas didn't drop a set to the Mustangs and only left one doubles match unfinished at 3-3.
-Season Opening Sweep
Texas opened its 2021 dual match season with a 7-0 sweep of Louisiana at the Texas Tennis Center on Jan. 15. The Longhorns won all six singles matches on the day with four in straight sets and two that ended in third-set superbreakers. They also took two out of three doubles matches.
-Bama Spring Shootout
The Longhorns headed to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to open spring play in a tournament that was originally scheduled to host individual play between Texas, Alabama and Mississippi State. However, after Mississippi State withdrew, members of Texas and Alabama faced off with the Longhorns winning four out of five titles, including sweeping all 10 doubles matches played on the second day. All three singles champions for the Longhorns in Eliot Spizzirri, Micah Braswell and Leighton Allen posted perfect 3-0 records.
Texas Singles Champions
Flight 1 – Eliot Spizzirri, Micah Braswell (co)
Flight 3 – Leighton Allen
Texas Doubles Champions
Flight 1 – Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab
Flight 2 – Micah Braswell/Cleeve Harper
ITA Texas Region Rookie of the Year
Sophomore Siem Woldeab was honored as the ITA Texas Region Rookie of the Year in May after he posted a 21-10 overall record in singles, including 11-3 in dual matches, stepping into the starting lineup for a defending National Champion Texas team and playing mostly at No. 3. He registered a high singles ranking of 37 and a high doubles ranking of 11 during the year and collected eight wins over ranked opponents in singles, including four against the top 40, two in the top 17 and one over teammate Yuya Ito in the championship match of his first collegiate tournament at the Gamecock Fall Invitational. He then paired with Ito to win the doubles title at the same tournament, and later paired with Christian Sigsgaard to win the doubles title of the Southern Intercollegiate Championships. In dual match play, Woldeab clinched matches against No. 43 Tulane, Nebraska and Tulsa. In the first dual match of his career on the road at No. 1 Florida, he played No. 3 singles and downed No. 17 Duarte Vale in straight sets to secure the team's first point in a 5-2 win. Woldeab won his last six singles matches of the season, including against opponents on two top-10 teams in No. 8 Stanford and No. 9 NC State. He has picked up where he left off this season with a win against Louisiana in dual match play.
Spizzirri Out of the Gate
So far in his early career as a Longhorn, sophomore Eliot Spizzirri has had an excellent start, registering a 21-4 singles record that includes an 13-1 mark in dual match play. In his first collegiate dual match he opened with a win over No. 72 Andy Andrade at No. 1 Florida to help Texas to a win. He had joined the team in January and made an immediate impact, playing primarily the No. 4 spot in the lineup. Through tournament play in this season, he recorded a 7-1 record in singles. Recently he claimed the co-championship of the top flight in singles and the championship of the top flight of doubles with Siem Woleab at the Bama Spring Shootout. He has an 18-11 overall career record in doubles to this point.
And Here Comes Braswell
True freshman Micah Braswell posted a 12-1 singles record in his first action as a Longhorn this fall, on his way to winning the championship of the Lakes Tennis Invite and co-championships of the TCU Invite and the Big 6 Fall Invite. That included wins over players in the last rankings of last season: No. 48 Parker Wynn, No. 77 Luc Fomba, No. 87 Ilgiz Valiev, No. 104 Mason Beiler and No. 107 Charlie Broom. He followed that up with a 3-0 start to spring play at the Bama Spring Shootout to earn the co-championship with teammate Eliot Spizzirri, along with wins against Louisiana and SMU in his first collegiate dual matches and pushed his overall record to 17-1.
-Defending National Champions (Still)
Without the NCAA Tournament being played last year, the Longhorns enter the season still as the defending National Champions. Juniors Chih Chi Huang and Nevin Arimilli and redshirt sophomore Cleeve Harper are the lone members remaining from the title team with an influx of new faces arriving since that time. Head coach Bruce Berque enters his third season after guiding Texas to its first team championship in school history.
-Simply the Best
This season Texas will be without two of its staples from the last four years that included a run to the program's first team National Championship in Yuya Ito and Christian Sigsgaard. Both players rank in the top 10 in all-time singles wins at Texas with Ito fifth (111) and Sigsgaard seventh (105) and would have been eligible to return, however Sigsgaard chose to begin his career in professional tennis, while Ito accepted a job opportunity in Japan.
Ito posted overall career marks of 111-34 (.766) in singles and 79-36 (.687) in doubles, including dual match records of 66-18 (.786) in singles and 48-27 (.640) in doubles. He was on pace to set the UT record for career singles victories had his final season not been cut short. His overall .766 career singles winning percentage is the best among the 22 players who have 90 victories or more. Ito was just the third three-time singles All-American (2017, '19, '20) in program history since separate singles and doubles honors began to be recognized in 1979. He finished in the top 10 of the ITA final singles rankings in both of the last two years at No. 8 in 2019 and No. 2 in 2020. He also paired with Christian Sigsgaard to rank as high as No. 4 in doubles in 2020.
Sigsgaard posted overall career marks of 105-41 (.719) in singles and 78-33 (.703) in doubles, including dual match records of 53-28 (.654) in singles and 51-21 (.708) in doubles. He departed Texas with three ITA All-America honors, earning them in singles in 2019 and 2020, and in doubles in 2019. He placed in the top 10 of the ITA final rankings in singles and doubles both of those years, finishing at No. 6 in singles in 2019 and 2020 and in doubles in 2019, along with No. 9 in doubles in 2020.
-Year Four at the Texas Tennis Center
Texas has begun its fourth season of play at the Texas Tennis Center and with two wins in 2021 has compiled a 36-3 overall record, including a 9-0 mark in a shortened season in 2020 that featured wins against No. 8 Stanford, No. 18 Georgia and No. 21 Florida State. 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
