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No. 5 Men’s Tennis downs No. 1 USC, 4-3, at ITA Indoors
02.13.2021 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns staged a furious comeback with four singles wins, including three in three sets, to overcome a 3-0 deficit against the Trojans on Saturday.
Champaign, Ill. – No. 5 Men's Tennis staged a furious comeback to down No. 1 USC, 4-3, at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Saturday in Champaign, Ill. The Longhorns overcame a 3-0 deficit with four singles wins, three of which went to three sets.
The singles victories included sophomore No. 120 Eliot Spizzirri at No. 2, freshman No. 78 Micah Braswell at No. 3, sophomore Evin McDonald at No. 6 and sophomore Cleeve Harper at No. 4, which clinched it. The last three of those were in three sets. It was the third time in the last three seasons the Longhorns have defeated a No. 1 team after winning at Florida to open dual match play in last year's shortened season, and topping Ohio State in 2019.
"It was a really impressive team win, bouncing back from a rough loss yesterday, for one, but I think even more importantly in the position we found ourselves in the match, having lost the doubles point and then down 3-0 to the number one team in the country with a young team," head coach Bruce Berque said. "Most of them haven't been in that position before and most were playing at the National Indoors for the first time, and we found a way to stay tough and stay resilient and claw our way back into the match. Then when we had the moment to step up and finish, we did.
"I was really impressed by several performances, but I'd say Micah (Braswell) and Cleeve (Harper) were definitely standouts, winning in doubles and having big wins in singles, with Cleeve clinching it, and Micah played great against a really good player. Then Evin McDonald, who hasn't been a lineup player before this year, stepped up, and after losing the first set, 6-2, came back when his opponent was serving for the match and found a way to break back and close it out for the win. Eliot (Spizzirri) of course played really well and competed great, so it's really just overall a really good team win."
Earlier in the match, USC had built its lead on the strength of the doubles point and singles wins at No. 5 and No. 1. The doubles point was decided in a tiebreaker of the final match at No. 1 with Spizzirri and sophomore Siem Woldeab pushing the nation's top-ranked double pair of Daniel Cukierman and Riley Smith to limit after Braswell and Harper had earned a 6-2 win at No. 3.
Following the Trojans' two singles wins, the Longhorns began their comeback with Spizzirri right back in a tiebreaker in his opening set against No. 19 Smith at No. 2. This time Spizzirri would come out on top of the extra frame by storming to a 6-0 lead on his way to a 7-2 win to cap a set that had stayed on serve the entire way and featured only one deuce point that was won by Smith. The second set started in much the same way, staying on serve starting with Spizzirri to a 2-2 tie when Smith picked up a break on a deuce point to take the lead. Spizzirri answered the break in the next game and then won two straight deuce points as part of a 4-0 run for the 7-6 (2), 6-3 final to get Texas on the board at 3-1. It was the second win over a top-20 opponent for Spizzirri this season after he topped No. 8 Sam Riffice of No. 9 Florida to clinch that match on Jan. 23.
Braswell was next off the court with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over No. 104 Stefan Dostanic that appeared as if Braswell might finish in two sets. The two players had traded breaks early in the first set, but stayed on serve after that to 4-4 when Braswell closed it with two deuce point wins. After Dostanic held on a deuce point to open the second, Braswell went on a 4-0 run, including one deuce point to establish a lead. Dostanic responded with a break and hold to get within one, and then the next two games stayed on serve to make it, 5-4. Braswell then had a service game for the match that included a match point on deuce, but Dostanic captured it along with the next two games to force the third set. That frame stayed on serve starting with Dostanic to 3-3 when Braswell used a deuce point to break and then held for 5-3. Dostanic held in the next game, but Braswell closed it on another deuce point to pull the Longhorns within 3-2. It was the first win for Braswell over a ranked opponent in dual match play in his young career, although he has had two matches go unfinished that he was leading against No. 43 Sven Lah of Baylor.
The first sets of the next two matches with McDonald and Harper had both gone to the Trojans. Harper's had been the closer of the two as he logged a set point, but McDonald found himself down 5-1 in his before falling, 6-2. However, McDonald stood strong and posted a pair of 7-5 wins after that to down Jake Sands. The second set stayed on serve almost the whole way, including three deuce points, two of which Sands won, but the last of which gave McDonald a 6-5 lead. That's when McDonald came through with a break to force the third where he used another break for an early 2-0 lead. However, Sands answered the break in the next game to put the set back on course where it stayed up to 4-4. Sands used another break for a 5-4 lead, but it was all McDonald from there as he closed on a 3-0 run for the win and the 3-3 tie in the overall match.
That left it to Harper against No. 79 Ryder Jackson where he claimed a 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory. Remarkably, the first set stayed on serve starting with Jackson all the way to 5-5, as there were seven deuce points in those first 10 games, the last of which gave Harper a set point. Jackson won that deuce and had taken three others before finally breaking for the lead and holding for the win at 7-5. However, the second set belonged to Harper where he got out to a 3-0 lead and then closed on another 3-0 run for a 6-1 win to send it to the third. Jackson held in the opening game on a deuce point and the first four games stayed on serve, but from there, Harper mounted a 4-0 run, the last three of which fittingly were on deuce points to clinch it as his teammates rushed his court.
The other two singles matches had been a 6-2, 6-2 win for No. 1 Cukierman over No. 57 Woldeab and a 6-0, 6-1 win for Lodewijk Weststrate over junior Chih Chi Huang.
In doubles, it had been Weststrate and Mor Bulis that Braswell and Harper had defeated, 6-2, at No. 3 after Dostanic and Bradley Frye downed Huang and senior Payton Holden, 6-1, at No. 2. The match at No. 1 had stayed close the entire way with the first six games staying on serve starting with the top-ranked Cukierman and Smith. Spizzirri and Woldeab actually grabbed the first break for a 4-3 lead, but the USC pair broke back immediately and then held for a 5-4 edge. The Longhorns evened it at 5-5 on a deuce point and the final two games also stayed on serve, leading to the tiebreaker where the Trojans established a 3-0 lead that was extended to 6-1 before the 7-2 final.
The Longhorns return to the court tomorrow to conclude play at the ITA Indoors in the consolation bracket and will face No. 10 Tennessee at 12 p.m. CT.
#5 Texas 4, #1 USC 3
Singles – Order of Finish (5,1,2,3,6,4)
1. #1 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. #57 Siem Woldeab (UT) 6-2, 6-2
2. #120 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. #19 Riley Smith (USC) 7-6 (2), 6-3
3. #78 Micah Braswell (UT) def. #104 Stefan Dostanic (USC) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
4. Cleeve Harper (UT) def. #79 Ryder Jackson (USC) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
5. Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) def. Chih Chi Huang (UT) 6-0, 6-1
6. Evin McDonald (UT) def. Jake Sands (USC) 2-6, 7-5, 7-5
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,3,1)
1. #1 Daniel Cukierman/Riley Smith (USC) def. Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (UT) 7-6 (2)
2. Stefan Dostanic/Bradley Frye (USC) def. Payton Holden/Chih Chi Huang (UT) 6-1
3. Micah Braswell/Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Mor Bulis/Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) 6-2
Players Mentioned
