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No. 7 Men’s Tennis falls just short, 4-3, to No. 8 TCU
04.03.2021 | Men's Tennis
The overall match came down to a third-set tiebreaker of the final singles match, but the Longhorns fell in their Big 12 opener Saturday.
Austin – No. 7 Men's Tennis and No. 8 TCU went to the limit with their overall match decided in a third-set tiebreaker of the final singles match, but the Longhorns came up short, 4-3, in their Big 12 Conference opener on Saturday at the Texas Tennis Center.
Following a win by TCU in the doubles point, Texas earned singles victories from sophomore Cleeve Harper at No. 4, junior Chih Chi Huang at No. 5, and sophomore No. 99 Siem Woldeab at No. 3, leading to a 3-3 tie. However, the Horned Frogs were able to claim the final match at No. 1 with No. 18 Luc Fomba coming out on top against sophomore No. 23 Eliot Spizzirri, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (0).
After doubles, Harper got Texas on the board and evened the match at 1-1 with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jake Fearnley, who shares the No. 99 ranking with Woldeab. The first set stayed on serve up to a 2-1 lead for Harper when he broke and then held to expand his lead to 4-1. The next three games also stayed on serve to 5-3 when Fearnley picked up a break on a deuce point to cut the lead to one. However, Harper answered the deuce point break with one of his own to claim the set. Harper then got out to a 2-0 lead in the second on the strength of a deuce point hold and a break, but Fearnley got the break back and held in the next game to even it. From there though, it was all Harper, as he went on a 4-0 run that included one deuce point to finish the match. It was Harper's second-straight win over a ranked opponent and his third of the dual match season.
TCU would regain the lead with a 6-4, 6-4 win by Juan Martin over sophomore Evin McDonald at No. 6. Martin secured the set's only break to take a 4-3 lead on his way to the 6-4 win, and then used another for a 3-2 lead in the second. McDonald answered that one in the next game to put the set back on serve where it stayed until Martin broke again for a 5-4 lead and held for the win to put the Horned Frogs up, 2-1.
Once again, Texas answered with Woldeab taking a three-set victory against No. 47 Sander Jong, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Like Harper, it was also Woldeab's second-straight ranked win and third of the dual match season. Woldeab recorded the first break of the first set to take a 2-1 lead, but Jong broke back in the next game to put it back on serve. The next three games stayed on serve with Jong holding in the last of those on a deuce point before breaking for 5-3 and holding again for the set. The first five games of the second set all stayed on serve with Woldeab using a deuce point win in the last of those for a 3-2 lead. That was the first game of a 4-0 run for Woldeab, which he also closed on a deuce point, to take the frame and send it to a third. In the final set, Woldeab used a break in the second game and deuce point hold in the third to jump out to a 3-0 advantage. That was all he would need as the rest of the set stayed on serve to the final.
No. 2 singles finished next with No. 10 Alastair Gray topping freshman No. 16 Micah Braswell, 6-4, 7-6 (3) to put TCU back on top at 3-2. Gray captured breaks in the second and fourth games to push out to a 4-0 lead to open the match, however Braswell responded with the same to even it on a deuce point break. Gray then reclaimed the lead on a deuce point break of his own before holding to win the set. The first three games of the second set stayed on serve starting with Braswell to give him a 2-1 edge, but at that point, the next five games all went to deuce point. The first two of those belonged to Braswell as he stretched his lead to 4-1, but Gray claimed to next two to get back within one before Braswell broke on the final one to stay up, 5-3. Gray got the break right back in the next game to put the set back on serve and it stayed that way to the tiebreaker where Gray jumped out to a 3-0 lead he did not relinquish.
Minutes later, the overall match would be tied again with Huang winning in straight sets on two tiebreakers over Tadeas Paroulek, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4). In the first set, Paroulek grabbed a break for lead at 2-1 that he maintained until Huang broke at 4-4 on a deuce point. It was the first of three straight deuce points on Paroulek's serve, but Paroulek won the final two to keep the set on serve and stave off a set point by Haung to send it to a tiebreaker. In the breaker, Huang went on a 4-0 run to claim a 5-1 lead en route to a 7-2 win. The second set saw Huang get up two breaks for a 3-0 lead with the second coming on a deuce point. It was the first of three straight deuce points and four straight breaks that left Huang up 4-2 when Paroulek broke the streak with a hold to trail by one. Huang returned the hold for 5-3, but Paroulek won three straight deuce point games for a 6-5 lead, denying two match points for Huang who responded with a hold for another tiebreaker. In that frame, Paroulek notched the first two points, but Huang got the next two as part of four of the next five to take a 4-2 lead. Paroulek then evened it at 4-4, but it was all Huang from there with a 3-0 run on his way to the win.
That left the deciding point at No. 1 where the first set stayed on serve up to a 4-3 lead for Spizzirri that he claimed on a deuce point before following with a deuce point break to go up 5-3. However, Fomba answered in the next game and the rest of the set stayed on serve to a tiebreaker. The players traded the first two points there starting with Spizzirri before he set off on a 6-0 run that finished it. Spizzirri then opened the second set with a deuce point break and a hold for a 2-0 lead that he stretched to 3-1 on serve, but at that point Fomba began a 5-0 run to send it to the third. There, Fomba grabbed a break for a 2-1 lead with the break holding up all the way to Fomba serving for the match at 5-4. However, Spizzirri then captured the break he needed to extend the match and send it on its way to a second tiebreaker, but Fomba picked up a mini-break on the first point that started a 7-0 run for the win.
Earlier in doubles, TCU secured the point with a pair of 6-4 wins at Nos. 1 and 3, while the match at No. 2 went unfinished at 5-5. At No. 1, the 11th-ranked duo of Gray and Fomba opened their match against No. 12 Spizzirri and Woldeab on a 4-0 run that included one deuce point win. The Longhorns got on the board in the next game on serve, but TCU extended to 5-1 on another deuce point in the following game. Spizzirri and Woldeab made a comeback push with a 3-0 run to get within 5-4, but Gray and Fomba held in the final game for the win.
At No. 3, Braswell and sophomore Jacob Bullard faced Fearnley and Max Kurzban and opened the match with a win on serve. However, two games later, TCU picked up a break and then held on a deuce point to lead, 3-1. The match stayed on serve the rest of the way, including two deuce point wins for the Horned Frogs at 4-2 and on match point to clinch the doubles point.
In the unfinished match, Harper and Huang dug out of an early 2-0 deficit, that included a deuce point break in the opening game against Jong and Paroulek. The Texas duo mounted a 3-0 run to take the lead and put the match back on serve where it stayed until play stopped.
The Longhorns (15-4, 0-1 Big 12) return to the court next weekend for a pair of Big 12 matches that will close out the regular season at the Texas Tennis Center. The first will be against No. 20 Oklahoma on Friday, April 9, at 3 p.m. CT, which will air on Longhorn Network, and the second will be versus No. 18 Oklahoma State on Sunday, April 11, at 12 p.m. CT.
#8 TCU 4, #7 Texas 3
Singles – Order of Finish (4,6,3,2,5,1)
1. #18 Luc Fomba (TCU) def. #23 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) 6-7 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (0)
2. #10 Alastair Gray (TCU) def. #16 Micah Braswell (UT) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
3. #99 Siem Woldeab (UT) def. #47 Sander Jong (TCU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
4. Cleeve Harper (UT) def. #99 Jake Fearnley (TCU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Chih Chi Huang (UT) def. Tadeas Paroulek (TCU) 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4)
6. Juan Martin (TCU) def. Evin McDonald (UT) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,3)
1. #11 Alastair Gray/Luc Fomba (TCU) def. #12 Siem Woldeab/Eliot Spizzirri (UT) 6-4
2. Cleeve Harper/Chih Chi Huang (UT) vs. Sander Jong/Tadeas Paroulek (TCU) 5-5, unf.
3. Jake Fearnley/Max Kurzban (TCU) def. Micah Braswell/Jacob Bullard (UT) 6-4
Players Mentioned
