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No. 6 Men’s Tennis downs No. 21 Oklahoma, 5-2
04.09.2021 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns defeated the Sooners for the second time overall this season and the first in Big 12 play.
Austin – No. 6 Men's Tennis downed No. 21 Oklahoma for the second time this season, but the first time in conference play with a 5-2 win at the Texas Tennis Center on Friday.
The Longhorns had also defeated the Sooners, 4-3, in a non-conference meeting in Norman on March 7. However in this match, Texas won the doubles point and clinched at 4-0 with straight sets singles victories from freshman No. 16 Micah Braswell at No. 2, sophomore Cleeve Harper at No. 4 and junior Chih Chi Huang at No. 5. As the teams played it out, those were followed by a third-set superbreaker win for sophomore No. 23 Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, while the only two defeats came in another third-set superbreaker at No. 6, and a regular third-set tiebreaker at No. 3.
After two solid wins to claim the doubles point, Braswell was first off the court in singles with an efficient 6-1, 6-1 ranked win over No. 111 Mason Beiler. Beiler won the first game on serve, but Braswell set out on a 7-0 run to take the set and post a 1-0 lead in the second on a deuce point hold. Beiler held serve in the next game, but again Braswell went on a streak, this time 6-0 for the win and his fourth victory over a ranked opponent in dual match play this season.
Next off was Harper with an almost equally efficient 6-2, 6-1 victory over Nathan Han. Harper won the first game on serve before Han held and picked up an early break for a 2-1 lead. However, it was all Harper from there as he bolted out on a 9-0 run, only one of which came on a deuce point, to take the set and a post a 4-0 lead in the second. Han recorded one more break before Harper broke back on a deuce point and served out for the win and a 3-0 Texas lead.
Moments later, Huang provided the clinch with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Justin Schlegeter. Like Braswell and Harper, Huang also put together a significant run, however his came after he had fallen behind, 4-0, in the first set. That's when Huang turned it on to claim seven straight games, including two deuce points, to win the set and go up 1-0 on serve in the second. That frame stayed on serve up to a 3-2 for Huang when he broke and then held for 5-2. After Schlegeter got one game back on a deuce point hold to fend off a match point, Huang served out in the next game, capping it with an ace to end the match.
In the remaining matches, sophomore Evin McDonald played a trio of tiebreakers at No. 6 with the last being a superbreaker, but came up just short against Mark Mandlik, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 0-1 (8). The entire first set stayed on serve starting Mandlik, who then pushed out to a 5-1 lead in the breaker before closing it at 6-2. Mandlik also picked up a deuce point break in the first game of the second set and extended to 3-1 before McDonald rallied and got the break back on a deuce point to even it at 4-4. From there the set stayed on serve to another tiebreaker where the players alternated points starting with McDonald all the way to 6-5 before he broke the streak for his second straight point and the win. In the superbreaker, Mandlik jumped out to a 4-1 lead that he extended to 9-5. McDonald rallied with a 3-0 run to get within one but couldn't quite complete the comeback.
Meanwhile, sophomore No. 99 Siem Woldeab split a pair of 6-2 sets with Alex Martinez at No. 3 before Martinez emerged from a third-set tiebreaker with the 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3) win. Martinez held serve to open the match, but Woldeab grabbed two breaks as part of a 4-0 run. Martinez got one break back to make it 4-2, but Woldeab answered it and then held for the set. The second set stayed on serve up to 3-2 for Martinez when he went on a 3-0 run to send it to the third. The scoring in that frame mirrored the previous one to a 4-2 edge for Martinez, the last of which was on a deuce point break, but this time Woldeab returned the favor with a deuce point break that started a 3-0 run. Woldeab then had a chance to serve for the match at 5-4, but Martinez secured a break to stay alive and then held on a deuce point to take a 6-5 lead. Woldeab responded with a hold to go to a tiebreaker, but Martinez took a 3-0 lead, which he maintained to the 7-3 win.
That left the last match on the court at No. 1 where Spizzirri and No. 108 Jake Van Emburgh went to a superbreaker with Spizzirri coming out on top for a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 1-0 (7) win. It was Spizzirri's fifth ranked win of dual match play. Van Emburgh opened with a deuce point break, but Spizzirri answered with a break of his own to put the set back on serve where it stayed all the way to a tiebreaker despite Spizzirri having a set point at deuce up 6-5. In the breaker, the players traded the first four points, and Spizzirri won a second in a row for a 3-2 edge, but Van Emburgh finished on a 4-0 run for the set. In the second, Van Emburgh held on a deuce point to start, but Spizzirri did as well in the next game to begin a 3-0 run. The set stayed on serve up to a 5-3 when Spizzirri captured another break to send it to a superbreaker. Spizzirri established a 4-1 lead in that frame, however Van Emburgh came back with a 4-0 run of his own to briefly take the lead at 5-4. After the players exchanged points to a 6-5 lead for Van Emburgh, Spizzirri began a 5-1 run for the win and the 5-2 overall final for Texas.
Earlier in doubles, Texas answered their doubles defeat from the first meeting in March by taking wins at Nos. 1 and 3 to secure the point. At No. 3, Braswell and senior Payton Holden paired for the first time this season in dual match play after posting a 3-1 record in fall tournament play. The duo captured a 6-1 win over Van Emburgh and Matt Rodriguez by taking the first three games and last three games on each side of one Oklahoma hold.
At No. 1, Spizzirri and Woldeab bounced back from falling against TCU to earn their third win against a ranked opponent in their last four matches by downing No. 28 Han and Martinez, 6-3. The first three games of the match went to a deuce point with Oklahoma winning the first on serve, but Texas grabbing the next two with a hold and a break, along with a win in the following game to lead 3-1. From there, the match stayed on serve until the final game when Spizzirri and Woldeab won a deuce point to break again and clinch the point.
In the remaining match, Harper and Huang trailed Mandlik and Max Steweart, 5-3, when play stopped with almost all of the match staying on serve up to a deuce point break for Oklahoma in the last game.
The Longhorns (16-4, 1-1 Big 12) will complete their regular season home schedule against No. 18 Oklahoma State on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT at the Texas Tennis Center.
#6 Texas 5, #21 Oklahoma 2
Singles – Order of Finish (2,4,5,6,3,1)
1. #23 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. #108 Jake Van Emburgh (OU) 6-7 (3), 6-3, 1-0 (7)
2. #16 Micah Braswell (UT) def. #111 Mason Beiler (OU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Alex Martinez (OU) def. #99 Siem Woldeab (UT) 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3)
4. Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Nathan Han (OU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Chih Chi Huang (UT) def. Justin Schlageter (OU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Mark Mandlik (OU) def. Evin McDonald (UT) 7-6 (2), 6-7 (5), 1-0 (8)
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,1)
1. #12 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (UT) def. #28 Nathan Han/Alex Martinez (OU) 6-3
2. Cleeve Harper/Chih Chi Huang (UT) vs. Mark Mandlik/Max Stewart (OU) 3-5, unf.
3. Micah Braswell/Payton Holden (UT) def. Matt Rodriguez/Jake Van Emburgh (OU) 6-1
Players Mentioned
