The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Northern Arizona
No. 4 Men’s Tennis advances to NCAA Tournament Second Round
05.08.2021 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns swept Northern Arizona, 4-0, on Saturday to move on to the second round for the eighth-straight year.
Austin – No. 4 Men's Tennis advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the eighth-straight year with a 4-0 sweep over Northern Arizona on Saturday at the Texas Tennis Center.
The Longhorns put together an efficient win with a sweep of the doubles point and three straight-sets singles victories by freshman No. 38 Micah Braswell at No. 2, sophomore Evin McDonald at No. 6 and sophomore No. 23 Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1. It was the first NCAA singles win for all three players after the tournament was not played last year due to the pandemic.
After Texas took a 1-0 lead with the doubles point, Braswell extended it with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Facundo Tumosa. Braswell swept the first set with only one game even going to a deuce point, and after Tumosa took the opening game of the second set on serve, Braswell ran together three more games, the last two on deuce points. Tumosa got one more game on serve before Braswell closed with another 3-0 run.
Almost immediately after that, McDonald captured a 6-1, 6-1 win over Joachim Schaefer, who was a late insertion into the singles lineup. Schaefer won his first service game in each set, but other than that it was all McDonald, who won his 12 games with only one going to deuce.
That left the clincher to Spizzirri, who collected a 6-4, 6-2 win over Eban Straker-Meads. Spizzirri grabbed a break in the opening game, but Straker-Meads answered with a deuce point win in the next. After Spizzirri pushed out to a 3-1 lead with the following two games, Straker-Meads rallied with a 3-0 run for the lead. However, Spizzirri bettered him by one with a 4-0 run to take the first set and a 1-0 lead in the second. Straker-Meads then won two straight deuce point games, but those would be his last wins as Spizzirri went on a 5-0 run for the victory and overall match.
In the remaining unfinished matches, sophomore No. 75 Siem Woldeab led Dominik Buzonics, 6-2, 4-3, sophomore No. 108 Cleeve Harper led Chris Steele, 6-2, 2-4, and junior Chih Chi Huang led Maciej Ziomber, 7-6 (4), 1-0.
Earlier in doubles, all three matches were in position to finish within seconds of each other. The No. 11 duo of Spizzirri and Woldeab was off first with a 6-3 win over Straker-Meads and Tumosa at No. 1. The Longhorns opened on serve and picked up a break for a 3-1 lead and then held for 4-1. The rest of the match stayed on serve with each team winning a deuce point game with Northern Arizona at 4-2, and Texas on match point for the win.
Moments later, Braswell and senior Payton Holden clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win over Steele and Ziomber at No. 3. The Lumberjacks held serve in the opening game, but the Longhorns took it from there with a 5-0 run. Northern Arizona got one game back on serve, but Texas then closed it for the 1-0 overall lead.
The remaining match at No. 2 saw the No. 78 pair of Harper and Huang leading Buzonics and Daniel Dillon, 5-2, when play stopped. Texas served first and grabbed a break in the second game for a 3-0 lead with the match staying on serve the rest of the way.
The Longhorns (21-5) will now head to the second round where they will face Northwestern on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT at the Texas Tennis Center with a trip to the Round of 16 in Orlando on the line. The Wildcats defeated No. 23 UCLA, 4-1, in the earlier match on Saturday.
#4 Texas 4, Northern Arizona 0
Singles – Order of Finish (2,6,1)
1. #23 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. Eban Straker-Meads (NAU) 6-4, 6-2
2. #38 Micah Braswell (UT) def. Facundo Tumosa (NAU) 6-0, 6-2
3. #75 Siem Woldeab (UT) vs. Dominik Buzonics (NAU) 6-2, 4-3, unf.
4. #108 Cleeve Harper (UT) vs. Chris Steele (NAU) 6-2, 2-4, unf.
5. Chih Chi Huang (UT) vs. Maciej Ziomber (NAU) 7-6 (4), 1-0, unf.
6. Evin McDonald (UT) def. Joachim Schaefer (NAU) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,3)
1. #11 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (UT) def. TUMOSA, Facundo/STRAKER-MEADS, Eban (NAU) 6-3
2. #78 Cleeve Harper/Chih Chi Huang (UT) vs. DILLON, Daniel/BUZONICS, Dominik (NAU) 5-2, unf.
3. Micah Braswell/Payton Holden (UT) def. STEELE, Chris/ZIOMBER, Maciej (NAU) 6-2
Players Mentioned
