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No. 14 Men’s Tennis tops No. 5 Florida, 4-3
02.18.2022 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns moved on to the quarterfinals of the ITA National Indoors where they will face No. 4 TCU on Saturday.
Seattle – No. 14 Texas Men's Tennis topped fourth-seeded No. 5 Florida, 4-3, to advance to the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Friday at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle. It marks the third time in the last four years Texas has reached the quarterfinals after making the semifinals in 2019 and the quarterfinals in 2020.
The 13th-seeded Longhorns won the doubles point and recorded singles wins by sophomore No. 57 Micah Braswell at No. 1 and senior No. 75 Richard Ciamarra at No. 3, along with the clincher by freshman No. 62 Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2 that broke a 3-3 overall tie. The victory sets up Texas to face fifth-seeded No. 4 TCU on Saturday.
After the Longhorns took the doubles point, the teams alternated points until Bailly put Texas ahead for good with a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2 win over the No. 3 player in the nation in Ben Shelton. In the first set, Shelton had picked up an early break and consolidated it on a deuce point in the following game for a 3-1 lead. The next five games stayed on serve to a 5-4 lead for Shelton, however that included a 0-40 comeback by Bailly that kept him within 4-3 at the time. Bailly then got the match back on serve with a break at 5-5 and held on a deuce point for the lead. Shelton also held to send it to a tiebreaker where he used a 5-0 run to turn a 4-2 deficit into a first-set win. After Shelton won the first game of the second set on serve, Bailly set out on a 5-0 run that included two breaks with the second coming on a deuce point. Shelton tried to rally with a 3-0 run that included one break, but Bailly closed on serve after that. Just as he did in the second, Bailly put together a 5-0 run in the third, this time starting it from the onset with a break in the first game. Shelton managed a break and a hold to pull within 5-2, but Bailly finished the match at 6-2 to send his teammates streaming onto his court.
To get to that point, Florida had evened the match at 1-1 with a 6-1, 7-6 (4) decision by No. 33 Mattias Siimar over sophomore Siem Woldeab at No. 5. After the players each held their opening serve starting with Siimar, he went on an 8-0 run to take the first set and set up a 3-0 lead in the second, winning all three in the second on deuce points. However, Woldeab battled back with a 3-0 run of his own with a chance for a lead on a deuce point on serve in the next game, but it went to Siimar, who then held for 5-3. Woldeab made one more push with another 3-0 run to take the lead and had a set point at deuce, but again it went to Siimar to force the tiebreaker. There, a 3-0 run by Siimar gave him a 5-2 advantage that he maintained to the win.
Not long after that, Braswell regained the lead for Texas with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over No. 92 Sam Riffice. In a back-and-forth match, the first set featured six deuce points with the first four going to Riffice, including in his opening service game. Braswell held on his first serve, as well, and then broke for a 2-1 lead. He had a chance to extend in the next game, but Riffice broke back on a deuce point. The following six games stayed on serve with Riffice coming back from down 15-40 to hold at 4-3, and then he held his next serve on a deuce at 5-4. It was then Braswell's turn at deuce, holding and breaking at it in the next two games for a 6-5 lead before winning the set on serve. Riffice took the next deuce point for a break and a 2-0 lead in the second and appeared on his way to 3-0 with a 40-0 lead, but Braswell came all the way back to answer the break. After the next three games stayed on serve, Braswell grabbed another break for a 4-3 lead, but Riffice answered it, then held and had a set point at deuce in the next game. However, Braswell would not be denied against the defending NCAA Singles Champion and took the point along with the next two games for the match and a 2-1 Texas lead.
Florida answered again with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win by Andy Andrade over sophomore Eliot Spizzirri at No. 4. Spizzirri opened with a hold on serve and had a chance to break in the second game on a deuce point, but Andrade held for 1-1. Spizzirri would get that deuce-point break two games later as part of a 3-0 run for a 4-1 advantage that he maintained for the set. In the second, Andrade broke for a 3-1 lead, and although Spizzirri broke back and held to even it, Andrade closed, 3-0, to send it to a third set. With the first two games there resulting in breaks, Spizzirri held for a 2-1 lead, but Andrade used two deuce-point wins for a 4-0 run to take the match.
The Longhorns returned to the lead on the strength of Ciamarra's 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win over Duarte Vale. Ciamarra got off to a strong start with a break in the second game to establish a 4-1 lead, but Vale came back with a 3-0 run to even it at 4-4. Ciamarra then held to retake the lead and broke on a deuce point for the set. Despite three deuce points, the second set stayed on serve all the way to 4-4, but it would be the next deuce point that resulted in a break and the lead for Vale that he then consolidated for the set. In the third, Ciamarra held and then pushed to a deuce point in the next game, but Vale held to even it. Ciamarra would get that break on Vale's next serve for a 3-1 lead, and although Vale was able to answer it, Ciamarra took another to start a 3-0 run that he finished on a deuce point for the match and a 3-2 overall lead.
That left Texas with two chances for the clinch with the other besides Bailly being sophomore No. 110 Cleeve Harper at No. 6. However, Harper came up just short in a third-set tiebreaker to Josh Goodger, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5). Both players put together strong sets with Harper taking a 5-1 lead in the first on the way to his win, while Goodger got out to a 4-0 lead in the second. Harper rallied with the next two games, but the last two went to Goodger on deuce points. The third set started as more of the same with Goodger taking a 4-1 lead on the strength of a deuce-point break at 3-1, however Harper came back with a 4-1 run of his own to even it at 5-5. The players each held in the next two games to go to a tiebreaker, which was similar the scoring of the set. After Harper won the first point in a mini-break, Goodger collected a 4-0 run. Harper ran off three straight to even it at 4-4, and the next three points alternated starting with Goodger until he took the frame at 7-5. At that point, Bailly led Shelton 5-0 in the third set en route to the Texas win.
Earlier in doubles, Bailly and Woldeab had combined for a 6-2 ranked win over the No. 44 duo of Siimar and Andrade at No. 2. Florida held its opening service game, but Texas broke in the third for a 2-1 lead on a deuce point, which they extended to 3-1 on serve. The next two games were both deuce-point holds with the Longhorns' being the start of a 3-0 to finish it. The match at No. 1 followed the same scoring pattern as the No. 14 pair of Ciamarra and Harper used a deuce-point break in the third for a 3-1 lead against Riffice and Shelton. The next two games were also holds, but in this match, the Gators held with a deuce point to pull within 4-3. The final three games also stayed on serve to give Texas the doubles point and its 1-0 lead. The remaining match at No. 3 of Braswell and junior Chih Chi Huang against Vale and Abedallah Shelbayh went unfinished at 4-4 with each team picking up a deuce point break during the match.
The Longhorns (7-3) will now square off with Big 12 foe No. 4 TCU in the quarterfinals, however the contest, which will start at 11 a.m. CT/9 a.m. PT, will not count as a conference match.
#14 Texas 4, #5 Florida 3
Singles – Order of Finish (5,1,4,3,6,2)
1. #57 Micah Braswell (UT) def. #92 Sam Riffice (UF) 7-5, 7-5
2. #62 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. #3 Ben Shelton (UF) 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2
3. #75 Richard Ciamarra (UT) def. Duarte Vale (UF) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
4. Andy Andrade (UF) def. Eliot Spizzirri (UT) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. #33 Mattias Siimar (UF) def. Siem Woldeab (UT) 6-1, 7-6 (4)
6. Josh Goodger (UF) def. #110 Cleeve Harper (UT) 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5)
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,1)
1. #14 Richard Ciamarra/Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF) 6-4
2. Siem Woldeab/Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. #44 Mattias Siimar/Andy Andrade (UF) 6-2
3. Abedallah Shelbayh/Duarte Vale (UF) vs. Micah Braswell/Chih Chi Huang (UT) 4-4, unf.
Players Mentioned
