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No. 10 Men’s Tennis defeats No. 30 Oklahoma, 5-2
03.27.2022 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns won their third-straight match overall, all coming against top-30 teams, by downing the Sooners on Sunday.
Austin – No. 10 Texas Men's Tennis earned a 5-2 Red River win over No. 30 Oklahoma on Sunday at the Texas Tennis Center.
It was the Longhorns' third-straight win overall, all coming against top-30 teams, and their eighth-consecutive in the series against the Sooners in what was technically a non-conference match before the beginning of Big 12 play. The two teams will meet again in Norman on April 14 for the conference match.
Texas won an extremely close doubles point that saw the last two matches on the court go to tiebreakers, but had already taken a win at No. 1 before adding one of the tiebreakers at No. 2. It marked only the third time Oklahoma had lost the doubles point in 17 matches this season.
The Longhorns then posted singles wins from sophomores No. 24 Micah Braswell at No. 1, No. 85 Siem Woldeab at No. 5, and No. 66 Eliot Spizzirri at No. 3 to clinch, along with junior No. 124 Chih Chi Huang at No. 6 for the fifth point.
👀📹 @LonghornNetwork highlights from yesterday's 5️⃣-2️⃣ Red River win 🆚 Oklahoma! #HookEm 🤘🎾 pic.twitter.com/yamb2B1wDZ
— Texas Men's Tennis (@TexasMTN) March 28, 2022
After doubles, Braswell was off the court first in singles with an efficient 6-4, 6-1 win over Alex Martinez. Braswell forced a deuce point in the opening game, but Martinez was able to hold for the lead. Braswell held, as well, then did get a break for a 2-1 lead that he consolidated to 3-1 on serve. Martinez got the break back at 3-3 as part of a 3-0 run that positioned him with a 4-3 lead. However, Braswell responded with a 3-0 run of his own, getting a deuce-point break at 5-4 on the way to taking the set. He then got another deuce-point break to open the second and made it 2-0 on serve before Martinez picked up his only game of the set on serve at 2-1. It was Braswell the rest of the way from there, including deuce-point wins at 4-1 and 5-1 before breaking for the match and a 2-0 lead for Texas.
Woldeab would be next with a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over No. 125 Jordan Hasson. The first two games went to deuce with each player grabbing an early break, but Woldeab broke again for a 2-1 lead and then held for 3-1. Hasson got the break back at 4-4 and then took the lead on serve, which is where the rest of the set stayed, including a deuce-point hold for Woldeab that sent it to a tiebreaker. Woldeab would never trail in that frame after starting with a mini-break that he made 2-0 on serve. It would be tied on three occasions until Woldeab took the lead for good at 5-4, which he then turned into 6-4 before winning at 7-5. The first three games of the second stayed on serve beginning with a deuce-point hold from Woldeab. Up 2-1, Woldeab secured the first break and held on another deuce-point for 4-1. Hasson got one game back on serve, but the final two belonged to Woldeab on a deuce-point hold and a break, which gave the Longhorns a 3-0 lead.
Oklahoma got on the scoreboard with their first point on a 6-4, 6-4 win by No. 60 Mason Beiler over freshman No. 19 Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2. Both sets saw a run of early deuce points with the first having four in a row after an opening hold by Beiler. The first two of those went to Bailly and the second two to Beiler, giving him a 3-2 lead. The next two games were on serve, but the last three were all breaks with the first of those giving Beiler a 5-3 lead. Even though Bailly broke back on a deuce point to keep the set going, Beiler broke again for the win. Much like the first set, Beiler held his opening serve in the second and then there were three-straight deuce points, the last of which was a break for Beiler at 3-1 that he pushed to 4-1 on serve. Bailly got the break back to pull within 5-4, but Beiler captured the match on a deuce-point break to make the overall score, 3-1 Texas.
Spizzirri was up next with the clinch, topping Baptiste Anselmo by the same score as Woldeab's win – 7-6 (5), 6-2. Spizzirri broke first in the match on a deuce point for a 3-1 lead, starting a string of five of the next six games going to deuce. Spizzirri pushed to 4-1 on serve for the only non-deuce in the stretch, and the next three stayed on serve despite the deuce points until Anelmo broke on the last one for 5-4 and held to even it at 5-5. The final two games then stayed on serve to the tiebreaker, which also stayed on serve until the first mini-break gave Spizzirri a 4-3 lead that he turned into 5-3 on serve. Anselmo answered with the next two points for 5-5, but the two after that were Spizzirri's for the set. In the second, Spizzirri forced a deuce-point on Anselmo's first serve, and although Anselmo was able to hold, Spizzirri set out on a 5-0 run, including a deuce-point break at 4-1 to establish his lead that he maintained on serve for the match.
The remainder of the matches were then played out, and despite falling, senior No. 47 Richard Ciamarra made a furious comeback against No. 101 Mark Mandlik that came up just shy, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. Ciamarra had won the opening game on serve, but dropped 10 of the next 11 games to find himself down 4-0 in the second set. That's when he flipped the script, winning the next four as part of eight of the next nine to force a third set and start with a 1-0 lead on serve. The next three games were also on serve, but Mandlik broke for a 3-2 lead that he extended to 5-2. Ciamarra made one more push by holding off match point to break at deuce in the next game and consolidating it at 5-4 on serve. He also pushed the next game to deuce, but that one belonged to Mandlik for the match to make it 4-2 Texas.
The final match also went three sets, including a third-set tiebreaker, with Huang emerging over Justin Schlageter, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (5). In the first set, Huang bolted out to a 4-0 lead capped by a deuce-point break. However, Schlageter managed a 4-0 run to answer, which Huang stopped with a pair of deuce-point wins on a hold and a break for the set. He then opened the second with another deuce-point hold, but Schlageter put together a 5-0 run to take control of the frame before winning on serve at 6-2. The third set stayed on serve the entire way up to the tiebreaker starting with Huang. There was only one deuce point along the way, and that came at 3-3 for Schlageter. In the breaker, Schlageter jumped to a 3-0 lead, but Huang took five of the next six points for a 5-4 advantage. Schlageter got one of them back at 5-5, but the final two were Huang's to complete the Texas win.
Earlier in doubles, the Longhorns struck first with a 6-4 win by the No. 23 pair of Ciamarra and sophomore Cleeve Harper over the No. 46 duo of Martinez and Welsh Hotard at No. 1. The Longhorns found themselves in a quick 2-0 hole after being broken in the opening game, but responded with a hold and a break to get back on serve at 2-2. The next five games were all on serve, but all five went to deuce points with Texas recovering from deficits of 0-40 and 15-40 on consecutive serves. However, that stretch left them with a 5-4 lead and they got the break they needed for the win in the next game.
The other two matches both went to tiebreakers with No. 2 finishing first as the No. 58 pair of Spizzirri and Woldeab topped Mandlik and Anselmo, 7-6 (5). The whole match stayed on serve starting with Spizzirri and Woldeab, and even though there were four deuce points on the Longhorns' serves in that span, they were able to hold on all of them. Once in the breaker, Texas took a 2-0 lead that they extended to 4-1. Oklahoma twice pulled back within one at 4-3 and 6-5, but the Longhorns took advantage of getting back on serve to close the match.
The contest at No. 3 had Braswell and Huang even with Beiler and Nathan Han at 3-3 in their tiebreaker when play stopped. That contest also stayed on serve the entire way despite five deuce points, three of which were won by Texas. Neither team then led by more than a point in the breaker before it ended.
The Longhorns (11-7) next open conference play at home against No. 9 Baylor at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, April 1, at the Texas Tennis Center.
#10 Texas 5, #30 Oklahoma 2
Singles – Order of Finish (1,5,2,3,4,6)
1. #24 Micah Braswell (UT) def. Alex Martinez (OU) 6-4, 6-1
2. #60 Mason Beiler (OU) def. #19 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) 6-4, 6-4
3. #66 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. Baptiste Anselmo (OU) 7-6 (5), 6-2
4. #101 Mark Mandlik (OU) def. #47 Richard Ciamarra (UT) 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
5. #85 Siem Woldeab (UT) def. #125 Jordan Hasson (OU) 7-6 (5), 6-2
6. #124 Chih Chi Huang (UT) def. Justin Schlageter (OU) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (5)
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,2)
1. #23 Cleeve Harper/Richard Ciamarra (UT) def. #46 Alex Martinez/Welsh Hotard (OU) 6-4
2. #58 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (UT) def. Mark Mandlik/Baptiste Anselmo (OU) 7-6 (5)
3. Micah Braswell/Chih Chi Huang (UT) vs. Nathan Han/Mason Beiler (OU) 6-6, unf.
Players Mentioned
