The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Spizzirri wins singles title at ITA Men’s All-American Championships
10.08.2023 | Men's Tennis
Eliot Spizzirri became the third Longhorn to win the men’s singles title at the tournament, and later partnered with Cleeve Harper to finish as the first UT doubles finalists.
Tulsa, Okla. – Texas Men's Tennis senior No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri became the third Longhorn to win the singles title at the ITA Men's All-American Championships on Sunday in Tulsa. He later partnered with senior Cleeve Harper to be the first UT doubles finalists at the tournament.
After his 6-4, 6-3 straight-sets victory over 3 seed No. 4 Murphy Cassone of Arizona State, Spizzirri joined Yuya Ito (2019) and Chad Clark (1993) as the Texas winners since the tournament began in 1979. With their three champions, the Longhorns now sit alone in fourth on the list of all-time singles titles by school just behind Georgia (6), Stanford (6) and Virginia (5).
In the first set, Spizzirri struck first with a break in the second game for a 2-0 lead. Cassone then broke back to start a 4-0 run that he capped with a deuce-point hold. However, it was all Spizzirri from there as he mounted a 4-0 of his own with breaks for 4-4 and the set.
In the second, it was Cassone who picked up a break on Spizzirri's first serve, doing so on a deuce point, and then held for 2-0. Similar to the reverse of the first set, Spizzirri then put together a 4-0 run that included three deuce-point wins. He had a chance for another, but Cassone stayed in the match with a break to pull within 4-3. The following game also went to deuce, but Spizzirri was able to answer the break for 5-3 and then served it out for the title.
A short time later, Spizzirri was back on the court with Harper as the first UT finalists since doubles began at the tournament in 1985. However, the top-ranked duo came up just short to No. 19 Robert Cash and JJ Tracy of Ohio State in an epic second-set tiebreaker, 6-3, 7-6 (13). In the breaker, the Buckeyes only held the lead for six of the 28 points, but were able to close with the final two for the win.
Texas had started out with a mini-break and a 3-0 lead in the frame, but Ohio State responded a 3-0 run of their own. The Longhorns regained the lead with the next two points for 5-3, and then had a set point at 6-4, but the Buckeyes were able to even it and eventually take their first lead, 8-7. It was back and forth from there as Harper and Spizzirri staved off four match points, while Cash and Tracy held off three more set points, but after the teams were tied at 13-13, the Buckeyes claimed the final two for the win.
Prior to that, Ohio State secured the only two breaks of the first set with the second coming on a deuce point to win, 6-3. The Longhorns then answered the deuce-point break in the first game of the second set, consolidated it on serve for 2-0, and were close to a break in the next game before the Buckeyes were able to hold on a deuce point. That started a 3-0 run, as they then broke to even it and held on another deuce point for the 3-2 lead. Ohio State's next serve also went to deuce, and again they were able to hold for 4-3. They then broke for 5-3 to serve for the match, but Texas came up with the break they needed to stay alive and then held at deuce for 5-5. The following two games stayed on serve to the breaker.
The Longhorns will be back in action at the ITA Texas Regionals from Oct. 19-24 in Fort Worth.
2023 ITA Men's All-American Championships
Singles Main Draw Finals – Sunday, October 8
1 seed #1 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. 3 seed #4 Murphy Cassone (Arizona State), 6-4, 6-3
Doubles Main Draw Finals – Sunday, October 8
#19 Robert Cash/JJ Tracy (Ohio State) def. 1 seed #1 Eliot Spizzirri/Cleeve Harper (UT), 6-3, 7-6 (13)
Players Mentioned
