The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Three from Men’s Tennis advance to NCAA Singles Round of 32
05.22.2023 | Men's Tennis
Juniors Eliot Spizzirri, Siem Woldeab and Micah Braswell each earned straight-sets victories over ranked opponents on Monday.
Lake Nona, Fla. – Three Texas Men's Tennis players advanced to the NCAA Singles Championship Round of 32 on Monday at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla.
Juniors No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri, No. 54 Siem Woldeab and No. 61 Micah Braswell each earned straight-sets victories over ranked opponents, including against top-15 foes for Woldeab and Braswell. Additionally, sophomore Pierre-Yves Bailly participated in the tournament's first round but fell in his match.
Braswell, who made the field as an alternate, began the day with a 6-2, 6-3 win over 6 seed No. 6 Andres Martin of Georgia Tech. It marked Braswell's highest-ranked victory of the season and his sixth-straight win overall. He has not dropped a set in those six matches, and only once has an opponent reached four games in a set during the stretch. With the first set even at 2-2, Braswell finished it on a 4-0 run that included two deuce-point breaks. During the second set, weather began to impact the day and caused his match to move indoors while he was leading, 3-2. Braswell again produced the only two breaks of the set with one outside for 2-1, and one inside for 6-3.
The action remained indoors through Woldeab's and Spizzirri's matches with Woldeab being the next to play. In his match, Woldeab came away with his third top-12 win of the year with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over 9-16 seed No. 12 Garrett Johns of Duke. It was Johns who tallied an opening break and then held for a 2-0 lead, but Woldeab held on a deuce point and got the break back to even it, 2-2. The rest of the first set stayed on serve from there until Woldeab broke again in the last game for 6-4. In the second, Woldeab broke first for a 3-1 lead and consolidated it on serve for 4-1. Johns came back with a 3-0 run to tie it, but Woldeab held and broke in the final two games for the win.
Spizzirri followed a short time later with an efficient 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 51 Tyler Stice of Auburn. The first five games all stayed on serve to give Spizzirri a 3-2 lead. His last hold would be the start of a 4-0 run to take the set. Stice produced his only break of the match to open the second, but from there, it was all Spizzirri as he finished on a 6-0 run.
Bailly, who was originally slated to start his match at 6:30 p.m. ET, was the one who was forced to wait the longest and did not begin until almost five hours later. He was then defeated by 9-16 seed No. 16 Connor Thomson, 6-2, 6-1, as Thomson used a 7-0 run in between the first and second sets to go from a 3-2 lead in the first to a 4-0 margin in the second.
Braswell, Woldeab and Spizzirri will all play again on Tuesday in the Round of 32, while Spizzirri will partner with junior Cleeve Harper to begin doubles competition. Braswell will face No. 30 Dan Martin of Miami at 11:30 a.m. ET/10:30 a.m. CT, while Woldeab will take on No. 65 Andre Ilagan of Hawaii at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT, and Spizzirri will play No. 49 Jeffrey von der Schulenburg of Virginia at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT. Spizzirri and Harper will square off with No. 24 Jordan Chrysostom and Ryan Fishback of Virginia Tech in their doubles match at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT.
2023 NCAA Men's Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships
Singles Round of 64 – May 22
1 seed No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. No. 51 Tyler Stice (AUB), 6-2, 6-1
No. 54 Siem Woldeab (UT) def. 9-16 seed No. 12 Garrett Johns (Duke), 6-4, 6-4
No. 61 Micah Braswell (UT) def. 6 seed No. 6 Andres Martin (GT), 6-2, 6-3
9-16 seed No. 16 Connor Thomson (SC) def. No. 28 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT), 6-2, 6-1
Singles Round of 32 – May 23
1 seed No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) vs. No. 49 Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (UVA), 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
No. 54 Siem Woldeab (UT) vs. No. 65 Andre Ilagan (Hawaii), 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT
No. 61 Micah Braswell (UT) vs. No. 30 Dan Martin (MIA), 11:30 a.m ET/10:30 a.m. CT
Doubles Round of 32 – May 23
3 seed No. 3 Cleeve Harper/Eliot Spizzirri (UT) vs. No. 24 Jordan Chrysostom/Ryan Fishback (VT), 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT
Players Mentioned
