The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Two from Men’s Tennis advance to NCAA Singles Round of 16
05.23.2023 | Men's Tennis
Juniors Micah Braswell and Eliot Spizzirri earned straight-sets victories over top-60 opponents for the second-consecutive day.
Lake Nona, Fla. – Two Texas Men's Tennis players advanced to the NCAA Singles Championship Round of 16 on Tuesday at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla. Juniors No. 61 Micah Braswell and No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri earned straight-sets victories over top-60 opponents for the second-consecutive day to move on.
Braswell's win qualified him for ITA All-America honors this season, which will be the first of his career when they are announced after the season. Meanwhile, junior No. 54 Siem Woldeab's bid for the same came up just short as he fell in his match. Spizzirri had already qualified by virtue of his seeding, as have Spizzirri and junior Cleeve Harper in doubles.
Just as it did Monday, weather became a factor in the matches and the schedule. Play was forced inside halfway through Spizzirri's match, leading to Woldeab playing his entire match indoors, while the first-round doubles match for Spizzirri and Harper was postponed to Wednesday.
Braswell, who once again had the earliest match of his teammates, topped No. 30 Dan Martin of Miami in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4. It marked Braswell's seventh-straight win, and he has not dropped a set in those matches. Martin's scores of 5 and 4 are just the second and third times an opponent has reached four games in a set during the stretch. The first set against Martin stayed on serve with no deuce points all the way to 5-5 when Braswell broke through for a 6-5 lead and then served out for the win. Braswell again broke first in the second set for 2-1 on the contest's first deuce point, but Martin answered the break to even it. Braswell had a chance to break again in the next game up 15-40, but Martin rallied to hold. Four games later, Braswell again took a 15-40 lead, and this time he completed the break on the next point before serving out the match.
Spizzirri was up next and tallied a 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 49 Jeffrey von der Schulenburg of Virginia. The match stayed on serve through the first five games with Spizzirri winning one deuce-point hold along the way for 2-1. The next deuce also went Spizzirri's way for the lone break of the set and a 4-2 lead en route to his 6-3 win. That's when weather once again came into play and forced the rest of the match indoors. Spizzirri opened the second set with another deuce-point break and consolidated it for 2-0 as part of moving out to a 5-1 lead. From there, he had two match points, but von der Schulenburg fended them off to hold and then deflected another at deuce in the next game to break. After von der Schulenburg held to get within 5-4, Spizzirri's next serve also went to deuce, but he emerged with the point to take the match.
The action remained indoors for Woldeab, who dropped his match to No. 65 Andre Ilagan of Hawaii, 7-5, 6-4. After Woldeab rallied from down 15-40 to hold his second serve, Ilagan broke his next serve for a 3-2 lead. However, Woldeab broke right back on a deuce point to start a 3-0 run that he capped with another deuce-point break for 5-3. He then had two set points in the following game, but Ilagan was able to deflect them for a deuce-point break of his own. That would be the first of three-straight deuce-point breaks for Ilagan, allowing him to go on a 6-0 run to take the first set and establish a 2-0 lead in the second, which he also completed with a deuce-point hold. Woldeab almost got the break back two games later after rallying from down 0-40 for deuce, but Ilagan ended up holding for 3-1. Although the rest of the set stayed on serve, Woldeab had one more chance for a deuce-point break in the final game, but Ilagan secured the point and the match to complete a string of six-straight deuce-point wins.
Braswell and Spizzirri will play again on Wednesday in the Round of 16, while Spizzirri and Harper will begin doubles competition. Braswell will face No. 42 Murphy Cassone of Arizona State 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT, Spizzirri will play No. 52 Pedro Rodenas of Duke at that same time, and the duo of Harper and Spizzirri will square off with No. 24 Jordan Chrysostom and Ryan Fishback of Virginia Tech, 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT.
2023 NCAA Men's Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships
Singles Round of 32 – May 23
No. 61 Micah Braswell (UT) def. No. 30 Dan Martin (MIA), 7-5, 6-4
1 seed No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. No. 49 Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (UVA), 6-3, 6-4
No. 65 Andre Ilagan (Hawaii) def. No. 54 Siem Woldeab (UT), 7-5, 6-4
Singles Round of 16 – May 24
No. 61 Micah Braswell (UT) vs. No. 42 Murphy Cassone (ASU), 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT
1 seed No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) vs. No. 52 Pedro Rodenas (Duke), 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT
Doubles Round of 32 – May 24
3 seed No. 3 Cleeve Harper/Eliot Spizzirri (UT) vs. No. 24 Jordan Chrysostom/Ryan Fishback (VT), 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT
Players Mentioned
