The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Baylor
No. 4 Men’s Tennis preview: No. 31 Baylor
04.12.2024 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns close the regular season at home against the Bears on Saturday with an opportunity to win an outright Big 12 title on Senior Day.
No. 4 Men's Tennis preview: No. 31 Baylor
No. 4 Texas vs. No. 31 Baylor
Team Records: Texas (18-3, 6-0 Big 12), Baylor (18-9, 2-4 Big 12)
When: Saturday, April 13, 2024, 4 p.m. CT
Where: Texas Tennis Center, Austin, Texas
TV: Longhorn Network (Kris Budden, pxb; Jon Wiegand, analyst)
ESPN Digital Broadcast Link: https://hookem.at/MTN-Watch
Live Stats: https://hookem.at/MTN-Stats
Updated Statistics
Notes
-First serve
Texas enters the match against Baylor with an 18-3 record, including wins over No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 TCU, No. 4 South Carolina, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 13 Michigan and No. 15 Stanford. The Longhorns had chances to emerge from all three defeats, which have included 4-3 scores to No. 1 Virginia and in the first match against No. 2 TCU, along with a 4-2 decision to No. 14 Arizona at the ITA Indoors. Both matches against the Cavaliers and Horned Frogs came down to the third set of the final singles contest, including the Longhorns holding a match point in the second set of the one against TCU.
-What's at stake
A win over Baylor on Sunday would clinch the outright regular season Big 12 title for the Longhorns after they already secured a share of it and the top seed in the Big 12 Championship with their win over Oklahoma last Sunday. Texas has won the outright regular season title in two (2019, 2023) of the last four seasons, discounting 2020 when there was not one awarded due to the pandemic, and it also shared the title with Baylor and TCU in 2021.
Senior Day
Six seniors will be honored in a Senior Day ceremony following the match against Baylor, including Micah Braswell, Cleeve Harper, Evin McDonald, Eliot Spizzirri, Eshan Talluri and Siem Woldeab. The group has been a part of a remarkable run of success with Harper being a true freshman who was redshirting on the 2019 National Championship team, while McDonald, Spizzirri, Talluri and Woldeab joined the program in 2020 in the pandemic-shortened season, followed by Braswell arriving in 2021. From 2020 through this season, the core of the class has produced a 99-28 record entering the Baylor match, along with two appearances in the NCAA Final Four (2021, 2023), three top-four final rankings (No. 4/2020, No. 3/2021, No. 3/2023) and three Big 12 regular season championships (2021 [co], 2023, 2024 [clinched co]). Last season, the class also led the team to the program's first appearance in the final of the ITA National Indoor Championships. The team had an injury plagued year in 2022 where it did not put a complete, healthy lineup on the court once, but still managed to win 18 matches, reach the NCAA Round of 16 and finish No. 12 in the rankings.
Braswell, Harper, Spizzirri and Woldeab have each earned All-American honors with Braswell doing so in singles in 2023, Harper doing so twice in doubles (2022-23), Spizzirri doing so twice in singles (2021-23), and three times in doubles (2021-23), and Woldeab doing so twice in doubles (2021-22). Harper also won an NCAA Doubles National Championship in 2022 with Richard Ciamarra, and then returned to the final the following year with Spizzirri. Last season, Spirrizzi had one of the most decorated seasons in the history of the program as he was named the ITA National Player of the Year, becoming the second player in school history along with Steve Bryan in 1990 to finish the season ranked No. 1 in singles since the rankings began in 1981.
This past fall, Braswell and Spizzirri combined to sweep the singles titles at the two fall majors. Braswell took the ITA National Fall Championships, while Spizzirri won the ITA All-American Championships. It gave Texas the sweep for just the second time in program history and the first time by two different players. It also marked just the fourth time different players from the same school combined to win the two titles. In addition to the singles titles, Spizzirri and Harper advanced to the doubles final of the All-American Championships. In the fall of 2022, Spizzirri reached the singles final of the Fall Nationals.
-Baylor Series: Texas leads, 85-30-1
Texas leads the all-time series, 85-30-1, including a 4-0 sweep for the Longhorns last year in Waco. Prior to that, Baylor had won four-straight and seven of eight. That includes three in 2022 – 6-1 in a non-conference match on Feb. 7 in Waco, 6-0 in conference play on April 1 in Austin, and 4-2 in the Big 12 Championship semifinals in Fort Worth. The teams met four times in 2021 including a non-conference contest in Austin, the quarterfinals of the ITA Indoor Nationals in Champaign, Ill., a conference match in Waco, which the Longhorns won, 5-2, and in the Big 12 Championship final, which was also in Waco. The teams did not meet in 2020 due to the pandemic, however prior to that, Texas had won four of the previous five, including four-straight from 2017-19, until the Bears won in the 2019 Big 12 Championship final.
Last 12 Meetings
2023: #1 Texas 4, #41 Baylor 0 – Waco, Texas
2022: #4 Baylor 4, #12 Texas 2 – Fort Worth, Texas (Big 12 Championship Semifinals)
2022: #4 Baylor 6, #11 Texas 0 – Austin, Texas
2022: #2 Baylor 6, #9 Texas 1 – Waco, Texas
2021: #3 Baylor 4, #2 Texas 0 – Waco, Texas (Big 12 Championship Final)
2021: #7 Texas 5, #2 Baylor 2 – Waco, Texas
2021: #4 Baylor 4, #5 Texas 0 – Champaign, Ill. (ITA National Indoors Quarterfinals)
2021: #6 Baylor 4, #4 Texas 1 – Austin, Texas (non-conference)
2019: #8 Baylor 4, #2 Texas 1 – Lawrence, Kansas (Big 12 Championship Final)
2019: #4 Texas 4, #6 Baylor 3 – Austin, Texas
2018: #15 Texas 4, #27 Baylor 2 – Austin, Texas (Big 12 Championship Final)
2018: #15 Texas 4, #23 Baylor 0 – Waco, Texas
Last Four Match Results
#1 Texas 4, #41 Baylor 0
Saturday, April 8, 2023
Waco, Texas • Hurd Tennis Center
Singles – Order of Finish (3,4,2)
1. Zsombor Velcz (BU) vs. #1 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0, unf.
2. #27 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. Marko Miladinovic (BU) 6-0, 6-4
3. #84 Micah Braswell (UT) def. #53 Finn Bass (BU) 6-2, 6-2
4. #33 Siem Woldeab (UT) def. Juampi Mazzuchi (BU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Ethan Muza (BU) vs. Cleeve Harper (UT) 1-6, 4-5, unf.
6. Luc Koenig (BU) vs. Nevin Arimilli (UT) 6-4, 5-4, unf.
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,1)
1. #3 Eliot Spizzirri/Cleeve Harper (UT) def. #20 Finn Bass/Juampi Mazzuchi (BU) 7-5
2. Luc Koenig/Zsombor Velcz (BU) vs. Siem Woldeab/Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) 5-5, unf.
3. Chih Chi Huang/Evin McDonald (UT) def. Christopher Frantzen/Justin Braverman (BU) 6-3
#4 Baylor 4, #12 Texas 2
Saturday, April 23, 2022
Friedman Tennis Center • Fort Worth, Texas (Big 12 Championship semifinals)
Singles – Order of Finish (6,2,4,3,5)
1. #3 Adrian Boitan (BU) vs. #60 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) 4-6, 7-5, 4-3, unf.
2. #41 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. #43 Matias Soto (BU) 7-5, 6-1
3. #77 Sven Lah (BU) def. #95 Richard Ciamarra (UT) 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4
4. Finn Bass (BU) def. Siem Woldeab (UT) 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5)
5. #70 Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. #114 Chih Chi Huang (UT) 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
6. Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Juampi Mazzuchi (BU) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,1,3)
1. #6 Sven Lah/Finn Bass (BU) def. #3 Richard Ciamarra/Cleeve Harper (UT) 6-2
2. #17 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (UT) def. #15 Matias Soto/Juampi Mazzuchi (BU) 6-3
3. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Chih Chi Huang/Eshan Talluri (UT) 7-6 (7)
#4 Baylor 6, #11 Texas 0
Friday, April 1, 2022
Austin, Texas • Texas Tennis Center
Singles – Order of Finish (4,2,1,5,6)
1. #15 Adrian Boitan (BU) def. #24 Micah Braswell (UT) 6-1, 6-4
2. #50 Matias Soto (BU) def. #19 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) 6-1, 6-3
3. #66 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) vs. #30 Sven Lah (BU) 6-3, 4-6, 1-1, unf.
4. Finn Bass (BU) def. #47 Richard Ciamarra (UT) 6-4, 6-2
5. Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. #85 Siem Woldeab (UT) 6-3, 6-3
6. Juampi Mazzuchi (BU) def. Cleeve Harper (UT) 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (4)
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,2)
1. #23 Richard Ciamarra/Cleeve Harper (UT) vs. #30 Sven Lah/Finn Bass (BU) 5-4, unf.
2. Matias Soto/Juampi Mazzuchi (BU) def. #58 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (UT) 6-4
3. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Micah Braswell/Chih Chi Huang (UT) 6-3
#2 Baylor 6, #9 Texas 1
Monday, February 7, 2022
Waco, Texas • Hawkins Tennis Center
Singles – Order of Finish (4,6,1,5,3,2)
1. Adrian Boitan (BU) def. #20 Micah Braswell (UT) 6-0, 6-3
2. Matias Soto (BU) def. Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) 6-4, 6-7 (5), 1-0 (7)
3. Richard Ciamarra (UT) def. #48 Sven Lah (BU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Marko Miladinovic (BU) def. #105 Siem Woldeab (UT) 6-4, 6-0
5. Finn Bass (BU) def. #73 Cleeve Harper (UT) 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 (6)
6. Juampi Mazzuchi (BU) def. Evin McDonald (UT) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,3)
1. #13 Cleeve Harper/Richard Ciamarra (UT) vs. #18 Finn Bass/Sven Lah (BU) 6-6 (5-2), unf.
2. Matias Soto/Juampi Mazzuchi (BU) def. Pierre-Yves Bailly/Siem Woldeab (UT) 6-4
3. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Chih Chi Huang/Micah Braswell (UT) 7-5
-Texas vs. Baylor in 2023-24 tournament play
ITA Texas Regionals
4 seed #28 Siem Woldeab (UT) def. Ethan Muza (BU), 6-4, 6-3
6 seed #45 Jonah Braswell (UT) def. Martin Breysach (BU), 6-1, 6-3
5 seed #38 Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. 4 seed #28 Siem Woldeab (UT), 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (3)
9 seed #114 Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. Lucas Brown (UT), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
-ITA Team Rankings
Texas picked up where it left off last season at No. 3 in the preseason coaches poll released January 3 by the ITA, dropped one spot to No. 4 after the match against Virginia, and moved back up to No. 3 on February 7. After the ITA Indoors, the first computer rankings were released on Feb. 20 and the Longhorns were No. 10 where they remained until they moved to No. 12 on March 5. Texas moved back up to No. 9 on March 12 after defeating No. 1 Ohio State, one more spot to No. 8 the following week, and then up to No. 4 on March 26 after topping No. 2 TCU. The Longhorns were then No. 5 on April 2, but back up to No. 4 this week. It's the 89th-straight week in the top 15 dating back to April 2018.
-ITA Individual National Rankings
Texas had seven listings in the latest ITA individual rankings that were released on April 9. Eliot Spizzirri maintained the top spot in the singles rankings with Micah Braswell right behind him at No. 2, while Gilles-Arnaud Bailly was No. 35, Jonah Braswell was No. 61, and Pierre-Yves Bailly was No. 84. In doubles, Spizzirri and Harper combined to be No. 17 in doubles, and the pairing of Spizzirri and Siem Woldeab was No. 35 after recently reuniting since the Ohio State match on March 10.
Texas
Singles
No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri
No. 3 Micah Braswell
No. 35 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly
No. 61 Jonah Braswell
No. 84 Pierre-Yves Bailly
Doubles
No. 17 Cleeve Harper/Eliot Spizzirri
No. 35 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab
Baylor
Singles
No. 62 Tadeas Paroulek
No. 90 Zsombor Velcz
No. 110 Devin Badenhorst
Doubles
No. 33 Tadeas Paroulek/Zsombor Velcz
-Trending
Eliot Spizzirri
Spizzirri began where he left off last season as the No. 1 player in the country and has maintained that position with the exception of one week in February. This year he has compiled a 23-4 overall record and is 15-3 in dual match play. Eleven of his 23 wins have come against top-50 opponents with nine of those against the top-25, highlighted by victories over No. 4 Murphy Cassone of Arizona State, No. 5 Colton Smith of Arizona and No 8 Jack Pinnington of TCU. He also clinched both the overall match and doubles in the team's win over No. 1 Ohio State on March 10. He missed a match at USC on March 17 after receiving a qualifying wild card to the Miami Open. In doubles, Spizzirri played most of the season with Cleeve Harper, compiling an 11-6 overall record with a 3-5 mark in dual match play. They have four top-40 wins with two of those against pairs from Illinois and Arizona that were both ranked No. 6 at the time they played. However, against Ohio State, the Longhorns shifted their doubles lineup, and Spizzirri reunited with former partner Siem Woldeab with the duo coming through for a tiebreaker win over No. 5 Robert Cash and JJ Tracy to clinch the point. They stayed together against Georgia for a 6-3 win to help take the doubles point and then clinched against UCF and Oklahoma. Spizzirri now has 203 combined singles and doubles wins at Texas, including 107 in singles and 96 in doubles.
Micah Braswell
Micah Braswell has emerged as one of the best players in the country this year and is currently on a 29-match winning streak in singles dating back to the fall and has only lost four sets in that span. During the one week (Feb. 7) when Spizzirri wasn't No. 1, it was Braswell in that spot for the first No. 1 ranking of his career. Outside of that, he has held the No. 2 spot throughout the spring season until just moving down one spot to No. 3 on April 2, but he returned to No. 2 on April 9. Overall, he is 32-2 in the 2023-24 year with 14 top-50 wins and a perfect 16-0 mark in dual matches. Recently, he avenged one of his two losses by topping No. 65 Ryan Colby of Georgia in three sets on March 14. His top wins in the rankings have come against No. 6 Jake Fearnley and No. 8 Jack Pinnington of TCU, and No. 12 JJ Tracy of Ohio State in the semifinals of the ITA Fall National Championships. He also topped Pinnington for the ITA Fall Nationals singles title. That came on the heels of him also winning the ITA Texas Regionals title. In doubles, Braswell had generally paired with freshman Gilles-Arnaud Bailly, who arrived in January, in dual match play, while he partnered with his brother Jonah in the fall. However, against Ohio State the Longhorns shifted their doubles lineup and Braswell reunited with former partner Cleeve Harper with the pair taking a 6-3 win on the way to the team winning the doubles point. They stayed together against Georgia and clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 victory, and then clinched doubles against USC and they are now 6-0 since reuniting. He now has a combined 16-6 doubles record and is 12-3 in dual matches, playing mostly at No. 3.
All-Time Singles Wins at Texas
1. Jack Brasington 121-55 .688
2. Paul Koscielski 120-46 .723
3. Dimitar Kutrovsky 118-53 .690
4. Royce Deppe 112-49 .696
5. Micah Braswell 111-33 .771
Yuya Ito 111-34 .766
7. Charles Beckman 109-46 .703
8. Eliot Spizzirri 107-29 .787
All-Time Singles Winning Percentage at Texas
1. Steve Bryan 88-19 .822
2. Kevin Curren 81-20 .802
3. Steve Denton 85-22 .794
4. Eliot Spizzirri 107-29 .787
5. Dan Byfield 39-11 .780
6. Colin Markes 63-18 .778
7. Micah Braswell 111-33 .771
Gilles-Arnaud Bailly
Freshman Gilles-Arnaud Bailly arrived in January and has vaulted to a 13-3 overall singles record and 13-2 in dual matches in his early career, with 10 of those decisions at No. 3 and five of them at No. 2. Recently, he has defeated No. 7 JJ Tracy of Ohio State, 6-0, 6-2, No. 21 Pedro Vives of TCU, 7-6 (5), 7-5, and a No. 57 Vives a second time, 6-1, 6-2. He entered the rankings himself for the first time on March 5 at No. 48 before moving to 41 and then up to 40 and now 35. Bailly had played all of his doubles matches with Micah Braswell, with the duo compiling a 7-2 record with three wins in their last four matches. They led No. 31 of TCU, 5-4, before narrowly falling, 7-5. Bailly did not play doubles against Ohio State after the Longhorns shifted their doubles lineup, but returned to play with his brother Pierre-Yves against Georgia and USC, earning a 6-3 win at No. 2 against the Trojans.
Pierre-Yves Bailly
Pierre-Yves Bailly is 17-9 overall this season in singles and is 11-5 in dual matches. He's won six of his last eight decisions, including over No. 72 Lui Maxted of TCU, and No. 76 Jelani Sarr of South Carolina at ITA Indoors, and the two losses were both against top-40 opponents, including in a third-set superbreaker to No. 16 Jack Anthrop of Ohio State. His general doubles partner has been Siem Woldeab going back to last season, however, Woldeab missed five matches with an injury, during which time Bailly paired with Eshan Talluri. That duo stayed at No. 2 even after Woldeab returned and the Longhorns shifted their doubles lineup against Ohio State, and they've posted an 8-3 record with back-to-back clinches against Michigan and South Carolina at ITA Indoors, and then versus TCU in Austin and on the road against Texas Tech. However, against Georgia and USC, he paired with his brother Gilles-Arnaud, going unfinished against the Bulldogs and winning, 6-3, against the Trojans.
Siem Woldeab
Woldeab is 9-6 this year in singles contests, but missed five dual matches with an injury and has only registered a 2-3 record so far in singles in the dual season. He returned against No. 1 Ohio State and won his first set against a ranked opponent, but eventually fell in three sets. Woldeab is also 12-8 overall in doubles and is 7-4 in dual matches. He started out partnering with Pierre-Yves Bailly, but against Ohio State, the Longhorns shifted their doubles lineup and Woldeab reunited with former partner Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, and the duo came through with a tiebreaker win to clinch the point against the Buckeyes. They stayed together against Georgia and earned a 6-3 win to help Texas take the doubles point and then clinched against UCF and Oklahoma. With Spizzirri missing the USC match, Woldeab played with Eshan Talluri and their match was left unfinished.
Cleeve Harper
Harper has a 10-4 singles record in dual matches to this point, all at No. 5 except against Ohio State and UCF, which were at No. 6, as part of a 19-8 overall mark. Three of those wins have been against ranked opponents, most recently against No. 82 Tanapatt Nirundorn of Florida. He also clinched the overall matches against No. 15 Stanford and No. 13 Michigan. In doubles, Harper and Eliot Spizzirri posted an 11-6 overall record with a 3-5 mark in dual match play at No. 1 until the Longhorns shifted their doubles lineup against Ohio State. In that contest, Harper reunited with former partner Micah Braswell, and the pair earned a 6-3 win at No. 3 as part of Texas winning the doubles point. They then remained together and clinched the doubles point against Georgia and USC. With Braswell missing the BYU and Texas Tech matches, Harper played with Lucas Brown and clinched the point against Cougars in a tiebreaker of the deciding match. They also were first off the court against the Red Raiders in helping Texas win that point. Braswell then returned against Oklahoma State and combined with Harper for a win, and the duo is now 6-0 since reuniting. Prior to that, Harper and Spizzirri had four top-40 wins with two of those against pairs from Illinois and Arizona that were both ranked No. 6 at the time they played. Harper now has 202 combined singles and doubles wins at Texas, including 90 in singles and 112 in doubles.
Jonah Braswell
Jonah Braswell transferred to Texas from Florida over the summer and has gotten out to a 14-5 singles record, including 6-2 in dual matches with the highlight being the clinch over his former team. He has three decisions each at Nos. 5 and 6, and two at No. 4, one of which clinched the overall match at Texas Tech. In the fall, he secured a win over No. 26 Jack Pinnington, who is currently No. 8, and he also squared off against his brother, Micah, in the semifinals of the ITA Texas Regionals. Braswell has had three doubles partners this year totaling a 6-5 record, but has most frequently played with Micah, doing so on eight occasions. That includes his last two appearances in dual matches, and he holds a 2-1 doubles mark in four dual matches.
Lucas Brown
Brown has taken a definitive step during his redshirt freshman season, posting a 16-5 overall record, along with an 8-1 mark in 10 appearances in dual matches, all of those coming at No. 6. In those eight wins, he has only dropped 27 combined games (3.4 per match). In doubles, Brown is 8-4 with five different partners. He has seen doubles action in five matches, going 2-0 with Jonah Braswell, 0-1 with Pierre-Yves Bailly, and 2-0 with Cleeve Harper, including clinching doubles in a tiebreaker of the deciding match against BYU.
Eshan Talluri
Talluri has evolved into an excellent doubles player and has gone 13-5 this year with a 9-3 mark in dual matches. He played the season opener against Lamar with Evin McDonald and earned a win, but has since played 12 matches with Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2, five of which were in the absence of Siem Woldeab. After Woldeab returned and the Longhorns shifted their doubles lineup, the duo stayed together against Ohio State and has an 8-3 record with back-to-back clinches against No. 13 Michigan and No. 4 South Carolina at the ITA National Indoors, and clinches over No. 2 TCU and Texas Tech. He stepped in at No. 1 doubles against USC with Siem Woldeab as Eliot Spizzirri missed that match.
-Berque at the Helm
An accomplished coaching veteran with over two decades of experience with some of the nation's top tennis programs, Bruce Berque was named the fifth head coach of The University of Texas Men's Tennis program on May 23, 2019. Berque is in his sixth season as head coach in Austin and has led the Longhorns to a 114-29 overall record (.797) that includes 18-3 this season, 26-4 last season, 18-11 in 2022, 24-6 in 2021, 13-3 in a 2020 season that was shortened by the pandemic, and 15-2 in 2019 en route to the guiding Texas to its first team National Championship. During Berque's five completed seasons at the helm, Texas is the only program in the nation to finish in the top four in four of those five seasons, and it is the only program nationally to make three NCAA Final Fours in that span. The Longhorns are additionally the only team to have been ranked No. 1 at some point during the regular season or post-season of three of those years. Last season, Texas finished 2023 with 26 wins, which is the second-most for the program since 2010, trailing only the 29 from the 2019 National Championship season. The Longhorns made their third NCAA Final Four appearance in the last four tournaments, while the season also saw the team claim the outright Big 12 regular season championship, make the program's first appearance in the final of the ITA National Indoor Championships, and spend the last six weeks with the nation's No. 1 ranking before finishing with a final ranking of No. 3. During an injury-plagued 2022, the team still managed an 18-11 mark with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. His overall record at UT also includes a 24-6 mark in 2021 with an appearance in the Final Four, 13-3 in a pandemic shortened 2020, and 15-2 in 2019 en route to the guiding Texas to its first team National Championship. UT also earned the Big 12 regular season championships in 2019 and 2021.
-Braswell named Big 12 Player of the Week
Micah Braswell was named Big 12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week for the week ending April 7. It marks the third time he has received the honor in his career and the first time this season. It also marks the third award of the season for the Longhorns after senior Cleeve Harper received it for the week ending January 7, along with senior Eliot Spizzirri for February 18. Braswell posted a 4-0 combined singles and doubles record in a pair of top-40 road wins, including 4-1 over No. 11 Oklahoma that clinched a share of the Big 12 regular season title, and 6-1 over No. 33 Oklahoma State. Braswell clinched the overall match against the Sooners with a win at No. 2. Prior to that, he and Harper had been first off the doubles court with a 6-0 sweep at No. 3. Against Oklahoma State, Braswell secured another straight-set singles victory at No. 2. He and Harper were also first off the doubles court in that match. For the weekend, he only dropped a combined 16 games in the four matches for an average of 2.7 per set.
-Big 12 champs in Norman
Texas clinched at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title with a 4-1 victory over No. 11 Oklahoma in Norman on April 7. It marks the fourth time in the last five years the conference schedule has been played that the Longhorns have claimed at least a share of the title. That discounts 2020 when the conference season was canceled due to the pandemic. After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 1, Texas claimed three singles matches with wins from Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 3, Cleeve Harper at No. 5, and Micah Braswell at No. 2.
-Singling it out in Stillwater
Texas traveled to Stillwater and earned a 6-1 win over No. 33 Oklahoma State in the first of two matches in the state of Oklahoma. After dropping the doubles point, the Longhorns swept all six singles matches including Cleeve Harper at No. 5, Micah Braswell at No. 2, Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 4, Lucas Brown at No. 6 for the clinch, Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, and Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 3.
-West Texas win
The Longhorns claimed a 4-1 victory over Texas Tech on March 30 in Lubbock. After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 2, the Longhorns secured three singles matches with wins from Lucas Brown at No. 6, Cleeve Harper at No. 5, and No. 67 Jonah Braswell at No. 4 for the clinch.
-Indoor mountain sweep
Texas claimed a 4-0 sweep over BYU on March 28 in a match that was moved indoors due to weather. After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3, the Longhorns claimed three singles matches with wins from Siem Woldeab at No. 4, Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 2, and Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1. Only four matches could initially start in singles due to the number of courts in the BYU indoor facility.
-Sweeping No. 2 TCU
Texas posted a 5-0 sweep over No. 2 TCU on March 24. It avenged a 4-3 loss to the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth on March 2 and provided Texas with wins over both No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 TCU this season. After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 2, the Longhorns claimed four singles matches with victories from Micah Braswell at No. 2, Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 4, Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 3 to clinch, and Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1.
-Big 12 opening win over UCF
Texas swept its Big 12 Conference opener, 4-0, over No. 34 UCF on March 22 at the Texas Tennis Center. After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 1, the Longhorns claimed three singles matches with wins from Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 3, and Cleeve Harper at No. 6 to clinch. It made Texas 3-0 all-time against the Knights.
-Coast-to-Coast Road Warriors
The Longhorns traveled from coast to coast from March 14-17 and earned road wins against wo of the most storied programs in college tennis. Texas first claimed a 4-3 victory at No. 38 Georgia, clinching at 4-1 before the 4-3 final. After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3, Texas captured singles wins from Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, Lucas Brown at No. 6, and Micah Braswell at No. 2 for the victory. One of the points against the Longhorns came when Jonah Braswell was forced to retire with an injury after having won a first-set tiebreaker and in the midst of a second-set breaker. They then flew to the west coast and claimed a 6-0 sweep at No. 44 USC. After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3, Texas secured five singles matches with wins from Lucas Brown at No. 6, Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 2, Micah Braswell at No. 1 to clinch, Cleeve Harper at No. 5, and Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 3.
-Another win versus No. 1
Texas topped No. 1 Ohio State, 5-2, at a packed Texas Tennis Center on March 10 in front of a crowd of 1,012. The Longhorns clinched the victory at 4-0 before the match reached its final score. In 10 matches against No. 1 teams since 2019, Texas is now 6-4, including 3-0 against the Buckeyes. After shifting the doubles lineup, the Longhorns claimed the doubles point in dramatic fashion with wins at Nos. 3 and 1 and went on to collect four singles victories from Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 3, Micah Braswell at No. 2, Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1 for the clinch, and Cleeve Harper at No. 6.
-One point away at No. 2 TCU
The Longhorns came up just short to No. 2 TCU, 4-3, in a non-conference road match in Fort Worth on March 2. After TCU took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3, Texas captured three singles wins from Micah Braswell at No. 2, Jonah Braswell at No. 6, and Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 3. However, TCU earned singles wins on Nos. 4, 5 and 1 with the overall contest going deep into the third set of the final match at No. 1 where Eliot Spizzirri had a match point in a second-set tiebreaker before the Horned Frogs fended it off and eventually prevailed.
-Red Storm sweep
Texas claimed a 7-0 victory against No. 55 St. John's on Jan. 28 at the Texas Tennis Center. After taking the doubles point with 6-0 sweeps at Nos. 2 and 3, the Longhorns captured all six singles matches in straight sets with wins from Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 4, Micah Braswell at No. 2, Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1 for the clinch, Lucas Brown at No. 6, Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 3, and Jonah Braswell at No. 5.
-Six-straight trips to the ITA National Indoor Championships
In winning the 2024 ITA Kickoff Weekend Texas Regional, the Longhorns advanced to the ITA National Indoor Championships for the sixth-straight year. This year, Texas once again left the tournament with two victories, including sweeps over No. 13 Michigan and No. 4 South Carolina, however both were in consolation matches after the Longhorns fell to No. 14 Arizona, 4-2 in the Round of 16. Last season, they achieved a program first by reaching the final with wins over No. 9 Wake Forest, No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan, before falling to No. 3 TCU in the title match. Texas had reached the quarterfinals in all five of the previous years, which includes 2021 when the national site hosted only eight teams and started in the quarters. The Longhorns won their opening round match in each of the four other years against Illinois in 2019, UCLA in 2020, Florida in 2022 and Wake Forest in 2023.
-Back-to-back sweeps at ITA Indoors
The Longhorns put together back-to-back sweeps to close out their trip to the ITA Indoors in New York by defeating No. 13 Michigan, 4-0, and No. 4 South Carolina, 5-0. Against the Gamecocks, Texas claimed a dramatic doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3, and then picked up singles wins at Nos. 5, 1, 2 and 4 from Cleeve Harper, Eliot Spizzirri, Micah Braswell, and Pierre-Yves Bailly, respectively, with Bailly finishing his match point just after Braswell's clinching point. Versus the Wolverines, the Longhorns secured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 2 and followed with victories from Micah Braswell at No. 2, Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, and Cleeve Harper at No. 5 for the clinch. Those wins came after Texas ran into a No. 14 Arizona team that was firing on all cylinders. The Wildcats claimed the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3. Then despite singles victories from Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, and Micah Braswell at No. 2, Arizona was able to secure singles wins at Nos. 3, 4 and 5 to clinch. The Longhorns had evened the overall match at 2-2, but after the Wildcats regained a 3-2 lead, the match No. 5 went in Arizona's favor in a third-set tiebreaker, and the match at No. 6 went unfinished in its third set, preventing Texas from completing the comeback.
-Three-straight wins over Florida
Texas claimed a 4-3 victory against Florida on Feb. 10 at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center. The Gators claimed the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 1, but the Longhorns responded by winning the first four singles matches to clinch at 4-1 and finish with victories from Cleeve Harper at No. 5, Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 2, and sophomore No. 37 Jonah Braswell at No. 6. Both of the remaining two singles matches then went to third-set superbreakers before resulting in two additional points for Florida.
-Four-straight wins over Stanford
The Longhorns claimed a 4-1 victory against No. 15 Stanford on Feb. 4 at the Texas Tennis Center. It was the fourth-straight win against the Cardinal and the sixth in the last seven meetings. After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 1, the Longhorns secured singles victories from Micah Braswell at No. 2, Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 3, and Cleeve Harper at No. 5. Texas also led the remaining two unfinished singles matches involving Eliot Spizzirri and Jonah Braswell when play stopped.
-ITA Kickoff Weekend Texas Regional Champions
Texas hosted an ITA Kickoff Weekend regional for the 10th-straight year and advanced to the ITA National Indoor Championships for the sixth-consecutive season dating back to 2019. The Longhorns earned a pair of 4-1 wins over UTSA and Oklahoma State. The Roadrunners took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3, but the Longhorns stormed back, winning four consecutive singles matches including Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, Micah Braswell at No. 2, Pierre Yves-Bailly at No. 3, and Lucas Brown at No. 6. Against the Cowboys, the Longhorns secured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3, and then received singles victories from Spizzirri at No. 1, Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 4, and Micah Braswell at No. 2.
-Edged by No. 1 Virginia
Texas took it to the third set of the final singles match, but was edged by No. 1 Virginia, 4-3, at the Texas Tennis Center on January 18. The Cavaliers claimed the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3, and although Texas was able to collect three singles wins by senior Micah Braswell at No. 2, Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 4, and Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 3, Virginia secured wins at Nos. 1, 6 and 5.
-Texas sweeps first two matches of 2024
Texas secured 7-0 sweeps over Lamar (Jan. 12) and Abilene Christian (Jan. 14) without dropping a set in any of the singles and doubles contests to open the 2024 season. The match against Lamar was played at the Texas Tennis Center, while the contest against ACU moved indoors due to cold weather. The Longhorns played out all three doubles matches in both and then Eliot Spizzirri, Gilles-Arnaud Bailly, Pierre-Yves Bailly, Jonah Braswell and Lucas Brown all went 2-0 in singles. In addition to those, Micah Braswell earned a singles win against Lamar, while Siem Woldeab did against ACU.
-Harper named Big 12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week (Jan. 9)
Cleeve Harper went a combined 4-0 without dropping a set in his singles and doubles matches at the Miami Spring Invitational in Coral Gables, Fla. The two doubles victories earned Harper and his partner Eliot Spizzirri the doubles championship and included a decisive 6-1 win over No. 40 Vladislav Melnic and Adrien Burdet of Miami, along with an 8-5 win over Murphy Cassone and Martin Vergara of Arizona State. Harper was also 2-0 in singles with solid straight-sets victories over Vergara at 6-3, 6-4, and Antonio Prat of Miami, 6-4, 6-2.
-Longhorns sweep singles, doubles titles at Miami Spring Invite
In a weekend cut well short due to weather, Texas swept the singles and doubles titles at the Miami Spring Invite, as Micah Braswell won in singles, and the pairing of Cleeve Harper and Eliot Spizzirri won in doubles, both with 2-0 records in those categories. The Longhorns won 15 of their 20 singles matches and six of their nine doubles contests over their three days at the Miami Spring Invite.
-Back from 2023
In the sixth season under head coach Bruce Berque, Texas returns most of its singles and doubles lineups from a team that finished the regular season ranked No. 1, reached the NCAA Final Four and ITA National Indoor final and won the Big 12 Championship in 2023. The departures were seniors Chih Chi Huang and Nevin Arimilli with Huang contributing significantly at No. 3 doubles with multiple partners, while Arimilli took on a regular singles lineup spot later in the season and posted a 10-4 record (7-3 at No. 6). The rest of the roster returns with Eliot Spizzirri going 20-1 at No. 1 and 36-5 overall, Pierre-Yves Bailly posting a 14-9 overall record that included an 11-5 mark at No. 2, Micah Braswell notching a 20-12 overall record, including 12-6 at No. 3, Siem Woldeab splitting time between No. 3 and No. 4 for an 18-8 dual match mark and 30-12 overall, Cleeve Harper registering a 13-4 record at No. 5 with a 19-11 mark overall, and a split between Arimilli and Evin McDonald at No. 6 with McDonald going 6-3 in that spot. Eshan Talluri rounded out the group with a 9-5 overall record.
-Six newcomers arrive for their first dual match season on the 40
The Longhorns add six new faces for 2024 staring with sophomore transfer Jonah Braswell from Florida, who joined the team in the fall. Freshman Rahul Sachdev also arrived in the fall, while the other four are also freshmen but came in the spring. Those include Gilles-Arnaud Bailly, who is the brother of Pierre-Yves Bailly, from Bilzen, Belgium, Evan Burnett from Woodside, Calif., Timo Legout from Paris, France, and Calvin Wang from Laguna Beach, Calif.
-Fall/Summer Wrap-up
The Longhorns had a number of impressive results during 2023 fall play, highlighted by Micah Braswell and Eliot Spizzirri combining to sweep the singles titles at the two fall majors. Braswell took the ITA National Fall Championships, while Spizzirri won the ITA All-American Championships. It gave Texas the sweep for just the second time in program history and the first time by two different players. Yuya Ito previously won both tournaments in 2019. It also marked just the fourth time different players from the same school combined to win the two titles. In addition to the singles titles, Spizzirri and Cleeve Harper advanced to the doubles final of the All-American Championships. Braswell had reached the Fall Nationals with another singles title at the ITA Texas Regionals, becoming the third Longhorn since 2017 to win that championship, along with Christian Sigsgaard (2018) and Leo Telles (2017). In the semifinals, Braswell had to defeat his brother and new teammate, Jonah, to get to the final. Lucas Brown also made it to the singles consolation final. Spizzirri went on to help Team USA win the championship of the Master'U BNP Paribas Championships in Paris in December, while in the summer, he played with the USTA Collegiate Summer Team and followed that by reaching the third round of qualifying at the U.S. Open. Overall, Texas posted a 53-25 singles record in four events, including the Longhorn Invitational, with Micah Braswell leading the way with a 14-2 mark, followed by Spizzirri, who was 6-0. Jonah Braswell, Brown and Harper also posted at least six wins.
-Spizzirri leads the way for 2023 national and regional awards
Eliot Spizzirri had a historic 2023 season, being named the ITA National Player of the Year, the ITA Senior Player of the Year, the Big 12 Player of the Year, and Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and was one of six players nationally to be selected to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America First Team. Spizzirri was just the second Longhorn to hold the top singles spot at the end of the season since the rankings began in 1981, along with Steve Bryan in 1990. He was one of three ITA All-Americans on the team last season, earning those honors in both singles and doubles, to go along his partner Cleeve Harper in doubles, and Micah Braswell in singles. Harper was also tabbed to the CSC Academic All-America Second Team. In addition to those, Nevin Arimilli picked up the ITA Texas Region Most Improved Senior Award.
-Back-to-back NCAA Doubles Finalists
Eliot Spizzirri and Cleeve Harper reached the finals of the 2023 NCAA Doubles Championship after a year earlier Harper paired with Richard Ciamarra to take the title. It was the eighth all-time final appearance in doubles for Texas, and the first in consecutive seasons, following Lloyd Glasspool and Søren Hess-Olesen in 2015, who won the title, Chris Camillone and David Holiner in 2013, Chad Clark and Trey Phillips in 1995, Mitch Michulka and Michael Penman in 1990, Charles Beckman and Royce Deppe in 1985, and Gary Plock and Kevin Curren 1978.
-Pulling in the Big 12 honors
Texas earned several Big 12 Men's Tennis postseason awards in 2023, including Eliot Spizzirri as Player of the Year, five All-Big 12 selections with three of those on the first team, and a conference-leading six individual champions. Spizzirri became the sixth Longhorn to be named the Big 12 Men's Player of the Year with the last being Christian Sigsgaard, who shared the honor in 2019. The others include Søren Hess-Olesen in 2014, Dimitar Kutrovsky in 2010, Travis Helgeson in 2006 and Jean Simon in 2002. The All-Big 12 team honorees included first-team selections in Spizzirri and sophomore Pierre-Yves Bailly in singles and the duo of Spizzirri and junior Cleeve Harper in doubles. Junior Siem Woldeab earned second-team accolades in singles, while the pair of Woldeab and Bailly was also on the second team in doubles. The conference also honored individual champions at each position based on record in conference play, and Texas garnered a league-leading six with no other team having more than two. In singles, the Longhorns had a champion at the top three lines, including Spizzirri at No. 1, Bailly at No. 2, and Woldeab at No. 3 as a co-champion. Senior Nevin Arimilli was then also a co-champion at No. 5. In doubles, it was Spizzirri and Harper at No. 1, along with the combo of senior Chih Chi Huang and junior Evin McDonald at No. 3.
-2023 Big 12 Champs
The Longhorns finished their 2023 Big 12 slate with a perfect 5-0 record and captured the outright Big 12 regular season title with a 5-2 win over No. 3 TCU in front of a record crowd of 1,332 at the Texas Tennis Center on April 15. It marked the third regular season conference championship in the last four completed years and the 10th overall in program history, including six outright. After the Horned Frogs won the doubles point, the Longhorns picked up five singles wins from Cleeve Harper at No. 5, Nevin Arimilli at No. 6, Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2 for the clinch, and Micah Braswell at No. 3.
-First-ever final at ITA Indoor Nationals
Texas traveled to Chicago for the 2023 ITA National Indoor Championships from Feb. 17-20 and came home with the program's first trip to the tournament final and first runner-up trophy. In doing so, the Longhorns completed an impressive run that featured five victories over ranked opponents with three of those coming against the top-10, including No. 22 Cal and No. 14 Arizona at the ITA Kickoff Weekend earlier in Austin, followed by No. 9 Wake Forest, No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan before finally falling to No. 3 TCU in Chicago.
-Year seven at the Texas Tennis Center
Texas is in its seventh year at the Texas Tennis Center with an 8-1 mark this season and an 80-9 (.899) overall record in its history. Last season, the Longhorns were 13-0, and additionally, set an all-time Texas Tennis attendance record of 1,332 against TCU in a match that saw them clinch the Big 12 regular season title. The season before, the Longhorns posted a 10-3 record with the only losses coming to top-five teams by 4-3 scores against No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Ohio State, and 6-0 to No. 4 Baylor. Texas posted a 14-2 mark in 2021, which included wins over No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 9 Florida and No. 15 Arizona. In a shortened season in 2020, UT recorded a 9-0 record with wins against No. 8 Stanford, No. 18 Georgia and No. 21 Florida State. The Longhorns finished 2019 at 15-1, including wins over No. 1 Ohio State, No. 6 Baylor and No. 12 Columbia, along with three NCAA Tournament victories. The lone loss that year came to No. 15 USC. During its inaugural season, Texas posted a 10-2 record, including winning the 2018 Big 12 Tournament.
Players Mentioned
