The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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BYU
No. 5 Men’s Tennis advances to Big 12 Championship Semifinals
04.19.2024 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns swept BYU, 4-0, on Friday to reach the semifinals for the sixth-straight year.
Stillwater, Okla. – No. 5 Texas Men's Tennis (20-3, 7-0) did not drop a set on the way to a 4-0 sweep over BYU (11-11, 0-7) in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championships at the Greenwood Tennis Center on Friday. It marks the sixth-straight year the Longhorns have reached the semifinals of the tournament.
After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3, Texas earned singles victories from freshman Lucas Brown at No. 6, freshman No. 39 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 3, and senior No. 1 Elliot Spizzirri on No. 1 to complete the sweep.
In doubles, the duo of seniors Cleeve Harper and Micah Braswell were the first off the court with a 6-0 sweep over Tygen Goldammer and TJ Wells. Texas held and went up a break to open the set and never looked back, cruising to a shutout win for the first doubles victory.
At No. 1, the No. 22 tandem of Eliot Spizzirri and Siem Woldeab clinched the doubles point for Texas with a 6-2 win over No. 71 Zach Fuchs and Wally Thayne. Texas opened with a 4-0 run before BYU managed a break.
On No. 2, Pierre-Yves Bailly and Eshan Talluri were locked in a tight match with Jack Barnett and Redd Owen, 4-4, when the doubles point was clinched and play stopped. Both teams stayed on serve through eight games, and BYU had just earned a deuce-point hold to tie the set when play halted.
In singles play, Brown was the first off the court after making quick work of opponent David Duong with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 6. Brown served first and immediately took control of the match, going on a 12-0 run with only one game going to deuce point.
At No. 3, Gilles-Arnaud Bailly defeated Fuchs, 6-3, 6-0, to get Texas within one point of the clinch. In the first set, Fuchs held to open the match and both players stayed on serve until Bailly earned a break and a hold to make it 4-2. Fuchs held the following game to make it 4-3, but that was as close as he would get as Bailly went on an 8-0 run for the match. After opening the second set on a 4-0 run, Bailly won back-to-back deuce points in the ensuing games to close out the set and the match.
The clinching match was Spizzirri's 6-4, 6-2 win over Barnett on No. 1. Barnett opened the first set with a hold and both players stayed on serve until Spizzirri went up 4-2 following a break and a deuce-point hold. From there, both players stayed on serve for the remainder of the first set, and Spizzirri closed it out with a deuce-point hold. In the second set, Barnett once again opened with a hold and took a 1-0 lead, but Spizzirri answered with a 3-0 run before Barnett got a game back to make it 3-2. Spizzirri answered with a second 3-0 run to close out the set, including deuce-point wins for 5-2 and 6-2 to win the match and clinch the victory for Texas.
The remaining singles matches with No. 3 Micah Braswell, Woldeab and No. 59 Jonah Braswell all went unfinished.
Woldeab earned a hard fought 7-5 win in the first set over Owen in which he won two consecutive deuce points. He was then up 5-0 in the second set and just one game away from victory when play was stopped.
At No. 2, Micah Braswell was also one game away from victory when play stopped. After going down, 3-2, in the first set to Wally Thayne, Braswell went on a 4-0 run to take the first set, 6-3. Braswell went up 1-0 in the second set, but Thayne answered with a 4-0 run and took a 4-1 lead. However, Braswell responded with a 3-0 run to tie things, 4-4, and had just taken a 6-5 lead in the second set when play halted.
At No. 5, Jonah Braswell took the first set, 6-2, over Goldammer and was tied 4-4 in the second set when Texas clinched. Braswell found himself down, 3-1, in the second set, but went on a 3-0 run to take a 4-3 lead. Goldammer had just stopped Braswell's run with a deuce-point hold to it when the match ended.
Texas will now face the host 5 seed No. 36 Oklahoma State after the Cowboys defeated UCF 4-2 in the quarterfinals. The semifinal matchup will take place Saturday, April 20, at 3 p.m. CT.
#5 Texas 4, BYU 0
Singles – Order of Finish (6,3,1)
1. #1 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. Jack Barnett (BYU) 6-4, 6-2
2. #3 Micah Braswell (UT) vs. Wally Thayne (BYU) 6-3, 6-5, unf.
3. #39 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly (UT) def. Zach Fuchs (BYU) 6-3, 6-0
4. Siem Woldeab (UT) vs. Redd Owen (BYU) 7-5, 5-0, unf.
5. #59 Jonah Braswell (UT) vs. Tygen Goldammer (BYU) 6-2, 4-4, unf.
6. Lucas Brown (UT) def. David Duong (BYU) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,1)
1. #22 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (UT) def. #71 Zach Fuchs/Wally Thayne (BYU) 6-2
2. Pierre-Yves Bailly/Eshan Talluri (UT) vs. Jack Barnett/Redd Owen (BYU) 4-4, unf.
3. Micah Braswell/Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Tygen Goldammer/TJ Wells (BYU) 6-0
Players Mentioned
