The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma State
No. 5 Men’s Tennis advances to Big 12 Championship Final
04.20.2024 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns downed No. 36 Oklahoma State, 4-1, on Saturday in Stillwater to reach the title match for the fifth time in the last six years.
Stillwater, Okla. – No. 5 Texas Men's Tennis (21-3, 7-0) downed No. 36 Oklahoma State (17-9, 3-4) on their home courts in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship at the Greenwood Tennis Center on Saturday. It marks the fifth time in the last six years the Longhorns have reached the final of the tournament where this year they will face No. 3 TCU at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday.
After Oklahoma State emerged with tiebreaker win in the deciding match of the doubles point, Texas produced singles victories from freshman No. 39 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 3, sophomore No. 59 Jonah Braswell at No. 6, senior No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1, and junior No. 86 Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 4 for the clinch.
"I was really proud of the team's response (to losing the doubles point)," head coach Bruce Berque said. "Oklahoma State played very well, and I think they had a big momentum lift from that, but I was really happy with our response because that's what we talk about this time of year – responding when things aren't going well. I thought our guys really kept their composure. They didn't panic and they just kept fighting back."
With the Longhorns trailing, 1-0, in the overall match, Gilles-Arnaud Bailly was the first off the court in singles with an efficient 6-0, 6-1 win over No. 96 Alex Garcia to even it. Bailly opened the match with a break to spur a 6-0 sweep of the first set, and although Garcia began the second with a hold, Bailly once again set out on a 6-0 run to win a match that featured no deuce points throughout.
Next off was Jonah Braswell, who gave Texas its first lead by matching Bailly's score, 6-0, 6-1, over Ty Wunderlich. The only differences were that Braswell started his match on serve and ran off a 9-0 run with only one game reaching deuce, which Braswell won for 5-0 in the first set. With Braswell up, 3-0, in the second, Wunderlich held for his lone game of the match before Braswell closed on another 3-0 run that he capped with a deuce-point break.
Spizzirri then extended the overall lead to 3-1 with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 23 Tyler Zink. In the first set, Zink broke for a 2-0 lead, and although Spizzirri broke back on a deuce point and held to even it, Zink went on a 4-0 run that he completed with a deuce-point break for the set. The second set was similar to the first, just in reverse, with Spizzirri getting out to a 2-0 lead on the strength of an opening break. The set stayed on serve up to a 4-2 lead for Spizzirri, with that hold beginning an 8-0 run that set him up with a 5-0 lead in the third. Only one of those games went to deuce, which was Spizzirri's break to open the final set. Zink fended off a match point by breaking at deuce in the next game to make it 5-1, but Spizzirri broke right back for the win.
The clinch was then made by Pierre-Yves Bailly with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 win over Erik Schiessl. After Bailly held in the opening game, he then broke for a 2-0 lead that would be the first of eight-straight breaks between the players. Four of those went to deuce with Schiessl winning three of them to trail 2-1 and 3-2, and then to get within 5-4 after Bailly had two set points. Meanwhile, Bailly's had been to give him a 5-3 lead. Schiessl's last one began a 3-0 for him to take his first lead, 6-5, and give him an opportunity to serve for the set, but Bailly stopped Schiessl's momentum with a deuce-point break of his own to send the set to a tiebreaker. There, Schiessl won the first two points, which he maintained to a 3-1 lead, but Bailly then collected three straight for his lead. Schiessl squared it, 4-4, with the next point, but Bailly again grabbed three unanswered to take the set. The second set was then all Bailly, as he jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Schiessl got one game back on a deuce-point hold, but Bailly answered it and then broke for the victory.
That left two matches unfinished with senior No. 3 Micah Braswell leading No. 85 Isaac Becroft, 6-3, 4-6, 3-1, at No. 2, and senior Cleeve Harper ahead of Francisco Pini, 4-6, 6-4, 3-2, at No. 5 when play stopped.
Braswell broke for a 2-1 lead that he consolidated to 3-1 to start his match. Becroft managed to hold on a deuce point for 3-2, but Braswell held and broke to extend to 5-2. The next two games were decided at deuce as each player broke for the 6-3 decision. Braswell held to open the second set, but Becroft also held on a deuce point before breaking and holding again for a 3-1 lead. Despite the fact that four of the next five games went to deuce, that Becroft's break would turn out to be the only one of the set on the way to his 6-4 win. Braswell then held to begin the third, but the final three games were all breaks, leaving him with a 3-1 lead when play halted.
Harper's first set also feature only one break, which Pini secured for a 3-2 lead en route to a 6-4 win that he capped with a deuce-point hold to prevent Harper from pulling even. The second set also had only one break, but this time it was Harper's, which he secured on a deuce point at the very end for his 6-4 win. In the third Pini won the first two games on deuce points, but Harper had just gone on a 3-0 run for the lead when play stopped.
Earlier in doubles, Texas got on the board first with a 6-3 win by senior Eshan Talluri and Pierre-Yves Bailly over Pini and Garcia at No. 2. The Longhorns broke on a deuce point for a 3-1 lead and made that hold up the rest of the way to the win.
Harper and Micah Braswell then fell to Leighton Allen and Alessio Basile, 6-4, at No. 3 in yet another one-break set. Leading, 4-3, the Longhorns had a chance to extend on a possible deuce-point break, but the Cowboys held them off and then broke themselves in the following game before serving out the match.
That left it to the match at No. 1 where the No. 22 duo of Spizzirri and senior Siem Woldeab had taken back-to-back deuce points for a 5-2 lead over the No. 15 pair of Zink and Becroft. However, Oklahoma State rallied with a 3-0 run to tie it, including dodging a match point at deuce for the Longhorns, who were leading, 5-3, at the time. Texas regained the lead with a hold for 6-5, but the Cowboys also held to go a tiebreaker. In the breaker, Oklahoma State turned a 3-3 tie into a 5-3 lead, and although Texas responded to tie it again, Zink and Becroft were able to claim the next two points for the win and 1-0 overall lead.
Texas will now face the 3 seed No. 3 TCU for the third time this season with each team having won on its home court. The Horned Frogs took a 4-3 win in Fort Worth on March 2, while the Longhorns earned a 5-0 sweep in Austin on March 24. The teams will meet for the tournament title on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
#5 Texas 4, #36 Oklahoma State 1
Singles – Order of Finish (3,6,1,4)
1. #1 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. #23 Tyler Zink (OKST) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
2. #85 Isaac Becroft (OKST) vs. #3 Micah Braswell (UT) 3-6, 6-4, 1-3, unf.
3. #39 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly (UT) def. #96 Alex Garcia (OKST) 6-0, 6-1
4. #86 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. Erik Schiessl (OKST) 7-6 (4), 6-1
5. Francisco Pini (OKST) vs. Cleeve Harper (UT) 6-4, 4-6, 2-3, unf.
6. #59 Jonah Braswell (UT) def. Ty Wunderlich (OKST) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,3,1)
1. #15 Tyler Zink/Isaac Becroft (OKST) def. #22 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (UT) 7-6 (5)
2. Pierre-Yves Bailly/Eshan Talluri (UT) def. Francisco Pini/Alex Garcia (OKST) 6-3
3. Leighton Allen/Alessio Basile (OKST) def. Micah Braswell/Cleeve Harper (UT) 6-4
Players Mentioned
