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No. 3 Men’s Tennis tops No. 7 Tennessee to advance to NCAA Final Four
05.16.2024 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns defeated the Volunteers, 4-2, to reach to the Semifinals for the fourth time in the last five years.
Stillwater, Okla. – No. 3 Texas Men's Tennis (26-3, 7-0 Big 12) advanced to the NCAA Tournament Final Four with a 4-2 win over No. 7 Tennessee (25-7, 10-2 SEC) on Thursday at the Greenwood Tennis Center. It marks the fourth time in the last five years the Longhorns have reached the semifinals and the eighth time overall in program history. Texas will next face 6 seed No. 6 Wake Forest on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. CT.
After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3, the Longhorns claimed three singles matches with victories from senior No. 5 Micah Braswell at No. 2, freshman No. 40 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 3, and senior No. 2 Eliot Spizzirri at No. 1 for the clinch.
"Something we talk about all year is taking the right approach to challenges that come up and not reacting to them, but really responding according to the way they've trained themselves mentally and physically." head coach Bruce Berque said. "So hopefully that toughens our competitive muscle a little bit more, but they certainly strengthened those competitive muscles throughout the year, so it maybe builds a little more confidence that even if they're not completely at their best, and they've got their backs against the wall, they know they can count on each other to fight to the end, and hopefully come through."
With Texas leading, 3-2, and close matches for both Spizzirri at No. 1 and senior Cleeve Harper at No. 6, Spizzirri completed a tremendous comeback to defeat the top-ranked player in the country, Johannus Monday, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Monday had just become No. 1 in the latest ITA rankings after Spizzirri held the spot for most of the season. In the process, Spizzirri came back from being down a set and trailing 5-2 in the second, fending off three match points along the way.
"I thought from 5-2 on (in the second set), the pressure kind of goes away, because it's in his hands now, and he's a huge server, and he was serving really well," Spizzirri said. "I just thought to myself, 'Take it one point at a time, and fight your butt off and see what happens.' You get lucky here and there, and like coach always says, you fight to the last point, and he always tells me to play one point at a time, and honestly, that's all I did."
The first set stayed on serve all the way to 4-4 when Monday claimed the first break on the first deuce point of the match, which came on a double fault by Spizzirri. That provided Monday a 5-4 lead before he served out the set. The first four games of the second set were also on serve until a pair of double faults again gave Monday the first break and a 3-2 lead. He then consolidated it for 4-2 and broke again for 5-2 on a deuce point. That would be when Spizzirri completely flipped the script, setting out on a 6-0 run that included deflecting a match point at deuce with Monday leading 5-3, and then two more match points in the following game on Monday's serve at 40-30 and deuce. Later leading, 6-5, Spizzirri then did the same thing to win the set, breaking Monday's serve by winning points at 40-30 and deuce. In the third set, Spizzirri held to start and led most of the second game for a potential break, but Monday was able to hold on a deuce point to even it. Spizzirri later converted another break opportunity for a 4-2 lead that he consolidated for 5-2. Monday held in the next game, but Spizzirri would serve out the match to clinch the victory and send his teammates streaming onto his court.
The comeback of the century 🤘🤘🤘#HookEm | #NCAATennis pic.twitter.com/Rjxzwaf6eT
— Texas Men's Tennis (@TexasMTN) May 17, 2024
In the remaining match at No. 6, Harper was deadlocked with Younes Lalami, 5-7, 6-1, 6-6 (3-3) when Spizzirri clinched. In the first set, Harper moved out to a 3-0 lead with a break in the second game. He had an opportunity to break Lalami's next serve on a deuce point, but Lalami held for 3-1. The next game was then the reverse with Harper holding on a deuce point for 4-1. After the following two games were on serve, and with Harper leading, 5-2, Lalami went on a 5-0 run to take the set. However, Harper answered with a 5-0 run of his own to start the second, and after Lalami snapped the streak with a hold, Harper served it out. The opening game of the third set went to deuce with Lalami managing to hold, however that would be the closest either player would get to a break all the way to a tiebreaker. There, Lalami got the first mini-break for a 2-1 lead, but Harper got it right back, and the last two points stayed on serve for 3-3 at the stoppage.
Prior to those two matches, Tennessee had pulled to within 3-2 when sophomore No. 56 Jonah Braswell fell to Filip Apltauer, 7-6 (5), 6-1 at No. 5. Braswell was the first to break for a 2-1 lead, but Apltauer broke back to even it. Braswell then broke again for a 4-3 lead, but once again, Apltauer answered it, this time on a deuce point. After Apltauer held for a 5-4 advantage, the next two games went to deuce with each player holding before Braswell held again to send it to a tiebreaker. In that frame, Braswell broke on the opening serve and then held his first serve for a 2-0 lead, but Apltauer went on a 4-0 run for a lead he would not relinquish despite Braswell twice getting back within one point, including 6-5. Apltauer then maintained control through most of the second set, breaking in the opening game and holding for a 2-0 lead. Braswell got back within 2-1 with hold, but Apltauer went on a 4-0 run to the win, including a deuce-point break that had provided a 4-1 lead.
Micah Braswell had earlier pushed the Texas lead to 3-1 with a 6-3, 7-5 win over No. 37 Shunsuke Mitsui. Braswell broke in the match's opening game, but Mitsui broke back for 1-1. Braswell had another break opportunity with a 15-40 lead at 2-2, but Mitsui rallied to hold for a 3-2 lead. However, the rest of the set belonged to Braswell, who closed on a 4-0 run. In the second, Braswell held the first game on deuce point, and then set stayed on serve until the next deuce point resulted in a break and a 4-3 lead for Mitsui. Braswell retook the lead by breaking back and holding for 5-4, and although he had two match points in the following game, Mitsui was able to hold to stay alive, 5-5. However, Braswell would not be denied on his next break chance, which he secured for the match after having held the game before.
Moments earlier, Bailly had reestablished the lead for the Longhorns with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Filip Pieczonka. Although the opening game went to deuce with Pieczonka holding for a 1-0 lead, Bailly still got the first break of the match for a 3-2 lead, starting a 4-0 run to take the set that also included a deuce-point hold for 4-2. In the second, he again broke first for a 3-2 lead, but this time Pieczonka broke back on a deuce point to even it. Bailly still finished on a run, this time 3-0 that he capped with a deuce-point break for the match.
After Texas won the doubles point, Tennessee had squared the overall match as senior Siem Woldeab was downed by Angel Diaz, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 4. The first two games both went to deuce, but both were taken by Diaz for a hold and a break as part of a 5-0 run to start. Woldeab stopped the streak with a hold, but Diaz closed on serve in the next game. The same thing happened in the second set with Diaz winning the first two games at deuce, this time for a break and a hold. The third game also went to a deuce point, but Woldeab held for 2-1. Diaz again took a 5-1 lead in this set with the last two of those on deuce points, but Woldeab rallied for three games to get within 5-4 before Diaz was able to finish on serve.
Earlier in doubles, the senior duo of No. 26 Spizzirri and Woldeab was the first to finish with a 6-3 win over the No. 6 pair of Monday and Diaz at No. 1. The Longhorn broke first for a 3-1 lead, but the Volunteers broke back on a deuce point and then held to even it. However, Texas went a 3-0 run from there, including a deuce-point break for 5-3 and a deuce-point hold for the match.
The next match to finish was on court 2 where Micah Braswell and senior Eshan Talluri fell to No. 77 Pieczonka and Mitsui, 6-3. Tennessee picked up the only break of the contest in the second game and consolidated for 3-0. The rest of the match stayed on serve with no deuce points to the final.
All eyes then turned to court 3 where Harper and freshman Lucas Brown clinched the doubles point with another 6-3 win over Apltauer and Lalami. Texas opened on serve and had a chance to break on a deuce point for a 2-0 lead, but Tennessee was able to hold for 1-1. The match then stayed on serve until the Longhorns grabbed the only break of the contest for 5-3 before serving it out in the next game.
#2 Texas 4, #7 Tennessee 2
Singles – Order of Finish (4,3,2,5,1)
1. #2 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. #1 Johannus Monday (TENN) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
2. #5 Micah Braswell (UT) def. #37 Shunsuke Mitsui (TENN) 6-3, 7-5
3. #40 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly (UT) def. Filip Pieczonka (TENN) 6-2, 6-3
4. Angel Diaz (TENN) def. Siem Woldeab (UT) 6-1, 6-4
5. Filip Apltauer (TENN) def. #56 Jonah Braswell (UT) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
6. Cleeve Harper (UT) vs. Younes Lalami (TENN) 5-7, 6-1, 6-6 (3-3), unf.
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,2,3)
1. #26 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (UT) def. #6 Angel Diaz/Johannus Monday (TENN) 6-3
2. #77 Shunsuke Mitsui/Filip Pieczonka (TENN) def. Micah Braswell/Eshan Talluri (UT) 6-3
3. Lucas Brown/Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Filip Apltauer/Younes Lalami (TENN) 6-3
Players Mentioned
