The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men’s Tennis closes season in NCAA Doubles Semifinals
05.24.2024 | Men's Tennis
The senior duo of Eliot Spizzirri and Cleeve Harper fell after giving the Longhorns a third-straight appearance in the doubles semifinals.
Stillwater, Okla. – Texas Men's Tennis senior duo No. 24 Eliot Spizzirri and Cleeve Harper fell in the NCAA Doubles Championships Semifinals on Friday at the Greenwood Tennis Center after giving the Longhorns a third-straight appearance in the doubles semifinals.
The match closed a 2023-24 season that saw Texas finish as the team National Runners-Up and win both the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships, while also sweeping the singles titles of the two fall majors in the ITA All-American Championships by Spizzirri, and the ITA National Fall Championships by senior Micah Braswell.
It was also the final match in the Longhorn careers of two of its all-time winningest players, who as a pair finished as runners-up in last season's NCAA Doubles Championships. Harper won the title the year before with Richard Ciamarra.
Spizzirri and Harper were downed, 6-4, 6-3, by No. 13 Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc and Joshua Dous Karpenschif of Florida State. The Seminoles broke twice in the first set on deuce points in the opening game and for a 4-1 lead. The Longhorns got one break back in the next game and held on a deuce point for 4-3, but Florida State also held at deuce for 5-3, and the last two games stayed on serve for the FSU win. In the second set, Florida State again broke in the first game to start a 4-0 run. The Longhorns responded with two deuce-point holds and a break to get within 4-3, but the Seminoles followed by holding serve and securing their third deuce-point break of the match to win.
In reaching the semifinals, Spizzirri and Harper once again qualify as All-Americans in doubles, making Spizzirri a four-time doubles honoree, and Harper a three-time doubles selection. Spizzirri, who ranks in the top five in UT history in both singles victories and singles winning percentage, will also receive All-America honors in singles this year, which he has done three times in his career. The 2023 National Player of the Year, Spizzirri finishes with 218 combined singles and doubles wins at Texas, including 113 in singles and 105 in doubles, while Harper posted 212 combined wins, including 94 in singles and 118 in doubles.
2024 Men's Tennis Doubles Championships
Doubles Semifinals – Friday, May 24
#13 Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc/Joshua Dous Karpenschif (FSU) def. #24 Eliot Spizzirri/Cleeve Harper (UT), 6-3, 6-3
