The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Spizzirri earns ITA No. 1 final singles ranking for second-straight year
05.29.2024 | Men's Tennis
Texas Men’s Tennis senior Eliot Spizzirri becomes the fourth player to finish as the top-ranked singles player twice since the ITA rankings began in 1981.
Austin – Texas Men's Tennis senior Eliot Spizzirri finished No. 1 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) final singles rankings for the second-straight year, the organization announced Wednesday.
Spizzirri becomes the fourth player to finish as the top-ranked singles player twice since the ITA rankings began in 1981. The others include Steve Johnson of USC in 2011 and 2012, Samdev Devverman of Virginia in 2007 and 2008, and Benedikt Dorsch of Baylor in 2004 and 2005. In being No. 1 last year, Spizzirri had already become the second Longhorn to hold the top singles spot at the end of the season, along with Steve Bryan in 1990.
In addition to being No. 1 in singles, Spizzirri was ranked in the top-15 in doubles with two different partners, including No. 13 with senior Cleeve Harper, and No. 15 with senior Siem Woldeab. That makes Spizzirri just the sixth player since 1981 to be ranked separately with two players in the top-15, including Skander Mansouri of Wake Forest in 2018, Peter Kobelt of Ohio State in 2014, Andrew Colombo of Auburn in 2002, Tiago Ruffoni also of Auburn in 2002, and Troy Budgen of Pepperdine in 1993.
Four other Longhorns were also ranked in singles, including senior Micah Braswell, who finished No. 3, giving Texas two of the top three players, along with freshman Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 44, sophomore Jonah Braswell at No. 66, and junior Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 95.
Spizzirri spent only two weeks not at No. 1 during the season, including the week of February 7 when it was Braswell who ascended to the top spot. The other was May 2, when Spizzirri was No. 2 behind Johannus Monday of Tennessee, who Spizzirri then defeated during the NCAA team quarterfinals to clinch against the Volunteers.
Due to the rankings, Spizzirri and Micah Braswell both qualify as ITA All-Americans in singles when the ITA releases those later in the year, while Spizzirri and Harper once again qualify in doubles due to reaching the semifinals of the NCAA Doubles Championships. They will be the sixth and seventh All-America honors of Spizzirri's career with three in singles and four-straight in doubles, and it will be the third time he has earned them both in the same year after doing so in 2021 and 2023. For Braswell, it will be his second time honored in singles along with 2023, while Harper will receive those accolades for the third-straight year in doubles.
Players Mentioned
