The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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No. 3 Men’s Tennis sweeps UCLA to advance to NCAA Sweet 16
05.04.2024 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns swept the Bruins, 4-0, to reach to the Round of 16 for the 10th-straight year.
Austin – No. 3 Texas Men's Tennis (24-3, 7-0 Big 12) advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 with a 4-0 victory over UCLA (15-8, 5-2 Pac 12) on Saturday night at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center. It marks the 10th-straight year the Longhorns have reached the Round of 16, and they will next host 15 seed No. 17 Texas A&M with a specific time to be determined.
After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3, the Longhorns claimed three singles matches with wins from seniors Siem Woldeab at No. 4, Cleeve Harper at No. 6, and freshman No. 40 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 3.
In doubles, the senior pair of No. 26 Eliot Spizzirri and Woldeab were the first to finish with a 6-4 win over Spencer Johnson and Emon van Loben Sels at No. 1. At 1-1, Spizzirri and Woldeab broke then held for 3-1, but the Bruin duo managed to even the contest with a hold then a break. The Texas tandem responded by breaking back on a deuce point, then holding for 5-3. The next two games stayed on serve, earning Spizzirri and Woldeab the victory.
The next match to finish was on court 2 where seniors Micah Braswell and Harper fell to Alexander Hoogmartens and Govind Nanda, 6-4. Hoogmartens and Nanda opened the match with a deuce-point break followed by a hold for 2-0. Braswell and Harper surged back with a 3-0 run for the advantage before the UCLA tandem answered with a 3-0 run of their own for a 5-3 lead, and which featured a deuce-point break for 4-3. The match's next three games all stayed on serve, knotting the doubles affair at one match apiece.
All eyes then turned to court 3 where freshman Lucas Brown and senior Eshan Talluri clinched the doubles point for the Longhorns with an entertaining 7-6 (3) win over Timothy Li and Jeffrey Fradkin. The match's first five games were held, with games four and five being deuce-point holds, before Li and Fradkin earned a deuce-point break for 4-2. Brown and Talluri answered with a deuce-point break of their own, narrowing their deficit to 4-3. The Texas tandem ended the four-game streak of deuce-point decisions with a hold to even the match. From there, the set's remaining games stayed on serve leading to a tiebreaker, although Brown and Talluri had threatened to break on a deuce point in the 11th game. In the breaker, the Longhorns broke then held serve for a 2-0 lead before Li and Fradkin collected a minibreak then held both serves for 3-2. Brown and Talluri responded to the adversity with a 5-0 run to win the match and provide Texas a 1-0 lead.
Woldeab was the first off the singles courts with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Giacomo Revelli at No. 4. At 1-1, Revelli held on a deuce point for 2-1, but Woldeab answered with a 3-0 run that featured a deuce-point break for a 3-2 lead before expanding to 4-2. From there, the first set's remaining games stayed on serve, with three of the four games being deuce-point decisions, earning Woldeab the set. Similar to the first set, Woldeab earned the second set's only break, which provided a 4-3 lead. He then closed out the match on a deuce-point hold.
Harper was next off the courts with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Jorge Plans Gonzalez at No. 6. Harper claimed the match's first break for 3-1, and the next four games stayed on serve before Plans Gonzalez broke for to get within 5-4, but Harper responded by breaking back to take the set. Harper's momentum carried into the second set where he began on a 3-0 run before Plans Gonzalez managed a deuce-point hold for 3-1. From there, Harper finished the set with another 3-0 run which saw him take the match with a deuce-point hold.
The clinching match for Texas was Gilles-Arnaud Bailly's 6-4, 6-4 win over Hoogmartens on court 3. Bailly opened the match with a 3-0 lead before Hoogmartens held then broke on a deuce point for 3-2. Hoogmartens' break was the first of what would become a six-game break streak, which saw Bailly take two of the three games decided by deuce points, giving Bailly the 6-4 first set win. Trailing 2-1 in the second set, Bailly went on a 4-0 run for a 5-2 advantage. Hoogmartens prolonged the contest with a break followed by a hold for 5-4, but Bailly clinched the 4-0 Texas sweep with a hold in the set's 10th game.
With Texas clinching the match, three highly competitive matches were left unfinished. No. 2 Spizzirri trailed No. 32 Nanda, 6-7 (6), 1-4, on court 1 when play was halted. At 3-4, in the first set, four of the next five games were decided on deuce points. Spizzirri earned a deuce-point break for 4-4 and had two set points at deuce leading 5-4 and 6-5, but Nanda fended them off, and in the following game, forced a tiebreaker. Nanda broke to begin the tiebreaker, but Spizzirri answered with a 3-0 run for 3-1. Each player collected minibreaks on the next two serves for 4-2 before the next two serves were then held for 5-3. From there, Nanda went on a 3-0 run for a 6-5 advantage. Spizzirri evened the tiebreaker with a hold for 6-6, but Nanda broke then held to take the first set. In the second set, Nanda pushed out to a 3-0 lead, which featured a deuce-point hold for 3-0, before Spizzirri held for 3-1. Nanda held the following game for 4-1 right before Bailly clinched the match.
On court 2, No. 5 Micah Braswell was one game away from clinching the sweep himself with a 7-6 (2), 5-4 lead over No. 104 Johnson. Braswell broke ahead on a deuce point for 2-1, but Johnson broke back to tie it. From there, the set's remaining games all stayed on serve with each player collecting deuce-point holds resulting a tiebreaker. Braswell stormed ahead in the tiebreaker and compiled a nearly insurmountable 5-0 lead. Johnson was able to earn a minibreak for 5-1 and follow it up with a hold for 6-2 shortly thereafter, but Braswell broke the Bruin's serve to take the first set. At 4-4 in the second set, Braswell held on a deuce point for 5-4 just before the match ended.
No. 56 Jonah Braswell's match against Gianluca Ballotta on court 5 featured six deuce-point decisions before being left unfinished with a 6-4, 3-3 score. In the first set, Braswell took three of the five games that were decided on deuce points. Braswell held on a deuce point for 5-2, but Ballotta answered with a hold followed by a break on Braswell's set point for 5-4. Braswell responded by breaking to take the set. The sophomore opened the second set with a deuce-point hold then a break for 2-0, but Ballotta pulled together a 3-0 run for a 3-2 lead. Braswell ended Ballotta's streak with a break in what proved to be the match's final game.
#3 Texas 4, #25 UCLA 0
Singles – Order of Finish (4,6,3)
1. #2 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) vs. #32 Govind Nanda (UCLA) 6-7 (6), 1-4, unf.
2. #5 Micah Braswell (UT) vs. #104 Spencer Johnson (UCLA) 7-6 (2), 5-4, unf.
3. #40 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly (UT) def. A. Hoogmartens (UCLA) 6-4, 6-4
4. Siem Woldeab (UT) def. Giacomo Revelli (UCLA) 6-4, 6-4
5. #56 Jonah Braswell (UT) vs. Gianluca Ballotta (UCLA) 6-4, 3-3, unf.
6. Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Jorge Plans Gonzalez (UCLA) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,2,3)
1. #26 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (UT) def. Spencer Johnson/Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) 6-4
2. A. Hoogmartens/Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Micah Braswell/Cleeve Harper (UT) 6-4
3. Lucas Brown/Eshan Talluri (UT) def. Timothy Li/Jeffrey Fradkin (UCLA) 7-6 (3)
Players Mentioned
