The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Vanderbilt
No. 4 Men’s Tennis sweeps No. 34 Vanderbilt in SEC debut
02.22.2025 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns played their first conference match as a member of the SEC and registered a 7-0 win over the Commodores.
Austin – No. 4 Texas Men's Tennis swept No. 34 Vanderbilt, 7-0, in the program's first-ever conference match as a member of the SEC on Saturday at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center.
After Texas took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3, the Longhorns received singles wins from freshman Sebastian Eriksson at No. 5, junior No. 15 Sebastian Gorzny at No. 2, freshman Oliver Ojakaar at No. 4 for the clinch, sophomore Lucas Brown at No. 6, freshman Timo Legout at No.1, and junior Jonah Braswell at No. 3.
After helping to clinch the doubles point, Eriksson was first off the singles court with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Henry Ruger. Eriksson broke on a deuce point in the opening game, and then again for a 4-1 lead. Ruger broke back and held to pull back within 4-3, but the last three games were also held, including the next two on deuce points, for Eriksson's win. The first four games of the second set were on serve with two deuce point holds for Eriksson, and the second of those was a catalyst of a 5-0 run to his win and a 2-0 overall lead.
It was then two-straight wins for Sebastians, as Gorzny followed with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Danil Panarin. Gorzny's first four service games all went to deuce, but he held three of them with the lone exception of Panarin taking a 2-1 lead. However, Gorzny broke right back and the set stayed on serve until he broke again for a 5-4 lead and then served it out. Both players broke to start the second set, but Gorzny held on a deuce point for a 2-1 lead that started a 3-0 run for him for 4-1. Panarin held on a deuce point in the next game for 4-2, but the rest of the set stayed on serve to Gorzny's win.
The clinch then came from Ojakaar with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Michael Ross. In the first set, Ross was the first to break, doing so on a deuce point for a 4-2 lead that he consolidated on another deuce point for 5-2. However, Ojakaar came roaring back with a 6-0 run to take the first set and break in the opening game of the second. The next two games were also breaks, but Ojakaar held for a 3-1 lead and the rest of the set was held until Ojakaar broke again for the win.
The remaining matches were then played out with Brown finishing first out of those with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Tighe Brunetti. Brown collected the only break of the first set for a 3-2 lead on a deuce point and rode that to a 6-4 win. In the second set, Brown broke and held on a deuce point for a 2-0 lead. That would be the first of four-straight games that went to deuce with the rest being holds for a 3-2 lead for Brown. He then finished on a 3-0 run that included a deuce-point break for 5-2.
The last two match both went to superbreakers and finished within minutes of each other starting with Legout's 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (8) win over No. 98 Nathan Cox. In the first set, Cox opened on a 4-0 run including a deuce-point break in the second game. Legout then answered the 4-0 run, finishing his with a deuce-point hold, but Cox also held at deuce in the next game and then served out the set. In the second, Cox once again moved out to a lead starting on a 3-0 run that included consecutive deuce-point wins for a break and a hold. The next game also went to deuce, but Legout claimed that one, which started him on a 6-0 run to the superbreaker. There, Legout got out to a 3-1 lead, but Cox rebounded with three-straight to take a 4-3 advantage. Legout then came back with a 3-0 run of his own for a 6-4 lead, but Cox tied it again, 6-6. Cox later took his second lead at 8-7, but Legout found one last 3-0 run for the 10-8 win.
That left it to Braswell, who moments later won by the same superbreaker score after winning his first set, but falling in the second as part of his 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (8) victory over Pablo Martinez Gomez. Braswell captured the only break of the first, doing so on a deuce point for a 4-3 lead that he maintained to the 6-4 win. In the second set, Gomez used a deuce-point break for a 3-0 lead, and then held on another deuce point for 5-2 before breaking again to win. In the superbreaker, the players alternated points starting with Gomez until he took a 4-2 lead that he pushed to 5-3. At that point, Braswell went on a 3-0 run for his first lead of 6-5, and even though Gomez would tie it on the next point, Braswell used another 3-0 run for a 9-6 advantage before closing it out at 10-8.
Earlier in doubles, the Longhorns shifted their lineup, including at No. 2 where Ojakaar and senior Pierre-Yves Bailly paired for a 6-1 win over Panarin and Gomez. The Longhorns raced out to a 4-0 lead, and although the Commodores got one game back on a hold, Bailly and Ojakaar closed it out in the next two games.
The clinch then came from another new pairing in Brown and Eriksson, who claimed a 6-4 win over Ruger and Giuseppe Cerasuolo at No. 3. Although the match featured six deuce points, it wasn't until the last one that there was a break, which the Longhorns secured for a 5-4 lead before serving it out.
That left the match at No. 1 unfinished with another new duo in Legout and Gorzny trailing, 6-6 (3-5) Cox and Ross in a tiebreaker. That match had four deuce points but stayed on serve the entire way to the breaker where Vanderbilt had pushed out to a 5-0 lead before Texas responded with three-straight points before play halted.
The Longhorns (10-2) return to the court for their second SEC match on Monday at 1 p.m. CT against No. 72 Ole Miss at the Texas Tennis Center.
#4 Texas 7, #34 Vanderbilt 0
Singles – Order of Finish (5,2,4,6,1,3)
1. #7 Timo Legout (TEX) def. #98 Nathan Cox (VU) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (8)
2. #15 Sebastian Gorzny (TEX) def. Danil Panarin (VU) 6-4, 6-3
3. #33 Jonah Braswell (TEX) def. Pablo Martinez Gomez (VU) 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (8)
4. Oliver Ojakaar (TEX) def. Michael Ross (VU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Sebastian Eriksson (TEX) def. Henry Ruger (VU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Lucas Brown (TEX) def. Tighe Brunetti (VU) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,3)
1. Sebastian Gorzny/Timo Legout (TEX) vs. #87 Nathan Cox/Michael Ross (VU) 6-6 (3-5), unfinished
2. Pierre-Yves Bailly/Oliver Ojakaar (TEX) def. Danil Panarin/Pablo Martinez Gomez (VU) 6-1
3. Sebastian Eriksson/Lucas Brown (TEX) def. Henry Ruger/Giuseppe Cerasuolo (VU) 6-4
Players Mentioned
