The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Montana
No. 3 Men’s Tennis advances to NCAA Tournament second round
05.03.2025 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns swept Montana, 4-0, on Saturday to move to the second round for the 12th-straight year.
Austin, Texas – No. 3 Texas Men's Tennis advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 4-0 sweep over Montana at the Texas Tennis Center on Saturday. It marks the 12th-straight year the Longhorns have reached at least the second round where they will next face No. 37 Cornell on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT at the Texas Tennis Center.
Texas secured the doubles point with a pair of 6-2 wins at Nos. 3 and 2, and followed with singles victories by freshman Sebastian Eriksson at No. 5, senior No. 54 Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 3, and junior No. 26 Sebastian Grozny at No. 2.
After doubles, Ericksson was first off the singles court with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of Chris Zhang. Only three games reached deuce, which Eriksson claimed for 2-0 and 3-0 in the first set, and 4-0 in the second.
Not long after that, Bailly produced almost as impressive of a score with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Duncan McCall at No. 3. Bailly began the match on an 8-0 run with only the first game of the second set reaching deuce. McCall picked up a break for his only game of the match to trail 2-1 in the second, but Bailly closed with the last four games, two of which went to deuce for leads of 4-1 and 5-1.
Gorzny then clinched the overall match with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Baltazar Wiger-Nordas at No. 2. Wiger-Nordas broke in the opening game, but Gozny went on a 3-0 run, including consecutive deuce-point wins to start it. The next four games were all breaks with three of them reaching deuce, including the first two and the last one in that span, which Gorzny won for a 5-3 lead before serving out the set. Wiger-Nordas then held in the first game of the second set, but Gozny took it from there with a 6-0 run to the finish with no games reaching deuce.
That left three matches remaining, including freshman No. 1 Timo Legout leading Tom Bittner, 6-1, 4-2, at No. 1. Legout started the match on a 4-0 run that included a deuce-point hold in the second game. Bittner then picked up one game on a deuce-point hold for 4-1, but Legout held and broke for the set. Despite three games reaching deuce, the first five games of the second set stayed on serve until Legout broke for a 4-2 lead before play halted.
Junior No. 72 Jonah Braswell also had a lead on Fernando Perez, 6-3, 3-0, at No. 4. It was Perez who got out to a 2-0 advantage with a hold and a break, but Braswell responded with a 4-0 run that he capped with a deuce-point hold. That would be the first of four-straight games to reach deuce with Perez winning the next one, but Braswell collecting the last two for the 6-3 win. He then extended his run to 5-0 by taking all the three games played in the second set before play stopped.
In the last match, freshman Evan Burnett moved into the lineup at No. 6, but was trailing Moritz Lesjak, 2-6, 1-3. Both players registered a deuce-point break to begin the match, starting with Lesjak. Burnett then held for a 2-1 lead, but Lesjak went on a 7-0 run to take the set and post a 2-0 lead in the second. In that stretch, Lesjak won consecutive deuce points in the first set for leads of 4-2 and 5-2. Burnett grabbed one more deuce-point hold before Lesjak also held for a 3-1 lead when play concluded.
Earlier in doubles, the No. 81 duo of Bailly and Eriksson was first off the court with a 6-2 win over McCall and Johnny Wilkinson at No. 3. The Longhorns broke on a deuce point to begin the match, and the next five games were on serve until they broke again for 5-2 and followed by serving out the win.
Moments later, the No. 66 pair of Gorzny and Braswell clinched the point with a 6-2 victory over Bittner and Eivind Tandberg at No. 2. Texas broke on a deuce point to open that match, as well, which initiated a 4-0 run. Montana held on a deuce point in the next game, and the last four games were on serve to the Longhorns' win despite the last two of those reaching deuce.
In the remaining match at No. 1, the No. 10 combo of Legout and sophomore Lucas Brown was even with Wiger-Nordas and Fernando Perez, 5-5, when play stopped. The teams exchanged breaks to start the match beginning with Texas, and after Montana held on a deuce point in the third game for a 2-1 lead, the match stayed on serve the rest of the way. That was despite consecutive deuce points with the first won by the Grizzlies for a 4-3 lead, and then by the Longhorns for 4-4.
#3 Texas 4, Montana 0
Singles – Order of Finish (5,3,2)
1. #1 Timo Legout (TEX) vs. Tom Bittner (UM) 6-1, 4-2, unf.
2. #26 Sebastian Gorzny (TEX) def. Baltaz Wiger-Nordas (UM) 6-3, 6-1
3. #54 Pierre-Yves Bailly (TEX) def. Duncan McCall (UM) 6-0, 6-1
4. #72 Jonah Braswell (TEX) vs. Fernando Perez (UM) 6-3, 3-0, unf.
5. Sebastian Eriksson (TEX) def. Chris Zhang (UM) 6-0, 6-0
6. Evan Burnett (TEX) vs. Moritz Lesjak (UM) 2-6, 1-3, unf.
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,2)
1. #10 Timo Legout/Lucas Brown (TEX) vs. Baltaz Wiger-Nordas/Fernando Perez (UM) 5-5, unf/
2. #66 Sebastian Gorzny/Jonah Braswell (TEX) def. Tom Bittner/Eivind Tandberg (UM) 6-2
3. #81 Pierre-Yves Bailly/Sebastian Eriksson (TEX) def. Duncan McCall/Johnny Wilkinson (UM) 6-2
Players Mentioned
