The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas A&M
No. 3 Men’s Tennis takes Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown, 4-2, over No. 11 Texas A&M
03.13.2026 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns produced four singles victories to register their ninth-straight win over the Aggies.
Austin – No. 3 Texas Men's Tennis took the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown, 4-2, over No. 11 Texas A&M on Friday at the Texas Tennis Center. The Longhorns produced four singles victories to register their ninth-straight win over the Aggies.
Although Texas came up just short in a tiebreaker in the deciding doubles match, the Longhorns responded with singles victories by freshman Lucas Marionneau at No. 5, senior No. 4 Sebastian Gorzny at No. 1, and sophomore No. 37 Sebastian Eriksson at No. 2 for a 3-1 lead. Texas A&M got back within one with a win at No. 4, but the clinch then came from sophomore Evan Burnett at No. 6. Freshman No. 65 Abel Forger was also potentially one game away from winning his match at No. 3 when play stopped.
"It was really helpful that three of our guys got big leads and kind of rolled with their matches, but the obvious highlight was Abel and Evan saving multiple match points," head coach Bruce Berque said. "I was really happy for both of them, but especially Evan since he hasn't gotten a chance to play many singles matches, and it's not easy when you haven't played in a long time to step in and be the guy that the match comes down to against your rival. He just got better and better as he went along, and he was really resilient. He let some service games slip away, but in the end, he stepped up, and I was really happy for him. He stays pretty composed out there, and there's no panic in him, and his level got better and better."
Texas was again without freshman No. 20 Kalin Ivanovski and sophomore Oliver Ojakaar in the singles lineup, along with freshman Mariano Dedura-Palomero, while Forger was out of the doubles lineup. However, the Longhorns overcame all of that to secure the victory.
trophy stays in Austin 😤🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/EO9KfgYkH6
— Texas Men's Tennis (@TexasMTN) March 14, 2026
After doubles, Marionneau was first off the singles court with an efficient 6-3, 6-1 win over Togan Tokac at No. 2. A short time later, Gorzny registered an equally efficient 6-1, 6-2 ranked victory over No. 64 Theo Papamalamis at No. 1. Eriksson completed the trio of wins in a short span with another ranked victory over No. 86 Alex Frusina, 6-0, 6-4, at No. 2.
Texas A&M then made it 3-2 overall as senior Jonah Braswell fell to Markus Molder, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 4, and that left two courts still in play at Nos. 3 and 6, both of which the Aggies had won the first sets in, and both of which they had match points in the second set. However, both Longhorns fended those off, and Evan Burnett was the first to get home with his 2-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5 win over Lathan Skrobarcek at No. 6 to clinch. Burnett had faced two match points while trailing, 5-4, but ended up breaking to keep the match going, winning a tiebreaker to force a third set, and eventually winning the match. It had just been Burnett's fifth dual match singles appearance of the season.
"I haven't played in a while, so I was kind of working my way into the match," Burnett said. "I knew if I could find away to break back when he was serving for the match, I could have a chance to win it, so just staying with it mentally was helpful for me. The third set also I was up a break like four times, and then I just tried to stay composed and stick to what I was trying to do, and having the guys on the sideline helped and having Abel up 5-2 in the third was really helpful to see he was doing well, so I was able to get the hold to win."
At the same time, Forger had faced three match points in a second-set tiebreaker after being down, 6-2. He rallied to win those and the tiebreaker, 9-7, and he was leading Tiago Pires, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 5-2, at No. 3 when Burnett clinched.
Earlier in doubles, the No. 14 duo of Eriksson and sophomore Oliver Ojakaar made quick work of their match against Pires and Molder, 6-1, at No. 2. With Forger out of the doubles lineup, Braswell had paired with Ivanovski at No. 3, but they were downed due to a late deuce-point break by Skrobarcek and Frusina that led to a 6-4 decision for Texas A&M.
That left the deciding match at No. 1 where the No. 13 pair of Gorzny and Marionneau went the distance but came up just short to No. 29 Tokac and Papamalamis, 7-6 (5), to provide the Aggies with the doubles point.
The Longhorns (14-5, 5-1 SEC) will return to the court to host the Oklahoma on Sunday, March 15, at 1 p.m. CT.
#3 Texas 4, #11 Texas A&M 2
Singles – Order of Finish (5,1,2,4,6)
1. #4 Sebastian Gorzny (TEX) def. #64 Theo Papamalamis (TAMU) 6-1, 6-2
2. #37 Sebastian Eriksson (TEX) def. #86 Alex Frusina (TAMU) 6-0, 6-4
3. #65 Abel Forger (TEX) vs. Tiago Pires (TAMU) 4-6, 7-6 (7), 5-2, unf.
4. Markus Molder (TAMU) def. Jonah Braswell (TEX) 6-4, 6-3
5. Lucas Marionneau (TEX) def. Togan Tokac (TAMU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Evan Burnett (TEX) def. Lathan Skrobarcek (TAMU) 2-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,3,1)
1. #29 Togan Tokac/Theo Papamalamis (TAMU) def. #13 Sebastian Gorzny/Lucas Marionneau (TEX) 7-6 (5)
2. #14 Sebastian Eriksson/Oliver Ojakaar (TEX) def. Tiago Pires/Markus Molder (TAMU) 6-1
3. Lathan Skrobarcek/Alex Frusina (TAMU) def. Kalin Ivanovski/Jonah Braswell (TEX) 6-4
Individual Match Key Moments
(by order of finish)
Doubles No. 2: Eriksson/Ojakaar (TEX) def. Pires/Molder (TAMU) 6-1
Match: Texas jumped out to a 5-0 lead and only allowed a deuce-point hold in the match.
Doubles No. 3: Skrobarcek/Frusina (TAMU) def. Ivanovski/Braswell (TEX) 6-4
Match: Texas A&M broke on a deuce point to start and held for 2-0. Texas went on a 3-0 run capped by a deuce-point hold. The Aggies picked up the only other break for 5-4 on a deuce point and served out.
Doubles No. 1: Tokac/Papamamalis (TAMU) def. Gorzny/Marionneau (TEX) 7-6 (5)
Match: Texas A&M broke first for a 3-2 lead and consolidated for 4-2. Texas got the break back on a deuce point for 4-4 and the match was on serve to a tiebreaker.
Tiebreaker: Texas took a 3-1 lead, but Texas A&M went on a 3-0 run. The Longhorns regained the lead, 5-4, but the Aggies put together another 3-0 run to win.
Singles No. 5: Marionneau (TEX) def. Tokac (TAMU) 6-3, 6-1
Set One: Marionneau broke first for a 3-2 lead, and although Tokac broke back, Marionneau finished on a 3-0 run, capped by a deuce-point break for the set.
Set Two: Marionneau jumped out to a 5-0 lead, including three deuce-point wins, and only allowed one hold for 5-1.
Singles No. 1: Gorzny (TEX) vs. Papamalamis (TAMU) 6-1, 6-2
Set One: Gorzny opened on a 4-0 run, capped by a deuce-point break, and although Papamalamis answered it, broke again and held for the set.
Set Two: The first three games were breaks, including two at deuce for Gorzny. He later broke at deuce again for 5-2 and served out the match.
Singles No. 2: Eriksson (TEX) vs. Frusina (TAMU) 6-0, 6-4
Set One: Eriksson swept the first set with only the opening game reaching deuce.
Set Two: After Frusina held to start, Eriksson went on a 4-0 run with two deuce-point holds. Frusina broke at deuce to start a 3-0 run, but Eriksson broke again for 5-4 and served out the match.
Singles No. 4: Molder (TAMU) def. Braswell (TEX) 6-4, 6-3
Set One: Braswell broke in the opening game and maintained to a 4-2 lead, but Molder went on a 7-0 run, including 4-0 for the set.
Set Two: Molder began the set 3-0 and the next five games were held until he broke again for the set.
Singles No. 6: Burnett (TEX) def. Skrobarcek 2-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5
Set One: Skrobarcek took a two-break 3-0 lead, and after the next two games were broken, the last three were held for 6-2.
Set Two: The first four games were on serve with deuce-point holds by Burnett to start and Skrobarcek to finish. The next two games were then breaks and the following two were holds for 4-4. Skrobarcek then broke at deuce for a 5-4 lead and was ahead 30-40 in the next game, but Burnett deflected the two match points to break back on the way to a tiebreaker.
Set Two Tiebreaker: Burnett took leads of 2-0 and 6-1 before winning, 7-2.
Set Three: After both players held with Burnett doing so at deuce, the next six games were all breaks, including one at deuce for each. Skrobarcek held at deuce for 5-4, but Burnett finished the match on a 3-0 run, capped by a deuce-point win on match point.
Singles No. 3: Forger (TEX) vs. Pires (TAMU) 4-6, 7-6 (7), 5-2, unf.
Set One: Five of the first six games went to deuce with Pires winning three, including the first two in that stretch and the last one to lead, 4-2. The last four games were then held, including set point for Pires at deuce.
Set Two: The players exchanged deuce-point breaks with Forger's starting a 4-0 run to 4-1 lead. However, Pires responded with a 3-0 run, ending with a deuce-point hold. Despite two of Pires' service games reaching deuce, the set stayed on serve to a tiebreaker from there.
Set Two Tiebreaker: After Forger won the first point and led, 2-1, Pires went on a 5-0 run for 6-2. However, Forger deflected three match points as part of a 5-0 run to retake a 7-6 lead. Pires tied it on the next point, but Forger claimed the last two points for a third set.
Set Three: Forger won the first four games, all on deuce points. The next three games were then held for a 5-2 lead for Forger when play halted.
Players Mentioned
