Men's Tennis Stopped by No. 2-Seed Texas in NCAA Tournament
AUSTIN, Texas – The UCLA men's tennis team had its NCAA Championships journey ended by No. 2-seed Texas in a 4-0 result Saturday evening at the Edgar O. and Melanie A. Weller Tennis Center.
The second-round match began with a close race to the doubles point. The Bruins (15-8) challenged for it, but ultimately fell short in a tiebreaker. The Longhorns (24-3) later received singles wins from Cleeve Harper, Siem Woldeab and clincher Gilles-Arnaud Bailly.
The 26th-ranked combination of Woldeab and Eliot Spizzirri gave Texas the upper hand in doubles play, defeating Spencer Johnson and Emon van Loben Sels 6-4 on Court 1. UCLA's second-court pair of Alexander Hoogmartens and Govind Nanda answered, though, taking down Harper/Micah Braswell 6-4 for its 11th win in a row.
With all eyes focused on Court 3, extra time was needed. Bruins Jeffrey Fradkin and Timothy Li, who teamed for the deciding first-round victory, led 3-2 before Lucas Brown and Eshan Talluri took the final five points to seal the initial point in favor of the Longhorns.
Each of the singles first sets was separated by two games or fewer, but Texas came out on top of five of them. No. 32 Nanda led No. 2 Spizzirri 7-6(6), 4-1 on Court 1 when the final decision was made.
No. 90 Woldeab held off Revelli 6-4, 6-4 on Court 4 to make the score 2-0. Harper followed by besting Jorge Plans Gonzalez 6-4, 6-1 on Court 6. No. 40 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly then outlasted Hoogmartens 6-4, 6-4 to complete the Longhorn team win.
Nanda has qualified for the NCAA singles tournament, which will be played May 20-25 at Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Okla.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs Texas
5/4/2024 at Austin, TX
(Texas Tennis Center)
#3 Texas 4, #25 UCLA 0
Singles competition
1. #2 Eliot Spizzirri (TEX) vs. #32 Govind Nanda (UCLA) 6-7 (6-8), 1-4, unfinished
2. #5 Micah Braswell (TEX) vs. #104 Spencer Johnson (UCLA) 7-6 (7-2), 5-4, unfinished
3. #40 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly (TEX) def. Alexander Hoogmartens (UCLA) 6-4, 6-4
4. #90 Siem Woldeab (TEX) def. Giacomo Revelli (UCLA) 6-4, 6-4
5. Jonah Braswell (TEX) vs. Gianluca Ballotta (UCLA) 6-4, 3-3, unfinished
6. Cleeve Harper (TEX) def. Jorge Plans Gonzalez (UCLA) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #26 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (TEX) def. Spencer Johnson/Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) 6-4
2. Alexander Hoogmartens/Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Micah Braswell/Cleeve Harper (TEX) 6-4
3. Lucas Brown/Eshan Talluri (TEX) def. Jeffrey Fradkin/Timothy Li (UCLA) 7-6 (7-3)
Match Notes:
UCLA 15-8; National ranking #25
Texas 24-3; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,6,3)
NCAA Championships - Second Round