Stillwater, Okla. – The 2 seed No. 3 Texas Men's Tennis (27-4, 7-0 Big 12) concluded the 2024 season as National Runners-Up after falling to 4 seed No. 4 TCU (28-4, 5-2 Big 12), 4-3, in the NCAA Championship Final on Sunday at the Greenwood Tennis Center. The Longhorns finish the year with the second-most wins in a season for the program since 2010, while reaching their fourth Final Four in the last five years.
Despite TCU claiming the doubles point and the first singles contest, the Longhorns rallied in with wins by freshman No. 40 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly at No. 2, senior Cleeve Harper at No. 6 and senior No. 5 Micah Braswell at No. 2 for a 3-2 lead with two remaining matches in third sets. However, the Horned Frogs were able to emerge from both for the win. It was the third of Texas' four defeats this season to be decided in the third set of the final singles match.
"I'm so proud of this team and hurt for them because they wanted it so badly," head coach Bruce Berque said. "The margins are super small, and we saw that with TCU's match against Ohio State, and our match against Tennessee, and tonight was no different. It's going to hurt, and there's nothing you can do to take that away, but I'm sure when the dust settles they'll be able to look back and be proud of what they did together. We did a lot, and most importantly these guys will have these relationships and these memories together forever, and they'll without a doubt be lifelong friends, and hopefully they can take a lot from this experience that they'll carry with them for the rest of their lives."
All three Longhorns singles winners were later named to the All-Tournament Team at their respective positions.
On court 3, Gilles-Arnaud Bailly earned Texas' first win by defeating No. 73 Pedro Vives, 6-2, 6-1. The freshman won the match's first three games, which featured a deuce-point break in the second game. Bailly threatened to earn another deuce-point break, but Vives managed to hold for his first win of the match. From there, the next three games stayed on serve before Bailly broke on a deuce point to win the first set. The first set's final game was the first of three games that went to deuce, with Bailly taking all of them to provide him a 2-0 lead in the second. Bailly capitalized on his momentum by winning the set's next three games which included another deuce-point hold for 5-0. Vives ended Bailly's 7-0 run with a hold for 5-1, but the freshman would close out the match with a hold in the following game.
Harper evened the match, 2-2, with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Tomas Jirousek on court 6. The Texas senior earned a deuce-point hold then swept the second game for a break, but Jirousek broke back for 2-1. From there, the first set's next four games went to deuce with Harper winning the first three and Jirousek breaking on the last for 5-2. The set's final two games stayed on serve, providing Harper the win. He opened the second set with a break then a deuce-point hold for 2-0. The next four games were then held before Harper broke on a deuce point for 5-2, then held on a deuce point for the match.
Micah Braswell gave Texas the 3-2 lead in the match with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 top-10 win over No. 7 Jake Fearnley on court 2. Fearnley opened the match by winning consecutive deuce points for 2-0, including what would be the only break of the set in the first game. Braswell had a chance to get the break back later in the set on a deuce point, but Fearnley held for 5-3 on the way to the 6-4 win. The first four games of the second set were all breaks, and after Braswell claimed the last of those, he held for a 3-2 lead as part of a 4-0 run for 5-2. Fearnley ended the run with a hold, but Braswell also held on a deuce point to knot the match at one set apiece. In the deciding set, Braswell took the first two games with a deuce-point break followed by a hold. Fearnley held in the third game, but Braswell responded with a 4-0 run for the win. Braswell's victory notched an undefeated dual match singles record for him with a perfect 22-0 record.
TCU tied the match, 3-3, with No. 13 Jack Pinnington's 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over senior No. 2 Spizzirri at No. 1. After Pinnington held the match's opening game, Spizzirri went on a 5-0 run. Pinnington managed to hold for 5-2, but Spizzirri would do the same to take the first set. The second set began with the first three games being broken, with each player collecting deuce-point breaks in games one and two, before Spizzirri held for 3-1. At 4-2, Spizzirri threated to move further ahead with two break points, but Pinnington managed to hold on a deuce point for 4-3 then break on another deuce point for 4-4. That began what would become a 5-0 run to take the second set and earn a 1-0 lead in the third set. Leading the final set 2-1, Pinnington collected the set's first break for 3-1 then consolidated it on a deuce-point for 4-1. That was the first of two opportunities for Spizzirri to break back on deuce points, but Pinnington managed to hold both for 5-2 and then broke for the win.
All eyes then turned to court 5 where sophom*ore No. 56 Jonah Braswell ended up falling to No. 77 Sebastian Gornzy, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. The match's first six games stayed on serve, with each player earning a deuce-point hold in the process, before Braswell took the match's first break for 4-3. Gornzy broke back in the following game sparking a run where he would win four of the last five games in the first set. Braswell responded with a deuce-point break in the second set's opening game, which proved to be pivotal as the set's remaining games stayed on serve. Gorzny took the third set's first three games with a break in the second one before Braswell held then collected a deuce-point break for 3-2. Braswell's break was the first of four straight games that were all broken, providing Gorzny a 5-3 advantage. Gorzny ended the trend by holding serve to give TCU the win.
Earlier, TCU had taken a brief 2-0 lead as junior No. 90 Pierre-Yves Bailly was downed by No. 78 Lui Maxted, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 4. Maxted began the match on a 3-0 run which saw him claim consecutive deuce points in the last two of those. From there, the next four games stayed on serve before Maxted broke to take the first set. Bailly broke to open the second set, but Maxted broke back to begin a 4-0 run. The next two games stayed on serve, with Bailly holding on a deuce point for 5-3, before Bailly secured a break for 5-4. However, Maxted broke back in the following game for the win.
TCU had gained the early 1-0 advantage by securing the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 1. At No. 2, Micah Braswell and senior Eshan Talluri fell in their match to Pinnington and Gornzy, 6-3. At 3-3, TCU earned the match's first break, which began a 3-0 run that was capped off with a deuce-point break for the win.
The Horned Frogs clinched the doubles point on court 1 where the duo of No. 26 Spizzirri and senior Siem Woldeab fell to Fearnley and Vives, 6-4. TCU opened the match with a break in the first game, but Spizzirri and Woldeab earned the break back on a deuce point for 3-3. In the following game, the Horned Frog duo regained their advantage with a deuce-point break for 4-3, and the remaining games stayed on serve, providing TCU a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the remaining match Harper and freshman Lucas Brown led against the No. 63 tandem of Maxted and Duncan Chan, 5-4, at No. 3 before play stopped. At 1-1, Chan and Maxted broke on a deuce point for 2-1, but Harper and Brown broke back to even the contest. From there, the remaining games stayed on serve before the match was left unfinished in the 10th game.
The Longhorns next return to the courts in Stillwater for the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, including Spizzirri, Micah Braswell, Gilles-Arnaud Bailly, and Jonah Braswell in singles competition on Monday, and the duo of Spizzirri and Harper in doubles starting Tuesday.
#4 TCU 4, #3 Texas 3
Singles – Order of Finish (4,3,6,2,1,5)
1. #13 Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. #2 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
2. #5 Micah Braswell (UT) def. #7 Jake Fearnley (TCU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
3. #40 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly (UT) def. #73 Pedro Vives (TCU) 6-2, 6-1
4. #78 Lui Maxted (TCU) def. #90 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) 6-2, 6-4
5. #77 Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) def. #56 Jonah Braswell (UT) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
6. Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Tomas Jirousek (TCU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,1)
1. Jake Fearnley/Pedro Vives (TCU) def. #26 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (UT) 6-4
2. Sebastian Gorzny/Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. Micah Braswell/Eshan Talluri (UT) 6-3
3. Lucas Brown/Cleeve Harper (UT) vs. Duncan Chan/Lui Maxted (TCU) 5-4, unf.
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