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Texas Men's Tennis 2024

perfectchaos007

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perfectchaos007

perfectchaos007 6626

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Might as well get this going. Texas returns just about everyone from last year's team and adds three standouts in transfer sophomore Jonah Braswell (younger brother of Micah Braswell), freshman Timo Legout, and freshman Gilles-Arnaud Bailly (younger brother of Pierre-Yves Bailly. The biggest announcement over the offseason was when Eliot Spizzirri announced he would come back to Texas for one final ride, with goals of winning a national championship. Make no mistake, its national championship or bust this season for all of these returning players.

 

Despite last year's team earning the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, the team fell short at the hands of a red-hot Virginia team in the semi-finals. Texas will have a chance to avenge that loss and get a good idea of just how good they are when they face Virginia in Austin on January 18th.

Texas boasts a roster of 14 players this season, which is well above the average of ~10 they usually have, but at the end of the day only 6 players can make the singles lineup each match. Below are the 8 players who should be getting the primary playing time in either singles or doubles.

1. SR. Eliot Spizzirri
2. SR. Micah Braswell
3. JR. Pierre-Yves Bailly
4. SO. Jonah Braswell
5. SR. Siem Woldeab
6. SR. Cleeve Harper
7. FR. Timo Legout
8. FR. Gilles-Arnaud Bailly

Coach Berque's biggest challenge this season will be roster management and figuring out which 6 players to put in singles and doubles on a match to match basis. Because of our talent and depth, Berque can decide to play a few players in doubles only to keep the singles players fresh for their match. Texas can theoretically play 2 pairs of brothers in the doubles lineup, which hasn't happened before at Texas that I'm aware of. We'll see if Berque decides to go that route or split them up. All depends on their on-court chemistry.

 

Overall, I believe this is the most talented roster Texas mens tennis has ever had, and hypothetically if matches were a best of 9 points (8 singles and 1 doubles point), then Texas would waltz their way to a championship. Reality is that tennis matches are a best of 7 points (6 singles points and 1 doubles point), so we are still vulnerable to losing if a few players are having an off day. I'm excited to find out what this team can accomplish!

 

 

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10SNE1

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It was announced by the coach that Timo will be redshirting this Spring. I wonder if the Virginia match will be played indoors seeing it'll be Winter when they are scheduled to play. 

This will be a great year, nonetheless! 

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10SNE1

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From the coach:

Hi UT Tennis Fan,

Happy New Year!  My apologies for getting this to you later than I had hoped, but I am writing to let you know about this year's Season Kick-Off and Senior Banquet on Saturday, January 13 at 5:30 pm.  The men's and women's tennis teams will preview the upcoming season, and each team's seniors will speak about their experiences at Texas.  We have a very special group of seniors this year, so I hope you will join us.  Please see that attached invitation, and RSVP to Megan Hoffman by the end of the week if at all possible.  I'll be back in touch in a few days with some information about our season tune up at the Miami Invitational this coming weekend.  Until then, have a great week, and Hook'em!

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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perfectchaos007

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On 1/1/2024 at 10:14 PM, 10SNE1 said:

It was announced by the coach that Timo will be redshirting this Spring. I wonder if the Virginia match will be played indoors seeing it'll be Winter when they are scheduled to play. 

This will be a great year, nonetheless! 

If that’s the case then Im a bit surprised Berque chose to redshirt Timo because as stacked as this team is, Timo has the 5th highest UTR on the roster and would make our team better right away if he played this season. Perhaps he’s dealing with an injury or this has to do with scholarship management, but it’s odd for a player of his caliber to come from overseas just to sit out when he could play Line 1 singles at about half of all D1 programs right away. 

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Hi UT Tennis Fan,

Play begins this morning at 10 am in Coral Gables at the Miami Invitational. For a full preview, including links to live scoring and video, please click here.

As a reminder, our first match of the season will be at 4 pm on Friday, January 12 vs Lamar. We will follow that up with our Senior Banquet (invitation attached) on Saturday, January 13, and another dual match vs Abilene Christian on Sunday, January 14.  

Have a great day and Hook'em!

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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UnhappilyMarried

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On 1/3/2024 at 7:46 PM, 10SNE1 said:

Preseason Team Rankings are out.

Women - #7

Men - #3

Surprising we aren’t 1 or at least 2 if you can’t unseat UVA. This feels like the best roster we’ve ever had for singles and doubles. Top end talent and 6 court depth. Our top 8 includes 5 of the top 20 in UTR (!!!) plus new Braswell, Woldeab, and Cleeve. 
 

 

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HI UT Tennis Fan,
We returned last night from a successful weekend at the Miami Invitational.  Despite the fact that rain caused us to stop most of Sunday's matches just short of completion, everyone got plenty of tennis in, and we won more than our fair share of matches against Arizona State, LSU, and Miami.  In fact, we won both the singles and doubles titles:  Eliot Spizzirri and Cleeve Harper picked up the doubles championship, while Micah Braswell won his 3rd straight collegiate singles title.  For all the results from the weekend, please click on this press release.

As a follow up to my previous e-mail, I wanted to remind you that we will open our dual match season this coming Friday at 4 pm at home vs Lamar.  Then on Saturday, we will honor our seniors, and give them the opportunity to speak about their journeys, at the UT Men's and Women's Tennis Senior Banquet.  Finally on Sunday, we will close the weekend with a 12:00 pm match vs Abilene Christian. If you plan on attending Saturday's 5:30 pm banquet, and have not rsvp'd yet, please do so by contacting Megan Hoffman at megan.hoffman@athletics.utexas.edu.

Looking ahead to the following week, please mark your calendars now for January 18, when defending national champion Virginia visits us in Austin for a rematch of last year's NCAA semifinal match.  More details on this early season #1 vs #3 match up to come next week!

Have a great week, and Hook'em!

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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HI UT Tennis Fan,

Our team had a good start to the 2024 dual match season, picking up 7-0 shutouts over Lamar (recap) and Abilene Christian (recap).  As we endure the cold snap for the next few days, we will also be busy preparing for the first big match of the season, a showdown with two time defending national champion and #1 ranked Virginia at 5 pm on Thursday.  The forecast for Thursday is for temperatures to be close to 70 degrees, so we are planning for the match to be outside at the Texas Tennis Center.  As you may recall this will be a rematch of last year's NCAA final four match, in which Virginia got the better of us.  Needless to say our team is looking forward to the opportunity!  If you are in the neighborhood, please plan on joining us and recruiting everyone you know to come with you!  Our marketing team is planning some excellent promotions, and I will be back in touch with you in a few days to tell you about them.  Have a great start to your week, and stay warm!  Hook'em!

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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Hi again UT Tennis Fan,

I am writing with one final reminder about tomorrow's big home match.  It will be #3 ranked Texas vs #1 ranked Virginia at 5 pm at the Varsity Tennis Center!  At match time tomorrow the forecast is for sun, 68 degrees, and virtually no wind.  In short, it is going to be a beautiful night!  Please help us spread the word by sharing the attached promotional flyer with all of your friends.  For a full preview of the match, including links to live scoring and video, please click here.

For those of you who could not make Saturday's senior banquet, here is a link to a zip folder with all of the senior speeches.  They were fantastic, and if you watch them you will soon understand why this group of players is so special.

Have a great night and Hook'em! 

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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Hi UT Tennis Fan,

Thank you to everyone who came out to support our players on Thursday night as we took on #1 ranked UVA. On a beautiful night in front of close to 1,000 fans we came up just short in a 4-3 loss that came down to the final match. We won convincingly at #1 doubles, but dropped two close matches at #'s 2 and 3 doubles, which allowed UVA to take a 1-0 lead heading into singles. That point ended up being decisive as we split the singles 3-3. Although we definitely did not play our best throughout the lineup, our guys fought hard as usual, and there will be a lot to learn and gain from it. For a full recap, please click on this press release.

Looking ahead, we will host big home matches in each of the next 3 weekends. On Saturday, January 27 at 12:00 pm we will take on UTSA in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off. On Sunday we will play either Utah or Oklahoma State at 1 pm. We will have to win both matches next weekend in order to qualify for the National Team Indoors in New York in mid February. Our Kick-Off matches are scheduled to be outdoors at the Texas Tennis Center, but will be moved inside in the event of bad weather. Then on Sunday, February 4, at 2:30 pm we have another huge home match, vs Stanford. We will follow that up the following Saturday with a 1 pm showdown vs Florida. Please mark your calendars now! We will see you back at the courts this coming weekend!

Hook'em!

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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Hi UT Tennis Fan,

I hope you have had a nice week. After 4 days of rain, we have moved back outside, and are preparing for the ITA Kick-Off, which begins tomorrow. We will play UTSA at 12:00 pm tomorrow (Saturday), and follow that up with a match vs. either Utah or Oklahoma State on Sunday at 1:00 pm. We will need to win both matches this weekend in order to advance to the National Indoor Championships in a few weeks in New York. I hope you will come out to support the guys on both days, but if you can only pick one I suggest you shoot for Sunday at 1 pm. For a full preview of this weekend's matches please click here.

I would also like to inform you that Nancy Snyder, beloved wife of Longhorn Legend Coach Dave Snyder, has passed away. Please click here for Nancy Snyder's obituary. The Longhorn tennis family has lost two very special people, but we know they will live on in the memories of all who were touched by them. Please keep the Snyder family in your thoughts and prayers.

 

All the best!

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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perfectchaos007

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Texas wins 4-1 against OKST to advance to the ITA indoors next month. I've been a bit surprised Lucas Brown cracked the singles lineup, but with Jonah Braswell struggling and Woldeab still falling apart in 3rd sets, that has given Lucas an opportunity for playtime. 

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HI UT Tennis Fan,
We had a successful few days at the ITA Kick-Off last weekend, picking up 4-1 wins over UTSA (recap) and Oklahoma State (recap).  With the wins, we qualified for the ITA National Indoors February 16-19 in New York.  We will return to the Texas Tennis Center this coming Sunday at 2:30 pm for another huge home match, this time against Stanford.  We are once again promoting this match hard, and ask for your help in spreading the word.  We had close to 1,000 people for the Virginia match a few weeks ago, and are expecting to break the 1,000 fan milestone for the 2nd time in as many seasons.  Please plan on showing up early to get a good seat.  Bring your friends and feel free to share the attached promotional flyer with everyone you can think of!

The Snyder family would like to share news of tomorrow's memorial service for Nancy Snyder.  Those who cannot be there in person can watch the service via the live stream at 2pm central time on Friday.  I have also been informed by the Snyder family that the service should be available for viewing after the fact at the above link if you are not available to watch it live. 

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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Hi UT Tennis Fan,

I hope you had a great week!  We had a productive week of training and are now ready to match up against Florida at 1 pm tomorrow (Saturday).  Due to the forecast of rain, the match will be played indoors at the Weller Tennis Center (match preview).  Live scoring links are available on the preview, but there will be no live stream tomorrow.  If you are in town, we would sure appreciate you coming out and bringing your friends.  We have increased the seating capacity indoors, and expect that we will be able to accommodate everyone who comes out.

After tomorrow's match we will next be competing in New York on Friday at the National Team Indoor Championships.  I will be back in touch next week with details.

Hope to see you at the courts tomorrow!  Hook'em! 

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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Hi UT Tennis Fan,

I hope you had a great weekend, and are enjoying the Super Bowl.  Our team used the day to catch up with school and take care of their bodies after a well earned win over Florida yesterday at the Weller Tennis Center.  Florida played very well in doubles, and took a 1-0 lead into singles, but we came out strong in singles and picked up 4 decisive straight set wins, capped off by Jonah Braswell's clinch over his former team at #6.  For all the details, please click on this recap.

Next up is that National Team Indoors in New York.  Our first round match will be on Friday, and I will be back in touch once we have the details (probably on Tuesday or Wednesday).  Have a great week, and Hook'em! 

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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Hi UT Tennis Fan,

Our trip to New York for that National Indoors got off to a tough start, as we dropped a heartbreaker to an Arizona team who played a great match.   It was no surprise, though, that our team showed great character and pride to pick up two shutout wins (4-0 over Michigan, and 5-0 over South Carolina) to finish the tournament strong.  For full recaps of each match, please go to Arizona loss; Michigan win; and South Carolina win.  Eliot Spizzirri (ranked #1 in the country) was named Big 12 Player of the Week after picking up 3 ranked wins at #1 singles in New York.  Micah Braswell (ranked #2 in the country) also won all 3 singles matches at #2.

Our next match will be at home vs. St. John's at 5 pm on Wednesday, February 28.  We will then hit the road for our first showdown with TCU, this time in a non-conference match on March 2 in Ft. Worth.  Have a great week, and Hook'em!

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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Hi UT Tennis Fan,

Our next match will be tomorrow (Wednesday) evening at 5 pm vs St. John's. The match will be at the Texas Tennis Center, and I hope you will come out to support the team if you are in town. Here is a preview of tomorrow's match. After tomorrow's match we will head up to Ft. Worth to take on TCU on Saturday at 2 pm. As usual, that promises to be a huge match for us, so if you are in the Ft. Worth area it would be great to see a little burnt orange! After the TCU trip, current #1 ranked Ohio State will visit us for a massive home match on Sunday, March 10. Please start spreading the word now and plan on helping us set another attendance record. Should be a fantastic match, and we could really use another great home crowd. The Ohio State match will be broadcast live on the Longhorn Network, which means live streaming will not be available. So your only two options for watching will be in person or on LHN. Thanks for your continued support of Texas Men's Tennis! Hook'em!

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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UnhappilyMarried

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1 hour ago, perfectchaos007 said:

TCU wins 4-3. Berque is running out of time to figure out a winning doubles lineup and we won’t win shit until that gets solved. Best roster we’ve ever had and are about to fall out of the top 10.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. What a mess of a season with better talent than I’ve ever seen 1-6

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Hi UT Tennis Fan,

I hope you had a great weekend!  Unfortunately we dropped a heartbreaker on the road to TCU on Saturday, losing 4-3 in a match that came down to the wire (full TCU recap).  It was a great college match, and in the end the difference between winning and losing was literally one point.  We will have another crack at TCU in about 3 weeks, and it will be at home in a match that will count towards the Big 12 season.  But we have plenty of tough matches to play before we even think about a rematch.  And that starts with a showdown with #1 ranked Ohio State this coming Sunday at 2 pm at the Texas Tennis Center.  The match will be broadcast live on The Longhorn Network (how to get LHN), and will therefore not be streamed.  Your only two options for watching will be in person or on the Longhorn Network.

We expect another massive crowd, and our team is excited for the opportunity.  Please help us spread the word about the match (2 pm Sunday vs #1 Ohio State).  Be sure to get there a little early so you can get a seat!  Our promotions team is planning some special gifts for those who show up early.  I'll be back in touch towards the end of the week with one final reminder.  Until then, have a great week, and Hook'em! 

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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Hi UT Tennis Fan,

I am writing with one final reminder about Sunday's 2 pm showdown vs current #1 Ohio State. We expect a very big crowd and a great environment, and suggest that you arrive early if you are planning to come. If you are out of town, your only opportunity to watch will be on the Longhorn Network (how to get the Longhorn Network). Live scoring will be available, but no stream. Please see the attached promotional flyer, and help us spread the word by sharing it with all your friends and groups that you belong to. After the Ohio State match we will hit the road for matches vs Georgia in Athens (Thursday) and vs USC in Los Angeles (next Sunday). We will kick off Big 12 Conference play the following weekend with home matches against Central Florida and TCU (March 22 and 24).

 

As you may know Eliot Spizzirri and Micah Braswell have been ranked #1 and #2 in the country respectively for the last several weeks. The ITA informed us a few days ago that there was a clerical error in the February 7 rankings, and that Micah should have been #1 that week. So the ITA has republished the rankings for that week. Congratulations to Micah on the amazing milestone! The ITA believes that this is the first time in history that one team has had two different players reach the #1 ranking in the same season!

Thanks for your support, and hope to see you on Sunday! Hook'em!

Sincerely,

Bruce Berque

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