Watching TCU collect its national championship trophy, Texas men’s tennis saw its 2024 season end with a 4-3 defeat, leaving with revenge in mind.
About 11 months later, Texas got its chance at revenge. No. 3 Texas handed No. 1 TCU its first loss of the season in a 4-1 beatdown at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center in Austin this past Friday.
After falling 4-3 to No. 5 Virginia for its first loss of the season, Texas was looking to get their season back on track. The evening began with a statement TCU win, with No. 2 ranked doubles pairing senior Pedro Vives and senior Lui Maxted defeating No. 5 redshirt freshman Timo Legout and sophomore Lucas Brown 7-5.
This required the Longhorns to sweep the remaining doubles matches if they wanted to earn the point for doubles. With their backs against the wall, TCU transfer junior Sebastian Gorzny and senior Pierre-Yves Bailly came up big for the Longhorns in a dramatic 7-6 (7-3) tiebreak win.
Now, with the doubles series tied 1-1, the next match would decide the doubles point. Longhorn junior Jonah Braswell and freshman Oliver Ojakaar also secured an electric tiebreak win 7-6 (7-3), giving Texas their first point of the night and an early 1-0 lead.
“Texas was too good today, the doubles point got away from us,” said TCU head coach David Roditi. “We had match points on courts two and three and lost both of them.”
With the lead, the Longhorns only needed to win three of the six possible singles matches. The first singles match saw No. 11 Legout dominate No. 18 junior Jack Pinnington, winning both sets 6-1 and extending the Longhorn lead to 2-0.
TCU earned their first point of the night when No. 6 Vives beat his former teammate, No. 10 Gorzny, 6-4 and 6-3. However, the Horned Frogs weren’t able to build upon the win.
Putting a stop to any possible TCU momentum, No. 121 Bailly had the upset of the night when he took down No. 9 Maxted, winning both sets 6-3.
Sitting with a 3–1 lead, the Longhorns were one win away from a season-defining victory. No. 21 Braswell gave the Longhorns their fifth victory over a No. 1 ranked team in the last five years when he took down unranked freshman Cooper Woestendick 6-4, 6-3.
Now the Longhorns must prepare for the ITA National Indoor Championship in Dallas, Texas. The tournament will be played from Feb. 14-18.
