AUSTIN, Texas - #18 Arizona fell 4-2 in a gritty battle against #7 Texas who handed the Wildcats their second loss of the season on Sunday, Feb. 12.
It was a battle for the doubles point on courts two and three after Jonas Ziverts and Jay Friend were defeated 6-3 by the #4 ranked doubles pair in the country, Cleeve Harper and Eliot Spizzirri. Both matches went to tiebreakers where Texas ultimately secured the doubles point after Gustaf Strom and Herman Hoeyeraal lost 7-6(4) to Chih Chi Huang and Micah Braswell at three doubles. Colton Smith and Jared Horwood's match against Siem Woldeab and Pierre-Yves Bailly was left unfinished at 6-6.
The Wildcats went to work in singles play with every match featuring at least one ranked player; the matchups were nearly identical to those in their previous match against Texas during ITA Kickoff. First off the courts was #98 Hoeyeraal who fell 6-4, 6-4 to #25 Woldeab at four singles. Then Strom put Arizona on the board after defeating #65 Braswell in straight sets 6-1, 6-3. The Swede previously lost to the Longhorn in a second set breaker on Jan. 29.
#22 Ziverts was bested 6-2, 6-3 by Spizzirri, the current #1 player in the country. The two also faced each other back in January where the Longhorn was up a set before the match was left unfinished at 6-5. Texas clinched today's win after #33 Pierre-Yves Bailly defeated #78 Smith 6-3, 7-6(2). At six doubles, #120 Friend gave Arizona its final point after splitting sets with Evin McDonald, losing the first set 2-6 then coming back 6-4 in the second and finishing 6-3. The Wildcat freshman defeated the Longhorm junior seconds after Smith lost on court 2.
Texas gave Arizona its first loss of the season after they swept them 4-0 in the ITA Kickoff Regional championship match on Sunday, Jan. 29. The Wildcats are now 6-2 heading into a bye week. They resume regular season play at the Blue Gray Tournament in Montgomery, Ala. Feb. 25-26.
Results
#7 Texas 4, #18 University of Arizona 2
Singles competition
1. #1 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. #22 Jonas Ziverts (ARIZ) 6-2, 6-3
2. #33 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. #78 Colton Smith (ARIZ) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
3. Gustaf Strom (ARIZ) def. #65 Micah Braswell (UT) 6-1, 6-3
4. #25 Siem Woldeab (UT) def. #98 Herman Hoeyeraal (ARIZ) 6-4, 6-4
5. Nevin Arimilli (UT) vs. #85 Nick Lagaev (ARIZ) 6-7 (5-7), 1-4, unfinished
6. #120 Jay Friend (ARIZ) def. Evin McDonald (UT) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: 4, 3, 1, 2, 6
Doubles competition
1. #4 Cleeve Harper/Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. Jonas Ziverts/Jay Friend (ARIZ) 6-3
2. Siem Woldeab/Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) vs. Colton Smith/Jared Horwood (ARIZ) 6-6, unfinished
3. Chih Chi Huang/Micah Braswell (UT) def. Gustaf Strom/Herman Hoeyeraal (ARIZ) 7-6 (7-4)
Order of finish: 1, 3
