Hi UT Tennis Fan, Greetings from Kalamazoo, Michigan, where Assistant Coach Ryan Lipman and I are busy looking for the next generation of Longhorns! Speaking of new coaches, last week we welcomed our 2nd Assistant Coach to the team. Nick Beaty comes to us from the University of Michigan, where he was a 3 time team captain. Nick has already been on the court with Cleeve Harper and Evin McDonald while Ryan and I are out recruiting, As you can see from this press release, Nick had an outstanding career at the University of Michigan, and we know he will make a great contribution on the 40 acreas as well. Last week, Micah and Jonah Braswell competed in the Decatur, IL $25k futures event: Micah lost in the 2nd round to the eventual champion, while Jonah had a great run to the semifinals before losing a tough 3 set match. They also paired together in doubles, played a great match, but lost in a decisive tie breaker to the eventual champions. Meanwhile in Lexington, Kentucky Eliot Spizzirri played an ATP $80k Challenger event. He beat Christian Harrison in the first round, and lost to eventual champion Stevie Johnson in the 2nd round (had set point to win the 2nd set). In doubles Eliot paired with Tyler Zink to win the title, his first Challenger title in singles or doubles (beating another Longhorn, George Goldhoff, in the final). George has also had a great run in doubles lately. Speaking of former Longhorns on the ATP doubles tour, 2015 NCAA Doubles Champion (with partner Soren Hess-Olesen) Lloyd Glasspool reached the semifinals in the ATP 500 event in Washington D.C., and will be competing at the Rogers Cup in Canada this week. Also this week, Eliot will play Liam Broady today in the Cary, North Carolina Challenger, while in Belgium Pierre-Yves Bailly begins play today in a $15k futures event. Lucas Brown will play his 4th round match in Kalamazoo today, and both he and freshman Rahul Sachdev are still alive in doubles (with different partners) as well. Next week Cleeve Harper will play a Challenger in Canada, Pierre will play another futures in Belgium, and the rest of the guys will get ready to make their way back to Austin for what promises to be another exciting year for UT Men's Tennis! Until next time, Hook'em! Sincerely, Bruce Berque
Hi UT Tennis Fan, As you can imagine things have been busy as we start the new school year, but it has been a lot of fun to have the whole team back.....well, almost the whole team! Eliot Spizzirri hasn't found his way back to Austin yet, as he is playing the U.S. Open. He won his first two qualifying matches (over ATP #169 Matteo Gigante and #120 Aleksandar Kovacevic) before falling just short in the final round to #154 Emilo Nava. Eliot was up an early break in the 3rd, but unfortunately experienced health problems on the court and had to retire from the match. Fortunately, he has another great opportunity today in the 1st round of the main doubles draw. Eliot and his partner Tyler Zink will play 4th match on court 5 today, and you can watch live on ESPN plus. Speaking of US Open doubles, Miguel Reyes-Varela also plays his first round match today (1st match on court 10), and Lloyd Glasspool won his first round match yesterday over Melo and Peers. The rest of the squad is back to work in the classroom and on the courts. There are two new players who will be competing this Fall (Lucas Brown, who redshirted last semester, and Jonah Braswell). A third new player, Rahul Sachdev, will be training with us all year, but will redshirt. Please click the roster tab on this e-mail if you want to check out the squad. We do expect at least two new players to join us in January. Also new to the squad are Assistant Coaches Ryan Lipman and Nick Beaty. We of course miss Coaches Brandon Wagner and Sudanwa Sitaram, but Ryan and Nick are excellent additions to the squad, and will make a big positive impact on our players. We will be hosting the Longhorn Invitational on the weekend of September 22-24. The event will be played in a dual match format, but only individual scores will count (no team scoring). The other participating teams are Georgia, USC, Florida State, and Arizona. Will be back in touch with you with the specific schedule as we get a little closer. If you will be in Austin that weekend, we hope you will plan on coming out for some great college tennis! Have a great weekend, and Hook'em! Sincerely, Bruce Berque
Hi UT Tennis Fan, In case you haven't heard, Eliot is back for one more year! Our first tournament of the fall season is coming up, and it will be at the Texas Tennis Center. We will host Georgia, USC, Arizona, and Florida State in "mock dual match format." The competition will resemble dual match play with everyone playing at once, but only individual scores will count. Play will begin for us on Friday, September 22 at 1 pm. On Saturday we will begin at 10 am, and on Sunday we will begin at 11 am. We will provide further details as we get close. Have a great week, and Hook'em! Sincerely, Bruce Berque
Good morning UT Tennis Fan, It has been a busy few weeks with our team, as we have hosted our first Fall tournament, sent most of our team to the ITA All American Championship, and hosted 10 recruits on official visits. At the All American Championships in Tulsa, Cleeve Harper started the qualifying rounds on a winning note yesterday (recap), and will will attempt to qualify for the main draw today, to join Eliot Spizzirri, Pierre-Yves Bailly, Siem Woldeab, Micah Braswell, and Jonah Braswell, who all begin play on Wednesday. To follow the live streams in the main draw please click on the tournament central link. I will be in touch again after the tournament with a recap, and hopefully with news on the recruiting front as well! Until then, have a great week, and Hook'em! Sincerely, Bruce Berque
Hi UT Tennis Fan, We had a busy week in Tulsa last week, with 7 of our players competing in the ITA All American Championships. Several of our players had good wins, and of course we saw plenty of things that need improvement for the spring season. The highlight was clearly Eliot Spizzirri's championship performance. Eliot won 6 singles matches in 3 days (3 of them in 3 sets) to become the 3rd ITA All American Singles Champion in Texas Men's Tennis history (Chad Clark and Yuya Ito were the other 2). As if that were not enough, Eliot paired with Cleeve Harper to win 4 doubles matches, before falling in the doubles final. Eliot and Cleeve are now the only UT doubles pair to reach the ITA All American Championship final. Most of our players will be at home for the next 10 days, before heading up I-35 to Ft. Worth to play Texas Regionals, which begin on October 19. As usual we will keep you posted on how they do. Until next time, Hook'em! Sincerely, Bruce Berque
Hi UT Tennis Fan, Just a quick note to let you know that we are in Ft. Worth getting ready for the ITA Texas Regionals which start tomorrow at TCU. Please click on this press release for schedules of play and results. I will circle back with you after the tournament with a full recap, and hopefully some big recruiting news for the upcoming season! Hook'em! Sincerely, Bruce Berque
HI UT Tennis Fan, Some good news in the last few days! Micah Braswell won the ITA Texas Regional, qualifying for ITA Fall Nationals (recap). We are also happy to announce two outstanding additions to the team for this coming January. Evan Burnett and Calving Wang will join us on the 40 Acres in just a few months, and redshirt for their first semester. We look forward to helping them both on their journey at Texas. More big news to come very soon! Stay tuned! Sincerely, Bruce Berque
Hi again UT Tennis Fan, In my last update (with the news of Micah Braswell winning regionals, and the signings of Evan Burnett and Calvin Wang), I teased you with "more big news to come soon." I am happy now to announce the signing of Gilles-Arnaud Bailly. Gilles-Arnaud, the brother of Pierre-Yves Bailly, will join us this coming January! He was the number 1 ranked junior in the world in 2022, and currently holds an ATP ranking of #474. For the full story about his signing, please click here. We will now have two sets of brothers on the team (Micah and Jonah Braswell, and Pierre=Yves and Gilles-Arnaud Bailly)! Up next for us, Eliot Spizzirri will play an ATP Challenger in Charlottesville, most likely beginning play on Tuesday. Micah Braswell will head to San Diego and begin play at the ITA Fall Nationals on Wednesday. The following week, most of our guys will play the Dropshot Series USTA $25k tournament at the Texas Tennis Center. As usual, we will keep you posted. Hook'em! Sincerely, Bruce Berque
Hi UT Tennis Fan, Although it doesn't seem quite right to be doing anything today but reflecting on the impactful life of Coach Snyder, I also know he would have wanted you all to know what is going on with the team. Micah Braswell will be playing for a National Championship at the ITA Fall Nationals today in San Diego. For all the info, including details on broadcast and live scoring, please click here. Meanwhile the 2023 Dropshot Series USTA Pro $25k futures event kicks off this morning at the Texas Tennis Center with the qualifying rounds. Lucas Brown and Evin McDonald play at 10 am (now), and Rahul Sachdev (redshirting this year) plays the 2nd match after 10 am. Everyone else will play either tomorrow (after receiving a bye in the first round of qualifying) or Tuesday or Wednesday when the main draw begins. For full details, including daily schedules, please click the ITF website. Thanks for all your support everyone, and please keep the Snyder family in your thoughts and prayers today. Sincerely, Bruce Berque
I have to believe that Coach Snyder was smiling today, as Micah Braswell picked up another national title for the Longhorns, beating Jack Pinnington-Jones (TCU) 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the ITA Fall Championships in San Diego. For the full story on Micah's big win, please click here. And for a very nice tribute to Coach Snyder on our web site, please click here. Action continues tomorrow at the Texas Tennis Center in the Drop Shot Series USTA $25k futures event (tomorrow's schedule of play). Have a great night, and Hook'em! Sincerely, Bruce Berque
Good morning UT Tennis Fan, I am writing with the details for Coach Snyder's Celebration of Life On December 6. I look forward to being there with many of those who loved and respected Coach Snyder. As for the action at the Texas Tennis Center this week, play is scheduled to continue today in the Dropshot Series USTA $25k futures event, with many current and former Longhorns still alive in the draws. Please click here for the schedule of play. Eliot Spizzirri, Micah Braswell, Pierre-Yves Bailly, and Siem Woldeab are all in the 2nd round of singles (round of 16), along with former Longhorn Colin Markers. In doubles Eliot and Cleeve, and Colin and Christian Sigsgaard are in the quarterfinals. Of course today's schedule is pending some rough weather in the forecast. Will be back in touch again soon. Have a great day, and Hook'em! Sincerely, Bruce Berque
Hi UT Tennis Fan, Just a quick note that Pierre-Yves Bailly will face off against teammate Siem Woldeab tomorrow (Sunday) at 9 am in the final of the Dropshot Series $25k at the Texas Tennis Center. Tournament officials chose an early start time in an attempt to beat the rain forecasted for the afternoon. If you are in Austin, please come out to watch. Should be a great match! Hook'em! Sincerely, Bruce Berque
Good morning UT Tennis Fan, Pierre-Yves Bailly capped off a very successful week for Longhorns at the Dropshot Series Men's Pro $25k futures event by defeating teammate Siem Woldeab in a terrific 3 set battle. Not only were both finalists current Longhorns, but we also had 3 of the 4 semifinalists. Most of our players are now done for the Fall, although Eliot Spizzirri is playing another pro event in Michigan this week, and both Eliot and Pierre will play in the Master U BNP Paribas Competition in France, beginning November 30. Eliot will represent Team USA and Pierre will play for Team Belgium in the annual international team competition of University Students. Looking ahead to the 2024 dual match season, please check out our schedule here. Please also mark your calendars now for the 2024 Men's and Women's Season Kick-Off and Senior Banquet on Saturday evening, January 13. We will have a very special group of seniors to honor, and I hope you will plan on being there as Micah Braswell, Cleeve Harper, Evin McDonald, Eliot Spizzirri, Eshan Talluri, and Siem Woldeab will no doubt speak from the heart as they share what there experiences at Texas have meant to them. Until next time, Hook'em! Sincerely, Bruce Berque
HI UT Tennis Fan, Although this is typically a quiet time with respect to tennis for our players as they shift their attention to exams, three Longhorns were also busy in competition last week. Lucas Brown reached the final of the $25k UTR Pro Tennis Tournament in Houston, Pierre-Yves Bailly led the Belgium squad to a 5th place finish at the Master'U BNP Paribas Championship in France, while Eliot Spizzirri led TEAM USA to the Championship. Looking ahead to the 2024 dual match season, we will kick things off with a tune up individual tournament in Miami January 5-7, and then begin the dual match season on January 12 at home vs Lamar. We will host our annual Season KIck-Off Banquet with the women's team on January 13, and then return to the courts on Sunday, January 14 vs Abilene Christian. We will then face off vs defending National Champion Virginia at home on January 18. We will have a big squad in place for the coming semester, as 4 new players will join us. Gilles-Arnaud Bailly will compete with the team, while Evan Burnett, Timo Legout, and Calvin Wang will redshirt (updated roster). Sincerely, Bruce Berque
Wonder why Timo Legout has to redshirt. Wonder if it's eligibility thing. They would be dangerous if hey could play as he would play high in the line-up
Hi UT Tennis Fan, Last week I attended the Celebration of Life Memorial Service for Coach Snyder. It was a beautiful ceremony, and everyone who spoke did so eloquently about the impact that Coach Snyder had on their lives. It was great to see so many former players their to pay tribute to Coach. Just about all of our players also made it out, taking time out from their exam schedule. The full ceremony, including a very nice slide show, is available for viewing at this link. Our players are now all done with their exams, and have returned home for a the holiday break. We will begin play at the Miami Invitational in Coral Gables January 5-7. That will be an individual event (in dual match format), and will serve as a tune up before the dual match season, which begins at home on January 12. We play Lamar on Friday, the 12th at 4 pm, and follow that up with a match against Abilene Christian on Sunday, January 14 at 12:00 pm. In between, on Saturday evening, January 13 we will host the annual UT Men's and Women's Tennis Kick-Off Banquet. We will be in touch shortly with details and the official invitation, but I do hope you can save the date, and join us as we preview the season ahead and pay tribute to a very special group of seniors (Micah Braswell, Cleeve Harper, Evin McDonald, Eliot Spizzirri, Eshan Talluri, and Siem Woldeab). Best wishes for the holidays, and we will be back in touch soon. Hook'em! Sincerely, Bruce Berque
Looks like sophomore Nicole Rivkin is no longer listed on the women's roster. 2023-24 Women's Tennis Roster - University of Texas Athletics (texassports.com)
I read elsewhere that Nicole did turn pro. I wonder if the plans now is to rush and bring in another recruit for this upcoming Spring.
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
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
