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Texas men's tennis wins over UCLA, setting up an NCAA game with Texas A&M

Texas men's tennis hosted No. 25 seed UCLA in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Championships on Saturday, defeating the Bruins 4-0 and advancing to the Super Regionals.

The Longhorns extended their winning streak to 15 and continued their quest for another national title. They next face Texas A&M, which advanced with a win over San Diego State.

Here are three observations from the Texas game.

Doubles the trouble

Texas found itself in trouble before the game began when senior Eshan Talluri found out that morning that he wouldn't be playing with his usual partner Pierre-Yves Bailly on the third line. Instead, redshirt freshman Lucas Brown came off the bench, introducing an entirely new duo for the second round of the tournament.

An hour into the game, the duo soon found themselves in the unenviable position of a tiebreaker where victory was all that mattered. With Cleeve Harper and Micah Braswell having already lost at number 2 and Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab winning at the top, the pressure was on Talluri and Brown.

“I’m a senior, but I haven’t actually played many games this year,” Talluri said of the win. “I think it was a new experience for both of us, but I think we are both really energetic players and rely on each other to benefit from each other.”

They came through for UT, winning 7-6(4) and earning the doubles point against UCLA despite their inexperience. Cach Bruce Berque admitted they didn't play their best game but was still proud.

“I think in the big moments they really stepped up and did a good job,” Berque said.

Spizzirri fights

Now the second-ranked player in the country, he had some unusual problems with UCLA's top player, Govind Nanda. The Longhorn struggled as Nanda avoided unforced errors and its defense forced Spizzirri into long turnovers and errors.

While Nanda is the country's 32nd ranked player, the two players have a long history dating back to their youth days. The Bruin were able to win the first set 7-6(6) and secure a break against Spizzirri before the other games came to an end, ending UCLA's season.

Regardless, Berque remains confident in his best player and commented on the fight he showed despite the game being wiped off the scoreboard.

“I liked that he was like he wasn’t looking at the scoreboard at the end, he was fighting for every point,” Berque said.

Bring on the Aggies

A&M arrives and with it the added spice that comes through whenever the maroon clashes with the burnt orange.

Texas faced the Aggies last year and defeated them 5-2. The Longhorns are currently on a four-game winning streak against their rivals and Berque is looking forward to another chance to compete against the people of College Station – and possibly knock them out.

“Especially in a game with such big implications, there will be big fireworks and hopefully we will have a full house again,” Berque said.

For Talluri, it's not just the fact that Texas is facing A&M. Due to his impending graduation, it will also be his final match at the Austin Tennis Center.

“I’ll be damned if I don’t give it everything I’ve got against A&M,” Talluri said.

As for Brown, it's a little simpler.

“I don’t rock with the Aggies,” he said, grinning.

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