Athens, Ga. \u2013 No. 1 Texas Men’s Tennis advanced to the NCAA National Championship Match with a dramatic 4-3 win over 6 seed No. 2 TCU on Saturday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. It marks the second time in the last three years the Longhorns will play in the final and the fourth time in program history (2008, 2019, 2024).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Texas will next face the 4 seed No. 5 Virginia on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET\/1 p.m. CT. The teams met earlier this year in Austin with the Cavaliers taking a 4-1 decision at the Texas Tennis Center. Texas and Virginia are tied with the most final appearances in the last seven years with three. The Longhorns are now 29-6 this season with the 29 victories tying the 2025 and 2019 teams for the most in a season dating back to 1975 when teams began playing shorter schedules.<\/p>\n
After TCU secured the doubles points with wins at Nos. 1 and 2 that surrounded a Texas win at No. 3, the Longhorns evened the overall match with a victory by sophomore No. 89 Oliver Ojakaar<\/a> at No. 4. The Horned Frogs regained the lead with a win at No. 6, but the Longhorns again answered with a victory by sophomore No. 35 Sebastian Eriksson<\/a> at No. 3. The back and forth continued as TCU won in three sets at No. 5, but Texas responded with a third-set tiebreaker win by freshman No. 41 Kalin Ivanovski<\/a> at No. 2. That left it to No. 1 where senior No. 3 Sebastian Gorzny<\/a> fended off five match points late in the second set to force a third where he clinched and sent the Longhorns to the National Championship Match.<\/p>\n “I am super proud of the team again today,” head coach Bruce Berque<\/a> said. “Obviously, they were really resilient. We knew TCU had a fantastic doubles point, so we were determined to come out and really go after it. I felt like we did that pretty well, we just couldn’t execute all the way down to the finish, and that’s when the marathon began. We were down and out many times. Most notably, Sebastian Gorzny<\/a> saved multiple match points and showed his composure, resilience, and toughness. Kalin Ivanovski<\/a> was super impressive, and to win (singles courts) 1, 2, 3, and 4 against TCU, which is no small task, I’m really proud of our team.”<\/p>\n After doubles, Ojakaar was first off the court in decisive fashion with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Oliver Bonding at No. 4. After freshman Lucas Marionneau<\/a> fell in his match to Roger Pascual, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 6, Eriksson rallied to take his first set in a tiebreaker on the way to a 7-6 (3), 6-3 win over No. 55 Cooper Woestendick at No. 3 to make the overall score 2-2.<\/p>\n TCU regained the lead as freshman No. 102 Abel Forger<\/a> came up just short in his first set where he had a set point, and despite a strong second set, he was downed in the third, 7-5, 1-6, 6-2, to Albert Pedrico at No. 5.<\/p>\n That set the stage for significant drama with Texas needing both of the remaining courts to advance, and Ivanovski delivered in a third-set tiebreaker with a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5) victory over No. 42 Cosme Rolland De Ravel at No. 2. Ivanovski had led, 5-2, in the tiebreaker, and although Rolland De Ravel eventually tied it, Ivanovski claimed the last two points for the win.<\/p>\n “When I saw Gorzny save all of those match points, I was at the start of the third set, and that really boosted me,” Ivanovski said. “I’ve been struggling with some physical problems, and I was a bit down on the second set but seeing him really helped me a lot to change the momentum, and that gave me a boost, and it was just a really tough battle. Gorzny is a really tough player, and I’m just happy I stayed tough.”<\/p>\n At that point, Gorzny had established a break lead in his third set against No. 8 Duncan Chan. However, to get to that point, Gorzny had to deflect five match points during the second set in order to reach a tiebreaker he eventually won. Once in the third set, he broke in the second game and never gave it back on the way to the clinch to send his teammates streaming onto his court.<\/p>\n “I wasn’t playing very well, but I had a lot of break points in the first set, and even early in the second,” Gorzny said. “I just thought at some point if I keep giving myself chances, one has to come. Luckily, it came at the last moment. I got lucky on that pass, and once I got the break back there, I kind of got some more confidence and felt a little better and started playing better.”<\/p>\n Earlier in doubles, Ivanovski and Forger got off to a fast start with a break in the opening game, but eventually fell to the No. 4 pari of Chan and Rolland DeRavel, 6-3, at No. 1. Texas evened doubles with a 6-2 victory by the No. 46 duo of Ojakaar and Eriksson over Bonding and Maximus Dussault. However, the Horned Frogs claimed the point as the No. 21 pair of Gorzny and Marionneau were downed by No. 42 Pedrico and Woestendick at No. 2.<\/p>\n #1 Texas 4, #2 TCU 3<\/p>\n Singles \u2013 Order of Finish (4,6,3,5,2,1) Doubles \u2013 Order of Finish (1,3,2) Individual Match Key Moments Doubles No. 1: Chan\/Rolland De Ravel (TCU) def. Ivanovski\/Forger (TEX) 6-3 Doubles No. 3: Ojakaar\/Eriksson (TEX) def. Bonding\/Dussault (TCU) 6-2 Doubles No. 2: Pedrico\/Woestendick (TCU) def. Gorzny\/Marionneau (TEX) 6-3 Singles No. 4: Ojakaar (TEX) def. Bonding (TCU) 6-1, 6-3 Singles No. 6: Pascual (TCU) def. Marionneau (TEX) 6-3, 6-0 Singles No. 3: Eriksson (TEX) def. Woestendick (TCU) 7-6 (3), 6-3 Singles No. 5: Pedrico (TCU) def. Forger (TEX) 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 Singles No. 2: Ivanovski (TEX) def. Rolland De Ravel (TCU) 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5) Singles No. 1: Gorzny (TEX) def. Chan (TCU) 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3
\n1. #3 Sebastian Gorzny<\/a> (TEX) def. #8 Duncan Chan (TCU) 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3
\n2. #41 Kalin Ivanovski<\/a> (TEX) def. #42 C. Rolland De Ravel (TCU) 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5)
\n3. #35 Sebastian Eriksson<\/a> (TEX) def. #55 Cooper Woestendick (TCU) 7-6 (3), 6-3
\n4. #89 Oliver Ojakaar<\/a> (TEX) def. Oliver Bonding (TCU) 6-1, 6-3
\n5. Albert Pedrico (TCU) def. #102 Abel Forger<\/a> (TEX) 7-5, 1-6, 6-2
\n6. Roger Pascual (TCU) def. Lucas Marionneau<\/a> (TEX) 6-3, 6-0<\/p>\n
\n1. #4 Duncan Chan\/C. Rolland De Ravel (TCU) def. Kalin Ivanovski<\/a>\/Abel Forger<\/a> (TEX) 6-3
\n2. #42 Albert Pedrico\/Cooper Woestendick (TCU) def. #21 Sebastian Gorzny<\/a>\/Lucas Marionneau<\/a> (TEX) 6-3
\n3. #46 Oliver Ojakaar<\/a>\/Sebastian Eriksson<\/a> (TEX) def. Oliver Bonding\/Maximus Dussault (TCU) 6-2<\/p>\n
\n(by order of finish)<\/p>\n
\nMatch:\u00a0Texas broke and held to start for 2-0, but TCU got the break back for 2-2 and later broke again for 5-3.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nMatch:\u00a0TCU broke first for 2-1 lead, but Texas broke back and held at deuce to start a 5-0 run.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nMatch:\u00a0TCU picked up the only break for a 4-2 lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nSet One:\u00a0Ojakaar opened 5-0, including a deuce-point break in the second game. After Bonding held for 5-1, Ojakaar served out the set at deuce.
\nSet Two:\u00a0Ojakaar closed on a 4-0 run, including a break for 4-3 and a deuce-point break for 6-3.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nSet One:\u00a0Pascual broke for 2-0, which was the first of three-striaght breaks until Pascual held for 4-1. The rest of the set was held, including two deuce points with one for Marionneau for 4-2 and one for Pascual for 6-3.
\nSet Two:\u00a0Pascual swept the second set, winning all three deuce points for 1-0, 2-0 and 5-0.<\/p>\n
\nSet One:\u00a0After Eriksson held his first two service games at deuce, Woestendick broke on the next one at deuce for a 4-2 lead. However, Eriksson got the break back to pull within 5-4 and held for 5-5 on the way to a tiebreaker.
\nSet One Tiebreaker:\u00a0Eriksson jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a mini-break on the first point. The players then alternated until Eriksson won two-straight for 6-2 on the way to 7-3.
\nSet Two:\u00a0After Woestendick broke for a 2-1 lead, Eriksson set out on a 4-0 run for 5-2 and the last two games were held for the match for Eriksson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nSet One:\u00a0Pedrico broke first on a deuce point for a 3-2 lead, but Forger broke back. Forger later had set point at deuce leading 5-4, but Pedrico held to start a 3-0 run for the set.\u00a0
\nSet Two:\u00a0Forger won the first three games and the last three games, capped by consecutive deuce points for a 5-1 break and 6-1 hold.
\nSet Three:\u00a0With the score 2-2, Forger had a break chance at deuce, but Pedrico held to start a 4-0 run for the match.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nSet One:\u00a0Although both players had deuce-point holds with Rolland De Ravel’s for 2-1 and Ivanovski’s for 4-4, the first set was on serve until Ivanovski broke for 5-4 and served out.\u00a0
\nSet Two:\u00a0Rolland De Ravel closed the set on a 5-0 run.
\nSet Three:\u00a0The entire set was on serve with the last two games at deuce first for Ivanovski and then Rolland De Ravel, who fended off a match point for his.
\nSet Three Tiebreaker:\u00a0Ivanovski won the first two points and four of the first five for a 4-1 lead, which he maintained for 5-2. Rolland De Ravel responded with the next three points to tie it, but Ivanovski picked up a mini-break and then served out the match.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nSet One:\u00a0Chan served first with his first two service games both going to deuce, but he was able to hold on the way two a 3-2 lead. After that, Gorzny’s next two service games also went to deuce and he held both. Including the second one, the last three games all went to deuce with Chan holding and breaking in the final games.\u00a0
\nSet Two:\u00a0Chan managed two more deuce-point holds to lead 2-1 and 3-2 and then broke at deuce and held for 5-2. After Gorzny held for 5-3, he fended off two match points to break for 5-4 and then held for 5-5. Down, 6-5, and serving, Gorzny trailed 15-40 and saved three more match points to send it to a tiebreaker.
\nSet Two Tiebreaker:\u00a0In the breaker, Chan won the first point, but Gorzny reeled off six-straight. Although Chan pulled back withing 6-4, Gorzny closed it out, 7-4.
\nSet Three:\u00a0Gorzny captured the only break of the set in the second game on a deuce point. He later held at deuce for 5-2 in a game he trailed 15-40 before the last two games were held for the clinch.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Athens, Ga. \u2013 No. 1 Texas Men’s Tennis advanced to the NCAA National Championship Match with a dramatic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":647758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,428],"class_list":["post-647757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}