Men’s Tennis Harper and Spizzirri advance to NCAA Doubles Final

Lake Nona, Fla. Texas junior men’s tennis Cleeve Harper And Eliot Spizzirri reached the NCAA Doubles Championship final with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over No. 30 Andres Martin and Marcus McDaniel of Georgia Tech on Friday at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla.

The win put Texas and Harper in a second consecutive doubles final after Harper won the 2022 National Championship with partner Richard Ciamara, while it is the first time for Spizzirri. They will face No. 16 James Trotter and Andrew Lutschaunig of Ohio State on Saturday, not before 11:30am ET/10:30am CT.

The Longhorns are now 8-0 all-time in the doubles semifinals, sending each pair into the finals. Along with the most recent two, the rest of that group includes Lloyd Glasspool and Søren Hess-Olesen in 2015, who won the title, Chris Camillone and David Holiner in 2013, Chad Clark and Trey Phillips in 1995, Mitch Michulka and Michael Penman in 1990 , Charles Beckman and Royce Deppe in 1985, and Gary Plock and Kevin Curren in 1978.

The No. 3 duo of Harper and Spizzirri won their eighth straight decision of the season, five of them against top-40 opponents, including three in the top-12. Their game against Martin and McDaniel produced a deciding first set that began with the Longhorns coming back from a 40-15 deficit to break on a deuce point. That would be the start of a 4-0 run to start the game, and even though Georgia Tech got one game back on serve for 4-1, Texas held onto the set and recorded another two-point break for the 6-1 victory.

In the second, the first six games were on serve for a 3-3 draw. It looked like that trend would continue with the Longhorns on serve and above, 40-0, but the Yellow Jackets came all the way back to break at deuce and take the lead. Harper and Spizzirri responded immediately with a deuce-point break of their own, then rallied from 15-40 to salvage their serve and get back up front, 5-4. The next two games were also on service until Texas ended the game in the same fashion as the first set with a two-point break for the 7–5 win.

NCAA Doubles Semifinals Quotes After The Game

Texan head coach Bruce Berke

On the match:

I think our guys played really well. I’m really proud of them. I think they’ve shown a lot of improvement throughout the year, especially with their willingness to be aggressive on the net. I thought Eliot and Cleeve both did a great job today, and their returns were really good. So to be a good team like Georgia Tech, we had to get some things right, and they did that today.

On Cleeve Harper for the second year in a row in the final:

It’s super special to him, and there couldn’t be a guy who made more because I knew he had good doubles skills when he came to Texas, but no one has worked harder than him. I can’t imagine there’s a harder working man out there a more dedicated man than Cleeve Harper. You can see from the way he played today that he plays with a lot of confidence.

On Eliot Spizzirri coming back from his singles defeat with three consecutive doubles wins:

It’s no surprise either. He has a real winner’s mentality and he’s always the first to practice and the last to leave, as I’ve said many times. I know he was very disappointed when he lost in singles, but I know he is a competitor and would do his best for him and also for Cleeve.

On the opponent’s final (undetermined at time of quote):

We know both teams pretty well because we’ve played Pepperdine twice this year and Ohio State twice this year, so the guys have played them and we know them pretty well. I think they have two different styles. The Ohio State guys are really big hitters and mighty guys, and the Pepperdine team has a guy who’s really good at the baseline and a guy who’s really good at net, a southpaw and a right, so I think there’s will be two different style combinations. but our boys will know what to expect for both games.

On keeping Harper and Spizzirri up for the championship game:

I think they will do a good job on that. These guys are both veteran players, and they’ve played in conference championships and national championships in college, and Eliot has played in the US Open and all junior grand slam events, so I think that’s going to be too much of a challenge, but we’ll keep them closely monitor.

Junior Eliot Spizzirri

On general thoughts on the contest:

I thought we came back really well from the start, and that freed us up for service games that got an early break to start the game, and we kept going. In the second set they leveled up and started to play better and managed to get a break but Cleeve hit some pretty insane shots to get us back on serve. After that we played a good last game with some good points, so we are happy to be in the final.

On what it means to bounce back from his singles defeat and reach the doubles final:

Yeah I was definitely disappointed with the singles but it feels a lot better when you can get two wins to your name yesterday and one more today and of course we’re playing for a national championship so whenever you want to do that it’s really exciting and such a great opportunity. So, again, put that behind you and focus on the doubles, and we’re going to try and win tomorrow.

Junior Cleeve Harper

On general thoughts on the contest:

If we play with a lot of energy and play aggressive tennis, we are one of the best teams here. We play a really good return game, so we’re always in everyone’s service games, and if we stay solid in our service games, we’ll do well most of the time.

Playing in the national championship game two years in a row:

Of course I want to win again, so I’m trying to win with Eliot this time (laughs). We’re going to give everything we’ve got tomorrow, and last year I also had a good partner, so I think I’ll just get good partners.

About the difference in the two runs:

It’s quite similar. Both my partners are really good players, and they both have big forehands and they play well at the net, so I’m just happy to be here with them.

2023 NCAA Men’s Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships

Doubles semi-final on May 26

3 seed No. 3 Cleeve Harper/Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. No. 30 Andres Martin/Marcus McDaniel (GT), 6-1, 7-5

Doubles final on May 27

3 seed No. 3 Cleeve Harper/Eliot Spizzirri (UT) vs. #16 James Trotter/Andrew Lutschaunig (OHST), not before 11:30am ET/10:30am CT