Let the good times roll for the Longhorn men’s tennis team.
Texas posted its sixth consecutive win Tuesday night with a 7-0 domination of the University of Pennsylvania. After a huge weekend that saw upset wins against NC State and North Carolina, the Longhorns kept the momentum going in convincing fashion.
Texas head coach Michael Center was unsure how his team would perform after a grueling weekend. But Center ended up thrilled with the way his guys showed up to play Tuesday.
“You’re always a little concerned after playing two really tough matches on the road (about) what we’re going to look like,” Center said. “But the guys came out tonight and played really hard, played really well … I think we’re competing better.”
The evening began with the doubles pool, in which the Longhorns got wins from the duos of junior Colin Markes and sophomore Christian Sigsgaard, 6-0, and sophomore Yuya Ito and junior Harrison Scott, 6-1, to secure the point.
During the six singles matches, the Longhorns dropped just one set — the opening set of fifth singles between redshirt junior Adrian Ortiz and Penn freshman Aleks Huryn.
Ortiz dropped that first set 3-6, but rallied back to win the second set 6-4 and then won the match with a 10-5 tiebreak victory. Ito continued to showcase his ability at first singles with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Penn junior Kyle Mautner.
The team match was ultimately clinched by Scott. A back-and-forth second set saw Scott take the set in a tiebreaker to win the match 6-4, 7-6 (2).
The Longhorns’ next match is Saturday at Rice. They then travel to the West Coast for a matchup with USC in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 14. Currently sitting at a 10–2 record, the Longhorns have nine matches left in the regular season before the Big 12 Championships begin on April 26.