After a strong performance at the conference level, Texas men’s tennis ultimately fell short on the national stage last season. The Longhorns now prepare for the upcoming year with new additions to the team.
The set schedule for fall play will allow Texas to showcase its incoming talent before the 2023-24 season starts in January. Sophomore Jonah Braswell, who made the move from the University of Florida to the Forty Acres, as well as incoming freshman Rahul Sachdev, are two notable additions to the roster.
Braswell’s move to Texas was influenced by his desire to play professionally.
“I want to play professional tennis, that’s my goal,” Braswell said on the No-Ad, No Problem podcast in July. “I just wanted to try and find the best program to help me do that.”
Sachdev achieved high praise in his home state of North Carolina, sitting at No. 1 in the USTA rankings in the state at every stage from 12 to 18 years of age. Before committing to Texas in 2023, he was a singles and doubles finalist at the USTA Southern Closed Championship in 2020.
Returning stars such as seniors Eliot Spizzirri, Cleeve Harper and Micah Braswell have unfinished business to fight through in the upcoming season.
“When you wear the Burnt Orange, a national championship is always the goal,” Spizzirri said in a statement on X, previously known as Twitter. The ITA National Player of the Year took part in U.S. Open qualifiers during the summer amassing two wins.
To start off the fall play, Texas will host the three-day Longhorn Invitational starting Sept. 22 at the Texas Tennis Center in Austin. USC, Florida State, Georgia and Arizona will participate.
Following the invitational, the Longhorns will travel to Tulsa to take part in the ITA All-American Championship from Oct. 2-8. Last year Spizzirri fell in the singles semifinal, as well as the Harper-Spizzirri duo.
To close off the fall, two more ITA tournaments will take place — one in Texas and one in California. The ITA Texas Regionals will be played in Fort Worth from Oct. 19-24. The five-day ITA National Fall Championship will begin on Nov. 1 in San Diego, California.
Texas Men’s Tennis will then kick off the spring season at the Miami Spring Invite on Jan. 5-7 facing opponents from Arizona State, LSU and Miami.
After a 5-0 record in the Big 12 last season, the Longhorns are looking to translate the conference’s success into a championship victory in the upcoming year.
