No matter the sport, any Red River Rivalry matchup is bound to be intense, and on Sunday afternoon in Norman, it was no different.
The Sooner faithful brought incredible passion to the match, with constant “Boomer, Sooner!” chants ringing around, ultimately proving to be in vain as No. 5 Texas dominated No. 11 OU 4-1 to win both matches in its three-day Oklahoma road trip.
In one of their toughest tests of the year, the Longhorns had to come out firing in doubles, which they did. Seniors Cleeve Harper and Micah Braswell continued to succeed at doubles, winning 6-0 over Sooner pair Hank Trondson and Asahi Harazaki.
However, a tight battle on Court 1 ensued as seniors Eliot Spizzirri and Siem Woldeab faced Alex Martinez and Baptiste Anselmo. At 5-4, Spizzirri and Woldeab had a service game for the set. On match point, Woldeab and Spizzirri both charged the net and played volleys that gave Martinez and Anselmo approach shots. Woldeab played a backhand lob volley just inside the baseline that couldn’t be run down, winning the doubles point for Texas.
In singles, No. 40 freshman Gilles-Arnaud Bailly and Harper got out to fast starts, winning their first sets in quick fashion, 6-2 against Jordan Hasson and 6-3 against Justin Schlageter, respectively. On Court 2, No. 3 Micah Braswell fell behind early in the first set against Kholo Montsi but battled back to win 6-4.
However, the other courts seemed too close for comfort for Texas. No. 1 Spizzirri went up 3-0 on No. 16 Alex Martinez, but he came back, breaking serve twice to force a set tiebreak. Meanwhile, Lucas Brown dropped the first set 3-6 against Mark Mandlik, ultimately losing the match 3-6, 3-6. No. 79 Pierre-Yves Bailly also squandered an early advantage against Luis Alvarez, putting them in a set tiebreak as well.
From the set tiebreaks onward, however, Texas never looked back; both Spizzirri and Bailly held their nerve to win despite blown leads, providing momentum for the rest of the team. Soon after, Gilles-Arnaud Bailly finished a dominant match with a 6-1 second set victory, and Harper won a quick but tight 6-4 second set to put Texas up 3-1.
In the second set, Braswell was up 5-4 with a service game for the match. Amid intense rallies between the two, Braswell ultimately outlasted an aggressive Montsi who looked to play at the net most of the game, finishing with a passing shot down the line. With the heated rivalry between the two, the Texas players mobbed Braswell upon winning the match.
The Longhorns claimed their best road win of the season, which serves them well as the season comes to a close. On Saturday, they will play their season finale in Austin against No. 31 Baylor before beginning the Big 12 Tournament on April 19 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
