Across two days at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center, the Longhorns rolled through the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend Austin Regional with back-to-back 4-0 sweeps, first against UNC Wilmington on Friday and then South Florida in Saturday’s championship match. That result sends Texas to the ITA National Indoor Championships for an eighth-straight season.
The Longhorns set the tone early and never gave up their momentum.
Friday’s opener against UNC Wilmington ended quickly. Texas grabbed the doubles point behind wins at No. 1 and 3, then cruised through singles without dropping a set. Senior Sebastian Gorzny handled business at No. 1, junior Lucas Brown dominated in his season debut at No. 3 and freshman Mariano Dedura-Palomero clinched at No. 5.
From the jump, the Longhorns controlled momentum against the Seahawks. Gorzny and freshman Lucas Marionneau broke early and often in doubles, while sophomore Sebastian Eriksson and sophomore Evan Burnett delivered the deciding match to put Texas ahead 1-0.
Once singles started, the gap widened fast. Gorzny closed on a five-game run, Brown rattled off 10 straight games to open his match, and Dedura-Palomero never let UNC Wilmington catch rhythm, only losing two games.
Saturday brought higher stakes — and a louder response.
South Florida entered the final with confidence after defeating Washington on Friday, but Texas answered immediately. Gorzny and Marionneau blitzed through No. 2 doubles, and when the match shifted to No. 1, freshmen Kalin Ivanovski and Abel Forger delivered under pressure, winning a tiebreaker to secure the doubles point.
Singles followed the same script.
Forger was first off the court, breaking once in each set to win at No. 3. Gorzny then took down No. 28-ranked Hugo Car at No. 1, never trailing by a game in either set. When Ivanovski closed out his straight-sets win at No. 2, the championship was sealed.
Texas finished the weekend without losing a singles set that counted toward the team score.
Beyond the numbers, the weekend showed the Longhorns’ depth. Veterans steadied matches at the top, while newcomers delivered in pressure moments, and the doubles lineup stayed flexible and composed.
The payoff is another ticket punched.
Texas advances to the ITA National Indoor Championships, scheduled for Feb. 13-17 in Dallas and Waco, with momentum and lineup confidence fully intact. Next up is a road test against Ohio State, but with this weekend’s performance, the Longhorns look locked in and loaded for what’s ahead.
