Texas men’s tennis carried momentum from wins against Ohio State, Baylor and TCU into Tuscaloosa, where the No. 3 Longhorns steamrolled the Alabama Crimson Tide 6-1, winning their first-ever match at the site and extending their winning streak to six consecutive wins this season.
Texas dominated doubles play, sweeping all three courts 6-3. The winning doubles pairs included last weekend’s ITA Most Outstanding Player, senior Sebastian Gorzny, with freshman Lucas Marionneau, with the other pairs being sophomore Oliver Ojakaar with sophomore Sebastian Eriksson and sophomore Evan Burnett with freshman Abel Forger.
The Longhorns rode the wave into singles play, winning five of six matches. Senior Jonah Braswell’s 6-2, 6-1 victory over Alabama’s freshman Jacob Olar gave the Longhorns a 2-0 lead. Alabama’s lone point came at No. 6, where freshman Yoshka Sborowsky edged freshman Mariano Dedura-Palomero 6-3, 6-4.
Texas’ surge to No. 3 comes amid the reinstatement of previously injured players in the lineup. Despite the early-season setbacks, the Longhorns have recently managed a top-10 ITA ranking and historical wins.
The most significant of these wins was a comeback at the Dallas 2026 ITA National Indoor Championships final. Entering the match against Ohio State at a season-low No. 7 ranking, Texas rose to No. 3, avenging an earlier-in-the-season defeat against the Buckeyes with a 4-2 win.
“They were pretty disappointed with their start (to the season), but I was thinking, ‘Guys, you’re being hard on yourselves, we’re down a couple of guys, just hang in there,’” head coach Bruce Berque told Texas Athletics. “But they said no, and they set some standards and they went to work, walked the walk and held each other accountable.”
Key players returning from injury, as well as Coach Berque’s steady leadership, have propelled Texas’ rise, keeping the Longhorns in the top 10. Since 2019, Berque has delivered six top-four finishes in seven seasons and, recently, the program’s first ITA National Indoor Championship.
Gorzny headlines the program’s effort, earning the 2026 ITA Most Outstanding Player award. He is joined by freshman Kalin Ivanovski, Eriksson and Marionneau who claimed spots 2, 4, and 6, respectively, on the ITA All-Tournament Team, as these singles players each recorded three singles victories in the four national matches last weekend.
Texas will look to extend its streak in the upcoming matchup with No. 10 Mississippi State on Feb. 23 at 11 a.m. C.T. in Starkville, Miss.
