Spizzirri, Braswell named to CSC Academic All-America Men’s Tennis Team – University of Texas Athletics

Austin – Texas Men’s Tennis seniors Eliot Spizzirri and Micah Braswell were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Men’s Tennis Team, the organization announced Wednesday. Spizzirri was selected for the top honor of Team Member of the Year, while both he and Braswell earned first-team accolades for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom.

The overall team was made up of seven selections each on the first and second teams, and five on the third team, and Texas was one of only two Division I schools with more than one representative on the first team, along with Virginia.

This marks the second year there have been All-America teams unique to tennis after it was previously part of an at-large category made up of multiple sports, and the Longhorns have had two selections both years. Spizzirri is now a two-time first-team honoree, while senior Cleeve Harper was on the second team a season ago.

This season, Spizzirri repeated as Big 12 Player of the Year, along with once again finishing ranked No. 1 in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Spizzirri became the fourth player nationally to finish as the top-ranked singles player twice since the ITA rankings began in 1981. Last year’s ITA National Player of the Year, Spizzirri is on pace to earn that award again when it is announced at a later time. 

Also due to the rankings, Spizzirri and Braswell, who ended the season ranked No. 3, both qualify as ITA All-Americans in singles, while Spizzirri also gets the nod in doubles after finishing as a semifinalist in the NCAA Doubles Championships. He also finished in the top-15 of the ITA doubles rankings with two different partners, making him just the sixth player since 1981 to accomplish that feat. It will be the sixth and seventh All-America honors of Spizzirri’s career with three in singles and four-straight in doubles, and the third time he has earned them both in the same year after doing so in 2021 and 2023. For Braswell, it will be his second time honored in singles along with 2023, while he was also chosen first-team All-Big 12 this season.

Spizzirri and Braswell led the Longhorns to an NCAA National Runner-Up finish this season, while winning both the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships.

Academically, Spizzirri earned a degree in finance from the distinguished McCombs School of Business at UT with a 3.71 cumulative GPA, while Braswell completed his degree in sports management with a 3.67 cumulative GPA. They both have earned multiple Academic All-Big 12 honors.

To be nominated for the CSC Academic All-America Team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) as either an undergraduate or combined as both an undergraduate and a graduate student at their current institution. Nominated student-athletes must be at least a sophomore both academically and athletically and have participated in at least 70-percent of the team’s games in the year of the nomination.