Huskers fail to qualify for NCAA Championships

Lincoln - The 1999 tennis season officially ended for the No. 64 Nebraska men's tennis team Wednesday afternoon when it failed to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Nebraska, which posted a 10-12 overall mark and a 4-4 record in the Big 12 Conference, had hoped to earn their first NCAA Tournament bid in school history. The Huskers, ranked third in Region V, posted an 8-3 mark against regional competition.

The selection committee granted bids to Region V teams Tulsa, Kansas and Indiana State. Nebraska defeated Indiana State 4-3 April 3 but lost to Tulsa and Kansas earlier this season. Five Big 12 Conference teams earned bids, including Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Kansas. The Huskers defeated Texas Tech twice, most recently in the first round of the Big 12 Championships April 30 in College Station, Texas.

UCLA, 21-2 overall, nabbed the tournament's No. 1 seed. The selection committee seeded the top 16 teams. Twenty-eight bids were awarded automatically to conference tournament winners, while 32 bids went to al-large teams.

"I think everyone was somewhat surprised that we didn't make it," NU Coach Kerry McDermott said. "But there were a lot of other good teams who missed the cut, too. We lost to Kansas and the University of Texas-Arlington earlier this season. If we had beaten them, I think we might have ended up in the top 50. That would have been the difference.

Despite his disappointment, McDermott said he was happy with what the Huskers accomplished in 1999. Nebraska arguably had its best season this decade. The Huskers posted their highest conference finish since 1993 and their best league win total in 10 years.

NU played a difficult schedule this season, facing 14 ranked opponents in 1999, including four top-25 teams. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association rewarded the Huskers with the No. 64 spot in the May 3 rankings. The ranking represented NU's highest since 1991. The Huskers steadily improved throughout the year, winning five of their last seven matches. NU fell twice to Big 12 Champion Texas.

No. 1 singles player Dinko Verzi played a big part in NU's success in 1999, McDermott said. The senior co-captain has a chance to qualify individually for the NCAA Tournament, a feat accomplished by just five other Huskers in school history. Verzi compiled a 10-16 record but posted an 8-3 mark against regional competition. The NCAA selection committee will announce individual qualifiers Thursday afternoon.

McDermott also complimented the rest of his lineup. No. 2 singles player Lance Mills, a sophomore from Millard South High, posted the team's second-best singles mark with a 13-8 record. No. 3 singles player Jorge Abos Sanchez (Zaragoza, Spain), recorded the best record of any No. 3 singles player in the Big 12, compiling a 17-4 mark and will compete with Mills for the No. 1 spot next season. No. 4 singles player Juan Hamdan (Queretaro, Mexico), No. 5 singles player Kai Rieke (Nordhorn, Germany) and No. 6 singles player Andrew Wiese (Flushing Hills, N.Y.) all return next season.

"Last year, the selection committee based the bids on regional play. If that were the criteria this year, we probably would have made it," McDermott said. "But we're starting to make the improvements we need to make to turn this program around. We'll have a shot again next season."