Husker Men's Tennis Opens 2003-04 Campaign

Huskers Set to Open Fall Season
The Nebraska men's tennis team is set to begin the 2003 fall campaign this weekend, when it heads south to the Seminole Fall Classic in Tallahassee, Fla. The three-day tournament runs Sept. 19-21 and is hosted by Florida State. It will have a hidden dual format, which will pit NU in a dual meet, but a team score will not be kept, just individual match results.

The Huskers open the season on Friday against Florida A&M at 4 p.m. Nebraska then faces host Florida State at 8 a.m. on Saturday and concludes its opening weekend with an 8 a.m. matchup against Middle Tennessee State on Sunday.

Florida State (32nd) and Middle Tennessee State (69th) finished last year rankinged nationally and return several veterans. FSU's Joseph Bassett, a senior, is the highest ranked player the Huskers will face this weekend, as he is No. 22 in the ITA preseason singles rankings. The Seminoles have five upperclassmen among their top eight players. MTSU returns six veterans, including senior Kirk Jackson, who won 16 singles matches last spring to rank second on the squad.

Coach Kerry McDermott will take all seven Huskers on the fall roster to Tallahassee, expecting each to get quality playing time after a solid start to fall practices.

"Our practices have been really good to this point, and the guys have really been working hard," McDermott said. "This is an opportunity for some guys to step up and play at a higher level. The experiences we will get this fall, starting in Florida this week, will go a long way to helping us as the year goes on."

Getting the Ball Rolling
This weekend's tournament will be the first of four this fall leading up to the ITA Region V Central Championships on Oct. 16-20 in Tulsa, Okla. Following the Seminole Fall Classic, NU will split its squad, as some players head to Louisville, Ky., for the Louisville Men's Invitational on Oct. 3-5, while a select few will participate in the ITA Pre-Qualifier on Oct. 4-6 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Nebraska will then take a full squad to the Wisconsin Fall Invitational on Oct. 10-12. The Huskers have not competed at the Louisville or Wisconsin meets in the past five seasons.

Huskers Have New Look
Nebraska returns five players from last year's squad, with all of them seeing significant action during the spring dual meet season. But Nebraska did suffer two unexpected losses in the offseason. D.J. Geatz broke his leg late in the summer and will miss the entire 2003-04 campaign while Florian Preissler decided to remain in his native Germany this year. The pair combined for 27 singles victories (14 by Geatz, 13 by Preissler) last year as NU's top two players. Also gone this year will be Patrick Kennedy, who went 6-7 last season before being named an ITA Scholar Athlete during the summer.

Despite the losses, Nebraska has a talented lineup set to improve on last season's finish when the Huskers won 10 dual meets in the regular season for the first time in five years. Among the top returnees are sophomore Joerg Barthel and junior Joel Reckewey. Barthel, also a native of Germany who joined the Huskers at the start of the second semester last year, won eight matches in 2003 while battling injuries throughout the second half of the season, while Reckewey was one of just two players ? along with Geatz ? to finish better than .500 (7-6) in singles play.

The Huskers also return seniors Ryan Jay and Jeff Nabity and junior Jose Rivera. Jay and Nabity saw action among the Huskers' top six during the 2003 season while Rivera was a staple in NU's doubles lineup in dual meets.

Entering into the mix this season will be newcomers Tanner Gates and Justin Junck. A sophomore transfer, Gates worked out with the Huskers last year but took a redshirt season under NCAA transfer rules. Junck was a late addition to the Husker roster, signing with NU in August. Junck and Gates will see immediate playing time this fall.

McDermott Enters 23rd Season
Nebraska head coach Kerry McDermott is entering his 23rd season at the helm of the Husker men's tennis program. A native of Grand Island, Neb., McDermott owns a 240-238 career record at Nebraska, including 14 seasons with at least 10 dual meet victories.