No. 75 Huskers Fall at No. 66 Western Michigan

Kalamazoo, Mich. -- After breaking into the national rankings at No. 75 last week ? the first time NU had been ranked in the past two seasons ? the Nebraska men's tennis team dropped a 7-0 decision to No. 66 Western Michigan Sunday at the West Hills Athletic Club.

"It was not a good match for us because (Western Michigan) was really aggressive, and we let them dictate play," NU Coach Kerry McDermott said. "We did not play to the level that we could have, and now we need to put this behind us and get ready for next weekend."

The Huskers were swept in the match, starting with three losses in doubles action.

In singles play, the Huskers dropped each match in straight sets. Sophomore Gerhard Posch came the closest to a victory at No. 1 singles before eventually falling 7-5, 6-3, to Ravi Pathanjali.

At the No. 2 slot, sophomore Joerg Barthel dropped a 6-3, 6-4, contest to Tommy Dennis, while junior Jose Rivera fell to Western Michigan's Jose Orozco, 6-2, 6-3, at the No. 3 spot. In the lower portion of the lineup, freshman James Clow was tripped up by Brady Crosby, 6-0, 6-3, at the No. 4 position and junior Joel Reckewey fell to the Broncos' Justin Kates, 6-1, 6-2, at the No. 5 spot. Jeff Nabity rounded out the Huskers' singles rotation with a 6-3, 6-4, loss to Diego Campello at the No. 6 slot.

Nebraska returns to action next weekend when it plays host to its first home match of the year as No. 9 Texas A&M comes to Lincoln on Saturday, Feb. 21. The match will begin at 2 p.m. at the Woods Tennis Club.

FINAL SCORE: No. 66 Western Michigan 7, No. 75 Nebraska 0
Kalamazoo, Mich. -- West Hills Athletic Club
Feb. 15, 2004

Doubles
1. Ravi Pathanjali/Jeff French (WMU) def. Gerhard Posch/Jose Rivera (NU), 8-3
2. Tommy Dennis/Brady Crosby (WMU) def. Joerg Barthel/Justin Junck (NU), 8-1
3. Jose Orozco/Dan Grupp (WMU) def. Joel Reckewey/James Clow (NU), 8-3

Singles
1. Ravi Pathanjali (WMU) def. Gerhard Posch (NU), 7-5, 6-3
2. Tommy Dennis (WMU) def. Joerg Barthel (NU), 6-3, 6-4
3. Jose Orozco (WMU) def. Jose Rivera (NU), 6-2, 6-3
4. Brady Crosby (WMU) def. James Clow (NU), 6-0, 6-3
5. Justin Kates (WMU) def. Joel Reckewey (NU), 6-1, 6-2
6. Diego Campello (WMU) def. Jeff Nabity (NU), 6-3, 6-4