Huskers Hit the Road for Two Big 12 Contests

Lincoln --- The Nebraska men's tennis team starts its stretch run with a pair of road contests against ranked Big 12 opponents this weekend when it takes on No. 2 Baylor in Waco, Texas, on Friday, April 2, and No. 61 Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas, on Sunday, April 4.

Nebraska will be looking for its first conference victory of the season when the Huskers take on the Bears. NU is 0-3 in Big 12 play this season and dropped a pair of home matches against No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 24 Texas.

The Huskers hope to continue their recent momentum, as NU has won five of its last seven matches, including a dominating 6-1 performance against Creighton Tuesday. Nebraska won the doubles point and five singles matches against its in-state rival. Four of the Huskers' points in singles action came in straight sets.

Nebraska fell to Baylor, 5-2, last year at home when the Bears were ranked No. 4 in the nation. BU comes into the weekend matchup with a 16-2 record, including a 2-0 mark in league play. The Bears have won eight straight matches and 13 of their past 14 with the lone loss coming in a 4-3 setback against No. 4 Southern California on Feb. 28.

Baylor is led by junior Benedikt Dorsch, one of four Bears ranked in the ITA top 100. Dorsch owns a No. 2 national ranking with a 12-5 singles record this spring but has lost three of his last five matches. He suffered a 6-4, 4-6, 1-0, setback against unranked Balazs Veress of California in his last contest. Dorsch's other four losses all came against ranked opponents, including three in the top 25.

Along with Dorsch, Benjamin Becker is ranked No. 13 nationally with a 13-3 spring record and has won his last seven matches, while freshman Matija Zgaga owns a No. 67 ranking with a 14-3 record. Senior Matias Marin rounds out BU's quartet of ranked players with a No. 85 ranking and 13-5 singles mark.

Also competing for the Bears is freshman Jon Reckewey, the brother of Nebraska's Joel Reckewey. Jon owns a 1-0 singles mark this spring with a victory at No. 6 singles against Texas Tech, and is 3-0 in doubles play.

Texas Tech has moved into the top 65 in the rankings behind a 9-7 record. The Red Raiders have played just one conference match heading into the weekend, a 6-1 loss to Baylor on March 27. Junior Jakob Paulsen, TTU's only ranked singles player, owns a 7-9 record but has lost seven of his last nine contests.

Seven of the Huskers' 15 contests this season have come against opponents ranked in the ITA poll, including three in the top 40. Nebraska owns a 2-5 record against ranked opponents in 2004 with wins over Wichita State (No. 75, 5-2) and Idaho (No. 68, 6-1). Nebraska's win over the Shockers helped the Huskers enter the ITA poll at No. 75 the following week (Feb. 10), their first national ranking since the 2002 campaign.

Rivera and Barthel Streak Past Opponents
Nebraska has seen improved doubles play throughout the season with junior Jose Rivera and sophomore Joerg Barthel leading the charge. Rivera and Barthel own a team-best 8-5 doubles record this spring, including a 7-2 mark at the No. 2 position. Rivera and Barthel have won eight of their last 10 matches, including a team-high seven-match winning streak that was snapped against No. 60 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 26.

Behind their play, the Huskers own an 8-7 mark at No. 2 doubles this year, the most productive doubles spot in the lineup. Nebraska is 6-9 at No. 3 doubles and 4-11 at the top spot.

Reckewey Solidifies Singles Lineup
Junior Joel Reckewey has helped anchor the Huskers' singles lineup this season. After a solid fall campaign, Reckewey has caught fire in the past two weeks and currently owns a six-match win streak.

Overall he has won seven of his last eight singles contests and is tied with sophomore Gerhard Posch with a team-high eight singles wins. Reckewey holds a 6-4 record at the No. 6 slot to tie Posch for the most wins at any position. Posch is 6-6 at the No. 1 spot.

McDermott Closes in on No. 250
Nebraska Coach Kerry McDermott, who is in his 23rd season guiding the Huskers, has been a stabilizing force for the NU men's tennis team. Under his tutelage, Nebraska has posted at least 10 dual victories 14 times, including four times in the past six years. Last season, he helped the Huskers to a .500 regular-season record for the first time since 1998.

McDermott is closing in on a milestone, as he needs just two victories to reach win No. 250. He picked up win No. 225 in 2002 against Creighton.