Huskers Earn 4-3 Win Over No. 16 Rice

Houston, Texas -- The Husker men’s tennis team opened the dual-match season with one of the program’s biggest victories ever as Nebraska picked up a road win over No. 16 Rice, 4-3, Monday at the Downtown Club at the Met.

"This was a huge win for our program, possibly the biggest since I’ve been here," said Coach Kerry McDermott. "The guys really worked for this and I am proud of their effort and the fact that they rose to the occasion when they had the chance."

McDermott said Nebraska had chances to make it an ever larger victory, as the Huskers had chances to win the doubles point, but that the Owls picked up big points to hold on for the 1-0 lead. NU won just one doubles match with Joel Reckewey and Adrian Szatmary defeating Hoony Shin and Rodrigo Gabriel, 8-3, at the No. 2 slot.

In singles play, the Huskers came out strong, winning four matches, all in straight sets. Szatmary picked up a 6-4, 7-6, victory over Ben Harknett at the No. 2 slot while Joerg Barthel downed Filip Zivojinovic, 7-6, 6-2, at the No. 3 position. James Clow earned a 6-3, 7-6, victory over Jason Mok at the No. 4 spot and Jose Rivera added a 6-2, 6-4, win over Gabriel at No. 5 singles.

"We really had some great effort and kept coming back," McDermott said. "After the doubles matches, I told the team that we were right there with them, that we did not play bad but Rice just picked it up a little, and that if we did the same in singles, we could win it. I felt that way in the fall with our strong dual-match play, and the guys really stepped up and continued that today."

Nebraska returns to the court to face its second straight ranked opponent and first Big 12 foe as the Huskers play host to No. 11 Baylor on Friday, Jan. 28 at the Woods Tennis Center. The match will start at 1 p.m. and admission is free.

Nebraska 4, No. 16 Rice 3
Houston, Texas --- Jan. 24, 2005

Doubles
Searle/Harknett (RU) def. Barthel/Rivera (NU), 8-2
Reckewey/Szatmary (NU) def. Gabriel/Shin (RU), 8-3
Mok/Morita (RU) def. Clow/Posch (NU), 8-5

Singles
Robert Searle (RU) def. Gehard Posch (NU), 6-1, 6-0
Adrian Szatmary (NU) def. Ben Harknett (RU), 6-4, 7-6
Joerg Barthel (NU) def. Filip Zivojinovic (RU), 7-6, 6-2
James Clow (NU) def. Jason Mok (RU), 6-3, 7-6
Jose Rivera (NU) def. Rodrigo Gabriel (RU), 6-2, 6-4
Hoony Shin (RU) def. Joel Reckewey (NU), 7-5, 6-0