Huskers Split Contests in Colorado

Colorado Springs, Colo. ---- The Nebraska men’s tennis team split a pair of contests Friday in its first action after breaking into the national rankings, as the Huskers defeated Idaho State, 7-0, and fell to Air Force, 4-3.

After entering the ITA team poll at No. 55 earlier this week ? the Huskers’ highest ranking in at least three years ? Nebraska ran to a quick sweep of the Bengals.

"It was a good way to start off the day and we were able to get a couple guys a little more action which will help us down the road," said NU coach Kerry McDermott of NU’s morning victory.

Nebraska got off to a fast start by picking up three straight wins in doubles play. Jerry Posch and James Clow had the most dominating match at the No. 2 position as they cruised past Jemre Okoh and Masimba Ruwo, 8-1. Mewcomers Marcus Karner and Karl Jones also got into the act by earning a 9-8 victory at the No. 3 slot to ice the doubles sweep.

In singles play, Posch earned a 6-4, 7-6, victory at the No. 1 slot to start a six-match winning streak. Adrian Szatmary also cruised to a 6-1, 7-6, win at the No. 2 position as each of the top five Huskers added straight-set victories. Jones needed three sets to come from behind for a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, win at the No. 6 position to give Nebraska its first sweep of the season.

In the nightcap, the Huskers fell to 2-2 on the year as they dropped a tough, one-point match.

"Air Force rose to the occasion," McDermott said. "You always want to win the 4-3 matches, but we will have to put this behind us and get ready for Denver on Saturday. They are as good if not better than Air Force, so we have to be ready."

Air Force earned the first point of the match as it swept three doubles matches. The Falcons came back to win the first two singles positions, with No. 29 Shannon Buck leading the way with a 6-4, 6-4, victory over Posch at the No. 1 slot. Tyler McClung picked up a 6-0, 6-4, win over Adrian Szatmary for Air Force’s third point, but the Huskers would not give up.

James Clow held on for a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, win at the No. 3 position and Jose Rivera picked up a tough, 7-6, 7-6, victory over Chris Dong at the No. 4 spot. Joerg Barthel added a convincing 6-3, 6-4, win at the No. 4 position over Robby Alexander as the teams were even with the final match on the line. At the No. 5 slot, Karner lost a tiebreaker in the second set that could have sealed the win and Justin Lau came back to forge a 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 victory to ice the match for the Falcons.

Nebraska returns to action Saturday in Denver against the Denver Pioneers.

No. 55 Nebraska 7, Idaho State 0
Colorado Springs, Colo.

Doubles
No. 1 Adrian Szatmary/Jose Rivera (NU) def. Marc Pijoan/Ivan Moferdin (ISU), 8-6
No. 2 Jerry Posch/James Clow (NU) def. Jemre Okoh/Masimba Ruwo (ISU), 8-1
No. 3 Marcus Karner/Karl Jones (NU) def. Pablo Garces/Ryo Sakamoto (ISU), 9-8

Singles
No. 1 Jerry Posch (NU) def. Ivan Moferdin (ISU), 6-4, 7-6
No. 2 Adrian Szatmary (NU) def. Marc Pijoan (ISU), 6-1, 7-6
No. 3 James Clow (NU) def. Pablo Garces (ISU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 Jose Rivera (NU) def. Masimba Ruwo (ISU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 Marcus Karner (NU) def. Jemre Okoh, 6-0, 7-5
No. 6 Karl Jones (NU) def. Ryo Sakamoto (ISU), 4-6, 6-1, 7-6

Air Force 4, No. 55 Nebraska 3
Colorado Springs, Colo.

Doubles
No. 1 Shannon Buck/Tyler McClung (AF) def. Adrian Szatmary/Jose Rivera (NU), 8-3
No. 2 Trevor Johnson/Chris Dong (AF) def. Jerry Posch/James Clow (NU), 8-4
No. 3 Justin Lau/Robby Alexander (AF) def. Marcus Karner/Karl Jones (NU), 8-6

Singles
No. 1 No. 29 Shannon Buck (AF) def. Jerry Posch (NU), 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 Tyler McClung (AF) def. Adrian Szatmary (NU) 6-0, 6-4
No. 3 James Clow (NU) def. Trevor Johnson (AF), 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
No. 4 Jose Rivera (NU) def. Chris Dong (AF), 7-6, 7-6
No. 5 Justin Lau (AF) def. Marcus Karner (NU), 4-6, 7-6, 6-2
No. 6 Joerg Barthel (NU) def. Robby Alexander (AF), 6-3, 6-4