Huskers Drop Tight Match at Denver

Lakewood, Colo. -- The No. 55 Nebraska men's tennis team dropped a tight 4-3 decision to the Denver Pioneers late Saturday at the Meadow Creek Club. With the loss, the Huskers fell to 2-3 on the season and dropped their second straight match of the weekend, while DU improved to 4-1 on the year.   The Huskers were in it down to the last match. Sophomore Adrian Szatmary's contest at the No. 3 singles slot was the decidinig point, and he got off to a strong start as he picked up a 7-5 win in the first set against the Pioneers' Niklas Persson. But Persson came back in the second set to win 6-3, and cruised in the decisive set 6-3 to give DU the victory.   "We battled hard and in the end, it came down to Adrian's match. Adrian won the first set and looked to be in control, but Persson won the second set and started to serve better and was maybe a little more aggressive after that," said NU Coach Kerry McDermott. "We played better in doubles as a whole. It's always tough to lose 4-3, and we had a our chances, but Denver took hold of the opportunities. We've battled some injuries lately, but are starting to get healthy and hopefully can get back to where we need to be."   Nebraska was in position for the victory after battling back following DU's two wins to take the doubles point. NU's tandem of James Clow and Marcus Karner at the No. 3 slot were the only Huskers to win in doubles action.   Once the teams hit singles play, NU started to heat up. Nebraska won three straight at the bottom of the lineup, with Clow and Kanrner earning straight-set victories at the No. 4 and 5 slots, respectively. At No. 6 singles, Jose Rivera needed three sets but finally overcame Steve Flaks' effort, as Rivera won 6-3, 2-6, 6-0, to knot the score at 3-3 before Persson earned the decision for the Pioneers.   Nebraska returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 12, when it plays host to SMS and Wichita State at the Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln. Nebraska opens the day against the Bears at 9 a.m. and follows with a 6 p.m. matchup against the Shockers. Admission is free.   Denver 4, No. 55 Nebraska 3 Lakewood, Colo. --- Saturday, Feb. 5, 2005   Doubles No. 1  Adam Holmstrom/Niklas Persson (DU) def. Jerry Posch/Jose Rivera (NU), 8-5 No. 2  Kalle Rosen/Viktor Zetterholm (DU) def. Joerg Barthel/Adrian Szatmary (NU), 8-5 No. 3 James Clow/Marcus Karner (NU) def. Steve Flaks/Jason Tan (DU), 8-5   Singles No. 1 Adam Holmstrom (DU) def. Jerry Posch (NU), 6-3, 6-1 No. 2 Viktor Zetterholm (DU) def. Joerg Barthel (NU), 6-2, 7-5 No. 3 Niklas Persson (DU) def. Adrian Szatmary (NU), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 No. 4 James Clow (NU) def. Jason Tan (DU), 7-5 6-2 No. 5 Marcus Karner (NU) def. Kalle Rosen (DU), 6-4, 6-3 No. 6 Jose Rivera (NU) def. Steve Flaks (DU), 6-3, 2-6, 6-0