Huskers Get Back into Conference Play

The No. 66 Nebraska men's tennis team returns to conference action for the first time in nearly two months when it hits the road to take on No. 13 Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., on Thursday, March 17. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m. at the DeBois Tennis Center.

Nebraska looks to snap a two-match losing streak and pick up its first conference win of the season when it takes on the Cowboys. In their last competition, the Huskers went 1-2 at the 37th Annual H.E.B. Collegiate Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas, and fell to 7-6 on the season.

Last year, OSU earned a 7-0 victory in Lincoln. The Huskers last defeated the Cowboys, 4-3, in 2002.

Oklahoma State will be playing its conference opener when it takes on the Huskers, and then travels to Waco, Texas, to take on defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Baylor, which defeated the Huskers in their season opener. OSU began the season at No. 32 in the ITA team rankings and has moved as high as No. 10 in the country before suffering an upset last weekend against UNLV, 4-3.

The Cowboys own a 9-3 record this spring and won their first four matches of the season before suffering a 5-1 setback against nationally ranked Rice. The Owls are the only common opponent this spring for NU and OSU. The Huskers earned a 4-3 victory over then-No. 16 Rice on Jan. 24 in their season opener.

The Cowboys have just six players on roster and are led by seniors Mark Van Elden and Boris Kuharic. Van Elden is the only Cowboy in the national rankings, as he is No. 50 in singles play this week while owning a 9-3 record at the top slot. Kuharic is a perfect 9-0 this season, including an 8-0 record at the No. 3 position.

Nebraska returns to action March 23-26 when it takes on a competitive field at the Boise Tournament in Boise, Idaho. The Huskers then end the regular season with five matches against conference opponents over the next four weeks.

Nebraska Continues Run in National Poll
The Cornhuskers remained in the ITA poll for the seventh straight week as they were ranked No. 66 on March 15. It is Nebraska's highest ranking since entering the poll at No. 55 on Feb. 1. NU then fell to No. 69 for two straight weeks before dropping to No. 74 on Feb. 22. The Huskers were ranked No. 70 each of the past two weeks before moving up four spots in the poll on Tuesday.

Nebraska was ranked once last season when it came in at No. 75 for one week. Before that, NU's last appearance in the ITA national rankings came in 2002 when the Huskers spent eight weeks ? including seven consecutive ? in the poll and finished the year at No. 72.

Huskers Finding Right Combinations in Doubles Play
After struggling early in the season, the Huskers have found the right combinations in doubles play lately. The recent lineup changes have helped Nebraska pick up the doubles point in four of their last five dual matches, after winning just one doubles point in the first seven matches of the season.

Nebraska posted nine wins in its last 13 doubles matches over the past two weekends of competition while helping the Huskers earn a 3-3 dual match record. Before that strong showing, NU had a 9-20 record in doubles play to open the season.

Joel Reckewey and Jerry Posch have won three of their last five doubles matches together and own the most wins (4) of any Husker tandem this season at the No. 1 position. Despite their strong showing recently, the Huskers' hottest duo has been Adrian Szatmary and James Clow, as the sophomores have paired together to earn a 4-0 record, all at the No. 3 doubles position. Nebraska owns a 7-4 season record at No. 3 doubles, its only winning position in doubles play.

Clow Providing Strong Support
Sophomore James Clow has come on strong for the Huskers after getting settled into the grind of Division I play. The Durban, South Africa, native owns a 9-6 overall record this spring, but is 9-4 in dual matches and has won eight of his last 11 dual matches. Clow ended last season winning six of his last 11 matches after dropping eight of his first 10 to open his career. Clow's nine dual match victories ranks second on the team this spring.

After playing primarily at the No. 4 slot or lower last season and early this year, Clow has made an impressive run recently as he was inserted into the lineup at the No. 2 singles slot three weeks ago. Since then, he has posted a 5-2 record at the No. 2 spot. He also made his first career start at the No. 1 position against No. 42 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and is one of just two Huskers to play at the top spot this season, along with Jerry Posch.

Rivera Leading the Way
Senior Jose Rivera is looking to go out on a positive note as he leads the team with 11 wins this spring. The Mexico City native is the only Husker to record double-figure wins this season, and is tied for the top spot on the team with nine dual match victories. Rivera already has surpassed his career high for singles wins and has more wins than any Husker recorded all of last season.