Huskers Cruise Past Air Force

Lincoln, Neb. - The Nebraska men's tennis team cruised to a 6-1 win against the Air Force Academy Sunday afternoon at the Nebraska Tennis Center.

The Huskers got things going early, earning the doubles point with wins in the No. 2 and 3 spots.  Junior Adrian Szatmary and senior Joerg Barthel defeated Justin Lau and Trevor Johnson at No. 2, 8-6, while juniors Arturro Navarro and James Clow downed Robby Alexander and Ryan White at the No. 3 spot, 8-4.

In singles action, Szatmary defeated Johnson, 6-4, in the first set before Johnson retired to give Szatmary the win at the No. 2 spot.  Clow picked up a win in the No. 3 slot, beating Lau, 6-0, 6-3.  Sophomore Mark Tate remains undefeated this spring after beating Alexander, 6-4, 6-4.  At No. 5 singles Barthel defeated Keith Cronican, 6-2, 6-2, while freshman Renato Melo breezed past Greg Ferry, 6-0, in the No. 6 spot.

The win marks the second of the weekend for the Huskers, after defeating Drake, 4-3, in their first home match at the Nebraska Tennis Center on Friday.

"I thought we did a really good job this weekend," Coach Kerry McDermott said. "We knew we could win this match and the guys really took care of business and got it done.  Again, the doubles point was huge to get and it really set the tone for the rest of the day."

The Huskers return to action when they travel to Little Rock, Ark., to take on Bradley on Feb. 25, and Arkansas- Little Rock, Feb. 26.   

Nebraska 6, Air Force Academy 1
Doubles
1. Buck/Johnson (AA) def. Posch/Tate (NU), 8-3
2. Szatmary/Barthel (NU) def. Lau/Cronican (AA), 8-6 
3. Navarro/Clow (NU) def. Alexander/White (AA), 8-4

Singles
1. Shannon Buck (AA) def. Jerry Posch, 7-6 (2), 6-2
2. Adrian Szatmary (NU) def. Trevor Johnson (AA), 6-4, dnf
3. James Clow (NU) def. Justin Lau (AA), 6-0, 6-3
4. Mark Tate (NU) def. Robby Alexander (AA), 6-4, 6-4
5. Joerg Barthel (NU) def. Keith Cronican (AA), 6-2, 6-2
6. Renato Melo (NU) def. Greg Ferry (AA), 6-0, 6-2