Huskers Open Conference Season At Home

Lincoln, Neb. - The No. 52 Nebraska men’s tennis team is set to open the Big 12 Conference season at the Nebraska Tennis Center, Friday, March 24, against No. 35 Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. The Huskers then travel to Norman, Okla., to take on No. 44 Oklahoma at 6 p.m., Sunday, March 26.

The Cowboys are 7-1, with their only loss of the season against No. 15 Miami. OSU’s Daniel Byrnes is 23rd in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles rankings.

Nebraska has already faced the Sooners once this season, falling to OU, 4-0, in the semifinal round of the ITA Region V National Indoor Qualifying Tournament, Jan. 22. The Sooners are 13-3 on the season, while the Huskers are hoping to snap OU’s 10-match winning streak.

The Huskers are coming off a 6-1 win against Hawaii-Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, and are 10-4 on the season. Nebraska is ranked No. 52, its ninth consecutive week in the top 55.

Huskers Defeat Hawaii-Pacific, 6-1
The Huskers spent their spring break in Honolulu, Hawaii, and are scheduled to play matches against Armstrong-Atlantic and Hawaii Pacific. The Huskers began the match against Armstrong-Atlantic strong, but were forced to call the match off due to rain. The match will not be rescheduled.

Nebraska finished the week with a 6-1 win over Hawaii-Pacific. The Huskers captured the doubles point with a win from senior Jerry Posch and sophomore Mark Tate in the No. 1 slot and senior Joerg Barthel and junior Adrian Szatmary in the No. 2 spot.

In singles action, Posch defeated Gabor Boczonadi, 6-2, 6-2, while junior James Clow extended his winning streak to four matches by beating Simon Kersten at the No. 3 spot, 6-0, 6-4. Junior Arturo Navarro defeated Jan Hroch at the No. 4 spot, 6-4, 6-3, while NU freshman Hendrik Stahmer swept Thomas Troxler, 6-1, 6-1.

Huskers Remain Strong in National Rankings
Nebraska remained in the national polls for the ninth consecutive week as it fell four places to No. 52 this week. Last week, NU rose to 48th in the rankings, marking the highest spot it has acheived through the 2005-06 season. Previously, Nebraska ranked as high as No. 50, after beginning the season at No. 75.

Clow Providing Consistency for Huskers
Junior James Clow, with a 10-3 singles record, has been a major contributor to the Husker lineup through the 2005-06 season. He has played in each of Nebraska’s matches this spring and compiled the best record on the squad, while switching between the No. 3 and 4 slots.

This spring he helped Nebraska upset then-No. 22 Florida State with a win over Chirs Westerhof in the No. 3 spot for the Huskers. Despite losing his first two matches, Clow came back to claim a six-match winning streak until Ivan Milivojevic of Arkansas-Little Rock stopped it with a 7-6, 6-4, win at the No. 3 spot on Feb. 26. Clow and fellow junior Arturo Navarro are an impressive 7-2 in doubles this spring.

Clow is the only returning player who produced a winning record through the 2005 spring season, and Coach Kerry McDermott said Clow is the most improved player returning for the 2005-06 season. Clow was also the only Husker to earn a winning record through the fall 2005 campaign.

Nebraska Improves Doubles Play
Despite getting off to a slow start in the doubles column, the Huskers have found a winning combination recently, compiling a 21-17 record on the season. Juniors James Clow and Arturo Navarro are an impressive 7-2 this spring while playing together. Senior Joerg Barthel and junior Adrian Szatmary have produced a 5-3 record, while senior Jerry Posch and sophomore Mark Tate have produced a steady 6-6 overall record for the Huskers, including winning four of the past six matches.

Tate Remains Strong in Singles Play
Mark Tate, a native of The Woodlands, Texas, is making a big contribution to the Husker lineup, as he has only lost once through nine matches played this spring. Most recently, Tate beat Jose Luis Lechuga of Brigham Young, to help Nebraska finish seventh at the HEB Tournament in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Tate came to Nebraska as a sophomore after spending a year competing for Northern Illinois, where he produced an overall 16-13 record for the Huskies. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound right-hander was a Midwest Open finalist as well as a St. Louis National Open finalist. While attending Oak Ridge High School, Tate was a state champion in 2004.

Newcomers Making Big Contributions to Husker Lineup
Coach Kerry McDermott announced four talented newcomers joined the 2005-06 roster, hoping to fill spots left by departed seniors Joel Reckewey and Jose Rivera. Renato Melo, Hendrik Stahmer, Mark Tate and Arturo Navarro came to Nebraska from diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Melo came to Nebraska as a freshman from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. This spring Melo is 6-4 in singles play. In 2005, Melo was ranked third in Brazil in the under-18 division and participated in the National Championship tournament.

Freshman, Stahmer was the 2002 Nebraska Class B singles champion while attending Beatrice High School as an exchange student in Beatrice, Neb. He is orignially from Hamburg, Germany, and won his first match of the season against Zack Warren of BYU, 6-1, 6-0, helping the Huskers to a seventh-place finish at the HEB Tournament, March 2-4. He has produced a 2-1 record overall.

Navarro, a junior, has provided the Huskers with depth at doubles, compiling a 7-2 doubles record with fellow junior James Clow. Navarro transfered to Nebraska from Tennessee-Chattanooga, where he played in the No. 1 spot in singles and doubles, producing a 14-10 singles record in 2005. The Naucal, Mexico, native also earned second-team All-Southern Conference honors last season.

Seniors Leading Huskers through 2005-06 Campaign
As the Nebraska men’s tennis team returned to the court for the 2005-06 season, it hoped to become more competitve in the Big 12 Conference by relying on the team’s maturity and the work ethic exemplified through seniors Jerry Posch and Joerg Barthel.

So far this spring Posch has produced a 5-4 record, including an upset of No. 49 Sam Chang of Florida State to help the Huskers knock off then-No. 22 Florida State. Through the fall, Posch qualified for the ITA All-American tournament and held a 3-5 record overall.

McDermott said the Perchtoldsdorf, Austria, native plays mentally tough and is a leader-by-example to an improving Husker team.

McDermott also said the senior has taken great strides through the summer to make himself even better.

As a player who thrives under pressure, Barthel will continue to make a strong impact with his experience. Although Barthel has spent much of his career riddled with injuries, he has still made a strong contribution for the Huskers, including a huge win at the No. 3 spot in NU’s win over No. 16 Rice last season. Barthel is 5-6 this spring after sitting out the fall campaign.

McDermott said it is Barthel’s diligence that emphasizes his leadership abilities.

"Joerg is such a professional on the court in both practice and during matches," McDermott said. "His teammates can see that and he holds everyone to the same level of professionalism he shows."

Nebraska Upsets No. 22 Florida State
The Nebraska men’s tennis team upset then-No. 22 Florida State, 4-3, Feb. 4, in Tallahasee, Fla., at the Scott Spiecher Tennis Center in a quad tournament hosted by the Seminoles.

The win marked the first time the Huskers upset a team ranked in the top 25 since Nebraska defeated then-No. 16 Rice on Jan. 22, 2005.

"This was a huge win for our program," Coach Kerry McDermott said of the victory. "We really needed this win. It felt really good and was a total team effort. We knew we were going to have a good team this year, but you have to prove it with results. This will give us a lot of confidence and shows that we can find ways to win."

Three Huskers Recognized For Academic Achievements
Three members of the Nebraska men’s tennis team were recognized for their outstanding academic achievements by being named to the fall 2005 Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

Senior Jerry Posch and junior James Clow were recognized along with former Husker Joel Reckeway. This is Posch’s third time on the list, Clow’s second and Reckewey’s fourth.

The Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes who earned a 3.0 grade-point average or higher during the previous semester. Overall, Nebraska had 235 student-athletes named to the fall honor roll, including 35 who produced perfect 4.0 grade-point averages during the fall semester.

Huskers Complete Successful Fall Campaign
The Nebraska men’s tennis team competed in four tournaments through fall 2005, with junior James Clow producing the best record at 7-5. Junior Adrian Szatmary recorded a solid 4-4 record.

At the Denver Fall Invitational, Sept. 25, in Denver, Colo., Clow made it to the Singles Flight A consolation finals, but lost to Minnesota’s DJ Gaetz, 7-6 (8), 7-5, after losing in the first round of the Singles Flight A.

Clow was the only Husker to move past two rounds in the double-elimination tournament. Sophomore Karl Jones made it to the Singles Flight B consolation finals, but was defeated, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, by Ryan Scott.

Senior Jerry Posch and Clow competed at the 2005 Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championships held at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center at the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Okla., Oct. 3 and 4.

Posch was defeated by Concado Henrique of Old Dominion 6-4, 7-5, 6-1, in the first round of qualifying singles. Posch and Clow were defeated in doubles action by Will Gray and Fredrico Soriano, 8-4.

The tournament featured the nation’s top collegiate tennis players including 128 singles players and 64 doubles teams split into a main draw and a qualifying draw.

At the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational held Oct. 7-9, at the Bill Moore Tennis Center in Atlanta, Ga., Clow was defeated by Andy Juc of Furman, 6-3, 6-0, in the second round of the Singles Flight A consolation bracket.

The Huskers concluded fall play at the Wilson/ITA Men’s Central Region Championships at the University of Tulsa, Oct. 20-24. Szatmary and Clow were both eliminated from the tournament in the quarterfinal round of the main draw singles at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. Posch was defeated in the backdraw singles in the semifinal round.