Huskers Show Talent at Georgia Tech Fall Invitational

Atlanta, Ga. - The Husker men's tennis team completed play in the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational on Sunday.  Dominating the field, the Huskers claimed four tournament titles including the Flight "A" and Flight "B" main draw singles championships, the Flight "A" consolation singles championship and the Flight "A" consolation doubles championship.  The eight Huskers that competed this weekend finished with a solid 14-11 singles record and a 5-7 doubles mark.

Leading the team in the Flight "A" singles competition was senior Adrian Szatmary who went undefeated in qualifying play and then defeated Clemson's Ike Belk in the championship match.  Szatmary dominated Belk in the championship match, overpowering and out-smarting Belk on nearly every point earned.  While most of Szatmary's matches in qualifying play went into a third set, Szatmary was not even scored on in the championship match as he ran over Belk, 6-0, 6-0, to earn his first tournment championship of his career.

In the Flight "B" singles competition, it was sophomore Hendrik Stahmer who earned a championship title.  Stahmer battled his way through qualifying play in the first two days, and then faced Ryan Farlow of Mississippi State in the finals Sunday.  Winning the match in just two sets, 6-3, 6-2, Stahmer came away from the weekend with his first tournament championship.

"Obviously I am very pleased with our performance this weekend," head coach Kerry McDermott said.  "It's great for us as a program to win both the "A" and "B" singles flights in a prestigious tournament such as this.  It boosts our team morale and gives the players the confidence they need to continue to perfom at their highest level."

After losing his first match in the Flight "A" singles bracket to the No. 3-seed, senior captain James Clow battled back to go undefeated in the consolation draw and win the consolation championship match.  It was Georgia State's Daniel Balog that Clow defeated in the consolation championship match, 6-4, 6-3.  Clow went 4-1 this weekend and now has an overall singles record of 8-2 this fall.

With a disappointing performance on day one in doubles, the Huskers bounced back on day two and three to win the Flight "A" doubles consolation championship match. 

The team of Szatmary and junior Mark Tate reached the finals after defeating Georgia's team of Josh Varella and Chris Motes, 8-6, in the semifinals.  Also advancing to the consolation championship match was Nebraska's pair of Clow and freshman Francois Van Impe.  Clow and Van Impe defeated Kevin Fleck and Ike Belk from Clemson, 8-5, in the semifinals.  In a battle of Husker pairs, Tate and Szatmary beat teammates Clow and Van Impe in a hard-fought tiebreaker match, 9-8(6).

The Huskers now look ahead two weeks to their next tournament, the Region V Qualifier in Tulsa, Okla.

Flight “A” Singles
Main Draw Championship
Adrian Szatmary (NU) def. Ike Belk (CLEMSON) 6-0, 6-0

Consolation Championship

James Clow (NU) def. Pete Necajevs (MS ST) 6-4, 6-3

 

Flight “B” Singles

Main Draw Championship

Hendrik Stahmer (NU) def. Ryan Farlow (MS ST), 6-3, 6-2

 

Flight “A” Doubles

Consolation Semifinal

Clow/Van Impe (NU) def. Belk/Fleck (CLEMSON) 8-5

Tate/Szatmary (NU) def. Motes/Varella (UGA) 8-6

 

Consolation Championship

Tate/Szatmary (NU) def. Clow/Van Impe (NU) 9-8(6)

 

Flight “B” Doubles

Consolation Semifinal

Farlow/Kuznetsov (MS ST) def. Jones/Stahmer (NU) 8-3