Nebraska Upsets No. 61 Arizona

Albuquerque, N.M. ? After falling in an upset loss on Friday evening, the No. 63 Nebraska men’s tennis team earned a redeeming win Saturday afternoon, upsetting No. 61 Arizona, 4-3, in Albuquerque, N.M.

 

The Huskers got off to a slow start, going 1-2 in the doubles competition against Arizona.  Falling at the Nos. 1 and 3 spots, the Husker duo of Adrian Szatmary and James Clow earned the only win in the doubles competition at the No. 2 position.  Clow and Szatmary combined for the first time this spring defeating Arizona’s Milos Romic and Peter Zimmer, 8-5.

 

Bouncing back from a one-point deficit going into the singles competition, the Huskers were victorious at the Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 spots, clinching the dual match victory.  Senior captain Clow earned a Husker victory at No. 2 singles defeating Bruno Alcala of Arizona in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2.

 

Competing for the Huskers at the No. 3 position, sophomore standout Hendrik Stahmer earned his third victory of the spring defeating Peter Zimmer of Arizona, 6-2, 6-3.  With the win, Stahmer remains undefeated in singles play this spring compiling a 3-0 record so far.  At the No. 4 position, freshman David Bendheim defeated Arizona’s Ravid Hezi, 6-1, 6-4.

 

With the score tied at 3-3, the determining match came down to Nebraska’s Mark Tate and Arizona’s Jason Labrosse at No. 5 singles.  Tate excelled under pressure, demonstrating unshakeable focus as he posted a come-from-behind win against Jason Labrosse of Arizona.  Losing the first set 6-7, Tate kept his composure and came back to win the second set, 7-6, before shutting out Labrosse in the third set, 6-0, to earn the victory and clinch the team win for Nebraska.

 

“Mark displayed a high level of maturity in today’s match,” head coach Kerry McDermott said.  “We see how much he’s grown as a player and he came through for us under pressure.”

 

Looking ahead, the Huskers return to Nebraska and will have the following weekend off from competition before opening up competition at home against Creighton on Feb. 16 and Arkansas-Little Rock on Feb. 17.

 

Doubles  (NU 0, UA 1)

Christen/Alcala (UA) def. Tate/Bendheim (NU), 8-4

Szatmary/Clow (NU) def. Zimmer/Ramic (UA), 8-5
Labrosse/Havi (UA) def. Van Impe/Navarro (NU), 8-2

 

Singles  (NU 4, UA 2)

No. 86 Claudio Christen (UA) def. No. 78 Adrian Szatmary (NU), 6-3, 6-3

James Clow (NU) def. Bruno Alcala (UA), 7-6, 6-2

Hendrik Stahmer (NU) def. Peter Zimmer (UA), 6-2, 6-3

David Bendheim (NU) def. Ravid Hezi (UA), 6-1, 6-4

Mark Tate (NU) def. Jason Labrosse (UA), 6-7, 7-6, 6-0

Alex Labrosse (UA) def. Francois Van Impe (NU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4

 

Final Score 

Nebraska 4, Arizona 3