Huskers Stifled in Close Match

Lincoln ? The No. 66 Nebraska men's tennis team suffered a 5-2 loss against Arkansas-Little Rock at the Nebraska Tennis Center on Saturday.

 

In an evening full of tiebreakers and close calls, in the end the Huskers (3-3) were unable to rally from behind and defeat the Trojans.

 

The Huskers lost the doubles point, but got a win from the consistent pair of senior James Clow and freshman Francois Van Impe.  The tandem defeated Arkansas-Little Rock’s Marko Ballok and Yoann Chartron, 8-5.  Clow and Van Impe have combined four times this spring, compiling a 3-1 record.

 

The Huskers trailed the Trojans, 1-0, entering the singles competition and fell further behind when only one Husker, freshman David Bendheim, was able to win his first set.  Bendheim dictated play early at the No. 3 position, defeating Arkansas Little-Rock’s Edson Abrao 6-4 in the first set and 6-2 in the second.

 

As Bendheim was wrapping up play, matches began to develop into grueling battles at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots.  Competing at No. 1 singles for Nebraska, senior Adrian Szatmary battled back from a 6-1 loss in the first set to UALR’s Dinko Halachev going point for point with Halachev in the second set.  Szatmary, ranked 78th, took the score to 6-6 until Halachev won the tiebreaker for a 7-6 (5).

 

Senior captain James Clow found himself in a similar situation after losing his first set to Rain Roigas, 3-6.  Just as Szatmary had, Clow fought through the second set, point for point, but ultimately fell to Roigas in a tiebreaker decision, 6-7(6).

 

With the score now favoring the Trojans, 3-1, the Huskers needed to win every match on the court in order to claim victory.  The pressure set in at the No. 6 position, where freshman Marton Zsiga was slated against Gerard Galindo.  After losing the first set, 3-6, Zsiga bounced back in the second set, defeating Galindo 7-6 (4).  Taking the match into the third set Zsiga remained ahead of Galindo through the entire match, but came up short in the final three games and ultimately lost the set, 5-7.

 

Although the Huskers were unable to capture the team victory after the loss at No. 6 singles, competition continued at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions.  At No. 4, sophomore Hendrik Stahmer had a come-from-behind victory over UALR’s Yoann Chartron, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.  Stahmer improved to 5-0 this spring in singles competition.  Sophomore Renato Melo competed aggressively at the No. 5 spot, taking the match to three sets, but fell to Marko Ballok, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-3.

 

“I have to give credit where credit’s due and tonight [Arkansas-Little Rock] played big points better than we did,” Nebraska Coach Kerry McDermott.  “I can’t deny the effort that our guys put out on the court tonight. There were some very tough battles, but when under pressure we buckled and that’s something we have to overcome in the future in order to be successful as a team.”

 

The No. 66 Huskers return to action on Friday, Feb. 23, in Des Moines, Iowa against Drake at 6 p.m. and will remain in Des Moines to compete against DePaul on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m.

 

Doubles  (NU 0, UALR 1)

Halachev/Perez (UALR) def. Navarro/Tate (NU) 9-7

No. 44 Abrao/Roigas (UALR) def. Bendheim/Szatmary (NU) 8-6

Clow/Van Impe (NU) def. Ballok/Chartron (UALR) 8-5

 

Singles  (NU 2, UALR 4)

Dinko Halachev (UALR) def. No. 78 Adrian Szatmary (NU) 6-1, 7-6 (5)

Rain Roigas (UALR) def. James Clow (NU) 6-3, 7-6(6)

David Bendheim (NU) def. Edson Abrao (UALR) 6-4, 6-2

Hendrik Stahmer (NU) def. Yoann Chartron (UALR) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

Marko Ballok (UALR) def. Renato Melo (NU) 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-3

Gerard Galindo (UALR) def. Marton Zsiga (NU) 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-5

 

Final Score 

Arkansas-Little Rock 5, Nebraska 2