Huskers Return to Road to Face Drake and DePaul

After going 1-1 at home last weekend, the No. 72 Huskers travel to Des Moines, Iowa, this upcoming weekend to continue with their schedule.  The Huskers are set to face Central Region competitor, Drake, on Friday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m. and No. 69 DePaul on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m.

 

On Friday, the No. 72 Huskers will face the unranked Bulldogs who suffered two losses, both to nationally ranked teams, in their first three matches of the 2007 spring season.  To open the season, Drake fell to then-No. 29 Rice, 6-1, before bouncing back with a 4-3 win over Yale the next day.  The Bulldogs went into competition against then-No. 32 Minnesota with a 1-1 record and were swept by the Golden Gophers, 7-0.  Competing at No. 1 singles for the Bulldogs, senior Sergi Vila is 1-2 against nationally ranked opponents and will likely face Nebraska’s Adrian Szatmary in Friday’s singles competition.  Vila earned his upset victory against No. 81 Brandon Wai of Yale on Feb. 3.

 

With ten matches already completed on their schedule, the Blue Demons will prove to be a strong competitor for the Huskers on Saturday.  The Blue Demons are ranked 69th nationally and have suffered only three losses this spring. Two of those losses were to nationally ranked teams when DePaul fell to then-No. 56 Northwestern, 6-1, to open the spring season and then later were defeated by then-No. 56 Western Michigan, 5-2. After opening the season with a loss, DePaul won six of its next seven matches with a noteworthy upset victory against then-No. 30 Arkansas, 6-1.  The Blue Demon’s most recent loss was to unranked Iowa when they were defeated 5-2 in Iowa City, Iowa.  A team that relies heavily on momentum, the Blue Demons have been defeated as a team every time they enter singles competition behind 1-0, and in turn have been victorious as a team each time they have won the doubles point.  A member of the Big East conference, DePaul is 1-0 in conference play this spring.

 

While the Huskers are set to compete in only two matches over the weekend, the Drake Bulldogs are scheduled to squeeze in four matches in two days of competition at the DrakeTennisCenter.  Drake will also play host to DePaul, Western Illinois and South DakotaState as Drake competes against WIU on Friday, Feb. 23, at noon, DePaul on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 10 a.m., and South DakotaState on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 2:00 p.m.

 

Huskers Stifled in Close Match

 

In an evening full of tiebreakers and close calls, in the end the Huskers were unable to rally from behind and defeat the Trojans on Saturday, Feb. 17.

 

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.

 

Although the Huskers were unable to capture the team victory after the loss at No. 1, 2 and 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 can’t deny the effort that our guys put out on the court tonight,” said head coach Kerry McDermott.  “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.”

 

Huskers Sweep Creighton in Home Opener

 

In the first home match of the season, the Nebraska men’s tennis team earned a win, sweeping Creighton, 7-0, Friday, Feb. 16.

 

The Huskers went 3-0 in doubles competition against the Jays, earning the doubles point and putting them ahead, 1-0 going into singles competition.

 

Moving into singles competition, the Huskers continued to dominate the Jays, winning every match point from the No. 1 spot down through No. 6.  The matches moved quickly as the Huskers allowed the Jays to win only 10 games out of the 82 played.

 

The first Husker to finish was sophomore Renato Melo at the No. 5 singles position.  Melo slated two shutout sets to defeat Mike Elson of Creighton, 6-0, 6-0.  Shortly following Melo’s victory, senior James Clow and freshman Francois Van Impe completed their matches against Creighton as well.  Clow defeated Creighton’s Jose Guerra in two sets, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 1 singles marking his first victory at the No. 1 singles position this spring.  Within minutes of Clow’s victory, Van Impe also came away with a win, defeating Creighton’s Ross Allen, 6-1, 6-0.  Predominantly known for his performance in doubles, Van Impe’s win today marks his first victory in singles competition for the Huskers.

 

The only undefeated Husker remaining, sophomore Hendrik Stahmer improved his record to 4-0 on Friday, defeating Creighton’s Joe Eckert at No. 3 singles, 6-0, 6-1.  Seeing action for the first time since arriving at Nebraska for the spring semester, freshman Marton Zsiga debuted with a win at the No. 4 slot against Creighton’s Chris Miller, 6-2, 6-1.  To close out Friday’s competition, freshman David Bendheim utilized his strong serve to surge past Creighton’s Nikita Dudar, 6-2, 6-2.

 

A Win and Loss in New Mexico Keeps Huskers Even

 

While in New Mexico the then-No. 63 Huskers went 1-1 as they competed against New Mexico on Friday, Feb. 3, and Arizona on Saturday, Feb. 4.

 

On Friday, the Huskers were upset by then-No. 73 New Mexico, 5-2.  The Huskers fell behind early when they lost the doubles point.  Nebraska’s only doubles win came at the No. 1 position when Mark Tate and David Bendheim defeated New Mexico’s Miles Bugby and Johnny Parkes, 8-7(7). It marked the second time that Tate and Bendheim have paired up this spring and Friday’s victory was the duo’s first win.

 

Down by one point going into the singles competition, senior Adrian Szatmary, ranked No. 78 in the country, came away with an upset victory at the No. 1 singles spot. Earning his second victory of the spring season, Szatmary defeated No. 73 Max Jones of New Mexico in two sets, 6-3, 6-3. The win was the first ranked opponent that Szatmary has competed against and defeated this spring season.

 

After Friday’s loss, Nebraska earned a redeeming win Saturday afternoon, upsetting then-No. 61 Arizona, 4-3.  The Huskers went 1-2 in the doubles competition.  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 with the deciding victory at the No. 5 singles position.  Tate excelled under pressure as he defeated Arizona’s Jason Labrosse and posted a come-from-behind win, 6-7, 7-6, 6-0 to earn the victory and clinch the team win for Nebraska.

 

Sophomore standout, Hendrik Stahmer, remained undefeated at the conclusion of the weekend by compiling a 3-0 record to date.