No. 72 Huskers Upset by Drake

Des Moines, Iowa - The No. 72 Nebraska men’s tennis team was upset by the Drake Bulldogs, 6-1, in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday evening. The Huskers dropped to 3-4 on the season.

 

The Huskers were in a hole early after Drake took two of the three doubles matches. Adrian Szatmary and David Bendheim for the Huskers won their match against Guilherme Marsiglia and Halvar Dil of Drake, 8-6. However, thanks in part to the 17th-ranked duo of Maor Zirkin and Dalibor Pavic of Drake, they were able to win the other two matches and take the doubles point.

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Drake carried momentum from their doubles matches into the singles matches, as the Huskers struggled to find a rhythm.

 

Nebraska’s Renato Melo gave the Huskers their lone point, as he defeated Drake’s Dil, 4-6, 6-2, (10-4), in the No. 5 singles spot. Melo improved his singles record to 3-3 on the season, including 3-1 at the No. 5 spot.

 

Hendrik Stahmer dropped his first singles match of the season to Drake’s Marsiglia, 6-3, 6-3. The sophomore from Hamburg, Germany, is now 5-1 in singles play.

 

“Drake played really solid today, and we weren’t really up to the challenge,” Nebraska coach Kerry McDermott said. “We have another tough match coming up tomorrow, so we have to focus on our next opponent.”

 

The Huskers play No. 69 DePaul on Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa, at 2 p.m.

 

Doubles  (NU 0, DU 1)

No. 17 Zirkin/Pavic (DU) def. Tate/Navarro (NU), 8-0

Szatmary/Bendheim (NU) def. Marsiglia/Dil (DU), 8-6 Vila/Mendoza (DU) def. Clow/Van Impe, 8-2

 

Singles  (NU 1, DU 5)

Maor Zirkin (DU) def. Adrian Szatmary (NU), 6-7, 6-2, (10-4)

No. 98 Dalibor Pavic (DU) def. James Clow (NU), 6-3, 6-3

Sergi Vila (DU) def. David Bendheim (NU), 7-6, 6-1

Guilherme Marsiglia (DU) def. Hendrik Stahmer (NU), 6-3, 6-3

Renato Melo (NU) def. Halvar Dil (DU), 4-6, 6-2 (10-4)

Ivan Mendoza (DU) def. Francois Van Impe (NU), 6-1, 6-4

 

Final Score

Drake 6, <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska 1