Huskers Bouce Back Defeating Wichita State 5-2

Lincoln ? The Nebraska men’s tennis team defeated Wichita State 5-2 in Saturday's match at the NebraskaTennisCenter.

 

The Huskers fell behind early, losing the doubles point.  Seniors James Clow and Adrian Szatmary teamed up for the second time this spring and defeated WichitaState’s Tiago Espirito Santo and Kevin Gardner, 8-6, at the No. 3 spot to earn Nebraska’s only doubles point. 

 

Close matches at both the No. 1 and 2 doubles spots developed as both matches were forced to tiebreaker sets. Arturo Navarro and Mark Tate fell to WichitaState’s 35th nationally-ranked duo of Boris Gubic and Goran Vujaklija, 8-9(4), while David Bendheim and Renato Melo were defeated by Albert Ballesta and Thiago Dos Santos, 8-9(9), at the No. 1 and 2 spots respectively.

 

“After doubles I didn’t say too much to the team,” Nebraska Coach Kerry McDermott said.  “They knew how disappointed we were as coaches, so all I needed to say to them was that we expected more and that they had better find a way to get it done.”

 

The Huskers did just that as they surged into the singles competition winning four of their six first sets and nearly sweeping the Shockers in the singles competition.  The first Husker to claim match victory was Melo, who defeated WichitaState’s Albert Ballesta in two straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, at the No. 5 spot.

 

With the score now even at 1-1, Tate took it upon himself to slide the Huskers into the lead as he defeated WichitaState’s Kevin Gardner at the No. 6 spot, 6-3, 6-2.  Primarily a doubles competitor in the past, Tate has made three consecutive appearances in the Husker lineup since his first appearance on Feb. 2 against then-No. 61 Arizona when he defeated his opponent, 6-7, 7-6, 6-0, to propel the Huskers to a 4-3 upset victory over Arizona.  Tate has remained undefeated since and now carries a 4-0 record.

 

At the No. 2 spot, Szatmary won a close match against WichitaState’s Boris Gubic.  Typically competing for the Huskers at the No. 1 spot, Szatmary, who is currently ranked No. 115 nationally, came through for NU, defeating Gubic in two straight sets, 7-5, 6-4, to push his team further ahead to lead 3-1.

 

Sophomore Hendrik Stahmer competed at the No. 4 spot for the Huskers and picked up his seventh win of the spring as he defeated WichitaState’s Thiago Dos Santos.  Stahmer stormed past Dos Santos in the first set, 6-1, and although the match tightened in the second set, Stahmer defeated Dos Santos in a tiebreaker set, 7-6(8-6), to claim the match victory and also clinch the team victory for the Huskers.

 

In his first appearance at the No. 1 singles spot, freshman David Bendheim was put to the test against WichitaState’s Goran Vujaklija.  A high intensity match from start to finish, Bendheim was forced to battle his way back after falling to Vujaklija 3-6 in the first set.

 

“In the first set I found myself playing very slow,” Bendheim said.  “It wasn’t until the second set that I really found my pace and was able to play a bit smarter.”

 

In the second set Bendheim fell behind early, 1-2, but kept on battling until he was able to bounce back to win the set 6-4, putting him in a position to win his first match at the No. 1 spot.  In the final set Bendheim utilized his speed and pushed ahead of Vujaklija early and remained on top as he went on to win the set, 6-2, earning an impressive win for the young Frankfurt, Germany native.

 

Competing for the Huskers at the No. 3 position was Clow, who nearly earned a come-from-behind victory against WichitaState’s Tiago Espirito Santo.  Clow quickly fell in the first set, 1-6, but regained momentum in the second set as he defeated Espirito Santo, 6-3, in the second set.  With the match tied up entering the third set, Clow went point for point with Espirito Santo but ultimately was defeated in a tiebreaker set, 7-6(8-6).  The loss brings Clow’s overall spring record to an even 5-5.

 

The Huskers (5-5) resume competition in Texas on Monday, March 12, at 5 p.m. against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.  The Huskers then travel to Texas-Pan American to compete at the OrvilleCoxTennisCenter on March 13, at 3 p.m.

 

Doubles  (NU 0, WSU 1)

No. 35 Gubic/Vujaklija (WSU) def. Navarro/Tate 9-8(4)

Briceno/Gardner (WSU) def. Bendheim/Melo (NU) 9-8(9)

Clow/Szatmary (NU) def. Ballesta/Espirito Santo (WSU) 8-6

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

 

Singles  (NU 5, WSU 1)

David Bendheim (NU) def. Goran Vujaklija (WSU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

No. 115 Adrian Szatmary (NU) def. Boris Gubic (WSU) 7-5, 6-4

Tiago Espirito Santo (WSU) def. James Clow (NU) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(9-7)

Hendrik Stahmer (NU) def. Thiago Dos Santos (WSU) 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)

Renato Melo (NU) def. Albert Ballesta (WSU) 6-4, 6-2

Mark Tate (NU) def. Kevin Gardner (WSU) 6-3, 6-2

Order of Finish: 5, 6, 2, 4, 1, 3

 

Final Score
Nebraska 5, Wichita State 2