Huskers Upset No. 23 Oklahoma

Lincoln ? The Nebraska men’s tennis team upset No. 23 Oklahoma in Friday’s matchup at the NU Varsity Courts, earning its first Big 12 Conference victory since 2003. Although the Huskers went 1-2 in doubles to lose the doubles point, they came back strong in the singles competition to win five of the six matches, defeating the Sooners 5-2.

Starting off the Husker rally was freshman Marton Zsiga at No. 5 singles.  Zsiga played confidently as he dominated Oklahoma’s Federico Chavarria, defeating him in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, to tie the score at 1-1.

The Huskers found themselves trailing again when sophomore Hendrik Stahmer was defeated at the No. 3 singles position by Oklahoma’s Marek Velicka, 6-4, 6-2.

When senior James Clow evened the score with a victory at the No. 4 slot, the Huskers were able to capitalize on the opportunity to move into the lead with freshman David Bendheim’s victory at the No. 2 position. Bendheim fell behind early in the match against No. 78-ranked Andrei Daescu, losing the first set 3-6, but Bendheim bounced back to defeat Daescu 6-4 in the second set and 6-3 in the third.

With the Huskers ahead 3-2, they found themselves within reach of a win and looked to senior Adrian Szatmary to come through with a win against No. 83 Vaclav Kucera at the No. 1 singles position to clinch the team victory. Although Szatmary struggled in a similar situation in last week’s match against then-No. 31 Texas Tech, he came through for the Huskers on Friday, defeating Kucera in three hard fought sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

“I came into the match with lots of energy,” Szatmary said.  “I found myself down 4-3 at the break in the third set, and I just put everything I had left in me into that set.”
 
Szatmary’s victory clinched the team victory over the Sooners, earning the Huskers a huge upset win and a much sought-after conference victory.

“To win today feels unbelievable; for me, for this team, for this program, it’s just unbelievable,” Szatmary said.

Adding another point for the Huskers was sophomore Renato Melo who defeated Oklahoma’s Sergey Avdeyev in a come-from-behind victory, 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8), at the No. 6 position.  The win bolstered the Huskers to a sturdy 5-2 victory over the Sooners.

“I’ve told our guys all year that I wasn’t going to let them quit, and today they proved to me that they weren’t going to let themselves quit,” Nebraska Coach Kerry McDermott said.  “Today’s win means more to this team than any other and I’m very proud that we came out today and got it done.”

The Huskers (7-8) return to Big 12 Conference action on Sunday, April 1, against No. 17 Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. in Stillwater, Okla.

Doubles (NU 0, OU 1)
Clow/Szatmary (NU) def. Daescu/Kucera (OU) 8-4
Chavarria/McKenzie (OU) def. Bendheim/Tate (NU) 8-3
Thomas/Velicka (OU) def. Van Impe/Zsiga (NU) 8-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles (NU 5, OU 1)
Adrian Szatmary (NU) def. No. 83 Vaclav Kucera (OU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
David Bendheim (NU) def. No. 78 Andrei Daescu (OU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Marek Velicka (OU) def. Hendrik Stahmer (NU) 6-4, 6-2
James Clow (NU) def. Rob McKenzie (OU) 7-6(4), 7-5
Marton Zsiga (NU) def. Federico Chavarria (OU) 6-2, 6-3
Renato Melo (NU) def. Sergey Avdeyev (OU) 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8)
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 4, 2, 1, 6

Final Score
Nebraska 5, Oklahoma 2