Nebraska Takes a Break from Big 12 Action

The No. 63 Nebraska men’s tennis team takes a break from Big 12 Conference play this week to take on Nebraska-Kearney on Thursday, April 5, at 2 p.m., at home.  The location of Thursday’s match will be determined at a later time and is dependent upon the weather.  It will be played at either the NebraskaTennisCenter (indoors) or the NU Varsity Courts.

 

The Division II Lopers have won three straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships and are currently 1-0 in conference play so far this season.  Although the Lopers recently fell to No. 22 Washburn, 5-2, unranked junior William Jacome earned an upset victory over Washburn’s No. 20 Rutger Vliegenberg in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1, at the No. 1 singles slot.  Jacome has compiled a 13-1 record this spring at the No. 1 position with his only loss coming against Arkansas-Little Rock’s Edson Abrao.  Another upset was earned during UNK’s matchup with Wasburn at the No. 1 doubles slot where Jacome and Akihiro Sakai paired up to defeat the No. 10-ranked Washburn duo of Vliegenberg and Andrew Plum, 8-5.

 

Huskers Get Much Needed Break

After competing five weeks in a row, the Huskers will have a welcome 13-day break before traveling to No. 29 Texas A&M on April 20 and No. 15 Texas on April 22 to conclude regular-season Big 12 Conference play.

 

Following the conclusion of the Huskers’ regular season, they will have a quick turn around, entering the Big 12 Conference Championships the following weekend in Kansas City, Mo.  Both the men’s and women’s Big 12 Championships will be held at the PlazaTennisCenter and are scheduled to run from Thursday, April 26 through Sunday, April 29, with the men beginning competition on Friday, April 27.

 

Szatmary, Huskers Face Slew of Ranked Opponents

The Huskers and senior Adrian Szatmary have faced a gauntlet of ranked opponents from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national poll this season and will continue to do so through the remainder of the season. Szatmary has had some success against ranked opponents, stunning No. 73 Max Jones of New Mexico, Friday, Feb. 2, with a 6-3, 6-3, upset in the top spot of the lineup, as well as an upset of No. 83 Vaclav Kucera of Oklahoma to help the Huskers knock off then-No. 23 Oklahoma for their first Big 12 Conference victory since 2003.

 

The Huskers have played 10 ranked opponents so far this season, including five of the past six matches. Two of three remaining opponents left on the Huskers’ schedule are also ranked. The Huskers are 3-7 against ranked opponents, and 7-9  overall on the season (1-3 Big 12).  Szatmary is 2-5 against ranked players this season and will likely face at least two more. Overall, Szatmary has a 6-8 singles record.

 

Upset Victory Bolsters Huskers in the National Polls

After two weeks ranked at No. 75, the Huskers made a jump in the national rankings, by moving to 63 in the latest ranking released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on April 3.  The jump in ranking follows an upset victory the Huskers earned over then-No. 23 Oklahoma on Friday, March 30, at the NU Varsity Courts.

 

Huskers Blanked by No. 17 Oklahoma State

Following an upset victory earlier in the weekend, the Nebraska men’s tennis team was swept, 7-0, by then-No. 17 Oklahoma State on Sunday, April 1, at the DeBoisTennisCenter in Stillwater, Okla.

 

The Huskers fell behind early, losing all three doubles matches to give the Cowboys the doubles point and the momentum going into the singles competition.

 

Unable to bounce back, the Huskers were defeated at all six singles spots.

 

“We played well as a team and had a chance to take the doubles point, but it just came down to OklahomaState being the better team today,” Nebraska Coach Kerry McDermott said.

 

For the Huskers, freshman David Bendheim, sophomore Hendrik Stahmer and senior James Clow were the most competitive during their matches taking their opponents to three sets at the No. 2, 3 and 4 spots, respectively.

 

Huskers Upset No. 23 Oklahoma on Senior Day

The Nebraska men’s tennis team upset No. 23 Oklahoma on Friday, March 30, 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.  Szatmary’s victory clinched the team victory over the Sooners, earning the Huskers a huge upset win and a much sought-after conference victory.

 

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.

 

Huskers Defeat Top-25 Opponent for Third Year

For the third year in a row, the Huskers earned an upset victory over a top-25 ranked opponent with their win against No. 23 Oklahoma on Friday, March 30.  In 2006, the Huskers defeated No. 22 Florida State on Feb. 4 and in 2005 they defeated No. 16 Rice on Jan. 24.