Nebraska Men's Tennis Falls Short at Big 12 Championships

Kansas City, Mo. ? Seeded No. 4, the Nebraska men’s tennis team was defeated by the No. 5 seed, Oklahoma, 4-2, in Friday’s quarterfinal of the 2007 Big 12 Tennis Championships.

After a 90 minute rain delay, the Huskers finally commenced play indoors at the Northlands Racquet Club.  Unlike the dual match format, the tournament matchup between the Huskers and the Sooners began with the singles competition, leaving the doubles to be played only if needed to break a 3-3 tie at the conclusion of the singles competition.

The Huskers fell behind early when Hendrik Stahmer fell to Oklahoma’s Marek Velicka in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, at the No. 3 spot.  Putting Nebraska back in the match, Adrian Szatmary defeated OU’s No. 60 Vaclav Kucera at the No. 1 spot for the second time this season.  The senior from Budapest, Hungary, dominated Vaclav, claiming victory in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

“I’m so proud of Adrian’s win today,” Nebraska Coach Kerry McDermott said.  “He’s improved so much in the three years that he’s been here and so it’s great to see him get such a big win today.”

With the score tied at 1-1, Nebraska dropped the next point to Oklahoma as David Bendheim was defeated by OU’s No. 117 Andrei Daescu.  The freshman jumped ahead of Daescu, winning the first set, 7-6, but couldn’t maintain pace as he was defeated in the next two sets, 6-0, 6-3.

Trailing the Sooners, 1-2, the Huskers once again looked to Francois Van Impe to keep them in the match.  The recent freshman standout earned his fourth-straight victory against Oklahoma’s Ryan Thomas in straight sets, 7-6(2), 6-1.

“Francois has really surprised us toward the end of this season,” McDermott said.  “Since inserting him into the lineup he’s been a solid contributor, and we’re excited to see the improvements he’s made this year carry into the next three.”

Once again tied, 2-2, both teams battled to win the two remaining singles matches to earn four points and clinch the match.

The Huskers were unsuccessful as they were defeated at the No. 4 and 6 spots, giving the Sooners the needed points to claim victory.  Although defeated at the No. 4 spot, senior James Clow forced the match to three sets when he battled back from a 6-3 loss in the first set to defeat OU’s Rob McKenzie 7-5 in the second before ultimately falling to McKenzie in the third, 6-4.  The loss at the No. 6 spot came from Renato Melo.  The sophomore was defeated by Oklahoma’s Federico Chavarria in tightly contested straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.

“This was a hard fought match and it’s tough not to come out on top of a match like this,” McDermott said.  “We battled hard, but (Oklahoma) just played better than us today.  This team’s learned this year that competing hard is what wins matches, not just talent.  This has been a great group to coach because they all play with such heart and we’re looking forward to seeing what strides we can make going into next year as well.”

Friday’s loss knocked the Huskers out of the Big 12 Tennis Championships, ending their season.  The Huskers finished the year with a 9-11 dual match record and compiled their best record against Big 12 opponents since 2002 at 2-4.

Singles  (NU 2, OU 4)
Adrian Szatmary (NU) def. No. 60 Vaclav Kucera (OU) 6-3, 6-3
No. 117 Andrei Daescu (OU) def. David Bendheim (NU) 6-7, 6-0, 6-3
Marek Velicka (OU) def. Hendrik Stahmer (NU) 6-1, 6-2
Rob McKenzie (OU) def. James Clow (NU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Francois Van Impe (NU) def. Ryan Thomas (OU) 7-6(2), 6-1
Federico Chavarria (OU) def. Renato Melo (NU) 6-4, 7-5

Final Score

Oklahoma 4, Nebrsaka 2