Huskers Send Three to ITA All-American Tournament

This Week in Nebraska Men's Tennis:
ITA All American Tournament | Sept. 29-30 | Tulsa, Okla.

The Nebraska men’s tennis team will send three players, juniors Renato Melo and Hendrik Stahmer and sophomore David Bendheim, to Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday, as they will take part in prequalifying for the ITA All-American Tournament.

The Husker trio will represent Nebraska as one of 62 schools and over 128 players competing in the prequalifying tournament. 16 players will advance from the prequalifying tournament into the qualifying rounds, where they will join a field of over 100 pre-selected players. 16 players will advance from the qualifying rounds to the Main Draw, which will match them up with 48 other competitors for a final round of 64, where a champion will be crowned.

The three Huskers face a long road ahead if they want to reach the Main Draw, but are up to the task.

“This is a great tournament for our top three guys to get started into the fall season,” head coach Kerry McDermott said. “It is a test of survival if they can make it to the Main Draw. If they do well then it will open up some great opportunities to play some ranked opponents and make a name for some of our guys early in the year.”

Stay tuned to Huskers.com for the latest results from the tournament.

Melo Named ITA Scholar Athlete
Nebraska men’s tennis player Renato Melo was named an ITA Scholar Athlete last month. Melo, a junior from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, was one of 253 Division I men’s tennis players to receive the honor. In order to qualify, a player must have earned a varsity letter, have a grade-point-average of 3.50 or above for the current academic year, and have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters.

The award capped off an impressive academic year for Melo, who also was named to two Big 12 Commissoner’s Honor Rolls and was a first-team academic All-Big 12 selection. Melo maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout the entire 2006-07 year.