Two Huskers Advance at Regional Championships

Tulsa, Okla. - The Nebraska men's tennis team had a busy day on Thursday at the Wilson/ITA Central Region Championships in Tulsa, Okla. Two Huskers advanced to the third round of Open Singles while one Husker duo advanced in Open Doubles. The tournament, hosted by the University of Tulsa, contains players from 13 schools, including Big 12 rivals Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

Sophomore David Bendheim and junior Hendrik Stahmer won their first and second round matches in Open Singles on Thursday as they advanced to the third round, which will take place on Friday.

The Huskers had seven players competing in Open Singles on the day. Freshmen Taylor Boney and Jamie Holmes, seeing their first collegiate tennis action, both lost their first-round matches, including Boney losing to the No. 1 overall seed Ivan Puchkarov of Oklahoma State. Sophomore Francois Van Impe and senior Mark Tate also fell short in their first round matches.

In addition to Bendheim and Stahmer, junior Renato Melo advanced to the second round, with an easy victory over Wichita State's Rodrigo Briceno. Melo was defeated in a tough second-round matchup against Arkansas-Little Rock's Edson Abrao. Bendheim and Stahmer both earned two-set victories in the second round, with Bendheim defeating Arkansas' Tyler Tarnansky and Stahmer beating Oklahoma State's Nathan Byrnes.

In Open Doubles, the doubles team of Boney and Tate defeated Marcus Fadul and Sean McManus of Saint Louis, 8-3, to advance to the second round. The teams of Bendheim/Melo and Stahmer/Van Impe, who were also competing in Open Doubles, couldn't get past their first round opponents, leaving Boney and Tate as the only Husker team in the second round. Boney and Tate will face the No. 1-seed doubles team, Arkansas' Colin Mascall and Blake Strode, on Friday in the second round.

In Consolation Singles, Tate and Van Impe defeated their opponents to advance to the second round, while Boney and Holmes each were defeated, knocking them out of the tournament.

"It was an okay day today, but it could have been better," Head Coach Kerry McDermott said. "If (Renato) Melo could have gotten to the Round of 16 it would have been a better day. But all in all we did a good job. Overall, our guys are showing a lot of improvement."

Five Huskers will be in action again on Friday, including Bendheim and Stahmer in the third round of Open Singles, Boney and Tate in Open Doubles, and Tate and Van Impe in Consolation Singles.

"Tomorrow, hopefully we can get a couple guys through to the quarterfinals, and maybe go on and win the tournament," McDermott said.

Competing Teams (13)
Arkansas, Arkansas-Little Rock, Creighton, Drake, Illinois State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, Saint Louis, Southern Illinois, Tulsa, Wichita State

Results
Singles - First Round
David Bendheim (NU) def. Chase Miller (Southern Illinois), 6-1, 6-1
No. 1 Ivan Puchkarov (Oklahoma State) def. Taylor Boney (NU), 6-1, 6-0
Renato Melo (NU) def. Rodrigo Briceno (Wichita State), 6-1, 6-0
Will Gray (Tulsa) def. Francois Van Impe (NU), 6-1, 6-2
Chris Nott (Arkansas) def. Jamie Holmes (NU), 6-2, 6-0
Hendrik Stahmer (NU) def. Guilherme Marsiglia (Drake), 6-3, 6-1
Andrei Daescu (Oklahoma) def. Mark Tate (NU), 6-3 6-2

Singles - Second Round
Edson Abrao (Arkansas-Little Rock) def. Renato Melo (NU), 7-5, 6-3
David Bendheim (NU) def. Tyler Tarnansky (Arkansas), 6-3, 6-4
Hendrik Stahmer (NU) def. Nathan Byrnes (Oklahoma State), 6-4, 6-4

Doubles - First Round
Boney/Tate (NU) def. Fadul/McManus (Saint Louis), 8-3
Dargel/Farquharson (Oral Roberts) def. Bendheim/Melo (NU), 8-4
Lebedev/Nott (Arkansas) def. Stahmer/Van Impe (NU), 8-5

Consolation Singles - First Round
German Perez (Arkansas-Little Rock) def. Taylor Boney (NU), 6-1, 7-6
Mark Tate (NU) def. Oscar Beich (Illinois State), 6-2, 6-1
Dennis Troike (Oral Roberts) def. Jamie Holmes (NU), 6-3, 6-2
Francois Van Impe (NU) def. Halvar Dil (Drake), default

Friday's Matches
Singles - Third Round
David Bendheim (NU) vs. Dalibor Pavic (Drake)
Hendrik Stahmer (NU) vs. Blake Strode (Arkansas)

Doubles - Second Round
Tate/Boney (NU) vs. No. 1 Mascall/Strode (Arkansas)