Huskers Sweep Doubleheader

Lincoln - The Nebraska men's tennis team swept its doubleheader on Saturday, as they defeated Creighton and Air Force, both by scores of 7-0. The Huskers went to 2-0 with the two victories, while both Creighton and Air Force fell to 0-1.

"It was good to get some competition in, and get wins over two good teams under our belt," said head coach Kerry McDermott. "I thought we played well. I didn't know what to expect coming in, but I thought we played hard. We've still got some work to do, but it's nice to start off the season with two wins."

Nebraska started off the day with a match against in-state rival Creighton. The Huskers won all three doubles matches to take the doubles point, although they were all closely contested by the Bluejays, with NU winning the three matches 8-6, 8-5, 8-4. The Huskers cruised through their singles matches, as none of the six players dropped a set, completing the sweep. Sophomore David Bendheim highlighted the match with a quick 6-1, 6-2 victory over Creighton's Jose Guerra at the No. 1 singles match.

The Huskers returned to the courts later that evening against Air Force. Nebraska suffered their first loss of the day in the doubles matches, as they lost at No. 2 doubles, 8-6. However, NU recovered to win both of the other doubles matches to take the doubles point. Bendheim kept his momentum from the day's earlier match going into the one against the Falcons, as he defeated AFA's Austin Francis, 6-1, 6-0, this time at the No. 2 singles spot.

"David had a good showing today," McDermott said. "He played at the level we thought he could play when we recruited him. He had no nerves, and his game was strong and aggressive."

Freshman Calin Paar also impressed McDermott on the day. The Munich, Germany, native won at No. 2 singles against Creighton and No. 3 singles against Air Force, to go along with a doubles victory against the Falcons.

"Calin's a smart player, and he's going to be a very good collegiate player," said McDermott.

Nebraska has three weeks off before it plays again on Feb. 8 against Iowa, the beginning of a five-match homestand in a span of ten days.

Results
Nebraska 7, Creighton 0

Doubles
No. 1 Mark Tate/David Bendheim (NU) def. Joe Eckert/Nikita Dudar (CU), 8-4
No. 2 Taylor Boney/Francois Van Impe (NU) def. Jose Guerra/Brian Ward (CU), 8-5
No. 3 Karl Jones/Hendrik Stahmer (NU) def. Michael Elson/James McAvoy (CU), 8-6

Singles
No. 1 David Bendheim (NU) def. Jose Guerra (CU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Calin Paar (NU) def. Nikita Dudar (CU), 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 Renato Melo (NU) def. Joe Eckert (CU), 7-5, 6-1
No. 4 Mark Tate (NU) def. James McAvoy (CU), 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 Karl Jones (NU) def. Brian Ward (CU), 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 Taylor Boney (NU) def. Michael Elson (CU), 6-2, 6-4

Nebraska 7, Air Force 0

Doubles
No. 1 Calin Paar/David Bendheim (NU) def. Brett Rodgers/Taylor Soster (AFA), 8-4
No. 2 Austin Francis/James Tomlin (AFA) def. Mark Tate/Renato Melo (NU), 8-6
No. 3 Hendrik Stahmer/Francois Van Impe (NU) def. Greg Ferry/Johnny Buckingham (AFA), 8-0

Singles
No. 1 Hendrik Stahmer (NU) def. Brett Rodgers (AFA), 6-1. 7-5
No. 2 David Bendheim (NU) def. Austin Francis (AFA), 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 Calin Paar (NU) def. James Tomlin (AFA), 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 Renato Melo (NU) def. Taylor Soster (AFA), 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 Francois Van Impe (NU) def. Greg Ferry (AFA), 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 Karl Jones (NU) def. Johnny Buckingham (AFA), 6-3, 6-2