Huskers Drop Pair at H.E.B. Tournament

Corpus Christi, Texas - The Nebraska men's tennis team lost pair of matches to ranked teams on Friday at the H.E.B. Tournament in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Huskers lost to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4-1 on Friday morning before falling in a close 4-3 match to Western Michigan later in the day. Nebraska dropped to 4-6 with the two losses.

The Huskers opened up the day against tournament hosts and 64th-ranked Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Nebraska got off to a slow start, dropping both Nos. 1 and 2 doubles 8-5, giving the Islanders a 1-0 lead. Corpus Christi's Mikhail Pavlov gave the Islanders a 2-0 lead after defeating NU's Calin Paar at No. 2 singles, 6-4, 6-4, while Dmitry Novikov extended the lead to 3-0 with a victory over Nebraska's Hendrik Stahmer at No. 3 singles, 7-5, 6-3. David Bendheim put the Huskers on the board at No. 1 singles with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Laurent Montoisy. The Islanders clinched the match when Jaume Farras narrowly defeated Renato Melo at No. 5 singles, 7-6 (4), 7-5. The remaining two singles matches weren't completed.

Nebraska hit the courts later that day against No. 71 Western Michigan. Once again, the Huskers were plagued by a sluggish start, losing two doubles matches and falling in a 1-0 hole. NU battled back in singles, as Calin Paar rebounded from his loss earlier in the day with an easy victory at No. 2 singles, beating WMU's Kazuya Komada 6-0, 6-2, tying the match at 1-1. The Broncos' Casey Cullen gave Western Michigan a 2-1 lead after beating Karl Jones at No. 6 singles, 6-2, 6-3, but NU's Francois Van Impe quickly tied the match back up at 2-2 with a 6-3, 7-5 victory at No. 4 singles.

The remaining three matches all went into a third set, with NU needing two of the three to take the team victory. Western Michigan's Michael Calderone put the Broncos up 3-2 when he topped Renato Melo at No. 5 singles, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. David Bendheim outlasted Alex Birchmeier at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, tying the match at 3-3 and giving Bendheim his second win of the day. The deciding match came at No. 3 singles, between WMU's Bryan Norville and NU's Hendrik Stahmer. Norville took the first set 6-2, but Stahmer stormed back in the second set with a 6-2 victory of his own. Stahmer came up just short in the third and deciding match, losing 6-4 to give the Broncos the 4-3 win.

The Huskers will have a chance to revenge their loss against Western Michigan, as they play them in a dual match in Lincoln on Friday, March 7. They will take on New Mexico on March 9 before departing on a six-match road trip, before their next home match on April 4.

Results
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4, Nebraska 1
Doubles
No. 1 Novikov/Pavlov (CC) def. Bendheim/Paar (NU), 8-5
No. 2 Langford/Montoisy (CC) def. Jones/Melo (NU), 8-5
No. 3 Farras/Zunio (CC) vs. Stahmer/Van Impe (NU), DNF

Singles
No. 1 David Bendheim (NU) def. Laurent Montoisy (CC), 7-5, 7-5
No. 2 Mikhail Pavlov (CC) def. Calin Paar (NU), 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 Dmitry Novikov (CC) def. Hendrik Stahmer (NU), 7-5, 6-3
No. 4 Jose Zunino (CC) vs. Francois Van Impe (NU), DNF
No. 5 Jaume Farras (CC) def. Renato Melo (NU), 7-6 (4), 7-5
No. 6 Jan Cingel (CC) vs. Karl Jones (NU), DNF

Western Michigan 4, Nebraska 3
Doubles
No. 1 Birchmeier/Norville (WMU) vs. Bendheim/Paar (NU), DNF
No. 2 Cullen/Hawyad (WMU) def. Stahmer/Van Impe (NU), 8-2
No. 3 Calderone/Komada (WMU) def. Boney/Schneider (NU), 8-3

Singles
No. 1 David Bendheim (NU) def. Alex Birchmeier (WMU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
No. 2 Calin Paar (NU) def. Kazuya Komada (WMU), 6-0, 6-2
No. 3 Bryan Norville (WMU) def. Hendrik Stahmer (NU), 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
No. 4 Francois Van Impe (NU) def. Alejandro Staub (WMU), 6-3, 7-5
No. 5 Michael Calderone (WMU) def. Renato Melo (NU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
No. 6 Casey Cullen (WMU) def. Karl Jones (NU), 6-2, 6-3