Huskers Soar Past Golden Eagles

Hattiesburg, Miss. - The Nebraska men's tennis team improved to 8-9 on Friday afternoon after defeating Southern Mississippi 5-2 on the Golden Eagles' home courts in Hattiesburg, Miss. The win was the first true road win for the Huskers, and its second win in a row after alternating wins and losses for the previous five matches.

The Huskers, who going into the match were 5-0 when they won the doubles point, got the crucial point after winning two of the three matches. After the teams split wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, the point was decided at No. 3 doubles, which went into a tiebreaker after the teams were tied at 8-8. The Husker duo of freshman Calin Paar and senior Karl Jones went on to win the tiebreaker 7-5, giving Nebraska a 1-0 lead.

The Huskers didn't let up in singles play, as the top of the Nebraska lineup performed very well in leading the team to victory. David Bendheim notched his fifth victory in the last six matches with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles, while Paar recorded his fourth straight win and sixth in his last seven with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles. Francois Van Impe made it five wins in his last six matches with a three-set victory at No. 3 singles, and Hendrik Stahmer won his fourth match in five tries with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 4 singles. The Golden Eagles won at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, but it wasn't enough.

“It was a good win today,” said Head Coach Kerry McDermott. “The conditions were perfect here and the courts are very nice. It was a good match, and hopefully it will help get us ready for our next two matches and for the start of Big 12 play.”

The Huskers will stay in Hattiesburg to take on South Alabama, who Nebraska lost to earlier this season at the H.E.B. Tournament, on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Results
Nebraska 5, Southern Miss 2

Doubles
No. 1 D. Machuca/Wessinghage (SM) def. Bendheim/Schneider (NU), 8-5
No. 2 Stahmer/Van Impe (NU) def. O. Machuca/Krstevski (SM), 8-6
No. 3 Jones/Paar (NU) def. Burmeister/Poole (SM), 9-8 (5)

Singles
No. 1 David Bendheim (NU) def. Andrew Poole (SM), 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 Calin Paar (NU) def. Jan Burmeister (SM), 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 Francois Van Impe (NU) def. Diego Machuca (SM), 3-6, 6-1 (10-8)
No. 4 Hendrik Stahmer (NU) def. Strate Krstevski (SM), 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 Oscar Machuca (SM) def. Renato Melo (NU), 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 Markus Wessinghage (SM) def. Taylor Boney (NU), 6-2, 6-0