Huskers Look To Continue Eight-Match Winning Streak

     The No. 53 Nebraska men’s tennis team will battle two ranked opponents and in-state rival Creighton as it looks to extend its eight-match winning streak this weekend.  On Saturday, March 21, the Huskers will take on No. 66 BYU at 7 p.m at the NebraskaTennisCenter.  NU returns to action on Sunday, March 22, with matches against No. 75 Southern Mississippi at 1 p.m., and Creighton at 6 p.m.

     While the Huskers look to continue their current eight-match streak, head coach Kerry McDermott is searching for his 300th career victory this weekend.  McDermott needs only two victories to reach the 300-win mark.

 

Huskers Open Homestand With Three Victories

      The No. 41 Nebraska men’s tennis team won three matches on Saturday, March 7, as it opened the home portion of its schedule at the NebraskaTennisCenter.  The Huskers hit the ground running as they beat WichitaState in the first match of the day, 7-0. In the second and third matches, NU was equally as impressive, defeating Bradley and UMKC by the same score.  NU dropped only two combined matches in all three matches, both coming at the No. 3 doubles spot.  With the three victories, the Huskers’ record improved to 11-2 on the season.

       In singles, Christopher Aumueller (NU), Renato Melo (NU) and Benedikt Lindheim (NU), all tallied three wins on the day.  After playing at his normal No. 2 spot in his victory over Arian Chermaci (WSU), sophomore Calin Paar moved up to the No. 1 spot for the Bradley match where he defeated Milos Romic (BU) 6-5, 6-4.  It was Paar’s first win at the No. 1 spot in two tries this season.  Senior captain Renato Melo (NU) boosted his spring record to 5-1 after collecting three singles victories. The Huskers went a combined 18-0 in singles play, with only two of those matches going to a third set.

      In doubles, David Bendheim and Paar (NU) continue to improve their doubles record after starting the year 0-5.  The duo rang up three wins to improve their record to 7-6 on the season. In their first action of the season, freshmen Jake Lysgaard and Drew Freeman (NU) fell to Evgeny Samoylov and Michel Macara-chvili (BU) 8-4 at the No. 3 doubles spot. The teams of Aumueller and Lindheim (NU) and Van Impe and Stahmer (NU) both collected two doubles victories on the day. 

       

Scouting the BYU Cougars

     BYU will look to end its two-match losing streak this weekend when they play the Huskers. The Cougars have played five straight ranked opponents and have dropped the two latest matches against No. 53 Middle Tennessee and No. 26 Boise State.  Taking over the No. 1 singles spot midway through the season was Evan Urbina. Urbina owns a 4-5 record at the No. 1 spot and is 0-3 against ranked opponents on the season.  BYU is coached by Brad Pearce.

 

Scouting the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles

      The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles come to Lincoln with a 8-7 overall record and ranked at No. 75 in the nation.  The Golden Eagles entered the national rankings on March 10 for the first time since 2001 after defeating ranked teams such as New Orleans and UNLV.  The Golden Eagles’ top player is Patricio Alvarado, who enters the weekend ranked at No. 97 in the national singles rankings.  Southern Mississippi is coached by Teddy Viator.

 

Scouting the Creighton Bluejays

      Coming out of the Missouri Valley Conference, the Creighton Bluejays enter Sunday’s match with a record of 4-5. Creighton is riding a three-match winning streak after defeating LaSalle, Valparaiso and St. Joseph’s in Orlando, Fla.  Playing in the Bluejays’ top spot will be Jose Guerra, who enters the weekend with a 2-6 overall record.  Last season the Huskers defeated Creighton 7-0 at the NebraskaTennisCenter. The Bluejays are coached by Tom Lilly.

 

McDermott Nears 300th Career Victory

   Head coach Kerry McDermott is working toward setting another milestone in his 28- year career at Nebraska as he searches for his 300th-career victory.  Coach McDermott needs only two victories to reach the illustrious 300 win mark.

 

Doubles Point  A Prority

   A key to the Huskers success’ this season has been the play of their doubles teams.  Through the first 13 matches, the Huskers’ doubles teams have won 11 of the possible 13 doubles points.  NU dropped the doubles point in a loss to then-No. 61 Texas A&M Corpus Christi and in a victory over then-No. 57 Indiana.

 

Freshmen Large Part Of Husker Lineup

Freshmen Benedikt Lindheim and Christopher Aumueller have been a staple in the Husker lineup this season.  While playing at the No. 3 spot, Aumueller has racked up a 9-3 record and is 2-0 when moving up to the No. 2 spot. Lindheim has spent the majority of the season at the No. 6 spot and owns a 10-2 record.  His 10 wins ties him for the team lead.  The German natives are equally as impressive in doubles where they team up to make the Huskers No. 2 doubles team.  Aumueller and Lindheim have tallied an 8-3 record for NU in doubles. 

 

Huskers On A Roll

NU’s current eight-match winning streak is its longest streak in at least six years. NU’s previous long in the past six years was seven straight wins in 2002-03.  In those eight matches, the Huskers have defeated two ranked opponents and have risen to as high as No. 41 in the ITA Rankings.  Several individual Huskers have impressive streaks on the line this weekend as well.  Both Hendrik Stahmer and Benedikt Lindheim have won seven straight singles matches, while Renato Melo has won five straight after dropping his first match of the season.