Huskers Head To Boise Riding 11-Match Winning Streak

    The No. 44 Nebraska men’s tennis team looks to extend its current 11-match winning streak this weekend in Boise, Idaho, when it participates in the Boise State Red Lion Spring Break Tournament.  The Huskers are part of a talented field headlined by host BoiseState. The Broncos enter the tournament ranked at No. 23 in the nation and own an 11-7 overall record.  Other teams participating include BallState, Fresno Pacific, Memphis, Idaho State, SacramentoState and South Alabama.

    In the Huskers’ first-round matchup, NU will take on SacramentoState on Friday, March 27 at 9 a.m. The Hornets’ Kiryl Habatsiuk is ranked No. 109 in the ITA’s singles rankings.  The Huskers’ next match will be at 1:30 p.m., against either South Alabama or Fresno Pacific. Following the Huskers second round match-up, NU will play either Boise State, Idaho State, BallState or Memphis.

 

Huskers Defeat No. 66 BYU

    The then-No. 53 Nebraska men’s tennis team extended its winning streak to nine on Saturday, March 21, with a 4-3 victory over No. 66 BYU at the NebraskaTennisCenter.  The Huskers victory over the Cougars was their fifth win over a ranked opponent this season.  NU split the singles matches with the Cougars and had to rely on the doubles point for the victory. 

    In singles, the top-half of the lineup shinned for the Huskers as Bendheim (NU), Paar (NU), and Aumueller (NU) all tallied wins.  At the No. 1 spot, Bendheim (NU) defeated Warias (BYU) 6-2, 6-2, while Paar (NU) took down Urbina (BYU) 6-4, 6-1, at the No. 2 spot. Aumueller was equally impressive at the No. 3 spot defeating Thomas Shubert (BYU) 6-1, 6-4.  Although the Huskers were not able to collect a victory in the bottom half of the lineup, McDermott was still pleased with the play of his singles lineup.

    In doubles, David Bendheim and Calin Paar (NU) got off to a blazing start for the Huskers at the No. 1 spot by defeating Roman Warias and Georgy Batrakov (BYU) 8-2. Christopher Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim (NU) didn’t waste any time securing the doubles point for the Huskers defeating Evan Urbina and Cassidy Mears (BYU) 8-3 at the No. 2 spot.

 

       

McDermott Wins 300th Match, Huskers Dominate Pair Of Matches

    Men’s tennis head coach Kerry McDermott won his 300th and 301st career matches on Sunday, March 22, when the Huskers defeated No. 75 Southern Mississippi and Creighton, both at the NebraskaTennisCenter. The Huskers have extended their win streak to 11 straight matches and defeated six ranked opponents this season.

    In the first match of the day, NU got off to a fast start in doubles and didn’t look back defeating Southern Mississippi 6-1. Playing at the No. 1 doubles spot for the first time this season, Christopher Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim (NU) defeated Jan Burmeister and Andrew Poole (USMM) 8-1. David Bendheim and Calin Paar (NU) defeated Patricio Alvarado and Markus Wessinghage (USMM) 8-6, while Hendrik Stahmer and Francois Van Impe (NU) won at the No. 3 spot.

    In singles, Bendheim (NU), Stahmer (NU), Aumueller (NU), Lindheim (NU), and Renato Melo (NU) all collected victories for the Huskers. Paar (NU), who was playing at the No. 1 spot for only the third time this season, dropped his match to No. 99 Patricio Alvarado (USMM), 6-0, 7-6.

    In the nightcap, the Huskers dominated Creighton from the start, winning by the score of 7-0.  Bendheim, Aumueller and Melo all collected their second singles victory of the day.  Sophomore Taylor Boney (NU) won his second match of the season by defeating Bryan Lube (CU) 6-3, 7-5, at the No. 5 spot, while freshman Drew Freeman defeated Mike Elson (CU) 7-6, 6-3, for his first win this season.

    The Huskers were able to collect the doubles point after all three doubles teams cruised through their matches to secure the 7-0 victory.

 

Scouting the SacramentoState Hornets

    Coming out of the Big Sky Conference, the Sacramento State Hornets enter this weekned with an overall record of 9-4.  The Hornets have shown the ability to compete with top caliber  competition in a 4-3 loss to then-No. 18 Oklahoma State on, Feb. 6.  The Hornets’ top player is Kiryl Harbatsiuk who is ranked No. 109 in the nation.  Harbatsiuk has an overall record of 11-3 and has won his last eight matches.  In their last match, the Hornets took down Northern Colorado, 6-1.  SacramentoState is coached by Slava Konikov.

 

Doubles PointA Prority

    A key to the Huskers’ success this season has been the play of their doubles teams.  Through the first 16 matches, the Huskers’ doubles teams have won 14 of the possible 16 doubles points.   The doubles point came up big again in the Huskers’ victory over No. 66 BYU on March 21, when NU split the six singles matches and relied on the doubles point to secure the 4-3 victory.

 

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 12-3 record and is 2-0 when moving up to the No. 2 spot. His 12 wins tie him for the team lead with junior David Bendheim. Lindheim has spent the majority of the season at the No. 6 spot and owns an 11-3 record.  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 10-3 record for NU in doubles. 

 

Huskers On A Roll

    NU’s current 11-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 11 matches, the Huskers have defeated four 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. David Bendheim is riding a seven-match winning streak, while freshman Christopher Aumueller as won his past six matches.