Huskers Open Big 12 Conference Play at Home

After reaching the finals of the Boise State Red Lion Spring Break Tournament, the Nebraska men’s tennis team returns to the friendly confines of the NebraskaTennisCenter to open up Big 12 play against a pair of ranked opponents.  The Huskers, who had their 13-match winning streak snapped in their last match agasint No. 23 Boise State, will look to start another winning streak on Saturday, April 4, against No. 7 Baylor at 1 p.m.  NU will then take on No. 41 Oklahoma on Sunday, April 5, at 11 a.m.  The Husker men’s and women’s tennis teams will play Oklahoma on Sunday at the same time.

NU enters the weekend ranked at No. 49 in the nation and has an overall record of 16-3.  The Huskers defeated SacramentoState and Fresno Pacific, before falling to No. 23 Boise State, 5-2, last weekend.  

 

Huskers DownSacramentoState and Fresno Pacific

In its match against SacramentoState, NU started the day off with a bang when David Bendheim and Calin Paar upset the No. 45-ranked team of Anton Stryhas and Kiryl Harbatsiuk 8-4 at the No. 1 doubles spot.  Christopher Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim (NU) took care of business at the No. 2 spot by defeating Holden Ching and Marko Starcevic (SAC) 8-5 to secure the doubles point.

In singles, NU needed to win three of the singles matches to secure the victory and did so in impressive fashion.  At the No. 3 spot, Aumueller defeated Jason Smith (SAC) 7-5, 6-1, while Francios Van Impe (NU) took down Ching 6-1, 7-6, at the No. 4 spot. Hendrik Stahmer defeated Marko Starcevic (SAC) 6-1, 6-2, at the No. 5 spot to clinch the fourth and final point for the Huskers.

In the Huskers’ match against Fresno Pacific, which lasted a little over four hours, NU had to battle back from multiple deficits throughout the match.

In doubles, NU was able to sweep all three matches and take the doubles point.  On the day, the Huskers’ doubles teams went a combined 5-0.

Paar was the only Husker to record a victory in the top four singles spots by defeating Vicente Joli (FPU) 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 at the No. 2 spot.  At the No. 5 spot, Stahmer beat Maxime Adam (FDU) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.  Senior captain Renato Melo (NU) was able to clinch the match with his three-set victory over Jose Hilla (FPU) at the No. 6 spot.

 

Huskers Fall In Finals To Broncos

After winning 13 straight matches, the Nebraska men’s tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 23 Boise State in the finals of the Boise State Red Lion Spring Break Tournament on Saturday. The loss was the Huskers’ first since losing to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 13. 

In doubles, David Bendheim and Calin Paar were outlasted by No. 68 James Meredith and Kean Feeder (BSU) 9-8 at the No. 1 spot, while Christopher Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim (NU) were defeated by Clancy Shields and Stanley Sarapanich (BSU) 8-3 at the No. 2 spot.  Francois Van Impe and Hendrik Stahmer were able to get a doubles victory for the Huskers by defeating Blane Sheilds and Matt Solomon (BSU) 8-2 at the No. 3 spot.

Aumueller led the Huskers in singles with his upset over No. 80 Meredith (BSU) at the No. 3 spot.  The freshman from Germany improved his record to 2-1 on the weekend in singles play.  The other Husker to pick up a victory in singles was Stahmer, who took down Christian Hodel (BSU) in straight sets 6-2, 6-1. 

 

Scouting the Baylor Bear

The Baylor Bears enter this weekend ranked at No. 7 in the nation and have an overall record of 16-5 and are 1-0 in the Big 12.  Baylor will play No. 11 Texas on April 2, before traveling to Lincoln to take on the Huskers.  So far this season, the Bears have beat five teams ranked in the current ITA top 25, including Mississippi, Southern California, Stanford, UCLA and Pepperdine. The Bears’ top player is Denes Lukacs, who has a 14-3 record at the No. 1 spot and is ranked at No. 7 in the nation.  The other ranked player in the Bears lineup is Jordan Rux, who is ranked at No. 44.  The Bears are coached by Matt Knoll.

 

Scouting the Oklahoma Sooners

After dropping its first three Big 12 matches of the season, the No. 41 Oklahoma Sooners hope to garner their first Big 12 victory of the year on Sunday.  The Sooners enter this weekend’s play with an overall record of 9-7 and will play Rice on Friday, April 3, before playing at NU.  OU’s top player is Andrei Daescu, who is ranked at No. 65 in the nation. The Sooners’ top doubles team is Daescu and David Pultr, who are ranked at No. 45 in the national doubles rankings.  Oklahoma is coached by Paul Lockwood.

 

Doubles PointA Prority

A key to the Huskers’ success this season has been the play of their doubles teams.  Through the first 19 matches, the Huskers’ doubles teams have won 16 of the possible 19 doubles points.

 

Huskers Top Doubles Team Climbs Back Into Rankings

After losing their first five doubles matches of the season, David Bendheim and Calin Paar have climbed back into the national rankings after starting the year at No. 17.  The duo has worked their way back to No. 59 after winning 12 of their last 14 matches.

 

Huskers Winning Streak Snapped

After winning 13 straight matches, the Huskers’ streak was snapped by No. 23 Boise State on Saturday, March 27.  During the Huskers winning streak, NU defeated four ranked opponents and climbed all the way to No. 41 in the team rankings.

 

Huskers Protect Home Court

Playing at home has been nice to the Huskers so far this season.  NU has a perfect 6-0 record while playing at the NebraskaTennisCenter.  In those six matches, NU defeated No. 66 BYU and No. 75 Southern Mississippi.