Hurricanes Top Huskers 5-2

Tulsa, Okla.---The No. 35 Nebraska men's tennis team dropped a hard fought match to the No. 38 Tulsa Hurricanes, 5-2, on Friday, March 26, for its third consecutive loss. Playing at the Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla., the Huskers were led by senior Francois Van Impe and sophomore Benedikt Lindheim, who picked up NU's only points. The loss dropped NU's overall record to 11-6 on the season, while Tulsa improved to 12-5.

The Huskers dropped all three doubles matches to fall behind 1-0 to open the match. The No. 40-ranked doubles team of Philip Stephens and Ashley Watling (TUL) defeated No. 73 David Bendheim and Calin Paar (NEB) in a highly competitive match, 8-6, at the No. 1 spot. Lindheim and Van Impe (NEB) dropped only their fifth doubles match of the season after falling to Marko Ballok and Alastair Barnes (TUL), 8-5, at the No. 2 spot.

In singles, Van Impe (NU) picked up the Huskers first point when he defeated No. 114 Stephens (TUL), 6-3, 7-5, at the No. 2 spot. The victory marked the first win over a ranked opponent for Van Impe this season.  At the No. 4 spot, Lindheim took down Barnes (TUL) 6-4, 7-5, to extend his current winning streak to eight matches.

No. 81 Calin Paar fell to No. 45 Watling 6-3, 7-5, at the No. 3 spot, while freshman Eric Sock was defeated by Grant Ive (TUL) at the No. 6 spot in only his fifth match of the season. Head coach Kerry McDermott said his team must learn from this match and get ready for a tough match on Saturday against Wichita State.

"We lost to a very good team," McDermott said. "I thought we played a pretty good match, not a great match, but a pretty solid match.  I thought the middle of the lineup played really well. Again, Benedikt Lindheim and Francois Van Impe did a great job today. Tulsa was just a little bit stronger. We have to learn for this and move on so we're ready for a challenging match against Wichita State."

The Huskers return to action on Saturday, March 27, when they travel to Wichita State. The match between the Huskers and Shockers is set to begin at 3 p.m. Check back to Huskers.com for more Nebraska men's tennis coverage.

Full Results
NU 2, TUL 5
Singles
1. #88 Marcelo Arevalo (TLS) def. David Bendheim (NEB) 6-3, 6-2
2.  Francois Van Impe (NEB) def. #114 Philip Stephens (TLS) 6-3, 7-5
3.  #45 Ashley Watling (TLS) def. #81 Calin Paar (NEB) 7-5, 6-1
4. Benedikt Lindheim (NEB) def. Alastair Barnes (TLS) 6-3, 7-5
5. Marko Ballok (TLS) def. Andre Stenger (NEB) 6-4, 7-5
6. Grant Ive (TLS) def. Eric Sock (NEB) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1. #40 Philip Stephens/Ashley Watling (TLS) def. #73 David Bendheim/Calin Paar (NEB) 8-6
2.  Marko Ballok/Alastair Barnes (TLS) def. Benedikt Lindheim/Francois Van Impe (NEB) 8-5
3.  Marcelo Arevalo/Grant Ive (TLS) def. Taylor Boney/Andre Stenger (NEB) 8-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,6,2,4,3,5)