Huskers Upset Bid Falls Short Against Aggies

Lincoln, Neb.--- The No. 37 Nebraska men's tennis team pushed No. 12 Texas A&M to the brink of defeat on Friday, April 2, before falling to the Aggies, 4-3, in the Huskers' conference opener. Playing outside at the Nebraska Tennis Center, the Huskers nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent history without their top player Christopher Aumueller (NU), who sat out of the match because of an illness. The loss drops the Huskers' record to 12-7 on the season and 0-1 in the Big 12. A&M improves to 16-4 and 3-0 in the conference.

NU didn't get off to the start they were looking for dropping all three doubles matches to fall behind 1-0. At the No. 1 spot, No. 5 Austin Krajicek and Jeff Dadamo (TAMU) defeated David Bendheim and Calin Paar (NU) 8-4, while Alberto Bautista and Alexey Grigorov (TAMU) held off Francois Van Impe and Benedikt Lindheim (NU) 8-7 at the No. 2 spot.

In light of Aumueller's absence from the lineup, several Huskers were called upon to raise their game against a deep Texas A&M lineup which featured two players ranked inside the top 50. Bendheim (NU) answered the call and was the first one off the court defeating No. 46 Dadamo (TAMU) 6-4, 6-4, at the No. 2 spot.

After dropping matches at the No. 4 and 6 spots, the Huskers reeled off two straight victories to tie the team score at 3-3. At the No. 3 spot, Van Impe (NU) defeated No. 121 Alexis Klegou (TAMU) 7-5, 6-1, and freshman Andre Stenger (NU) won a three set match over Bautista (TAMU) at the No. 5 spot to set up the deciding match at the No. 1 position.

Playing at the No. 1 spot, No. 92 Paar (NU) battled No. 8 Krajicek to a third set tiebreaker to decide the match. After splitting the first two sets, Krajicek outlasted Paar and took the match 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3). Head coach Kerry McDermott was pleased with the effort and determination of his team after Friday's match.

"It was a great college match," McDermott said. "When it comes to a deciding match at the No. 1 spot, both teams were putting forth great effort. Calin (Paar) would win that match 99 percent of the time, but today was that one percent. It was a tough loss, but I can't be down on the guys, they played their hearts out. They showed a lot of pride today and left it all on the court."

The Huskers will not have long to think about the loss as they are scheduled to hit the court for their second Big 12 match of the season against Oklahoma State on Saturday, April 3, at the Nebraska Tennis Center. First serve is set for 3 p.m.

"Every match in the Big 12 is a grind," McDermott said. "We're going to have to learn from this one and get ready for a tough Oklahoma State team tomorrow."

Full Results
NU 3, TAMU 4
Singles
1. No. 8 Austin Krajicek (TAMU) def. No. 92 Calin Paar (NU) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3)
2. David Bendheim (NU) def. No. 46 Jeff Dadamo (TAMU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Francois Van Impe (NU) def. No. 121 Alexis Klegou (TAMU) 7-6, 6-1
4. Alexey Grigorov (TAMU) def. Benedikt Lindheim (NU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-1
5. Andre Stenger (NU) def. Alberto Bautista (TAMU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-4
6. Niall Angus (TAMU) def. Eric Sock (NU) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
1. No. 5 Austin Krajicek/Jeff Dadamo (TAMU) def. David Bendheim/Calin Paar (NU) 8-5
2. Alberto Bautista/Alexey Grigorov (TAMU) def. Francois Van Impe/Benedikt Lindheim  (NU) 8-7
3. Marcus Lunt/Alexis Klegou (TAMU) def. Andre Stenger/Eric Sock (NU) 8-1
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2) Singles (2, 4, 6, 3, 5, 1)