Huskers Fall to Sooners

Norman, Okla.--- The No. 40 Nebraska men's tennis team dropped 6-1 decision to the No. 21 Oklahoma Sooners on Friday, April 23, at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla. The loss marks the Huskers' third straight loss and drops their overall record to 13-10 and 1-4 in Big 12 play. Oklahoma improved to 16-6 and 2-4 in the conference.

The Huskers got off to a blazing start by capturing the doubles point for the first time in seven matches. At the No. 1 spot, No. 64 David Bendheim and Calin Paar (NU) won their second straight Big 12 match by upsetting No. 17 Andrei Daescu and Costin Paval (OU) 8-6.

Trying to light a spark in the doubles lineup, head coach Kerry McDermott paired Christopher Aumueller and Francois Van Impe (NU) at the No. 2 spot, while Benedikt Lindheim and Andre Stenger (NU) took reins of the No. 3 position. Neither team had played together this season. After dropping the No. 2 spot, the deciding match came at the No. 3 position where Lindheim and Stenger were able fight past Blake Boswell and Lawrence Formentera (OU) in a tiebreaker 9-8 (7) to give NU a 1-0 edge in the team score.

With all the momentum carrying with NU, the Huskers were unable to carry it into singles play where they dropped all six matches. At the No. 1 spot, No. 71 Ionut Beleleu (OU) defeated No. 77  Aumueller (NU) 6-4, 6-2, for the Sooners first point. Beleleu was followed by George Chanturia (OU) who defeated Andre Stenger (NU) at the No. 6 spot, while Lindheim (NU) fell to Formentera (OU) at the No. 5 spot 7-5, 6-2.

Bendheim (NU) pushed No. 70 Daescu (OU) to a third set, but was unable to upend the nationally ranked player at the No. 3 spot falling 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3, while Van Impe was defeated at the No. 4 sot by David Pultr. No. 74 Paar was the last Husker on the court as he took No. 26 Daescu (OU) to three sets, but fell at the No. 2 spot for only his six loss of the season.

The Huskers return to the court for their final regular season match of the season on Sunday, April 25, when they host the No. 3 Texas Longhorns at the Nebraska Tennis Center. The match, which was originally scheduled for 2 p.m., is now set to begin at Noon in order to accommodate the Longhorns travel plans. Live stats will be available for the match against Texas on Huskers.com

Full Results
NU 1, OU 6
Singles
1. No. 71 Ionut Beleleu (OU) def. No. 77 Christopher Aumueller (NU) 6-4, 6-2
2. No. 26 Andrei Daescu (OU) def. No. 74 Calin Paar (NU) 7-5, 5-7, 6-3
3. No. 70 Costin Paval (OU) def. David Bendheim (NU) 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3
4. David Pultr (OU) def. Francois Van Impe (NU) 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3
5. Lawrence Formentera (OU) defeated Benedikt Lindheim (NU) 7-5, 6-2
6. George Chanturia (OU) defeated Andre Stenger (NU) 7-6 (4), 6-2
Doubles
1. No. 64 David Bendheim/Calin Paar (NU) def. No. 17 Andrei Daescu/Costin Paval (OU) 8-6
2. David Pultr/Ionut Beleleu (OU) def. Christopher Aumueller/Francois Van Impe (NU) 8-2
3. Benedikt Lindheim/Andre Stenger (NU) def. Blake Boswell/Lawrence Formentera (OU) 9-8 (4)
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2) Singles (1, 6, 5, 3, 4, 2)