Huskers Fall in Regular Season Finale to No. 3 Texas

Lincoln, Neb.--- The No. 40 Nebraska men's tennis team fell to the No. 3 Texas Longhorns, 5-2, Sunday afternoon at the Nebraska Tennis Center to conclude the regular season portion of its schedule. With the loss the Huskers dropped to 13-11 overall, and finished with a 1-5 record in Big 12 play. The Longhorns improved to 23-2, and finished with a perfect 6-0 record in the conference. Sunday's matched marked the final time two Husker seniors would take the court at the Nebraska Tennis Center as David Bendheim and Francios Van Impe played in their last home match.

"We gave them a battle," head coach Kerry McDermott said after Sunday's match. "We felt like we could compete with these guys and give them a match. The doubles point was extremely competitive and if we win that then who knows what would have happened. I'm defiinitely proud of our guys. The fan support today was great and really gave us some energy."

The Huskers began the match in doubles by pulling off one of the biggest upsets by any Nebraska duo this season. No. 64 Calin Paar and Bendheim (NU) took down the No. 6-rated doubles team in the nation Dimitar Kutrovsky and Josh Zavala (UT) at the No. 1 spot. With the match tied at 4-4, NU's top doubles team was able to break the Longhorns and take a 5-4 lead and cruise to a 8-6 victory.

With Texas winning at the No. 3 spot to split the first two matches, the doubles point would be determined at the No. 2 spot where Van Impe and Christopher Aumueller (NU) battled Ed Corrie and Jon Wiegand (UT). The two teams fought to a 8-8 tie before Corrie and Wiegand were able to prevail in the tiebreaker 9-8 (5) and capture the doubles point for UT.

After helping upset the No. 6-rated doubles team in the country, Bendheim made quick work of Jean Andersen (UT) in his last home match at the No. 3 spot to earn his 61st career victory and give the Huskers their first point. With the victory, Bendheim moved into sole possession of fifth place all-time on the career victories list, one ahead of fellow senior Van Impe.

Van Impe wasn't as fortunate in his last home match as a Husker falling to No. 96 Zavala (UT) 6-4, 6-4, at the No. 4 spot. Head coach Kerry McDermott talked about his two seniors after Sunday's match.

"David did a great job today," McDermott said. "He played like a true champion winning his singles and doubles match. I'm extremely proud of both of them. They both competed hard today, and even though Francois didn't win his match, he still competed really well."

Andre Stenger (NU) continued his impressive freshman campaign by defeating Daniel Whitehead (UT) 1-6, 6-1, 6-1, at the No. 6 spot for the Huskers' only other victory. Stenger finished the regular season with a 4-2 Big 12 record.

At the No. 1 spot, No. 77 Aumueller (NU) fell to No. 11 Kutrovsky (UT) 6-2, 6-3, while Vasko Mladenov defeated Lindheim (NU) 6-3, 6-4, at the No. 5 position. The last Husker on the court was No. 74 Paar who pushed No. 21 Corrie to a third set at the No. 2 spot. With the team score already out of reach for NU, Paar and Corrie moved directly to a tiebreaker to decide the third set, where Corrie pulled ahead and took the match 6-7, 6-4, 1-0 (7).

The Huskers return to the court on Friday, April 30, for the start of the Big 12 Championships in Austin, Texas. Check back to Huskers.com for more information on next weekend's Big 12 Championships.

Full Results
NU 2, UT 5
Singles
1. #11 Dimitar Kutrovsky (UT) def. #77 Christopher Aumueller (NU) 6-2, 6-3
2. #21 Ed Corrie (UT) def. #74 Calin Paar (NU) 6-7, 6-4, 1-0 (7)
3. David Bendheim (NU) def. Jean Andersen (UT) 6-3, 6-4
4. #96 Josh Zavala (UT) def. Francois Van Impe (NU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Vasko Mladenov (UT) def. Benedikt Lindheim (NU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Andre Stenger (NU) def. Daniel Whitehead (UT) 1-6, 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
1. #64 Calin Paar/David Bendheim (NU) def. #6 Dimitar Kutrovsky/Josh Zavala (UT) 8-6
2. Ed Corrie/Jon Wiegand (UT) def. Francois Van Impe/Christopher Aumueller (NU) 9-8 (5)
3. Jean Andersen/Vasko Mladenov (UT) def. Benedikt Lindheim/Andre Stenger (NU) 8-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2) Singles (1, 3, 6, 5, 4, 2)