Huskers Set to Begin 2011 Season

No. 42 Nebraska (0-0) vs. No. 27 Florida State (1-0)
Match Date: Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011
Location: Tallahassee, Fla.
Venue: Scott Speicher Tennis Center
Start time: 9:30 a.m.

No. 42 Nebraska (0-0) vs. Furman (0-0)
Match Date: Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011
Location: Tallahassee, Fla.
Venue: Scott Speicher Tennis Center
Start time: 3 p.m.

No. 42 Nebraska (0-0) vs. Florida Atlantic (0-0)
Match Date: Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011
Location: Tallahassee, Fla.
Venue: Scott Speicher Tennis Center
Start time: 9 a.m.

After finishing the 2010 season with a national ranking of No. 41 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the Huskers are set to kick off 2011 at No. 42, their highest pre-season ranking in the history of the program. The Huskers will travel to Tallahassee, Fla., for three matches this weekend as part of the Seminole Quad. The four teams participating in the tournament include Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Furman and Nebraska.

The first of the Huskers' two matches will begin on Saturday morning, when the Huskers face No. 27 Florida State. Florida State is the lone ranked opponent NU will face this weekend. In the afternoon cap, the Huskers will take on the Paladins of Furman. On Sunday, the Huskers will face Florida Atlantic at 9 a.m.

All three matches will take place at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center.

Huskers vs. Florida State History
The last time the Huskers faced the Seminoles was Feb. 4, 2006, as Nebraska upset FSU, 4-3. At the time of the meet, the Huskers were ranked No. 75 while Florida State was ranked No. 22. The two teams also squared off on March 2, 1988 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Florida State got the better of Nebraska, 5-4.

History with Furman
Nebraska beat Furman, 4-3 was Feb. 3, 2006. It's the last time the two squads have faced each other.

Huskers Have Two Singles Players Ranked
To go along with their top 50 ranking, the Huskers also have two singles players ranked in the top 100. Junior Benedikt Lindheim is ranked at No. 97, after a 12-5 record this past fall. Lindheim finished last season with a singles record of 19-6. The second Husker ranked is senior Calin Paar. He is ranked at No. 99. Paar finished the 2010 season with a record of 16-7. He had a 6-5 fall mark.

NU Has a Tough Schedule Ahead
Nebraska will be well tested this season as they are scheduled to face 19 opponents that are ranked in the top 75 by the ITA. Of the 19 teams, four appear in the top 10. Those four teams include No. 5 Texas, No. 7 Baylor, No. 8 Stanford and No. 10 Texas A&M. The Huskers will also have a tough Big 12 conference schedule where all six teams they face are ranked, with three in the top 10. No Big 12 opponent scheduled to face the Huskers is ranked lower than No. 47 Oklahoma State.

Nebraska Returns Eight Letterwinners
Nebraska returns eight letterwinners to their 2011 squad. The eight include senior Taylor Boney, junior Benedikt Lindheim, senior Calin Paar, junior Christopher Aumueller, sophomore Eric Sock, sophomore Andre Stenger, junior Drew Freeman, and sophomore Brandon Videtich. Aumueller finished last season with a 10-9 record and a No. 85 singles ranking.

Huskers Ranked No. 42
The Huskers being the season ranked No. 42 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Rankings, which was released Jan. 5. The Huskers finished last season ranked No. 41 and for the first time in the history of the program, they qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

NU in the Rankings
Date     Ranking
1/5        #42

Scouting the Florida State Seminoles
Florida State finished the 2010 season ranked No. 29 and began this season ranked No. 27 in the nation. The Seminoles won their first match of the year this past Wednesday when they defeated No. 62 Troy, 7-0. FSU has two players ranked in the top 50. The two ranked players are senior No. 37 Clint Bowles and senior No. 42 Vahid Mirzadeh. Both won their matches this past Wednesday. Florida State is coached by Dwayne Hultquist. This is Hultquist's 11th season at the helm.

Scouting the Furman Paladins
Last season, Furman finished with an overall record of 12-11. The Paladins are returning five players from last year's roster. Sophomore Carl Lundberg will play a key role for the Paladins in the 2011 season. Lundberg finished last year with 17-3 overall record, while going 12-1 at the No. 3 spot in the Paladins line-up. By Saturday afternoon's match, Furman will have already played No. 9 Florida and Florida Atlantic. Furman is coached by Paul Scarpa.

Scouting the Florida Atlantic Owls
When the Huskers face Florida Atlantic on Sunday, the Owls will have played three matches already. The Owls face No. 44 Miami, Furman and No. 27 Florida State. FAU is led by senior Marc Abdelnour. Abdelnour is the 16th-ranked singles player in the ITA's southeast regional poll. He had a 9-3 record last fall and captured the UCF Fall Invitational title. Other Owl players to watch include senior Ervin Garibovic and freshman Oliver Webb. Florida Atlantic is led by head coach Brandon Stokes.

Follow the Huskers with Live Stats
Live stats will be available for the Huskers match Saturday morning when they face the Florida State Seminoles. The link will be posted at the top of the page on Huskers.com.