Huskers Upset Bid Falls Short, 5-2

Lincoln, Neb. - The Nebraska men's tennis team battled the 25th ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers all Sunday afternoon at the Vine Street Courts. The Huskers played tough throughout the matches, but ended up falling 5-2.

The Golden Gophers earned the 1-0 advantage from doubles play when their No. 1 and No. 3 doubles won. All three doubles matches came down to the wire, each of them being tied 4-4 in the middle of each match. Mathieu Froment and Jack Hamburg defeated the team of Bradford Zitsch and Dusty Boyer 8-6, and Matic Spec  and Eric Frueh battled the Huskers until the final points, winning 8-6. The duo of Linus Erhart and Scott Elsass held strong against Leanardo Toledo and Felix Corwin, but the match went unfinished tied 7-7.

Minnesota built on the 1-0 advantage when Matic Spec defeated Chris Hobgarski in the No. 4 sinigles match  (6-2, 6-2). 

Dusty Boyer and Leanadro Toledo battled until the very end in the No. 1 singles competition. Boyer took the first set 7-6 after winning the tie breaker (7-5). Toledo came storming back with a 6-3 victory in set two, and the match was decided in the third set. Toledo walked away with the 6-1 victory.

The Gophers continued building on their lead in the No. 6 singles competition between Mathieu Froment and Bradford Zitsch. Zitch battled throughout the match and took the first set 7-5. Froment out-played Zitsch in the second set and won 7-6 after an 8-6 tie breaker. Froment completed his win when he took the third set 6-3.

Minnesota won with Froment's victory, but both teams played out the rest of the games. Felix Corwin added another victory for the Golden Gophers when he won (5-7, 7-6 (10-8), 6-4).

Linus Erhart fought all afternoon and ended up triumphing over Jack Hamburg. Hamburg won the first set 7-6 off a 7-4 tie breaker, but Erhart never gave up and took set two 6-3. Continuing the trend for the afternoon, set three was determined in the final point where Erhart took the match (7-5).

Marc Herrmann competed against Ruben Weber in the No. 2 spot and the last match of the afternoon. The match went all three sets, with Herrmann picking up victories in the second and third set (5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)).

“It was a very exciting match for our supporters to watch,” said Coach McDermott. “Great college match and unfortunate we had to fall 5-2. Our guys competed really well and competed at a high level. If we can continue to do this the rest of the year good things will happen. We gave ourselves an opportunity to win the match and that’s all the coaches can ask for.”

The Big Red now turn their attention to the Spartans of Michigan State. The match between the Huskers and Spartans will take place on Friday, Mar. 27 at the Lincoln Racquet Club. The opening serve is set for 3 p.m.

Singles:
1. Leandro Toledo (MINN) def. Dusty Boyer (NEB) 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 1-6

2. Marc Herrmann (NEB) def. Ruben Weber (MINN) 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)

3. Linus Erhart (NEB) def. Jack Hamburg (MINN) 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 7-5

4. Matic Spec (MINN) def. Chris Hobgarski (NEB) 2-6, 2-6

5. Felix Corwin (MINN) def. Andrew Dzulynsky (NEB) 7-5, 6-7 (8-10), 4-6

6. Mathieu Froment (MINN) def. Bradford Zitsch (NEB) 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6

Doubles:
1. Mathieu Froment/Jack Hamburg (MINN) def. Bradford Zitsch/Dusty Boyer (NEB) 8-6

2. Linus Erhart/Scott Elsass (NEB) vs. Leanardo Toledo/Felix Corwin (MINN) 7-7 (unfinished)

3. Matic Spec/Eric Frueh (MINN) def. Marc Herrmann/Andrew Dzulynsky (NEB) 8-6