Huskers Defeat Minnesota

Minneapolis - The Nebraska men's tennis team powered past Minnesota for a 5-2 victory on Friday in Minneapolis.

The Huskers, who notched four singles victories after claiming the doubles point against the Golden Gophers, improved to 11-4 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten Conference after battling to their sixth consecutive win. 

"We did a great job tonight from start to finish," Coach Kerry McDermott said. "Hats off to my No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams for shining through and playing big when needed, especially with the Boyers struggling in their match."

Nebraska got off to a precarious start as Minnesota natives Dusty and Toby Boyer fell to the Golden Gophers' top tandem of Marino Alpez and Ruben Weber, 6-2, at No. 1 doubles.

However, the Huskers rallied in a big way, with Scott Elsass and Marc Herrmann storming to a 6-3 win over Felix Corwin and Josip Krstanovic at No. 3 doubles.

Nebraska secured the doubles point as Andrew Dzulynsky and Ford Zitsch fought hard for a 6-4 victory over Matic Spec and Jeremy Lynn at No. 2

In singles competition, Lynn exacted a measure of revenge against Zitsch by beating the Husker 6-0, 6-4 at No. 6 to even the team score at 1-1.

Herrmann then suffered a 6-2, 6-3 defeat at the hands of Weber at No. 2 singles, to give the Golden Gophers a 2-1 lead in the team dual.

Nebraska controlled the rest of the match. 

Dzulynsky notched his second win of the day with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Kristanovic at No. 5 singles to even the team score at 2-2.

Dusty Boyer then put Nebraska back in front with a hard-fought 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) win over Spec at No. 1 singles to give the Huskers a 3-2 lead. 

Toby Boyer then secured the match for the Big Red with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Corwin to give Nebraska an insurmountable 4-2 edge.

Freshman Tomislav Antoljak wrapped up the 5-2 Big Ten Conference victory for the Huskers with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win over Alpeza. 

"We did a very good job of competing on every court and finishing some close matches, which shows our players' belief in themselves. We need to continue to work hard and stay ready for Sunday's match with Wisconsin."

The Huskers return home to take on No. 37 Wisconsin on Sunday, March 27 at 10 a.m. at the Dillon Tennis Center. 

Doubles 

No. 1 Marino Alpeza/Ruben Weber (MINN) def. Dusty Boyer/Toby Boyer (NEB) 6-2

No. 2 Andrew Dzulynsky/Bradford Zitsch (NEB) def. Matic Spec/Jeremy Lynn (MINN) 6-4

No. 3 Scott Elsass/Marc Herrmann (NEB) def. Felix Corwin/Josip Krstanovic (MINN) 6-3

Order of Finish: 1,3,2 

Singles 

No. 1 Dusty Boyer (NEB) def. Matic Spec (MINN) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)

No. 2 Ruben Weber (MINN) def. Marc Herrmann (NEB) 6-2, 6-3

No. 3 Toby Boyer (NEB) def. Felix Corwin (MINN) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

No. 4 Tomislav Antoljak (NEB) def. Marino Alpeza (MINN) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2

No. 5 Andrew Dzulynsky (NEB) def. Josip Krstanovic (MINN) 6-3, 6-4

No. 6 Jeremy Lynn (MINN) def. Bradford Zitsch (NEB) 6-0, 6-4

Order of Finish: 6,2,5,1,3,4