Huskers Dominate Jackrabbits in Season Debut

Lincoln -- The Nebraska men's tennis team opened their 2018 season with a home sweep against South Dakota State at the Dillon Tennis Center on Saturday. The Huskers picked up seven wins against the Jackrabbits including two first time wins from freshmen William Grattan-Smith and Isaac Nortey.

In doubles play, junior Toby Boyer and senior Linus Erhart competed in the No. 1 position and defeated SDSU's Henrique Stemmer and Aiden DeBoer 6-2. Junior Micah Klousia and sophomore Chris Dean swept Emmerson Styles and Chuck Tang 6-0. Finally, the freshmen duo of Grattan-Smith and Nortey defeated Elliot Ward and Marco Paulo Castro 6-0.

In singles, Erhart swept Stemmer in the No. 2 spot 6-0, 6-0. Boyer defeated Styles 6-0, 6-1. Grattan-Smith bested Carlos Martinez in the No. 6 position 6-3, 6-4. Klousia took on Alex Reinke and won 6-0, 6-1. Chris Dean won against Chuck Tang in the No. 5 spot 6-1,6-0. Lastly, Nortey won in a second set tie breaker to cap off a seven-win day for the Huskers against Marco Paulo Castro 6-4, 7-6.

The Huskers were eager to play and improve on last year. With a new wealth of experience, the Big Red demonstrated their hard work and efforts from the offseason. "Guys are excited, you know you practice against each other for so long and then all of a sudden you get your first match," Head Coach Kerry McDermott said. "So it was good, I thought the guys played very well. A couple of the matches went really quick, especially in the top three, but after that we struggled a bit, but it was good to see them compete. Our freshmen needed to get themselves tested and they did a good job of coming through and getting the job done."

The Huskers improved to 1-0 and will look to continue momentum from this game into their second match against the Jackrabbits Saturday at 6 p.m. Admission to all home games is free.

Doubles Results:

No. 1 Toby Boyer/Linus Erhart (NEB) def. Henrique Stemmer/Aidan DeBoer (SDSU) 6-2
No. 2 Micah Klousia/Chris Dean (NEB) def. Emerson Styles/Chuck Tang (SDSU) 6-0
No. 3 William GrattanSmith/Isaac Nortey (NEB) def. Elliot Ward/Marco Paulo Castro (SDSU) 6-0

Order of Finish: 2,3,1

Singles Results: 

No. 1 Toby Boyer (NEB) def. Emerson Styles (SDSU) 6-0, 6-1

No. 2 Linus Erhart (NEB) def. Henrique Stemmer (SDSU) 6-0, 6-0

No. 3 Micah Klousia (NEB) def. Alexander Reinke (SDSU) 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 Isaac Nortey (NEB) def. Marco Paulo Castro (SDSU) 6-4, 7-6
No. 5 Chris Dean (NEB) def. Chuck Tang (SDSU) 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 William GrattanSmith (NEB) def. Carlos Martinez (SDSU) 6-4, 6-3

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