Huskers Fall Just Short to Mustangs, 4-3

Norfolk, Va. -- Andre Saleh, Shunya Maruyama and William Gleason notched hard-fought singles wins, but the Nebraska men's tennis team (1-4, 0-0 Big Ten) fell just short to the SMU Mustangs (8-2, 0-0 AAC), 4-3, in a neutral site match played at Old Dominion University on Saturday afternoon.

Maruyama, a freshman from Nagano, Japan, earned his third singles victory of the season with a 6-2, 6-3 upset over Juan Jose Bianchi at No. 6. Saleh, a newcomer from Newport Beach, Calif., added a win at No. 5 against Jordi Redelijik, 7-5, 7-6 (2). Gleason, a Lincoln native, knocked off Ethan Leon at the No. 3 position after a super tie breaker, 7-6, 4-6, 10-4.

Sophomore Victor Moreno Lozano fell short to Caleb Chakravarthi, 6-3, 7-6 (3), at No. 1, while freshman Albert Sprlak-Puk dropped a 6-1, 7-6 (3), contest to Carles Sarrio at the No. 2 position. Sophomore Patrick Cacciatore lost to Huntley Allen, 6-4, 6-2, as NU and SMU tied 3-3 in singles play.

The Mustangs took advantage of a strong doubles competition performance to earn the team victory. Sarrio/Leon beat Sprlak-Puk/Moreno, 6-3, at No. 1, while Chakravarthi/Allen defeated Cacciatore/Saleh by the same score at the No. 2 position. Bianchi/Perotti led 5-1 over Gleason and senior Chris Dean when the match was called.

Nebraska will return to action tomorrow at 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET) against the Old Dominion Monarchs. Live stats can be accessed here.