West Lafayette, Ind. - The Nebraska men's tennis team (7-14, 3-3 Big Ten) grabbed its third conference win of the season as it defeated the Purdue Boilermakers (9-11, 2-4 Big Ten) 4-2 at the Schwartz Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon.
Action started with doubles play as the No. 2 team of Shunya Maruyama and Dario Huber won the opening match against Purdue's Athell Bennett and Gabriele Brancatelli, 6-4. The pair has now won seven of their last eight doubles matches. In the No. 3 spot, the duo of William Gleason and Calvin Mueller defeated Milledge Cossu and Tomasz Dudek, 6-3, to clinch the doubles point for Nebraska.
On the No. 1 court, Victor Moreno Lozano and Nic Wiedenhorn's match was called at 3-5 against Purdue's Michal Wozniak and Piotr Galus, and competition continued with singles action.
In singles play, Huber dropped his match in the No. 1 spot to Bennett to give the Boilermakers their first overall point. Gleason then beat Wozniak at No. 6 in consecutive sets, 6-2, 6-3, to grab the 2-1 Husker lead. At the No. 3 spot, Maruyama extended the winning margin as he defeated Purdue's Dudek, 7-5, 6-1. The Boilermakers battled to keep the match close as Brancatelli bested Mueller, 7-6 (3), 6-2 on Court Two, and NU held a 3-2 lead with two matches remaining.
For the second-straight match, Roni Hietaranta rallied again for the Huskers, forcing a third set and defeating Purdue's Galus, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2. Hietaranta's win clinched the overall match for the Huskers, and he continues to hold the team-high 12 wins.
When the match concluded, Lozano and Sachdev each won a set at No. 4, and Lozano trialed 4-1 in the unfinished third set.
Up next, the Huskers stay in Indiana to face the Hoosiers on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.
PURDUE (9-11, 2-4) – 2, No. 75 Nebraska (7-14, 3-3) – 4
Singles
1. Athell Bennett (PUR) def. Dario Huber (UNL) – 6-1, 6-4
2. Gabriele Brancatelli (PUR) def. Calvin Mueller (UNL) – 7-6(3), 6-2
3. Shunya Maruyama (UNL) def. Tomasz Dudek (PUR) – 7-5, 6-1
4. Rohan Sachdev (PUR) vs. Victor Moreno Lozano (UNL) 6-7(6), 7-5, 4-1 unfinished
5. Roni Hietaranta (UNL) def. Piotr Galus (PUR) – 3-6, 0-6, 6-2
6. William Gleason (UNL) def. Michal Wozniak (PUR) – 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
1. Michal Wozniak and Piotr Galus / Victor Moreno Lozano/Nic Wiedenhorn (UNL) – 5-3
2. No. 40 Dario Huber/Shunya Maruyama (UNL) def. Athell Bennett/Gabriele Brancatelli (PUR) – 6-3
3. Calvin Mueller/William Gleason (UNL) def. Tomasz Dudek/Milledge Cossu (PUR) – 6-4
Order of Finish
Singles: 1,6,3,2,5
Doubles: 2,3
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