Santa Barbara, Calif. - The #58 Nebraska men’s tennis team (10-4, 0-0 Big Ten) completed the upset win over the #56 Yale Bulldogs (7-5, 0-0 Ivy) in its Wednesday afternoon match, winning 4-1. The Huskers have gone 2-0 in their week in California, and aim to make it three with their next match against #47 UCSB on Friday.
To start doubles play against the Bulldogs, No. 3 doubles duo Shunya Maruyama and Nikolay Sysoev got a quick 6-3 win over Jim Ji and Eric Li. Courts One and Two proved to be close matches, both going into set tiebreaks. No. 1 doubles Anton Shepp and Nic Wiedenhorn rallied in their tie break, and defeated Roee Benya and Vignesh Gogineni, 7-6(7). Court One’s win clinched the doubles point for the Big Red, leaving Court Two unfinished. No. 2 doubles Calvin Mueller and Lars Johann were up against nationally ranked No. 77 doubles duo Theo Dean and Aidan Reilly. Their match was abandoned at 6-6.
In singles play, four Huskers took their first sets. Court One finished first, but fell, as Shepp was defeated by Dean, 6-3, 6-2. Johann played the No. 4 singles slot, and had a clean victory over Reilly, winning 6-2, 6-2. Mueller defeated Li on Court Two, 6-3, 7-5, to put the Huskers up 3-1 in the match. On Court Three, Maruyama rallied back in the third set to take the match on the court and for the Big Red. Maruyama took down Ji, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. With the match won, Courts Five and Six were left unfinished. Sysoev played Court Five, and was rallying in the third set against Oberg, left at 5-7, 6-3, 3-1. Christiansen competed in the No. 6 slot against Neal, and their match was abandoned at 6-4, 5-7, 2-1.
With the win over the Bulldogs, the Big Red improved to 10-4 on the season, tied for the best 14-match program start since 2016. The Wednesday match was the third match of the spring against a ranked opponent for the Huskers, and second upset win. No. 3 doubles duo Maruyama and Sysoev partnered for their ninth time, and improved to 3-0 in the spring season with their 6-3 win. Mueller, Maruyama, and Johann each won their singles matches, and Maruyama’s spring singles record improved to 9-3.
The Huskers will stat in Santa Barbara for their next match against #47 UCSB on Friday, March 15. The match against the Gauchos is set to begin at 3 p.m. (CT) and will be available to watch on Playsight.
Stay tuned to the Husker Men’s Tennis social media channels to keep up with match updates and content as available.
#58 Nebraska 4, #56 Yale 1
Singles Competition:
1. Theo Dean (YALE) def. #120 Anton Shepp (NEB), 6-3, 6-2
2. Calvin Mueller (NEB) def. Eric Li (YALE), 6-3, 7-5
3. Shunya Maruyama (NEB) def. Jim Ji (YALE), 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
4. Lars Johann (NEB) def. Aidan Reilly (YALE), 6-2, 6-2
5. Nikolay Sysoev (NEB) vs. Walker Oberg (YALE), 5-7, 6-3, 3-1 UF
6. Rudi Christiansen (NEB) vs. Luke Neal (YALE), 6-4, 5-7, 2-1 UF
Doubles Competition:
1. Anton Shepp/Nic Wiedenhorn (NEB) def. Roee Benya/Vignesh Gogineni (YALE), 7-6(7)
2. Calvin Mueller/Lars Johann (NEB) vs. #77 Theo Dean/Aidan Reilly (YALE), 6-6 UF
3. Shunya Maruyama/Nikolay Sysoev (NEB) def. Jim Ji/Eric Li (YALE), 6-3