Santa Barbara, Calif. - The #58 Nebraska men’s tennis team (10-5, 0-0 Big Ten) battled until the end, but fell at #47 UCSB (8-5, 0-0 Big West) on Friday afternoon. Despite two doubles victories and two singles wins, the Huskers were defeated by the Gauchos, 3-4, in the close matchup.
The match against the Gauchos began with doubles play at the Arnhold Tennis Center. On Court One, Anton Shepp and Nic Wiedenhorn faced nationally ranked UCSB duo #42 Gianluca Brunkow and Pablo Masjuan. The No. 1 slot matchup stayed close until 4-4, when the Gauchos pulled ahead and sealed the deal, 6-4. Court Two finished just seconds later, after Calvin Mueller and Lars Johann completed a massive comeback. The NU duo was done 0-2 to start, and took six-straight games to win the set and match against Kai Brady and Lucca Liu. With doubles matches split, the point came down to Court Three. Shunya Maruyama and Nikolay Sysoev were down late in the set at 5-6, but pushed UCSB’s Conrad Brown and Luka Mrsic into a set tiebreak. The Gauchos led for most of the tiebreak, but Mauryama and Sysoev rallied and came out on top, 7-6(5), clinching the doubles point for NU.
In singles, Johann got an early lead on Court Four. Johann cashed in, and claimed a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Brady, to put the match score at NEB 2, UCSB 0. Shepp was the next to finish, matched up against nationally ranked #37 Pablo Masjuan. The first set on Court One was tight, but Shepp fell 5-7. Masjuan ran with the second set, and defeated Shepp, 7-5, 6-2. Roni Hietaranta competed for the Big Red in the No. 5 singles slot, to face Mrsic. Hietaranta dominated the first set, winning 6-3. Mrsic bounced back in the second set, and defeated Hietaranta with a comeback to take the match 3-6, 6-1, 6-1. Maruyama competed on Court Four, and rallied his way to victory over Liu. Liu took the first set 7-5, but Maruyama bounced back and took the match 5-7, 6-1, 6-4. Mueller was next to finish, playing the No. 2 singles slot against Brunkow. Mueller took the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6(5), and rallied but fell after strong second and third sets from Brunkow. With the match tied at 3-3, the win came down to Court Six. Sysoev faced Brown, and found a tight match. Sysoev pushed Brown to two set tiebreaks, taking one and dropping the other. Brown came out on top, with a 6(5)-7, 6-4, 7-6(2), victory to secure the Gaucho win.
Despite the loss, the Huskers’ spring record of 10-5, remains the best program start since 2016. No. 3 doubles duo Maruyama and Sysoev partnered for their 10th time, and improved to 4-0 in the spring season with their 7-6(5) win. Maruyama’s spring singles record improved to 10-3. Mueller and Johann in the No. 2 doubles slot improved their record to 8-3. The match was NU’s fourth ranked matchup, and second loss to a ranked team. The loss marked the end of a four-match win-streak for the Huskers, and was also their last match before beginning conference competition.
Up next, the Huskers begin Big Ten conference play in East Lansing, Mich. NU will take on #23 Michigan State on Friday, March 22. The match is set to start at 6 p.m. (CT) and will have both live stream and live stats available.
Stay tuned to the Husker Men’s Tennis social media channels to keep up with match updates and content as available.
#58 Nebraska 3, #47 UCSB 4
Singles competition:
1. #37 Pablo Masjuan (UCSB) def. #120 Anton Shepp (NEB), 7-5, 6-2
2. Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB) def. Calvin Mueller (NEB), 6(5)-7, 6-4, 6-3
3. Shunya Maruyama (NEB) def. Lucca Liu (UCSB), 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
4. Lars Johann (NEB) def. Kai Brady (UCSB), 6-4, 6-3
5. Luka Mrsic (UCSB) def. Roni Hietaranta (NEB) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
6. Conrad Brown (UCSB) def. Nikolay Sysoev (NEB), 6(5)-7, 6-4, 7-6(2)
Doubles competition:
1. #42 Pablo Masjuan/Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB) def. Anton Shepp/Nic Wiedenhorn (NEB), 6-4
2. Calvin Mueller/Lars Johann (NEB) def. Kai Brady/Lucca Liu (UCSB), 6-2
3. Shunya Maruyama/Nikolay Sysoev (NEB) def. Luka Mrsic/Conrad Brown (UCSB), 7-6(5)