Lincoln, Neb. - The #65 Nebraska men’s tennis team (12-7, 1-2 Big Ten) claimed two wins in its doubleheader at home on Saturday, including its first Big Ten win. The Big Red defeated Wisconsin (1-15, 0-3 Big Ten) 6-1, Saturday afternoon, and Illinois State (13-11, 2-0 Missouri Valley) 5-2, in the evening match.
The Huskers took on the Badgers starting with doubles play. Calvin Mueller and Lars Johann partnered up for the 14th time this spring, to compete against Gabriel Huber and Michael Minasyan at No. 1 doubles. The duo kept it close, but was fighting an uphill battle and dropped the match, 4-6. Nic Wiedenhorn and Leo Linquet took on the No. 3 doubles matchup against Collin Beduhn and Matthew Fullerton. Wiedenhorn and Linquet defeated the Badger duo, 7-5. The doubles point came down to No. 2 doubles, Anton Shepp and Shunya Maruyama against Jasonn Hildebrandt and Tomas Zlatohlavek. Shepp and Maruyama rallied to a tiebreak and defeated Hildebrandt and Zlatohlavek, 7-6(4), to clinch the point.
In singles, Linquet got off to a strong start at No. 5 singles against Zlatohlavek. Linquet defeated the Badger, 6-3, 6-4, to put the Huskers up 2-0. Mueller was next to finish, matched up against Huber at No. 2 singles. Mueller took down Huber 6-4, 6-4. Rudi Christiansen competed at No. 6 singles for the Big Red, and clinched the match for the Big Red with his 6-4, 6-2 victory over Hildebrandt. Shepp battled Minsasyan at No. 1 singles in a close first set, but took control and defeated him 7-5, 6-2. Johann was next to finish, rallying into a third set, but taking the 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, win at No. 4 singles. Maruyama rallied against Fullerton, but fell in the set tiebreaker, 7-5, 5-7, [3-10].
In the second match of the day, the Huskers started with doubles against Illinois State. Wiedenhorn and Linquet competed in the No. 3 slot and fell to Caden Scarlett and Tomas Valencia, 3-6. Shepp partnered up with Nikolay Sysoev on Court Two against Nam Pham and Arvid Hjalte. Shepp and Sysoev rallied, but dropped the set 3-6. Mueller and Johann competed in the No. 1 slot, facing Redbirds Tin Ostro and Emiliano Gonzalez. The Court One match was left unfinished at 5-4, NU, as the doubles point was already decided.
The Huskers got off to a strong start in singles with five out of six taking their first sets. Christiansen had a dominant 6-1, 6-1, win over Scarlett to even the match score. Sysoev was the next to finish, and win, defeating Gonzalez 6-1, 6-2, on Court Five. At No. 2 singles, Mueller took down Hjalte 6-2, 6-2. On Court Three, Johann faced Adrian Dibildox. Johann clinched the match for the Big Red with his 6-2, 6-4, win over the Redbird. Linquet was next to finish, after a tight first set and strong finish. Linquet defeated Valencia on Court Four, 7-6(4), 6-2. Shepp found a close match against Pham on Court One. Shepp dropped the first set, but rallied to push it to three sets, ultimately falling 3-6, 6-3, 5-7.
With the two wins, the Huskers improved to 12-7 in the spring season, 1-2 in conference play, and 9-1 at home. Mueller’s straight-set singles wins improve his spring N0. 2 singles record to 8-1. Christiansen’s wins against Hildebrandt and Scarlett improved his spring record to 8-3.
Up next, the Big Red stay in Lincoln for matches against conference foes #19 Illinois and #60 Northwestern. The Huskers take on the Fighting Illini on Friday, April 5, at 6 p.m. (CT) and the Wildcats on Sunday, April 7 at noon (CT). The matches will be held at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center, where parking and admission are free. Live stats will be available, as well as updates via Twitter/X @HuskerMTennis.
#65 Nebraska 6, Wisconsin 1
Singles competition
1. Anton Shepp (NEB) def. Michael Minasyan (WIS) 7-5, 6-2
2. Calvin Mueller (NEB) def. Gabriel Huber (WIS) 6-4, 6-4
3. Matthew Fullerton (WIS) def. Shunya Maruyama (NEB) 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (10-3)
4. Lars Johann (NEB) def. Collin Beduhn (WIS) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
5. Leo Linquet (NEB) def. Tomas Zlatohlavek (WIS) 6-3, 6-4
6. Rudi Christiansen (NEB) def. Jason Hildebrandt (WIS) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Gabriel Huber/Michael Minasyan (WIS) def. Calvin Mueller/Lars Johann (NEB) 6-4
2. Anton Shepp/Shunya Maruyama (NEB) def. Jason Hildebrandt/Tomas Zlatohlavek (WIS) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Nic Wiedenhorn/Leo Linquet (NEB) def. Collin Beduhn/Matthew Fullerton (WIS) 7-5
#65 Nebraska 5, Illinois State 2
Singles competition
1. Nam Pham (ILS) def. Anton Shepp (NEB) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
2. Calvin Mueller (NEB) def. Arvid Hjalte (ILS) 6-2, 6-2
3. Lars Johann (NEB) def. Adrian Dibildox (ILS) 6-2, 6-4
4. Leo Linquet (NEB) def. Tomas Valencia (ILS) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
5. Nikolay Sysoev (NEB) def. Emiliano Gonzales (ILS) 6-1, 6-2
6. Rudi Christiansen (NEB) def. Caden Scarlett (ILS) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Tin Ostro/Emiliano Gonzales (ILS) def. Calvin Mueller/Lars Johann (NEB) 6-3
2. Anton Shepp/Nikolay Sysoev (NEB) vs. Nam Pham/Arvid Hjalte (ILS) 5-4, unfinished
3. Adrian Dibildox/Tom Bevan (ILS) def. Leo Linquet/Nic Wiedenhorn (NEB) 6-3