Lincoln, Neb. - Despite earning the doubles point and forcing three deciding tiebreaks in singles, the No. 61 Nebraska men’s tennis team (12-8, 1-3 Big Ten) fell to No. 26 Illinois, 4-2 on Friday evening.
The Huskers and Fighting Illini started with doubles play. NU held the early lead on all three courts, before Shunya Maruyama and Leo Linquet got the first doubles win for the Huskers as they defeated Alex Petrov and William Mroz on Court Three, 6-2. Nic Wiedenhorn and Anton Shepp then clinched the doubles point on Court One with their 6-4 victory over Hunter Heck and Lucas Horve, 6-4. Calvin Mueller and Lars Johann’s match on Court Two was left unfinished, and the teams entered singles play with the Huskers up 1-0.
Illinois evened the score to start singles play as Shepp fell to #34 Heck 6-1, 6-1 on Court One. The Fighting Illini added two more points with Roni Hietaranta falling on Court Five to Mathis Debru, 7-5, 6-2, and Johann dropping his match 7-6 (5), 6-3 to Mroz. Linquet forced a third set on Court Six and then secured the singles point for the Big Red over Horve, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. With the Huskers trailing 2-3, Mueller and Maruyama battled on their respective courts. After both dropped the opening set, the duo secured the second set to force a deciding third set. Mueller kept it close until the end, but fell to Petrov, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, and Illinois secured the match, 4-2. Maruyama’s match on Court Three was left unfinished with Maruyama leading in the third set, 5-1.
Up next, the Huskers stay home to host #64 Northwestern on Sunday, April 7. Action is slated for 12 p.m. (CT), with live stats and streaming on huskers.com.
Tennis Match Results
Illinois vs Nebraska
Apr 05, 2024 at Lincoln, NE
(Dillon Tennis Center)
#26 Illinois 4, #61 Nebraska 2
Singles competition
1. #34 Hunter Heck (ILL) def. Anton Shepp (NEB) 6-1, 6-1
2. Alex Petrov (ILL) def. #109 Calvin Mueller (NEB) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
3. Shunya Maruyama (NEB) vs. #83 Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 5-1, unfinished
4. William Mroz (ILL) def. Lars Johann (NEB) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
5. Mathis Debru (ILL) def. Roni Hietaranta (NEB) 7-5, 6-2
6. Leo Linquet (NEB) def. Lucas Horve (ILL) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Nic Wiedenhorn/Anton Shepp (NEB) def. Hunter Heck/Lucas Horve (ILL) 6-4
2. Calvin Mueller/Lars Johann (NEB) vs. Mathis Debru/Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) 3-5, unfinished
3. Shunya Maruyama/Leo Linquet (NEB) def. Alex Petrov/William Mroz (ILL) 6-2
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,5,4,6,2)