Huskers Back Home to Battle No. 9 Illinois, No. 44 Northwestern

The No. 51 Nebraska men’s tennis team (8-5, 0-2) will play its first home Big Ten matches this weekend, taking on No. 9 Illinois (13-3, 2-0)  on Friday, March 13 at 6 p.m. (CT) at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center in Lincoln. The Huskers will continue the weekend by battling another ranked opponent vs. No. 44 Northwestern (13-4, 1-1) on Sunday, March 15 at 12 p.m (CT) in Lincoln. 

Nebraska is coming off of an 0-2 start to Big Ten play as the Huskers fell to Michigan State, 4-1 in East Lansing last Friday and dropped a match at No. 52 Michigan, 4-1 in Ann Arbor last Sunday.

Freshman Jeri Lassila continues to lead the Huskers in singles with a 7-4 spring record and has recorded 11 wins this season which is the most on the team. In doubles, Lassila holds a 7-4 record in the spring but junior Henry Lamchinniah carries the most doubles wins on the team with 11. 

The Rankings
Nebraska men’s tennis dropped to No. 51 in the ITA team rankings this week after holding a No. 40 ranking last week (Mar. 3). The Huskers carry their ranking into their fourth straight week as a ranked team. They started the season off ranked No. 49 as of Feb. 19 before falling to No. 52 and then up to No. 40. 

Illinois (12-3, 2-0 Big Ten)
History: Illinois leads the series between Nebraska, 14-3. In their last meeting, Nebraska faced a No. 20-ranked Illinois team to kick off Big Ten play and Nebraska dropped that match, 4-1. Illinois had ranked wins against No. 23 Kentucky, No. 15 Duke, No. 8 Baylor and No. 6 TCU this season. Two of its losses come from top-15 ranked teams in No. 7 Mississippi State and No. 13 Columbia. 

Ranked Opponents
This Illinois squad features four ranked singles players and one doubles pair. In singles, No. 23 Kenta Miyoshi has a record of 16-8 and closely behind him is No. 26 Gabriel Debru. William Mroz is ranked 70th with a 9-2 record and No. 111 Adam Jilly carries a 13-10 record. In doubles, the pair of No. 41 Kenta Miyoshi/Adam Jilly hold a 3-4 record. 

Northwestern (13-4, 1-1 Big Ten)
History: Northwestern leads the series against Nebraska, 13-3. In the last match, Nebraska defeated the Wildcats, 5-2 at Northwestern. The Wildcats started this season 0-2 losing matches to No. 13 Vanderbilt and No. 42 Louisville. They then went on a nine-match winning streak before dropping matches to No. 15 Notre Dame and No. 58 Oregon. 

Ranked Opponents
Northwestern’s roster features one ranked doubles squad with No. 26 Carter Pete/Greyson Casey who hold an impressive 10-0 record this season.    

Watch the Action
Nebraska men’s tennis home duals will be held at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center where there will be concessions available at the match vs. Illinois with no outside food/drink allowed. 

Live stats and video links can also be found linked on huskers.com, as well as live updates on X @HuskerMTennis.