Six Huskers Make Playoff Stage in UTR Pro Tournament

Six Huskers will continue on to the playoff stage in the UTR Pro Tennis Tournament being held in Lincoln at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center. The group stages were played Monday through Wednesday with the playoff stage running from Thursday Oct. 1 until Friday, Oct. 2. 

Two Huskers were featured in Group A with freshman Micah Ward dropping a two-set match to Liam Spiers, 3-6, 2-6. In that same group, senior Henry Lamchinniah swept Ian Bracks, 6-1, 6-2 also in the first round. Lamchinniah and Ward both went on to get round two wins before meeting in round three for a chance into the playoff stage. Lamchinniah took the edge on the match in two sets winning 7-6, 6-2. Both Huskers ended up moving on to the playoff stage. 

In Group B, junior Aniss Rafiq was the lone Husker winning his first round match in two sets. In the second round, Rafiq dropped a three-set battle to Thomas Cardona, 6-1, 3-6, 3-6. Rafiq then bounced back in the third round to win in two sets and advance to the playoff stage. 

Sophomore Jeri Lassila and junior Jan Sebesta both featured in Group C as they both cruised to two-set victories in the first round. In round two, Lassila secured another two-set victory over Sean Grosman, 7-5, 6-4. Sebesta battled in round two but dropped a three-set match to Maddox Lundell, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6. The two Huskers would then meet in round three with Lassila taking the match in three, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. Lassila and Sebesta both advanced to their respective playoff stages. 

In Group D, freshman Enzo Champigneulle and junior Calin Stirbu met right away in the first round with Stirbu sweeping the freshman 6-2, 7-5. Sturbu would continue on to a round two and three sweep going 6-0 on sets in his group stage and continuing on to the playoff stage. Champigneulle dropped his round two match in two sets before withdrawing from the tournament. 

Four of the six Huskers in the playoffs will all face off in the 01-04 Playoff on Thursday, Oct. 1. Lassila takes the No. 1 seed in the playoff group and will face Lamchinniah at 9 a.m. Rafiq and Stirbu will be the second pair to face off also at 9 a.m. Sebesta will be the single Husker in the 05-08 Playoff and will take on the No. 1 seed Joseph Nau. In the 09-12 Playoff, Ward will face the No. 1 seed Cardona at 9 a.m. rounding out the semifinals for Nebraska.

The UTR Pro Tennis Tournament page can be found here and the playoff stages can be watched at the live stream link here.

Stay tuned to the Husker men's tennis social media (@HuskerMTennis) to keep up with team updates and content as available. Fall season information and results can also be found at huskers.com.