NU Rallies for 4-3 Win at Oregon

In a tight Big Ten battle, the No. 38 Nebraska men’s tennis team rallied in singles play to defeat Oregon 4-3 on Sunday afternoon. After dropping the doubles point, Calvin Mueller kicked off singles with a ranked win, followed by NU (13-7, 6-4 Big Ten) taking the last three matches for the victory over the No. 62 Ducks (10-11, 2-7 Big Ten).

The conference matchup against the Ducks began with doubles competition in Eugene. Court Two finished first, with a 6-3 victory from Lars Johann and Mueller over Errey/Robertson. At No. 3 doubles, UO’s Breazu/Lemire evened the doubles tally, defeating Colson Wells and Joan Torres Espinosa 7-5. The doubles point came down to Court One, where Anton Shepp and Henry Bilicic battled Luemkemann/Burton. The Ducks closed in a tiebreak, claiming the match and team point with a 7-6(6) victory.

Trailing after doubles, three Huskers took their first sets in singles. No. 69 Mueller dominated Court One, defeating No. 110 Luekemann in straight-sets, 6-2, 6-3. The senior’s fourth ranked win of the season tied the team score at 1-1. No. 2 singles finished next, as Shepp battled, but fell 7-5, 6-4 to No. 99 Breazu.

Court Three finished next, as Oregon’s Lemire rallied to defeat Nikolay Sysoev 7-6(9), 6-4. Johann notched another point for NU with a comeback win at No. 4 singles. The junior bested Burton 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, pushing the team score to UO 3-2. Needing two more wins to claim the match, Wells pulled through from Court Six. The redshirt freshman took down Errey 6-2, 6(3)-7, 6-2, to even the team score. At No. 5 singles, Torres Espinosa rallied in a tight third set to secure the NU victory. The Husker won 6-0, 2-6, 7-5 over Robertson.

With the win, NU improved to 13-7 on the season and 6-4 in Big Ten play. The sixth conference victory accomplishes the most for the Big Red in a season since 1940. In doubles, Johann/Mueller improved to 3-0 this season as a duo with their win in the No. 2 slot. Johann claimed his 15th singles win, while Wells notched his 18th of the season.

The Big Red successfully avengened last season’s 4-3 loss in Eugene, and moved the all-time series record to UO 6-3. The Ducks split their weekend, now 10-11 (2-7 Big Ten).

UP NEXT
The Huskers continue road conference play next weekend, traveling to No. 51 Wisconsin. The match is set for Saturday, April 12, at noon CT.

No. 38 Nebraska 4, No. 62 Oregon 3

Doubles:

1. Lenn Luemkemann/Matthew Burton (UO) def. Anton Shepp/Henry Bilicic (NEB) 7-6(6) 
2. Lars Johann/Calvin Mueller (NEB) def. Cooper Errey/Lachlan Robertson (UO) 6-3
3. Vlad Breazu/Clement Lemire (UO) def. Colson Wells/Joan Torres Espinosa (NEB) 7-5

Singles:

1. #69 Calvin Mueller (NEB) def. #110 Lenn Luemkemann (UO) 6-2, 6-3
2. #99 Vlad Breazu (UO) def. Anton Shepp (NEB) 7-5, 6-4
3. Clement Lemire (UO) def. Nikolay Sysoev (NEB) 7-6(9), 6-4
4. Lars Johann (NEB) def. Matthew Burton (UO) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
5. Joan Torres Espinosa (NEB) vs. Lachlan Robertson (UO) 6-0, 2-6, 7-5
6. Colson Wells (NEB) vs. Cooper Errey (UO) 6-2, 6(3)-7, 6-2