Huskers Head to Lexington for ITA Kickoff Weekend

The Nebraska men’s tennis team is headed to Lexington, Ky., this weekend to compete in the ITA Kickoff Weekend. The team was selected to compete in the Kentucky regional weekend in June, after ending the season with a No. 52 ranking, the highest end of season ranking for the program since 2010-11. Live stats and video will be available on Huskers.com for the ITA Kickoff Weekend, as well as live updates and content posted on X/Twitter at @HuskerMTennis.

First, the Huskers will take on Alabama at the Boone Tennis Center on Friday, Jan. 26 at 4 p.m. (CT). Alabama ended their 2022-23 season ranked No. 49. NU and Alabama have only met twice, each taking a win. Most recently, the Huskers upset #45 Alabama in 2023 at the Blue Gray Classic in Alabama, 4-3. The first time the pair played was in 2022, when the Big Red lost to the Crimson Tide 1-4.

Play will continue for NU on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 10 a.m. (CT) with a loss, or at 2 p.m. (CT) with a win. The Big Red will either face #10 Kentucky or Notre Dame for the second dual of the weekend. NU has never played Kentucky or Notre Dame. Last season, Kentucky ended ranked as No. 5 and Notre Dame as No. 64.

The Big Red are 4-0 on the season, the best program start since 2018. NU has wins over Omaha, North Dakota, and two over Creighton. With two doubleheader weekends, the Huskers and first year coaches Peter Kobelt and Ray Sarmiento have swept every matchup. Junior Calvin Mueller became the second-consecutive Husker this season to be named Big Ten Player of the Week.

In the fall, NU went 37-33 in singles play and 16-15 in doubles. Most notably from the fall, Mueller posted a 10-3 record en route to the Big Ten Individual Championship. Doubles duo Anton Shepp and Nic Wiedenhorn went 4-3 on the season, after making it to the semifinals match in the ITA Regionals Tournament. The pair was invited to ITA Nationals in California to close out fall play. Also finding success on the doubles court was duo Mueller and Leo Linquet, reaching a 3-1 record and placing second at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic.

From the 2022-23 season, Nebraska has seven returning letterwinners, including Rudi Christiansen, Roni Hietaranta, Lars Johann, Leo Linquet, Shunya Maruyama, Calvin Mueller and Nic Wiedenhorn. In the fall, NU welcomed four newcomers, transfers Anton Shepp, Nikolay Sysoev and Henry Bilicic, and freshman Colson Wells, for the 2023-24 season.

Stay tuned to the Husker Men’s Tennis social media channels to keep up with match updates and content.