Huskers Split Weekend at ITA Kickoff

The Nebraska men’s tennis team went 1-1 in Lexington, Ky., at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, falling to #20 Arizona State, but shutting out Santa Clara. The Huskers battled against their first ranked opponent of the season, and bounced back after the loss to dominate in the consolation match and leave the weekend 3-1 on the season. Senior Calvin Mueller went 2-0 at No. 1 singles, and No. 1 doubles duo Lars Johann and Anton Shepp went 2-0 to help the Huskers to claim two doubles points.

In the first road test of the year, the Big Red and Sun Devils started with doubles. Johann and Shepp started off strong at No. 1 doubles, and defeated Artnak/Dimic 6-4. On Court Two, Sun Devils Cigna/Koshis topped Mueller and Nikolay Sysoev to tie doubles up 1-1. Leo Linquet and Joan Torres Espinosa then secured the doubles point for the Huskers with the 6-3 win on Court Three over Bondaz/Phillips. The NU doubles point win marked the first dual of the season in which ASU did not claim the doubles point.

With the 1-0 lead, action against Arizona State continued with singles play. ASU scored two-straight points, topping the Huskers on both Courts Two and Four. Shepp battled Mathis Bondaz on Court Two, but it wasn’t enough as Shepp fell 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, and on Court Four, Torres Espinosa dropped a 6-4, 6-4 match to Constaninos Koshis. Mueller evened the score for the Huskers at 2-2, as he defeated Artnak on Court One, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. On Court Three, Sysoev won the first set, but Nicola Cigna claimed the next two for the 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 win and the 3-2 overall match lead. Arizona State then clinched the 4-2 victory, as Daniel Phillips defeated Linquet, 6-4, 6-4. The match between Johann and Matic Dimic on Court Six was left unfinished with Johann leading 6-3, 2-0.

After falling to ASU, the Big Red faced Santa Clara in the Saturday morning consolation match. Beginning with doubles, familiar pairs took the courts for the Big Red, with Johann/Shepp on Court One, Mueller/Sysoev on Court Two and Linquet/Torres Espinosa on Court Three. The Huskers No. 2 duo claimed a dominant 6-1 win over Eriksson/Lemaitre to get things started. Next to finish was Court Three, where Broncos Boschmans and Faure were able to deal Linquet/Torres Espinosa their first loss of the spring, winning 6-3. With the doubles point on the line, Johann and Shepp battled their way back from down 5-6 to defeat Bluett/Kim in a tiebreak, 7-6(3).

After notching the doubles point and a short break, the Big Red began singles action. On four indoor courts, every Husker took the first set. Shepp was the first to finish, taking down Lemaitre 6-1, 6-4, to put a singles point on the board for the Big Red. The win was his third straight-set victory of the spring season, with a singles record of 3-1. On courts three and four, the Broncos flipped a switch, taking their second sets. At No. 1 singles, Mueller dominated the first set 6-0 and fended off Watanabe Eriksson in a tight second set to win 6-0, 7-6(3). Up 3-0, Sysoev battled in three sets to take down Faure 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 and clinch the Husker sweep.

The Big Red concluded the weekend 1-1, pushing the team to 3-1 on the spring season.

UP NEXT
The Huskers have two more road matches before returning to Lincoln. The Big Red will face Arkansas on Friday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. CT, and then will make the trip to Oklahoma State for a dual on Sunday, Feb. 2 at noon CT. The match at Arkansas will have a live stream and stats, and content and updates can always be found @HuskerMTennis on Instagram and X.

#20 Arizona State 4, Nebraska 2
Doubles competition:
1. Johann/Shepp (NEB) def. Artnak/Dimic (ASU) 6-4
2. Cigna/Koshis (ASU) def. Mueller/Sysoev (NEB) 6-2
3. Linquet/Torres Espinosa (NEB) def. Bondaz/Phillips (ASU) 6-3

Singles competition:
1. Calvin Mueller (NEB) def. Bor Artnak (ASU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
2. Mathis Bondaz (ASU) def. Anton Shepp (NEB) 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
3. Nicola Cigna (ASU) def. Nikolay Sysoev (NEB) 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2
4. Constaninos Koshis (ASU) def. Joan Torres Espinosa (NEB) 6-4, 6-4
5. Daniel Phillips (ASU) def. Leo Linquet (NEB) 6-4, 6-4
6. Lars Johann (NEB) vs. Matic Dimic (ASU) 6-3, 2-0 UF

Nebraska 4, Santa Clara 0
Doubles competition:
1. Johann/Shepp (NEB) def. Bluett/Kim (SCU) 7-6(3)
2. Mueller/Sysoev (NEB) def. Eriksson/Lemaitre (SCU) 6-1
3. Boschmans/Faure (SCU) def. Linquet/Torres Espinosa (NEB) 6-3

Singles competition:
1. Calvin Mueller (NEB) def. Alexander Watanabe Eriksson (SCU) 6-0, 7-6(3)
2. Anton Shepp (NEB) def. Luca Lemaitre (SCU) 6-1, 6-4
3. Roni Hietaranta (NEB) vs. Luca Bluett (SCU) 6-2, 4-6, 1-3 UF
4. Nikolay Sysoev (NEB) def. Valentin Faure (SCU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
5. Joan Torres Espinosa (NEB) vs. Tiago Boschmans (SCU) 6-3, 0-1 UF
6. Leo Linquet (NEB) vs. John Kim (SCU) 2-1 UF