Lincoln, Neb. – The #58 Nebraska men’s tennis team (15-9, 4-4 Big Ten) battled, but fell 1-6, to the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes (26-1, 8-0 Big Ten) in the Friday evening match. The Huskers earned their point with a dominant singles match from #119 Calvin Mueller at No. 1 singles, defeating #28 Justin Boulais in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. The singles win was Mueller’s 25th of the season, and improved the junior to 4-0 against ranked Big Ten opponents.
The Big Ten dual started with doubles at the Dillon Tennis Center. No. 1 doubles had a ranked matchup, Nebraska’s #85 Anton Shepp and Nic Wiedenhorn taking on #82 Robert Cash and Bryce Nakashima. Shepp and Wiedenhorn battled, keeping it close to start, but the Buckeyes pulled ahead and took the match, 6-3. At No. 2 doubles, Shunya Maruyama and Leo Linquet were defeated by #24 Andrew Lutschaunig and Justin Boulais, claiming the doubles point for OSU. No 3 doubles was left unfinished, with Calvin Mueller and Lars Johann leading over Cannon Kingsley and JJ Tracy, 4-3.
Down after the doubles point, singles action began. At No. 5 singles, Linquet faced #121 Alexander Bernard. The sophomore rallied in the second set, but fell to the Buckeye, 4-6, 6(4)-7. Next to finish was Hietaranta, defeated by #112 Cash, 3-6, 3-6 on Court Six. At No. 1 singles, #119 Mueller faced #28 Boulais and had a dominant victory. The junior won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, and put the Big Red on the board. On Court Three, Maruyama was matched up against the highest ranked Buckeye, #16 JJ Tracy. Tracy defeated the senior, 6-3, 6-2, to clinch the match for OSU. Johann played the No. 5 slot, taking on #26 Jack Anthrop. The sets were close, but Anthrop took down Johann, 7-5, 7-5. At No. 2 singles, Shepp and #17 put on a three-set thriller. Shepp dropped the first 2-6, but bounced back to take the second, 7-5. The third set went to tiebreak, where Kingsley finished strong and took the match, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(4).
With the loss, the Huskers sit at 15-9 (4-4 Big Ten) going into their final regular season match. Fifteen wins is the most for the Big Red since 2011, when the team finished 15-13 (1-5 Big 12). While the Big Red did not win, the singles point earned for the final score of 6-1, did make NU the only team outside the top 25 to get a point off of top-ranked OSU this season. Mueller’s dominant win at No. 1 singles over #28 Boulais was his 25th singles win of the season. The junior also remains perfect against ranked Big Ten opponents,…
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