2008 Woodie Awards
Men's tennis team drops matches to Denver, Iowa during rough weekend
Jeff Straub
Issue date: 2/11/08 Section: Sports
With two tough matches over the weekend against ranked teams, the Cornhuskers went 0-2, losing 5-2 to both Iowa and Denver.
Their meet Friday against the Hawkeyes was a contested one. They also battled tough against Denver on Sunday, with the Huskers forcing two of six singles matches to three sets.
Nebraska got off to a bad start by losing two out of three in doubles against Denver. Sophomores David Bendheim and Francois Van Impe scored the only points for the Huskers. Bendheim also handled his opponent as the No. 3 seed in singles in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. Van Impe's victory was a little harder to come by. He squeaked by in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-0.
"We were so close in so many matches," said Nebraska assistant Coach Joerg Barthel. "That's just how tennis is. At tight points, (Denver) put a little more pressure on our guys. We are going to work on that and make sure that we get confidence from our guys."
Nebraska junior Hendrik Stahmer had a tough task in playing Denver's Adam Holmstrom, who came in nationally ranked as No. 17 in singles. Stahmer played well, but ultimately lost at the No. 1 spot 6-2, 6-4.
After NU senior Mark Tate fell to his opponent, 7-6 (5), 6-2, NU's fate was sealed in losing to the Pioneers and going 0-2 on the weekend.
The only match still going on was that of freshman Calin Paar at the No. 2 seed. Even though his team already lost to Denver, he hung in and tried to get a small win for himself and for his squad.
Paar served, down 6-5 in the third set. On the match point, his opponent hit a ball close to the out-of-bounds line. The call was good at first. Paar protested to the referee but to no avail, and he immediately showed his frustration, holding his racket over his head and pleading for the ref to overturn the call.
It was that kind of day for the Huskers.
Paar lost his first NCAA singles match, and his emotions showed.
"That point decided the match," Paar said. "This time I had bad luck; I hope next time the referee decides for me. I tried my best with everything. In my opinion, the match was not over."
NU Coach Kerry McDermott said his team needs to do a better job of going on the attack. He said the Huskers have waited for their opponents to do something and then start to play defense instead of offense. McDermott stressed that his team needs to have confidence when break points and match points are on the line.
The Huskers return to action on Friday when they host UT-San Antonio, followed by home matches against Depaul on Saturday and Drake on Sunday.
"Be the ones that dictate," McDermott said. "That's the difference between really good teams and average teams. The average teams kind of stay at the baseline and don't do too much.
"The better teams put a little bit of pressure on you. We have to work on that."
jeffstraub@dailynebraskan.com
Their meet Friday against the Hawkeyes was a contested one. They also battled tough against Denver on Sunday, with the Huskers forcing two of six singles matches to three sets.
Nebraska got off to a bad start by losing two out of three in doubles against Denver. Sophomores David Bendheim and Francois Van Impe scored the only points for the Huskers. Bendheim also handled his opponent as the No. 3 seed in singles in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. Van Impe's victory was a little harder to come by. He squeaked by in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-0.
"We were so close in so many matches," said Nebraska assistant Coach Joerg Barthel. "That's just how tennis is. At tight points, (Denver) put a little more pressure on our guys. We are going to work on that and make sure that we get confidence from our guys."
Nebraska junior Hendrik Stahmer had a tough task in playing Denver's Adam Holmstrom, who came in nationally ranked as No. 17 in singles. Stahmer played well, but ultimately lost at the No. 1 spot 6-2, 6-4.
After NU senior Mark Tate fell to his opponent, 7-6 (5), 6-2, NU's fate was sealed in losing to the Pioneers and going 0-2 on the weekend.
The only match still going on was that of freshman Calin Paar at the No. 2 seed. Even though his team already lost to Denver, he hung in and tried to get a small win for himself and for his squad.
Paar served, down 6-5 in the third set. On the match point, his opponent hit a ball close to the out-of-bounds line. The call was good at first. Paar protested to the referee but to no avail, and he immediately showed his frustration, holding his racket over his head and pleading for the ref to overturn the call.
It was that kind of day for the Huskers.
Paar lost his first NCAA singles match, and his emotions showed.
"That point decided the match," Paar said. "This time I had bad luck; I hope next time the referee decides for me. I tried my best with everything. In my opinion, the match was not over."
NU Coach Kerry McDermott said his team needs to do a better job of going on the attack. He said the Huskers have waited for their opponents to do something and then start to play defense instead of offense. McDermott stressed that his team needs to have confidence when break points and match points are on the line.
The Huskers return to action on Friday when they host UT-San Antonio, followed by home matches against Depaul on Saturday and Drake on Sunday.
"Be the ones that dictate," McDermott said. "That's the difference between really good teams and average teams. The average teams kind of stay at the baseline and don't do too much.
"The better teams put a little bit of pressure on you. We have to work on that."
jeffstraub@dailynebraskan.com
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