Lincoln, Neb. – In the first matchup all-time between the two teams, the Nebraska men’s tennis team (6-3, 0-0 Big Ten) rallied to defeat the Gonzaga Bulldogs (2-2, 0-0 WCC) on Sunday, winning 4-0.
Doubles play between NU and GU started with a 6-0 sweep from No. 3 doubles duo Leo Linquet and Shunya Maruyama. On Court Two, Lars Johann and Calvin Mueller completed the comeback win from down 1-3 over Leon Roider and Pablo Gomez Galvan, 6-4. Johann and Mueller’s win secured the doubles point for the Big Red. On Court One, Anton Shepp and Nic Wiedenhorn rallied from down 1-5 to tie the set at 5-games all, but with the doubles point clinched, the match was left unfinished.
In singles, Nikolay Sysoev took the first win on Court Five, defeating Oscar Rashed 6-3, 6-4. Shepp played in the No. 1 singles slot, and started the first set down 1-2. Shepp battled to take the set 6-4, and swept the second set, winning over Sasha Trkulja 6-4, 6-0. With NU up 3-0, only one more Husker needed a win to seal the match. Christiansen had a close first set, winning 7-6 (3), but swept GU’s Tom Dunlop in the second, to take the set, match and team win.
With the match decided, Courts Two, Three, and Four were left unfinished. No. 2 singles Johann had a close first set and a dominant lead in the second, leaving the court at 6(5)-7, 5-2. On Court Three, Maruyama was a game away from defeating Leo Roider, 6-4, 5-2. No. 4 Linquet was battling in his third set with Pablo Gomez Galvan, leaving the match at 6-4, 3-6, 1-1.
The Big Red improved to 6-3 on the season, with three Huskers adding a win to their singles records. Shepp improved to 8-1, Sysoev to 3-0 and Christiansen to 3-2 in spring singles. With Johann and Mueller’s win on Court Two, Mueller, and the No. 2 doubles slot, improved to 7-2 in the spring.
