Lincoln, Neb. – The #61 Nebraska men’s tennis team (13-8, 2-3 Big Ten) matched its total wins from last season with a 6-1 win over the #64 Northwestern Wildcats (8-15, 2-4 Big Ten) on Sunday afternoon. The Big Red secured the doubles point and five singles points to claim its second conference win.
The Big Ten matchup began with doubles at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center. Shunya Maruyama and Leo Linquet partnered on Court Three and defeated Chad Miller and Saiprakash Goli, 6-3. Lars Johann and Calvin Mueller played No. 2 doubles and clinched the doubles point for the Huskers with a 6-4 win over Greyson Casey and Presley Thieneman. Anton Shepp and Nic Wiedenhorn faced No. 48 Felix Nordby and Gleb Blekher on Court One, but the match was abandoned at 4-5.
With a 1-0 lead, the Huskers and Wildcats began singles play. Recently ranked No. 109 Mueller took on Blekher on Court Two and won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. At No. 6 singles, Linquet was next to finish, defeating Miller, 6-4, 6-2. Maruyama had a dominant match against Goli on Court Three, taking down the Wildcat 6-1, 6-1, to clinch the match for the Big Red. Roni Hietaranta played at No. 5 and had a strong finish to defeat Bengtsson 3-6, 6-0, 1-0[10-6]. Johann finished next, winning over Nordby in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. The last match on, Shepp and Thieneman battled their way to a tie-break on Court One. Thieneman defeated Shepp, 6-3, 6(3)-7, 1-0[11-9]. The Huskers won the match 6-1.
With the win, the Huskers improved to 13-8 in the spring season, 2-3 in conference play and 10-2 at home. With its 13th win, the Big Red matched its total wins from the 2022-23 season. Before the 2022-23, 13 wins in a season was a program best since 2016, when the Huskers finished 14-13. Mueller’s straight-set singles win improved his spring N0. 2 singles record to 9-2. Maruyama and Linquet’s victory on Court Three puts the duo at 8-3 on the season.
Up next, the Huskers hit the road to face #62 Indiana and Purdue. The Big Ten matchups are the last two away matches for the Big Red’s regular season. Nebraska will face the Hoosiers on Friday, April 12, at 4 p.m. (CT). The Huskers will take on the Boilermakers on Sunday, April 14, at noon (CT).
