Huskers Down No. 48 UCF 4-3

Orlando, Fla. – The Nebraska men’s tennis team (4-10, 0-0 Big Ten) knocked off the No. 48 UCF Knights (5-10, 0-0 AAC) 4-3 at the USTA National Campus on Wednesday night to give them their first ranked win of the season.

Doubles action kicked things off, as Nebraska won the point following a tiebreaker victory by Patrick Cacciatore and Calvin Mueller. Two weeks after a semifinal appearance at the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships, Victor Moreno Lozano and Nic Wiedenhorn fell in the No. 1 spot to UCF’s Trey Hilderbrand and Bogdan Pavel, 6-1. In the No. 2 spot, Dario Huber and Shunya Maruyama rolled to a 6-4 victory. Cacciatore and Mueller brought home the doubles point for the Huskers as they battled back to take the tiebreak point after being down 3-0.

In singles action, Roni Hietaranta returned to the court to get his team-leading eighth win of the year, winning in the No. 6 spot, 6-2, 6-2. UCF gathered its first point of the match after Lleyton Cronje knocked off Mueller in the No. 1 spot to trim the lead to 2-1. Huber bested Hilderbrand, ranked No. 61 in the ITA singles rankings, to give the Huskers a 3-1 lead, after a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

Rubio followed that up with a point for the Knights after winning in consecutive sets over Wiedenhorn, 6-1, 6-3. JC Roddick then continued the momentum for UCF as he tied the match at three after a victory over William Gleason.

Maruyama sealed the victory for the Huskers with a consecutive-set victory over Pavel, 7-6(5), 7-5. It’s Nebraska’s first ranked victory this season as they return home next week for the first time in a month.

Up next, the Huskers return home after a month to take on Oregon on Wednesday, March 23, in Lincoln, Neb. at 11 a.m. at the Dillon Tennis Center.

Wednesday, March 16 Results

Nebraska 4, No. 48 UCF 3

Singles Competition:

1. Lleyton Cronje (UCF) def. Calvin Mueller (NEB) 6-3, 6-2

2. Dario Huber (NEB) def. #61 Trey Hilderbrand (UCF) 6-4, 6-4

3. Shunya Maruyama (NEB) def. Bogdan Pavel (UCF) 7-6(5), 7-5

4. Alan Rubio (UCF) def. Nic Wiedenhorn (NEB) 6-1, 6-3

5. JC Roddick (UCF) def. William Gleason (NEB) 7-6(5), 6-3

6. Roni Hietaranta (NEB) def. Quinn Snyder (UCF) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles Competition:

1. Trey Hilderbrand/Bogdan Pavel (UCF) def. Victor Moreno Lozano/Nic Wiedenhorn (NEB) 6-1

2. Dario Huber/Shunya Maruyama (NEB) def. #60 Lleyton Cronje/Cooper White (UCF) 6-4

3. Patrick Cacciatore/Calvin Mueller (NEB) def. JC Roddick/Alan Rubio (UCF) 7-6(6)

Match Notes:

No. 48 UCF (5-10)

Nebraska (4-10)

Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3) Singles (6, 1, 2, 4, 5, 3)