Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-8) @ #19 Pepperdine Waves (5-4)
Thursday, March 3 at 3:00 p.m. CT
La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club (La Jolla, Calif.)
Live Video/Stats: https://pepperdinewaves.com/sports/2018/8/7/playsight.aspx
Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-8) vs Pacific Coast Doubles Championships
Thursday-Sunday, March 3-6 at TBA
La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club (La Jolla, Calif.)
Live Stats: https://playtennis.usta.com/Competitions/LJBTC/Tournaments/draws/23ABB9DB-B5DD-4E58-AD39-C85898E92199
The Nebraska men’s tennis team is coming off the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic, where they took on two ranked opponents in Montgomery, Alabama. Nebraska will look to bounce back as they take on No. 19 Pepperdine on Thursday afternoon before staying in California for the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships over the weekend.
Nebraska will send four doubles teams to the tournament in La Jolla, California. Leading the Huskers will be the teams of Nic Wiedenhorn and Victor Moreno Lozano as well as Dario Huber and Shunya Maruyama. Nebraska will also send William Gleason and Chester Wickwire along with Patrick Cacciatore and Calvin Mueller as the final two doubles teams. Fans can view the full draw here.
Live stats are available using the link provided above. Updates will be posted to Huskers.com and @HuskerMTennis on Twitter.
Scouting Pepperdine
• The Tigers enter Friday’s matchup with a 5-4 record, including a victory over #5 USC last Saturday, 4-2.
• Pepperdine has four players on the ITA Top-125 Singles Rankings List: (No. 13 Daniel De Jonge, No. 24 Andrew Rogers, No. 49 Pietro Fellin, No. 111 Tim Zeitvogel).
• So far this season, Pepperdine has faced five ranked opponents in nine games, holding a 3-2 record during those matches.
• The Tigers have not lost at home so far with a 4-0 record, while Zeitvogel currently holds a match winning streak of five.
Up Next
• The Huskers will stay on the road as they take on Cornell at the Reis Tennis Center in Ithaca, N.Y., on March 12 at Noon.
Hietaranta Continues Strong 2022 Campaign
• Roni Hietaranta started the year off strong, winning his first six singles matches to begin the season with a 6-0 record. Dating back to the fall, he now has 15 total singles wins which marks the most on the team thus far.
• On Jan. 25, Hietaranta was named Big Ten Co-Athlete of the Week after singles wins over Baylor and Oklahoma. He knocked off the No. 54 ranked singles competitor in the nation, defeating Oklahoma’s Jordan Hasson, 6-4, 7-5. The Lappeenranta, Finland native also defeated Baylor’s Cole Gromley in the No. 6 spot, 6-1, 6-3.
• Three weeks ago, Hietaranta rallied back from a 4-2 hole to knock off Wichita State’s Orel Ovil and clinch the victory for the Huskers. He won the singles match against Ovil 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Last weekend, he knocked off Princeton’s Filippos Astreinidis in consecutive sets to push his spring record to 7-3.
Moreno and Maruyama Holding Down Back Half of Lineup
• Victor Moreno Lozano currently holds the second-most wins for the Huskers as he boasts a 5-1 singles record for Nebraska this season. He’s gathered three victories in the No. 5 spot and two in the No. 6 spot for the Big Red, defeating Wichita State’s Alex Richards to help fuel to comeback victory for Nebraska three weeks ago.
• Shunya Maruyama has won four of his last seven singles matches, with wins in the No. 4-6 spots. He has the second most wins on the team dating back to the fall, and has proved to be a consistent player for the Huskers so far this spring once again.
• In doubles action, he has six wins in eight matches, including a 3-0 record with Patrick Cacciatore primarily in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. He has continued to build off a 2021 season in which he gathered the most wins for the Huskers with eight, including a win in the No. 1 spot over Penn State.
Tough Schedule Early
• Nebraska has matched up against four, top 30 teams in its first 11 games to begin the spring season. They lost to No. 2 Baylor at home, 6-1, and No. 24 Oklahoma on the road, 5-2. In the Blue-Gray Classic, they dropped matches to both #29 Princeton and #25 Auburn. Once they reach the back half of their schedule, the Huskers will meet currently ranked opponents in seven of their last 13 games.
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