Nebraska Huskers (2-2) @ Denver Pioneers (1-1)
Sunday, Feb. 6 at 2:30 p.m. CT
Denver Tennis Park (Denver, Colo.)
Live Stats: http://sidearmstats.com/denver/mten/xlive.htm
The Nebraska men’s tennis team will look to build off its win against Drake, as the Huskers travel to Denver on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CT to take on the Pioneers at the Denver Tennis Park.
Live stats are available using the link provided above. Updates will be posted to Huskers.com and @HuskerMTennis on Twitter.
Scouting Denver
• The Pioneers enter Sunday’s matchup with a 1-1 record after winning their season opener against Rice, 4-3, and dropping their second match to Utah, 4-3..
• In the Summit League preseason poll, Denver was picked to win the conference after gathering five, first-place votes.
• Daniel Krulig received Summit League Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week, after winning a three-set match in the No. 6 spot to secure the win for the Pioneers over the Owls in the season opener.
• Denver’s duo team, James Davis and Matt Summers, is ranked as the No. 32 doubles team in the nation according to the ITA Doubles Rankings.
Series History
• Nebraska is 11-5 all-time against the Denver Pioneers, winning seven of the last eight matchups the two teams have played.
• This is the first time since 2015 that the Huskers will travel to Denver for the contest. The two teams have previously played the last three games at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center.
Up Next
• The Huskers will return home to take on Wichita State at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center on Feb. 13 at 2:00 p.m. CT.
Hietaranta Starts off 2022 Strong
• Roni Hietaranta has started the year off strong, winning his first four singles matches to begin the season with a 4-0 record. Dating back to the fall, he now has 12 total singles wins which marks the most on the team thus far.
• Two weeks ago, 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.
Wiedenhorn Proves Steady in Middle of Lineup
• Nic Wiedenhorn has gathered two singles wins to begin the season, with a win in the No. 2 and No. 3 spot. He is tied for 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 a win in three matches, teaming with Hietaranta to defeat Creighton’s Jose Oscar Diaz and Shin Inoue, 7-5. He has taken the next step to move up in the lineup after competing primarily in the last two spots for the Huskers last year.
Huskers Return Plenty of Experience to Lineup
• Shunya Maruyama led the Huskers in singles wins last season with eight, competing in the No. 1 spot five times. He also led the Big Red with seven doubles wins with multiple different partners. William Gleason advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA Regionals this fall, making the round of 8 to set the tone for the new year.
• Tied for the most matches last season was Victor Moreno Lozano who finished with 20 singles matches in 2021. Alongside Dario Huber, Moreno advanced to the ITA National Championships in doubles play after making the semifinals in the ITA Regionals as a duo.
• Patrick Cacciatore and Calvin Mueller also add some depth to this newly shaped Husker squad, as both figure to compete towards the top of the lineup.
Tough Schedule Early
• Nebraska has matched up against two, top 25 teams in its first four 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. Once they reach the back half of their schedule, the Huskers will meet currently ranked opponents in five of their last 12 games.
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