Huskers Meet Bulldogs Saturday Afternoon

Drake Bulldogs (0-1) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (1-2)
Saturday, Jan. 29 at 4:00 p.m. CT
Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center (Lincoln, Neb.)
Live Stream: https://huskers.com/sports/2019/1/28/211695063.aspx?id=2120
Live Stats: http://sidearmstats.com/nebraska/mtennis/xlive.htm

The Nebraska men’s tennis team will look to rebound after two, top 25 losses, as the Huskers play host to Drake on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. CT at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center. 

 

Live streams and live stats are available in the links provided above. Updates will be posted to Huskers.com and @HuskerMTennis on Twitter.

 

Scouting Drake

• The Bulldogs enter Saturday’s matchup with an 0-1 record after dropping their spring opener at Cornell, 6-1, on Jan. 22.

• In the loss, Drake won all three doubles matches vs Cornell to take the doubles point .

• A relatively young team, the Bulldogs only have three upperclassmen on the team this season.

• Olle Sonesson Lidholt defeated teammate Markus Bolin to capture the singles championship at the ITA/UTR tournament in the fall.

 

Series History

• Nebraska is 9-12 all-time against the Drake Bulldogs, with its last win coming at home on March 3, 2010.

• Drake and Nebraska played each other for eight consecutive years before taking last year off. This is their first matchup since the 2019 season.

 

Up Next

• The Huskers will go on the road to take on Denver at the Denver Tennis Park on Feb. 6 at 2:30 p.m. CT.

 

Hietaranta Starts off 2022 Strong

• Roni Hietaranta has started the year off strong, winning his first three singles matches to begin the season 3-0. Dating back to the fall, he now has 11 total singles wins which marks the most on the team thus far.

• This past week, 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 the Sooners’ 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 two matches, teaming with William Gleason to defeat Baylor’s Matias Soto and Juan Pablo Mazzuchi, 6-4. 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

• Junior 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. Senior 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. Along with graduate transfer Dario Huber, Moreno advanced to the ITA National Championships for doubles play after making the semifinals in the ITA Regionals.

• Senior Patrick Cacciatore and Dario Huber 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 three 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.