Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-9) @ #61 Cornell Big Red (8-3)
Saturday, March 12 at Noon CT
Reis Tennis Center (Ithaca, N.Y.)
No Live Video/Stats
The Nebraska men’s tennis team is coming off the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships, where Victor Moreno Lozano and Nic Wiedenhorn advanced to the semifinals. Nebraska will look to get back on track as they meet No. 61 Cornell in their fourth ranked matchup in the last five games.
Live stats are not available for this matchup. Updates will be posted to Huskers.com and @HuskerMTennis on Twitter.
Scouting Cornell
• The Big Red enter Saturday’s matchup with an 8-3 record, including winning their first eight to begin the year.
• Cornell has one player on the ITA Top-125 Singles Rankings List: (No. 33 Alafia Ayeni) and one player on the ITA Top-80 Doubles Rankings List: (No. 31 Alafia Ayeni/Vladislav Melnic).
• In the fall, Ayeni qualified for the ITA National Fall Championships, finishing with a 1-1 record as he advanced to the round of 16.
• The Big Red have been at home for nine of their first 11 games, holding an 7-2 record over that span.
Up Next
• The Huskers will travel to the southeast as they take on UCF at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., on March 16 at 5 p.m.
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 Wiedenhorn Shine In Singles/Doubles Play
• Victor Moreno Lozano currently holds the second-most wins for the Huskers as he boasts a 5-3 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.
• Nic Wiedenhorn is 2-7 in singles action, but has regularly competed towards the top of the lineup for the Huskers. He began the season winning two of his first three matches and even knocked off Oklahoma’s Baptiste Anselmo, 7-6(10), 7-6(6).
• In doubles action, the duo made it to the semifinals of the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships, knocking off three, seeded teams in the tournament. They boasted a 5-1 record over the six games they played, and are now 8-5 as a team overall, with the most doubles wins on the team.
Tough Schedule Early
• Nebraska has matched up against five, top 30 teams in its first 12 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 earlier in the year.
• In the Blue-Gray National Classic, they dropped matches to both No. 29 Princeton and No. 25 Auburn. Nebraska recently lost to No. 19 Pepperdine before taking part in the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships this past weekend.
• 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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