Thursday, March 08, 2007

LINCOLN, Neb. (March 8, 2007) - The No. 48 ranked ETSU men's tennis team continued their winning ways as they defeated Nebraska, 4-3 on Thursday at the Nebraska Tennis Center. The Bucs improve to 12-3 on the season while the Cornhuskers fall to 4-5.

The Bucs took a 1-0 lead as they captured the doubles point. In the No. 1 position, Travis Sandlant (Werribee, Australia) and Alex Ahlgren (Tyreso, Sweden) defeated Mark Tate and Arturo Navarro, 9-7, while Lisandro Picardo (Mar del Plata, Argentina) and Felix Insaurralde defeated Renato Melo and Marton Zsiga, 8-5 in the No. 3 position. In the No. 2 slot, Enrique Olivares (Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela) and Sebastian Serrano (Cartagena, Colombia) fell to the duo of David Bendheim and Adrian Szatmary, 8-6.

In singles, the Cornhuskers took a 2-1 lead as Picardo fell to Renato Melo, 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 5 slot and Insaurralde fell to James Clow, 6-3, 6-3 in the third position.

The Bucs then took a 3-2 lead when Olivares defeated David Bendheim, 7-5, 6-1 in the No. 2 position while Serrano defeated Hendrik Stahmer, 7-5, 6-4 in the No. 4 slot. Nebraska then tied the match at 3-3 as Ahlgren fell to Mark Tate in three sets 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the sixth position.

Junior Predrag Burmazovic (Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro) clinched the match for ETSU as he came from a set down to defeat Adrian Szatmary, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 1 position.

"The match today was just fantastic. It was one of the most exciting collegiate matches I have ever seen," said head coach Yaser Zaatini. "It was a well-fought match and the guys showed incredible courage and I am extremely proud of them."

Continuing play tomorrow the Bucs will play Wichita State at 1 p.m. CST. For all ETSU men's tennis action, visit www.etsubucs.com

ETSU 4, Nebraska 3

Singles

No. 1- Predrag Burmazovic (ETSU) def. Adrian Szatmary (UN) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

No. 2- Enrique Olivares (ETSU) def. David Bendheim (UN) 7-5, 6-1

No. 3- James Clow (UN) def. Felix Insaurralde (ETSU) 6-3, 6-3

No. 4- Sebastian Serrano (ETSU) def. Hendrik Stahmer (UN) 7-5, 6-4

No. 5- Renato Melo (UN) def. Lisandro Picardo (ETSU) 6-2, 6-0

No. 6- Mark Tate (UN) def. Alex Ahlgren (ETSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3

Order of Finish: 5, 3, 2, 4, 6, 1*

Doubles

No. 1- Ahlgren/Sandlant (ETSU) def. Tate/Navarro (UN) 9-7

No. 2- Bendheim/Szatmary (UN) def. Olivares/Serrano (ETSU) 8-5

No. 3- Picardo/Insaurralde (ETSU) def. Melo/Zsiga (UN) 8-6