LINCOLN -- A second weekend victory was not to be for the No. 66 BYU men’s tennis team, which dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 53 Nebraska on Saturday. With the loss, the Cougars fell to 9-8 on the season while NU improved to 12-2.

After sweeping the doubles matches in Friday’s bout against Southern Mississippi, BYU struggled in pairs play against the Huskers. NU secured the doubles point after wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Sophomores Daniel Hwang and Thomas Shubert earned the only doubles victory on the day for the Cougars, an 8-4 defeat of Francois Van Impe and Hendrik Stahmer.

The Huskers came out strong in singles play with winning performances on courts one through three to clinch the victory. BYU refused to go quietly, taking the matches at the last three positions.

Junior Cassidy Mears handily defeated his opponent at the No. 5 position. The victory marks Mears’ fifth consecutive singles win. Freshman Georgy Batrakov and Hwang also recorded wins for the Cougars.

The team will resume its season next week, hosting Loyola Marymount, Eastern Washington and Montana State.

Match Results
Nebraska-4
BYU- 3
 Doubles
1.  David Bendheim and Calin Paar (NU) defeated Roman Warias and Georgy Batrakov (BYU) 8-2
2. Christopher Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim (NU) defeated Evan Urbina and Cassidy Mears (BYU) 8-3
3. Thomas Shubert and Daniel Hwang (BYU) defeated Francois Van Impe and Hendrik Stahmer (NU) 8-4
Singles
1. David Bendheim (NU) defeated Roman Warias (BYU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Calin Paar (NU) defeated Evan Urbina (BYU) 6-4, 6-1
3. Christopher Aumueller (NU) defeated Thomas Shubert (BYU) 6-1, 6-4
4. Georgy Batrakov (BYU) defeated Hendrik Stahmer (NU) 7-5, 6-2
5. Cassidy Mears (BYU) defeated Benedikt Lindheim (NU) 7-5, 6-1
6. Daniel Hwang (BYU) defeated Renato Melo (NU) 6-1, 7-5

PROVO -- BYU will travel to Nebraska this weekend to face No. 75 Southern Mississippi Friday and No. 53 Nebraska Saturday. The 8-7 Cougars are looking to turn things around after a 4-3 loss to No. 26 Boise State last week.

“We’ve not done well in doubles, which has been the factor in close matches,” BYU coach Brad Pearce said. “This week we’ve tried some different combinations and hope they will help us to win the doubles point.”

The team will need every point they can get against a tough Nebraska squad. The Huskers are 11-2 on the season and are coming off three consecutive sweeps over the weekend. BYU and NU are tied 1-1 all-time but have not competed against each other in the last ten years.

“Nebraska is a great, athletic team so it’s a good opportunity for us,” Pearce said.

Saturday will bring Southern Miss, which currently owns an 8-4 record. The Golden Eagles ended their three-match winning streak with a 5-2 loss to No. 36 Rice last week.

USM has one ranked singles player, with freshman Patricio Alvarado cracking into the top 100 at No. 97. Alvarado also pairs with Markus Wessinghage to claim the No. 64 spot. BYU earned a 4-3 win when the teams last met in 2001.

“We’ve got two tough matches against two ranked team,” Pearce said. “Our goal is to come back with two wins.”

Both matches will be played at the Nebraska Tennis Center and begin at 7 p.m.