12 | NEBRASKA MEN’S TENNIS | 2014-15
Boyer Claims All-Big Ten Honors to Lead Big Red in 2014
Lincoln native Court Clark returns for his third season with the Huskers. Clark earned the Nebraska
Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award and a spot on the inaugural Tom Osborne Citizenship
Team in 2013-14.
A young Nebraska tennis team faced one of
the most difficult schedules in school history,
but the Huskers demonstrated resilience,
determination and dedication while continuing
their progression back to NCAA Tournament
contention.
Although Nebraska’s lineup was dominated
by freshmen and sophomores in 2013-14, the
Huskers still battled their way to a 12-15 overall
record, including 3-8 in a loaded Big Ten. The
Huskers nearly produced a .500 record despite
playing 16 of their 27 matches on the season
against top-75 competition, according to the
ITA rankings.
Along the way, Nebraska ascended as high
as No. 44 in the ITA rankings themselves,
before slipping out of the final rankings at the
end of the year after facing a strong Big Ten
Conference schedule.
Dusty Boyer showed the potential for the
future of the Husker program under Coach
Kerry McDermott. The sophomore from Ham
Lake, Minn., captured first-team All-Big Ten
honors while playing out of the No. 1 position in
the Nebraska lineup throughout the conference
season. A four-time Minnesota high school
state champion, Boyer produced a 6-5 record in
Big Ten play on his way to a 25-15 overall mark.
He finished the 2013-14 season ranked No. 101
in the ITA singles rankings.
A leader on and off the court, Boyer also
claimed academic All-Big Ten honors while
earning a prestigious Nebraska Student-Athlete
HERO Leadership Award.
Boyer was far from the only sophomore
that shined in 2013-14 for the Big Red. Marc
Herrmann continued his progression as one of
the top young players in the Big Ten by posting
a 20-win campaign in singles. He was also one
of Nebraska’s top doubles competitors, posting
22 wins on the year, including 12 in the spring.
Playing primarily out of the No. 2 spot in the
Husker lineup, Herrmann managed an 11-14
dual record for the Huskers during the spring,
including a 3-8 Big Ten mark.
Like Boyer, Herrmann was also a leader off
the court, claiming academic All-Big Ten honors
and Nebraska’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
While sophomores Boyer and Herrmann
led Nebraska’s growth at the top of the lineup,
Tom Blackwell provided senior leadership and
consistency at the No. 3 singles position.
Blackwell gave the Huskers a third 20-win
campaign by finishing with a 22-15 overall
record that included a 15-10 mark in spring
singles action. He went 5-6 in Big Ten play.
Nebraska opened the season at No. 60 in
the ITA Top 75, as one of 10 Big Ten Conference
teams in the rankings. The Huskers remained
in the top 75 throughout the regular season,
closing the year at No. 69 before falling out of
the rankings in the postseason.
Nebraska opened the spring in Fort Myers,
Fla., defeating Florida Gulf Coast, 5-2. The
following day in Tallahassee, Nebrsaka dropped
a hard-fought 5-2 decision to No. 36 Florida
State.
Following a season-opening trip to Florida,
the Huskers headed to Texas to take on Texas
Tech and Big Ten rival Wisconsin. The Huskers
fell to the Red Raiders, but defeated the No. 66
Badgers, 4-1, to improve to 2-2 on the season.
Nebraska opened its home schedule with
a 5-2 victory over Denver on Feb. 8, before
dropping a 4-2 decision to No. 49 Louisville
on Feb. 15. The Big Red bounced back with a
7-0 sweep of in-state rival Creighton later that
same day to move to 4-3 on the year.
Nebraska hit the road again and pushed its
season record to 6-3 with convincing wins over
2010 & 2011 NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES
Alabama-Birmingham (Feb. 22) and Georgia
State (Feb. 23) in Birmingham, Ala.
The Huskers suffered a setback with a
5-2 loss to Cornell, before rebounding with
a 7-0 victory over the New Jersey Institute of
Technology on March 1. At 7-4, the Huskers
moved to No. 50 in the ITA rankings.
Nebraska returned home for a four-match
homestand, but opened with a hard-fought
4-3 loss with Utah on March 7, before suffering
a 4-0 defeat at the hands of No. 45 Drake on
March 9. The Huskers showed their resilience
by bouncing back with a 7-0 win over North
Dakota on March 9, before closing the stand
with a 7-0 win over Wisconsin to officially open
Big Ten play on March 21.
Nebraska then hit the road for three Big
Ten matches at Minnesota, Michigan State
and Michigan before returning home for a 6-1
victory over Indiana on April 4. Following a 6-1
loss to No. 33 Purdue, the Huskers bounced
back with a 4-3 win at Iowa on April 9.
The Huskers returned to Lincoln for their
final home stand of the year, which opened with
a narrow 5-2 defeat to No. 34 Northwestern,
before rolling to H