NU Opens Season With Seven Straight Home Matches

The No. 68 Nebraska women’s tennis team opens the 2004 spring season this Friday, Jan. 30, when it plays host to Colorado State in a 4 p.m. match at Woods Tennis Center. The contest against the Rams kicks off a busy homestand in which NU will face seven opponents in 16 days.

The Huskers will take on six unranked non-conference teams before opening the Big 12 season against No. 27 Texas on Feb. 14.

Nebraska will feature an experienced team that includes four seniors and junior standout Gitte Ostermann, an All-Big 12 selection in 2002-03 who is ranked No. 19 in the ITA preseason poll.

Colorado State will bring five returning letterwinners to Lincoln from last year’s 10-10 squad. The Rams feature one of the nation’s top young talents in freshman Emily Kirchem, who was ranked as high as 18th during the fall season.

Following the CSU match, NU will take on Montana State on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 10 a.m. before facing Illinois-Chicago Feb. 1 at 10 a.m.

Huskers Boast Experienced Lineup in 2004
Nebraska will feature an experience lineup in 2004 that includes eight returning letterwinners from last season’s 12-11 team. Much of the Huskers’ success will depend on junior Gitte Ostermann, who is finally healthy after struggling with a shoulder injury the past two seasons. A first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2003, Ostermann went 14-4 in the fall with a 6-2 record against ranked opponents. Her No. 19 ranking in the ITA preseason poll is the highest ever for a Husker.

Nebraska’s solid senior class includes Leslie Harvey, Rebecca Harvey, Rose Ketmayura and Anna Oehme. Leslie Harvey finished the season with a 9-12 singles record while competing primarily at the No. 2-3 spots. She is expected to claim a spot in the top half of the singles lineup for the fourth straight season.

Harvey will also team with fellow senior Rose Ketmayura at No. 1 doubles. Ketmayura produced an 8-12 record as a junior, including a 2-2 mark at No. 2 singles, and owns a 40-31 career singles record.

Oehme will join Ketmayura and Harvey in the lineup after contributing at the Nos. 3-5 spots last season and posting a 15-6 record, the best singles mark of any Husker. Oehme, who produced a 4-1 singles record during the fall, carries a 33-16 career singles record into 2004.

The Huskers’ fourth senior, Rebecca Harvey, went 10-5 while playing mostly in the bottom half of the lineup last year.

Other returning letterwinners for the 2003-04 season include junior Katie Garcia, a graduate of Lincoln Southeast, and sophomores Pamela Castillejos and Jennifer Cremieux. They will be joined by newcomer Milena Schulz-Gartner.

Huskers Face Tough Schedule in 2004
Nebraska will play an extremely difficult schedule in 2004, as 12 of the Huskers’ 23 regular-season matches are against teams ranked in the ITA Division I preseason rankings released Jan. 12. NU opens 2004 with six straight contests against unranked opponents before a stretch from Feb. 14 to March 13 in which five of six opponents are ranked, including No. 27 Texas (Feb. 14) and No. 24 Texas A&M (March 13).

The Huskers face a particularly tough stretch in April, when six of the seven teams they face are ranked. The Big 12 Championships begin April 29, in Norman, Okla. Ten Big 12 teams, including No. 68 Nebraska, are ranked in the ITA preseason poll.