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The No. 67 Nebraska women’s tennis team returns to Big 12 Conference action Saturday, March 6, when it travels to Waco, Texas, to take on No. 35 Baylor. The match against the Bears (2-6) is the first of back-to-back matches the Huskers will play against ranked conference teams. NU plays host to No. 17 Texas A&M March 13. The Huskers are 1-1 this season against ranked teams, falling to No. 48 Ohio State, 6-1, but defeating No. 64 Yale, 5-2.
The Huskers enter the week with an 8-2 record after defeating Creighton, 7-0, Feb. 27. NU has shut out five teams this season, also defeating Montana State, Wichita State, Wyoming and Air Force, 7-0. Nebraska is just four wins away from matching its 2003 total of 12.
In 2004, Nebraska has benefited from strong singles play at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. Sophomore Milena Schulz-Gartner and senior Leslie Harvey have combined for an 9-1 record at No. 2 singles, while Harvey and senior Anna Oehme have combined for a 8-2 mark at No. 3 singles.
Overall, the Huskers have dropped just 16 of the 60 singles matches they have played. In doubles action, Nebraska is a combined 22-8. Oehme and Schulz-Gartner have been the most successful team, posting a 8-2 mark from the No. 2 and No. 3 spots.
A Look at Baylor
Baylor is 2-6 in 2004 but has played one of the nation’s most difficult schedules, losing to No. 7 Duke, No. 2 Georgia, No. 11 Clemson, No. 45 Texas Christian and No. 22 Miami. Baylor’s wins are against No. 30 Mississippi and Florida International. The Bears kick off conference action March 4 against No. 13 Texas.
Baylor’s top singles player is freshman Carolin Walter, who is ranked No. 49 and owns a 3-5 record at No. 1 singles. Head Coach Joey Scrivano is in his first season at Baylor after leading South Alabama to three straight NCAA appearances.
Nebraska is 1-7 all-time vs. Baylor and lost to the Bears, 7-0, last year in Lincoln.
Last Time Out: NU Shuts Out Creighton
No. 67 Nebraska extended its non-conference home winning streak to 53 straight matches with a 7-0 sweep of in-state rival Creighton (3-6) Feb. 27 at the Woods Tennis Center. NU (8-2) improved to 7-0 at home in 2004 with the win.
At No. 1 singles, Gitte Ostermann defeated Katie Chiu 6-4, 6-0. Milena Schulz-Gartner topped Megan Kowal 6-2, 6-1, at the No. 2 spot and at No. 3 singles Leslie Harvey earned a 6-1, 6-3, victory over Christy Roth. Pamela Castillejos was also victorious at the No. 4 spot, defeating Kim Cavan, 6-2, 6-3. At No. 5 singles, Anna Oehme blanked Deidre Senders, 6-0, 6-0. Katie Garcia made it a Nebraska sweep with her 6-3, 6-0, win over Shannon Whelan in the No. 6 match.
In doubles, the Huskers’ No. 1 team of Harvey and Rose Ketmayura defeated Creighton’s No. 1 duo of Kowal and Roth, 8-2, while Ostermann and Garcia earned an 8-3 victory at No. 2 doubles over Chiu and Cavan. At No. 3 doubles, NU ?s tandem of Oehme and Schulz-Gartner made it a perfect afternoon for Nebraska, blanking the Bluejay team of Sender and Whelan, 8-0.
Up Next
Following its match at No. 35 Baylor, NU continues Big 12 action when it plays host to No. 17 Texas A&M in Lincoln March 13. The Huskers will then take a spring break trip to Long Beach, Calif.
Nebraska Notables
- The Huskers have shut out five teams 7-0 in 2004, including Montana State, Wichita State, Wyoming, Air Force and Creighton. Nebraska’s biggest wins so far were Feb. 21 against No. 64 Yale and Feb. 1 over perennial NCAA Tournament qualifier Illinois-Chicago
- Senior Leslie Harvey suffered her first losses of the season Feb. 20-21 against Ohio State and Yale. Harvey entered those matches with a 7-0 record.
- Senior Anna Oehme hit the 50-win mark for her career Feb. 27 when she defeated Creighton’s Deidre Senders, 6-0, 6-0. Leslie Harvey is just one win away from amassing 50 career singles victories.
- Junior Gitte Ostermann saw her first competition of the spring Feb. 8 against Wyoming, when she teamed with Katie Garcia for a win at No. 3 doubles. Ostermann, the nation’s No. 19 singles player, had been sidelined with injuries in 2004 after an impressive fall season in which she posted a 14-4 record.
Huskers Move Up in ITA Rankings
The Nebraska women’s tennis team moved up four spots to No. 67 in the International Tennis Association’s Division I rankings released Wednesday. The ranking is the Huskers’ highest of the season.
Nebraska opened 2004 at No. 68 in the preseason ITA rankings before falling to No. 71 on Feb. 10. The Huskers moved ahead to No. 67 on the strength of a 5-2 upset of then-No. 64 Yale Feb. 21 in Columbus, Ohio.
Ostermann Ranked No. 31 in ITA Poll
Nebraska junior Gitte Ostermann earned the No. 31 spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I Women’s preseason rankings released Feb. 24. Ostermann is 3-2 at the No. 1 spot this season, as she missed the first five meets of the season with injury.
Ostermann was ranked 19th in the ITA preseason rankings released on Jan. 12, the highest ranking ever for a Husker women’s tennis player. Ostermann, who was previously unranked, raced up the charts after producing a 14-4 fall record, including an 8-3 mark against opponents listed in the preseason rankings. Only two players in the country had more top-100 wins than Ostermann during the fall.
Ostermann, the Huskers’ No. 1 singles player for the past two seasons, owns a 32-18 career record and was a first-team All-Big 12 pick in 2003 despite playing with a injured shoulder. Her previous high ranking came two years ago when she was ranked No. 55 as a freshman.
Nebraska Coach Scott Jacobson
In his 13th year, Scott Jacobson continues to lead Nebraska to success on the national level despite battling one of the toughest conferences in the nation.
With a career-record of 155-120, Jacobson is the winningest coach in Nebraska women’s tennis history. He has led the Huskers to a national ranking in each of the past seven seasons. NU has also produced seven straight winning seasons under Jacobson’s leadership. Jacobson’s top seasons were in 2000 and 2001, when he guided the program to consecutive 19-6 records.
Jacobson has coached six Big 12 Conference champions and three all-conference players, including Gitte Ostermann in 2003. A school-record five Nebraska women’s tennis players were named to the Academic All-Big 12 team last season. In Jacobson’s 12 years, the Huskers have combined for 24 academic all-conference honors, including 15 first-team accolades.
In 2003, Jacobson led NU to a 12-11 record and a No. 76 ranking. Nebraska defeated two ranked teams, including No. 71 Eastern Michigan and No. 66 Denver.