No. 70 Huskers Dominate No. 75 Utah

Lincoln -- The 70th-ranked Nebraska women’s tennis team cruised to a 7-0 win over No. 75 Utah Thursday afternoon in Newport Beach, Calif. With the win, the Huskers (9-4) snapped a two-match losing streak and picked up their second win over a ranked team this season. NU also defeated No. 64 Yale on Feb. 21.

The Huskers opened the afternoon by taking two of the three doubles matches to win the doubles point. Leslie Harvey and Rose Ketmayura defeated Sheri Esrock and Cinthia Saucedo, 8-4 at No. 1 doubles. At No. 2 doubles, NU’s Gitte Ostermann and Katie Garcia beat Rachel Alder and Jessica Watts, 8-0.

Nebraska carried its momentum into the singles matches, sweeping all six contests and winning five in straight sets. The Huskers’ most notable victory was at No. 3 singles, where senior Leslie Harvey defeat Saucedo, 7-6, 6-2, to improve to 9-4 on the season and secure her 50th career victory.

Ostermann won easily at the No. 1 spot, defeated Esrock, 6-4, 6-0, and sophomore Milena Schulz-Gartner was victorious over Whitney Eber in the most competitive match of the day, winning 5-7, 6-1, 6-3.

Nebraska used a much different lineup in the bottom three spots to compensate for injuries. Garcia played No. 4 singles for the first time in 2003 and won, 6-0, 6-4, over Watts. Sophomore Jennifer Cremieux was in the singles lineup for the first time since Feb. 8 and defeated Alder, 6-0, 6-4. In the No. 6 spot, senior Rebecca Harvey, playing for the first time since Feb. 1, defeated Jenessa Jackson, 6-1, 6-2.

The Huskers, who are in middle of a spring break trip to California, will face No. 54 Long Beach State at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 20.

Doubles
No. 1: L. Harvey/Ketmayura (NU) def. Esrock/Saucedo (Utah), 8-4
No. 2: Ostermann/Garcia (NU) def. Watts/Alder (Utah), 8-0
No. 3: Jackson/Elder (Utah) def. Schulz-Gartner/Cremieux (NU), 9-8 (6)

Singles
No. 1: Ostermann (NU) def. Esrock (Utah), 6-4, 6-0
No. 2: Schulz-Gartner (NU) def. Eber (Utah), 5-7, 6-1, 6-3
No. 3: L. Harvey (NU) def. Saucedo (Utah), 7-6, 6-2
No. 4: Garcia (NU) def. Watts (Utah), 6-0, 6-4
No. 5: Cremieux (NU) def. Alder (Utah), 6-0, 6-4
No. 6: R. Harvey (NU) def. Jackson (Utah), 6-1, 6-2