Huskers Search for First Big 12 Win Against Iowa State

The Nebraska women’s tennis team returns to Big 12 Conference action Friday, March 26, when it plays host to Iowa State at 4 p.m. at Woods Tennis Center. The Huskers, 9-5 overall and 0-3 in the league, will be looking for their first conference win.

Nebraska has traditionally had great success against the Cyclones. NU has accumulated more wins against Iowa State than any other Big 12 Conference opponent, as the Huskers own a 28-3 series advantage. Nebraska defeated Iowa State, 6-1, last year.

The Iowa State date is NU’s first Big 12 match since March 13. Nebraska spent last week in California on a spring break training trip. The Huskers faced two ranked opponents, defeating No. 75 Utah, 7-0, March 17 but falling to No. 55 Long Beach State, 7-0, March 20.

The California matches capped a difficult eight-match stretch in which the Huskers faced seven ranked opponents. Iowa State will be the first unranked team Nebraska has faced since Feb. 27.

The Huskers continue to be led by senior Leslie Harvey and sophomore Milena Schulz-Gartner. Both have 9-5 spring records. Harvey picked up her 50th career win in Nebraska’s victory over the Utes. She is 5-1 at No. 2 singles and 4-4 in the No. 3 spot. Schulz-Gartner is 6-2 at No. 2 singles and 3-3 when playing in the top spot.

A Look at Iowa State
Iowa State (4-3) is coming off a 7-0 loss to Arizona State last week. The ASU loss snapped the Cyclones’ three-match winning streak. ISU is 0-1 in the Big 12 with a loss to Texas A&M. The Cylones are led by No. 1 singles player Sabrina Evers, who owns a 2-5 record. Head Coach Michele Conlon is in her 12th at the helm.

NU has accumulated more wins against Iowa State than any other Big 12 Conference opponent, as the Huskers own a 28-3 series advantage. Nebraska defeated Iowa State, 6-1, last year.

Up Next
Following its match against Iowa State, Nebraska will play host to Saint Louis March 28 at 10 a.m. at Woods Tennis Center. April 3, the Huskers continue Big 12 action at Missouri in a noon match.

Last Time Out: NU Falls to No. 55 Long Beach State
Nebraska suffered a 7-0 loss to No. 55 Long Beach State March 20 at the 49er Campus Courts. The Huskers fell to 9-5 overall, while Long Beach State improved to 10-5 on the season. The 49ers have won eight straight matches.

After dropping all three doubles matches, the Huskers had some tough luck in singles play. Competing without No. 1 singles player Gitte Ostermann, Nebraska lost three super tie-breakers. Sophomore Milena Schulz-Gartner fell to Nicole Bouffler, 2-6, 6-4 (10-7) at No. 1 singles, senior Leslie Harvey lost to Kelly Chan, 3-6, 6-3, (10-6) at No. 2 singles, and senior Anna Oehme lost to Alanah Carroll, 7-5, 4-6 (10-7) in the No. 4 spot.

Huskers Cruise By No. 75 Utah
Nebraska cruised to a 7-0 win over No. 75 Utah March 18 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 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.

Ostermann Ranked No. 48 in ITA Poll
Nebraska junior Gitte Ostermann earned the No. 48 spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I Women’s preseason rankings released March 23. Ostermann is 4-4 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 33-20 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.

Huskers Face Difficult Schedule
Nebraska plays 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. NU just finished a stretch from Feb. 14 to March 13 in which five of six opponents were ranked, including No. 13 Texas (Feb. 14), No. 35 Baylor (March 6) and No. 16 Texas A&M (March 13).

The Huskers have 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. 70 Nebraska, were ranked in the ITA preseason poll.

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 156-123, 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.