Huskers Finish Regular Season With Oklahoma Trip

The Nebraska women’s tennis team concludes its regular-season schedule this weekend when it travels to Oklahoma for two matches. The Huskers will take on Oklahoma State (6-12 overall and 1-7 in the Big 12) April 24 at 11 a.m. before facing No. 18 Oklahoma (17-3, 6-2) April 25 at 10 a.m.

NU (14-7 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12) enters the week hoping to improve its standing in the Big 12 Conference race. Nebraska is tied with Kansas for seventh in the conference standings, two matches behind fifth-place Missouri (6-5) and Colorado (6-0). The Big 12 Tournament is scheduled for April 29-May 2 in Norman, Okla.

NU has won six of its last eight matches, picking up four Big 12 victories during that stretch. With four league wins, Nebraska has already secured its best league record since the 2000-01 season when it went 6-5. Nebraska has already surpassed its 2003 victory total of 12.

The Huskers continue to be led by senior Leslie Harvey and sophomore Milena Schulz-Gartner. Both have 14-7 spring records. Harvey picked up her 50th career win in Nebraska’s victory over the Utah on March 17. She is 5-1 at No. 2 singles and 9-6 in the No. 3 spot. Schulz-Gartner is 11-4 at No. 2 singles and 3-3 when playing in the top spot.

Junior captain Katie Garcia is 12-3 overall while playing primarily in the No. 6 spot this spring, and she boasts a team-best four-match winning streak. No. 1 singles player Gitte Ostermann was ranked No. 62 in the April 13 ITA rankings. She is 9-6 competing in the No. 1 singles spot in 2004.

A Look at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State enters the week looking for its second Big 12 win. The Cowgirls are 6-12 overall and 1-7 in the league, with their only win coming against Kansas State. OSU has lost six of its last seven matches.

The Cowgirls are coached by Julius Lubicz-Majewski, who is in his 15th season at OSU.

The Huskers will face one of the hottest teams in the conference Sunday when they play Oklahoma. The Sooners, ranked No. 18 in the April 13 ITA poll, have won five straight matches to improved to 17-3 overall and 6-2 in the league. OU features one of the nation’s top players in junior Anda Perianu, who was ranked fifth in last week’s ITA poll. The 2003 Big 12 Player of the Year, Perianu has won 12 straight matches. NU’s Gitte Ostermann fell to Perianu during the fall season.

The Sooners are coached by Mark Johnson, who is in his 16th year at OU.

Nebraska is 1-24 all-time vs. Oklahoma State and 6-19 against Oklahoma. NU lost to both teams last year.

Up Next
Following its weekend matches at Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, the Huskers will return to Norman for the Big 12 Conference Championships. The event, which is hosted by OU this year, begins April 29 and runs through May 2.

Last Time Out: NU Defeats No. 71 Colorado, 5-2
Nebraska picked up an important Big 12 Conference victory with a 5-2 upset of No. 71 Colorado April 18 at Woods Tennis Center.

The Huskers opened the match by sweeping the doubles contests. Rose Ketmayura and Leslie Harvey defeated Colorado’s Morgan Sall and Jessica Vanderdys at No. 1 doubles, 8-3. Nebraska’s No. 2 tandem of juniors Gitte Ostermann and Katie Garcia defeated Lynzee Kever and Kendra Strandemo, 8-2. At No. 3 doubles, Anne Oehme and Milena Schulz-Gartner completed the sweep by defeating Jenny Hanson and Martina Sedivec, 8-6.

The Huskers picked up wins from the No.s 1, 2 and 6 singles spots to secure the victory. Ostermann defeated Kever of Colorado, 6-3, 6-4, while Husker Schulz-Gartner was victorious over Vanderdys, 7-6, 6-1. At No. 6 singles, Garcia defeated the Buffaloes’ Kristy Randono, 7-6, 6-1.

With victory already in the Huskers’ hands, Pamela Castillejos added one more point for Nebraska at No. 5 singles by defeating Sall, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) for a final score of 5-2.

Prior to the start of the match four Husker seniors, Rebecca Harvey (San Diego, Calif.), Leslie Harvey, Ketmayura and Oehme were honored. At the conclusion of the match, Garcia was presented the Husker Power Women’s Tennis Lifter of the Year Award for her performance in the weight room.

Ostermann Ranked No. 72 in ITA Poll
Nebraska junior Gitte Ostermann earned the No. 72 spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I Women’s rankings released April 20. Ostermann is 9-6 at the No. 1 spot this season, as she missed the first five matches 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 38-22 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.

Garcia Named Husker Power Lifter of the Year
Junior captain Katie Garcia has been named the Husker Power Women’s Tennis Lifter of the Year for her performance in the weight room. Garcia has made great strides in the weight room, improving her strength index (877 points) by 65 points, and her clean (522 points) and bench (594 points) by over 50 points each while becoming the top scorer on the team in total points. Garcia also posted personal bests in her performance index score (831 points), 10 yard dash (2.08 seconds, 205 points), 40 yard dash (6.17 seconds, 184 points), and vertical jump (18 inches, 281 points).