Huskers Enter Big 12 Tournament With No. 7 Seed

The No. 70 Nebraska women’s tennis team travels to Norman, Okla., April 29 through May 2 for the Big 12 Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Tournament at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center. This season marks the eighth year for the single-elimination tournament, which determines the league’s automatic NCAA Tournament qualifiers.

The Huskers (15-8 overall and 5-6 in the Big 12) earned the seventh seed in the conference tournament after finishing seventh in the league standings and will take on 10th-seeded Oklahoma State Thursday. The league finish is NU’s highest since 2001, when it ended the season ranked sixth in the conference with a 6-5 mark.

Nebraska has advanced past the first round of the tournament four times (1997, 1999, 2000 and 2001). If the Huskers defeat Oklahoma State (7-14, 2-9) in the this year’s first round, they will face second-seeded Texas A&M (19-7, 10-1) at 6 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinals.

The trip to Oklahoma will be the second for NU in the past two weeks. Nebraska concluded regular-season play last weekend with a 4-3 win over the Cowgirls and a 7-0 loss to the 19th-ranked Sooners. The Huskers have won four of their last six matches, including a 5-2 win over then-No. 71 Colorado.

Nebraska has been led this season by sophomore Milena Schulz-Gartner, senior Leslie Harvey and junior Katie Garcia. Schulz-Gartner posted a 15-8 overall record, including a 12-5 mark at No. 2 singles. She was also a part of the Huskers’ most successful doubles duo, combining with Anna Oehme for a 16-5 mark. Oehme and Schulz-Gartner tied OU’s Gabby Baker and Bethany Griffin for the Big 12’s top No. 3 doubles record at 9-2 in the conference.

Harvey also finished the regular season with a 15-8 record, going 5-1 at No. 2 singles and 10-7 in the No. 3 spot. Garcia, NU’s captain, went 12-4 overall while playing primarily in the No. 6 spot this spring, and she boasts a team-best 6-3 Big 12 record.

About the Huskers ...

• Nebraska has produced eight straight winning seasons, including 2004.
• Nebraska’s 15 wins in 2004 represent its highest victory total since 2001. It also marks the fifth time in Coach Scott Jacobson’s tenure that NU has tallied at least 15 wins.
• The Huskers’ seventh-place Big 12 finish is also its best since the 2001 season. NU has finished sixth three times in league history (1997, 2000 and 2001).
• NU defeated two ranked teams in 2004, including No. 64 Yale (Feb. 21) and No. 71 Colorado (April 18).

A Quick Look at the Probable Husker lineup

• No. 1 singles - Gitte Ostermann (10-7): 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 missed NU’s first five spring matches with a hand injury.
• No. 2 singles - Milena Schulz-Gartner (15-8): In her first season at Nebraska, Schulz-Gartner posted a 15-8 record, including a 12-5 mark at No. 2 singles. Gartner combined with senior Anna Oehme to post a 16-5 record at No. 3 singles.
• No. 3 singles - Leslie Harvey (15-8): Harvey posted a 15-8 record, going 5-1 at No. 2 singles and 10-7 in the No. 3 spot. Harvey also picked up her 50th career win in Nebraska’s victory over the Utah on March 17. She owns a 56-61 career record.
• No. 4 singles - Anna Oehme (11-11): Oehme was 5-0 at No. 3 singles, 3-6 in the No. 4 spot and 3-3 at No. 5 singles. She boasts a 48-28 career record. Oehme combined with sophomore Milena Schulz-Gartner to post a 16-5 record at No. 3 singles.
• No. 5 singles - Pamela Castillejos (9-7): Castillejos finished with a 9-7 record after opening the season with a six-match winning streak.
• No. 6 singles - Katie Garcia (13-4): Garcia closed the regular season by winning five of her final six matches. The team captain, Garcia was selected as the 2003-04 Husker Power Women’s Tennis Lifter of the Year for her hard work in the weight room.

Huskers Return to ITA Rankings
After a six-week absence, Nebraska returned to the ITA rankings April 27 at No. 70. The Huskers have been ranked at the end of the regular season for eight straight years.

NU opened 2004 with a No. 68 preseason ranking. The Huskers rose to No. 67 Feb. 24 before slipping to No. 70 March 9 and eventually falling out of the poll March 16. Nebraska returned to the rankings with the help of a successful April in which they picked up four Big 12 Conference victories.

A Look at Oklahoma State
Nebraska will face 10th-seeded Oklahoma State Thursday, April 29, at 1:30 p.m. in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. OSU is the defending Big 12 Tournament champion, but finished the regular season with a 7-14 overall record and a 2-9 Big 12 mark. The Cowgirls have lost seven of their last 10 matches, including a 4-3 loss to NeU April 25. OSU finished the weekend on a high note, defeating Iowa State, 6-1, April 25.

OSU’s top singles player, Katya Kolodynska, finished 2004 with a 2-9 league record. The Cowgirls are coached by Julius Lubicz-Majewski, who is in his 15th season at OSU.

Nebraska is 2-24 all-time vs. Oklahoma State.

The Last Time We Met ...
Nebraska evened its Big 12 record with a 4-3 win at Oklahoma State April 24. The Huskers used a victory at No. 1 singles by Gitte Ostermann to break a 3-3 tie and snap a five-match losing streak to OSU,

NU fell behind early against the Cowgirls, losing two doubles matches. Katie Garcia tied the match with a 6-0, 6-0, win over OSU’s Jennifer Poskitt at No. 6 singles. Nebraska senior Leslie Harvey followed with a victory over Ines Furtmayr in the No. 3 spot.

Oklahoma State bounced back when Zana Masnic defeated NU’s Anna Oehme, 6-4, 6-0, at No. 4 singles, but Milena Schulz-Gartner answered for Nebraska with a 6-3, 6-1, win over Jana Karaskova at No. 2 singles. OSU tied the match again when Lauren Simmons beat Pamela Castillejos, 7-6 (5), 6-0, at No. 5 singles. Ostermann clinched the win for the Huskers, defeating Katya Kolodynska, 6-4, 7-6 (2), in the No. 1 singles battle.

Ostermann Ranked No. 72 in ITA Poll
Nebraska junior Gitte Ostermann earned the No. 76 spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I Women’s rankings released April 27. Ostermann is 10-7 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.

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).

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 162-126, 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 eight straight winning seasons (including 2004) 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. 73 ranking. Nebraska defeated three ranked teams, including No. 71 Eastern Michigan, No. 66 Denver and No. 34 Ohio State.