NU Opens Conference Play Against Missouri

The No. 52 Nebraska women’s tennis team begins Big 12 Conference play against the No. 72 Missouri Tigers in NU's seventh straight home match on Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Woods Tennis Center. NU travels to Texas to take on two top 20 teams, No. 14 Texas and No. 19 Texas A&M, for the Huskers' first road matches of the season.

With wins over two ranked teams last weekend, NU moved up in the national rankings from No. 74 to No. 52. Nebraska, with a 6-0 record, is off to a fast start this season. The Huskers have dominated their first six matches, outscoring their opponents by a 39-3 margin.

Last weekend, Nebraska upset two nationally ranked teams to extend its home non-conference winning streak to 60 matches. On Friday, Feb. 4, Nebraska defeated No. 44 Iowa, 5-2. Nebraska started strong with the solid play of its doubles. At the No. 1 doubles slot, seniors Gitte Ostermann and Katie Garcia upset Meg Racette and Hillary Mintz, who are ranked No. 55 nationally, 8-3. Newcomers Ewelina Skaza and Imke Reimers then rolled over Milica Veselinovic and Jacqueline Lee, 8-1.

In singles play, Ostermann defeated Racette, who is ranked No. 103 nationally, 6-4, 6-7, 6-0. Skaza defeated Veselinovic in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. After dropping the first set, Garcia, the team captain, bounced back to win, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

On Feb. 6, the Huskers continued to roll against No. 68 Washington State, 7-0. The victory marked Nebraska's first win over the Cougars, in two tries. The Big Red benefitted from the solid performances of its doubles team, which have yet to lose a match this season. Juniors Pamela Castillejos and Milena Schulz-Gartner dominated Orsolya Sallai and Aleksandra Stefanova of Washington State, 8-2.

Ostermann, ranked No. 19 nationally, has risen to No. 1 singles in the ITA Central Regional singles rankings. Skaza also received a singles ranking of No. 25 in the region. In doubles, three-time captain Garcia and junior Pamela Castillejos were ranked No. 8 in the region and Ostermann and freshman Imke Reimers received a No. 11 regional ranking.

A Look at the Tigers

Missouri comes to Lincoln with an experienced lineup, which features six returning letterwinners. Senior Katka Sevcikova is ranked No. 120 nationally and No. 13 in the ITA Central Regional in singles play. The Tigers have a 3-1 record coming into this weekend. Missouri's lone loss came at the hands of No. 25 Oregon, 5-2. MU's victories have come against Minnesota, Dartmouth and Drake.

Head Coach Blake Starkey led MU to a 14-9 record last season and a fifth-place finish in conference.

Huskers-Tigers History

Last year, Nebraska and No. 58 Missouri met in Columbia for a crucial conference match deep in the season. Nebraska had recently finished the toughest stretch of the season, playing its last 10 matches against seven ranked teams.

The match was close from the beginning. Nebraska grabbed the early doubles point after Gitte Ostermann and Katie Garcia defeated Mary Barry and Erika Josbena at the No. 2 slot, 8-6. At the No. 3 slot, Milena Schulz-Gartner and Anna Oehme won over Hana Kraftova and Luci Ruskova, 8-4. In singles, Ostermann lost a three-set thriller to Urska Juric, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.

The match came down to the No. 6 slot, which matched Garcia and Ruskova. Garcia shot out of the gates, winning the first set, 6-3, before Ruskova gained momentum taking the last two sets and the deciding point, 6-4, 6-3.

Nebraska leads the all-time series with Missouri, 19-7.