Huskers Take on Two Top-40 Conference Teams

This weekend the No. 38 Nebraska women’s tennis team takes on the toughest weekend of home conference play during this season. The Huskers face No. 16 Baylor and No. 40 Oklahoma at the Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln. NU enters the weekend with a 11-1 record and a 2-1 Big 12 record, with wins over then-No. 72 Missouri at home on Feb. 12 and then-No. 28 Texas A&M on the road on Feb. 20.

Last week, the Huskers shot up in the ITA rankings moving from No. 53 to No. 38 the highest in school history. The previous high was No. 39 achieved in 2001. Seniors Gitte Ostermann and Katie Garcia also received record rankings this week. Ostermann jumped one spot from No. 19 to No. 18 in singles, while the doubles team of Garcia and Ostermann received a No. 23 ranking, the highest in school history.

Earlier in the season, Nebraska played five straight nationally ranked teams. Of those five matches, only then-No. 72 Missouri was ranked beneath NU. The Huskers have come out of that stretch in good shape, taking four out of five matches.

Last weekend, Nebraska played its last home non-conference matches of the season. The Huskers, who are undefeated at home, dominated Drake, 7-0. Freshman Imke Reimers rolled over Drake’s Evelina Rustianto, 6-0, 6-2, at the No. 2 slot. On Feb. 26, Nebraska defeated Utah, 6-1. The match of the day was at the No. 5 singles slot between junior Pamela Castillejos and Utah’s Allison Hansen. Castillejos took a tight first set, 7-5. In the second set, the junior’s comeback fell short when she dropped the set’s tiebreaker, 8-6. In the third set, Castillejos bounced back to take the super-breaker, 10-4. The Huskers closed out the weekend with Wichita State. NU did not surrender a set at any spot in singles play outscoring the Schockers 72-7 games. At the No. 6 spot, Garcia blanked WSU’s Anna Martorell, 6-0, 6-0.

In singles play, Skaza, a transfer from Miami, has made an immediate impact, posting an 11-0 record at the No. 4 slot, Castillejos has enjoyed similar success with a 10-0 record at the No. 5 slot.

A Look at the No. 16 Baylor Bears

No. 16 Baylor enters the weekend with a 6-2 record. The Bears have played one of the nation’s toughest schedules, playing against seven ranked teams, including three top-20 teams. Baylor’s record against ranked teams is 5-2, including two wins over top-20 teams.

Baylor has also received many individual rankings. Sophomore Carolin Walter is ranked No. 51 nationally and No. 11 regionally, while freshman Zuzana Zamenova is ranked No. 57 nationally. Sophomore Zuzana Cerna is ranked No. 7 regionally and junior Daniela Covello is ranked No. 10 regionally. In doubles play, the duo of Cerna and Covello is No. 29 nationally and No. 1 regionally.

Baylor is led by Head Coach Joey Scrivano. He is in his third year and owns a 30-27 career record with the Bears.

A Look at the No. 40 Oklahoma Sooners

The Oklahoma Sooners, ranked No. 40, have a 7-3 dual match record, including a five-match winning streak. The Sooners have faced four nationally ranked teams, including No. 24 BYU and No. 31 New Mexico. OU is coming off of an upset victory over then-No. 36 Rice last weekend.

Oklahoma comes to Lincoln with a young lineup, which only has two seniors. Sophomore Gabby Baker is ranked No. 8 regionally, sophomore Irina Lykina is No. 19 regionally and senior Heather Saluri is No. 30 regionally. In doubles, Baker and Saluri are ranked No. 10 regionally.

Head Coach Mark Johnson is in his 17th year at Oklahoma and owns a 268-127 record. Last season, Johnson led OU to a 22-5 season and a No. 22 national ranking. Huskers-Bears History

Baylor leads the all-time series with Nebraska 8-1. The last time they met, No. 35 Baylor defeated No. 71 Nebraska, 5-2, in Waco, on March 6. The Huskers opened the match with strong doubles play, taking the No. 1 and No. 3 matches to secure the point. Anna Oehme and Milena Schulz-Gartner defeated Stephanie Balzert and Izabela Mijic, 8-2.

In singles play, Baylor took five out of six points. Schulz-Gartner won a three set thriller over Daniela Covello, 5-7, 6-2, 12-10. No. 49 Carlin Walter upset No. 31 Gitte Ostermann in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

Huskers-Sooners History

The Sooners lead the all-time series with the Huskers, 20-6. Last season in Norman, No. 19 Oklahoma defeated Nebraska, 7-0, in NU’s final regular-season match of the season. The Huskers lost the doubles point, but won at the No. 2 slot as Gitte Ostermann and Katie Garcia dominated Jessica Braver and Irina Lykina, 8-1.

In singles, the Sooners won five of the six singles matches in straight sets, except at the No. 6 slot. Katie Garcia fell to Beth Griffin in a three-set thriller, 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (7).

About the Huskers ...

4Nebraska has produced eight straight winning seasons, including 2004.

4Nebraska’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.

4The Big Red owns a 63-match home non-conference winning streak.

4Senior Gitte Ostermann’s singles ranking of No. 18 is the highest in school history.

4Senior Katie Garcia and Ostermann’s doubles ranking of No. 23 is the highest in school history.

4The Huskers have won seven of the first eight matches of the season, including a 4-1 record over nationally ranked teams.

4NU’s win over Missouri marked the Huskers’ first conference-opening victory since 2001.

4NU’s team ranking of No. 38 is the highest in school history.

4Nebraska’s win over No. 28 Texas A&M is NU’s second all-time win over the Aggies

4Juniors Ewelina Skaza and Pamela Castillejos both have posted 11-1 singles records.

4No. 28 Texas A&M is believed to be the highest ranked team NU has beaten and the win was the first NU win over a top-40 team since NU’s victory over No. 38 Ohio State in 2003.

4The Huskers are on an 11-match home winning streak.

4The last time NU played host to two ranked conference teams for a weekend was in 2003, when the Huskers faced No. 30 Oklahoma on April 5 and No. 41 Oklahoma State on April 6. The Sooners defeated the Huskers, 6-1, while NU fell to OSU, 4-3.

A Quick Look at the Probable Husker lineup

4No. 1 singles - Gitte Ostermann (10-1): Ostermann is ranked No. 18 nationally in the ITA rankings, the highest ranking ever for a Husker women’s tennis player. Ostermann had a strong fall campaign, recording nine victories and winning the ITA Regional Championships in Tulsa, Okla. She has won ten of her first 11 matches this spring.

4No. 2 singles - Imke Reimers (8-4): The freshman is 8-4 to start the season, including four victories at the No. 2 slot. She recorded her first win as a Husker against Creighton on Jan. 20, blanking Deidre Senders, 6-0, 6-0. She narrowly missed pulling the upset against No. 47 Helga Vieira of Texas A&M when she lost in a three-set thriller, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.

4No. 3 singles - Milena Schulz-Gartner (7-4): Schulz-Gartner is 4-2 at the No. 3 singles slot and 1-1 at the No. 2 spot. Last year, Schulz-Gartner and former Husker Anna Oehme each tallied 18 victories to rank fourth all-time for single-season wins.

4No. 4 singles - Ewelina Skaza (11-1): A transfer from Miami, Fla., Skaza is undefeated in singles play at the No. 4 slot and has yet to drop a set at that spot. Skaza dropped two close sets against Texas’s Mia Marovic at the No. 3 slot, including forcing a second set tiebreaker, before falling, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6).

4No. 5 singles - Pamela Castillejos (11-1): The junior currently is on an eight-match winning streak at the No. 5 slot, the longest of her career. During that time, Castillejos has dropped only one set at this slot. Against No. 28 A&M, Castillejos clinched the historic victory with a win over Marisa Druss, 7-6 (3), 6-4.

4No. 6 singles - Katie Garcia (9-2): A three year captain, Garcia has tied her career-long winning streak of six matches. Garcia outscored her opponents 36-5 in singles play this last weekend.