Huskers Travel to Kansas to Take On Jayhawks

The No. 36 Nebraska women’s tennis team travels to Kansas this weekend to take on the Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan., on Saturday March 12, at Noon. Nebraska enters the weekend with a 12-2 overall dual record and a 3-2 record in conference. NU’s only losses have come at the hands of two top-20 teams. All five conference matches have been against ranked teams, including then-No. 13 Texas and then-No. 16 Baylor. Nebraska’s five victories over ranked teams is believed to be the most in school history.

The Huskers moved up to No. 36 in the ITA national rankings released Tuesday, March 8. The ranking is the highest in school history, eclipsing the previous school record set two weeks ago when NU was ranked No. 38.

NU plays six of its next seven matches on the road, after beginning the season with 10 of 12 matches at the Woods Tennis Center. The Huskers’ remaining home contest is on April 3, when they face Oklahoma State.

On Thursday, March 3, Nebraska fell to Baylor, 5-2, in Lincoln. This ended the Huskers’ 11-match home winning streak. At the No. 2 singles slot, freshamn Imke Reimers bounced back from a 5-1 deficit to take the first set, 7-6 (4). In a tight second set, Reimers took the tiebreaker, 7-4, to defeat Zuzana Cerna. At the No. 5 slot, junior Pamela Castillejos won a three-set thriller over BU’s Iva Mihaylova, 7-5, 2-6, 10-6. In doubles play, the Huskers’ bright spot was at the No. 3 spot, where junior Milena Schulz-Gartner and freshman Ellinor Zugner recorded their first win together, defeating Iva Mihaylova and Zuzana Krchanakova, 8-5.

On Saurday, March 5, the Huskers faired much better against the No. 40 Sooners. NU overpowered OU to take the match, 5-2. Gitte Ostermann, who was then ranked 18th at No.1 singles, dominated Irina Lykina in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Castillejos remained undefeated at the No. 5 slot defeating Christy Greenly, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1. Schulz-Gartner posted her first win at the No. 4 spot this year when she rolled over Jessica Braver, 6-3, 6-2. In doubles, Reimers and junior Ewelina Skaza defeated Jessica Braver and Chelsea Orr, 8-4. The win over Oklahoma marked career win No. 175 for Head Coach Scott Jacobson.

This year, the Huskers have achieved several all-time highs. NU began the season ranked No. 71 before shooting up in the ITA rankings to No. 36, the highest in school history. The previous high was No. 39 achieved in 2001. Ostermann jumped one spot from No. 19 to No. 18 in singles, while the doubles team of senior Katie 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 below NU. The Huskers have come out of that stretch in good shape, taking four out of five matches.

A Look at the Kansas Jayhawks

The Kansas Jayhawks enter the weekend with a 2-8 dual match record and are 1-1 in conference. KU has played a difficult schedule this year facing seven ranked teams, including No. 13 Texas, No. 24 BYU and No. 52 Mississippi State.

The Jayhawks have a young lineup this year, with four freshmen. Freshman Elizaveta Avdeeva plays mostly at the No. 1 singels slot for the Jayhawks this year. She has posted a 3-6 record this year and has played against three ranked opponents. In doubles, the duo of Brittany Brown and Lauren Hommell play primarily at the No. 1 slot. They have posted a 2-5 record.

Head Coach Amy Hall Holt is in her second year with Kansas. She has a 9-24 career record. Frank Polito is in his first year as a Jayhawk assistant.

Huskers-Jayhawks History

Kansas leads the all-time series with Nebraska 20-9. Last year, NU met KU in a critical conference contest. The Huskers entered the match with a 13-6 record and a chance to reach .500 in the conference. The match started with KU taking the doubles point for the early lead. In singles, the Huskers fought back taking three points. The match came down to the No. 5 slot where Anna Oehme won the first set but was eventually defeated by the Jayhoawks’s Brittany Brown, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

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. 36 is the highest in school history, eclipsing the No. 38 ranking set two weeks ago.

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

4Four Huskers have won over 10 matches this year, Ostermann juniors Pamela Castillejos and Ewelina Skaza and freshman Imke Reimers.

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.

4Nebraska’s five wins over ranked opponents is believed to be the most in school history.

4Castillejos’ 13 wins marks her career- high single-season win total, eclipsing her previous high of 10 victories from last season.

4The duo of Reimers and Skaza are three wins away from cracking the top-5 in single-season team doubles wins.

A Quick Look at the Probable Husker lineup

4No. 1 singles - Gitte Ostermann (11-2): 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 11 of her first 12 matches this spring.

4No. 2 singles - Imke Reimers (10-4): 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. Reimers has won five-straight matches.

4No. 3 singles - Ewelina Skaza (11-3): 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). Skaza has won 11 straight matches at the No. 4 slot.

4No. 4 singles - Milena Schulz-Gartner (8-5): Schulz-Gartner has played anywhere from the No. 2 slot to the No. 4 slot. She is 4-2 at the No. 3 singles slot and 1-1 at the No. 2 and 4 spots. Last year, Schulz-Gartner and former Husker Anna Oehme each tallied 18 victories to rank fourth all-time for single-season wins.

4No. 5 singles - Pamela Castillejos (13-1): The junior currently is on an 10-match winning streak at the No. 5 slot, the longest of her career. During that time, Castillejos has dropped only two sets at this slot. Against No. 28 A&M, Castillejos clinched the historic victory with a win over Marisa Druss, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Castillejos leads the team with four conference wins.

4No. 6 singles - Katie Garcia (9-4): A three year captain, Garcia has tied her career-long winning streak of six matches. Garcia has amassed 30 career singles wins.