Huskers Take On Oklahoma State in Final Home Match of Season

    The No. 30 Nebraska women’s tennis team takes on the Oklahoma State Cowboys for the final home match of the season Sunday, April 3, in Lincoln at the NU Varsity Courts at 10 a.m.  In the case of bad weather, the match will be moved to the WoodsTennisCenter.  The Huskers try to improve to 15-2 overall and 6-2 in the Big 12 and say goodbye to two seniors, Gitte Ostermann and Katie Garcia.

NU moved up two spots in the ITA national rankings released Tuesday to No. 30.  This is the highest ranking in school history, eclipsing the old mark of No. 31 set two weeks ago. The Huskers own a 14-2 record, which is the best record in the Big 12.  Only two conference teams, No. 8 Texas and No. 12 Baylor, are ranked higher than NU.

NU says goodbye to Ostermann and Garcia, who have both been key contributors during their time in Lincoln.  Ostermann, NU’s No. 1 singles and doubles player, currently ranks fourth on NU’s career singles wins chart with 71.  Ostermann, a three-time First-Team All-Big 12 selection, is the first Husker to win the ITA Regional Championships.  She is a three-time First-Team Academic All-Big 12 selection and has received the highest singles ranking in school history, No. 18.  Last season, Ostermann received a bid to the NCAA Tournament, where she lost a three-set thriller in the first round.  Garcia is the first three-time captain in school history.  The Lincoln native has posted 31 career singles victories, and has tied Amy Frisch for fourth on NU’s career doubles chart with 45 wins.  Garcia and Ostermann were ranked No. 23 nationally at the No. 1 slot in doubles play this season, the highest doubles ranking in school history. 

Nebraska is just one win away from tying its mark for the most conference wins in a single season under Head Coach Scott Jacobson of six set in 1999 and 2000.  Ostermann, ranked No. 34 nationally, is one win away from reaching fifth on NU’s single season wins chart with 23. She has won a career-high 13 matches this season, all at the No. 1 slot.  Several Huskers are experiencing the best seasons of their careers.  Castillejos has posted a career-best 15 wins this season, eclipsing her previous best of 10 wins, while Skaza is two wins away from matching her career best with 14 wins during her freshman year at Miami.

This year, the Huskers have achieved several all-time highs. NU began the season ranked No. 71 before shooting up in the ITA rankings 40 spots to No. 31, the highest in school history.  The previous high of No. 39 was achieved in 2001.  Ostermann was ranked No. 18 in singles, the highest in school history, while the doubles team of Garcia and Ostermann received a No. 23 ranking, which is also the highest in school history.  Nebraska’s five wins over ranked opponents is believed to be the most 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 came out of that stretch in good shape, taking four out of five matches.    

NU plays three of its next four matches on the road after beginning the season with 10 of 12 matches at the WoodsTennisCenter.

 

A Look at the OklahomaState Cowgirls

Oklahoma State enters the weekend with a 4-10 dual match record and 1-4 in the conference.  OklahomaState has faced eight ranked teams this year, four of which were in the top 30, including then-No. 13 Texas, then-No. 21 Fresno State and then-No. 24 BYU.  OSU narrowly missed the upset of FresnoState, falling 3-4, during the Las Vegas Team Invitational Tournament.

Oklahoma State has a young lineup, feature no seniors and three freshman.  Freshman Iryna Tkachenko, ranked No. 97 nationally, is the Cowgirls’ No. 1 singles player.  Tkachenko has an 11-2 singles record, including a seven-match winning streak.  She is 1-2 against nationally ranked foes, defeating No. 70 Anna Lubinsky of then-No. 39 Texas A&M, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (7).  

17th-year Head Coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski owns a 168-156 career record.  Last year, he led the Cowgirls to a 7-15 record and finished 10th in the conference.  Assistant Coach Jay Berry is in his sixth season, while graduate assistant Dominika Olszewska is in her second season. 

   

Huskers-Cowgirls History

    Oklahoma State leads the all-tme series with Nebraska, 2-24.  In the last meeting during the 2004 season, Nebraska won the match, 4-3, improving to 15-7 overall and 5-5 in the league.  The win snapped a five-match losing streak to the Cowgirls.

   Nebraska fell behind early, dropping two of three doubles matches.  The Huskers, however, won four out of six singles points, including captain Katie Garcia blanking of Jennifer Poskitt, 6-0, 6-0.  With the match tied, 3-3, Gitte Ostermann clinched the win for the Huskers, defeating Katya Kolodynska, 6-4, 7-6 (2).

   

About the Huskers ...

4Nebraska has produced eight straight winning seasons including 2004.

4Nebraska’s 16 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 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. 31 is the highest in school history, eclipsing the No. 36 ranking set March 8.

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

4Five Huskers have won more than 10 matches this year, including seniors Ostermann and Garcia, 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 ever beaten, and the win was the first NU win over a top-40 team since its 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’ 15 wins marks her highest single-season win total, eclipsing her previous high of 10 victories last season.

4The duo of Reimers and Skaza are two wins away from cracking the top five in single-season team doubles wins at Nebraska.

 

A Quick Look at the Probable Husker Lineup

4No. 1 singles - Gitte Ostermann (13-2): Ostermann is ranked No. 34 nationally in the ITA rankings.  For two weeks, Ostermann was ranked No. 18, which is the highest in school history.  Ostermann had a strong fall campaign, recording nine victories and winning the ITA Regional Championships in Tulsa, Okla.  She has won 13 of her first 15 matches this spring.

4No. 2 singles - Imke Reimers (11-5): The freshman is 11-5 to start the season, including 10 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 six of her last seven matches.

4No. 3 singles - Milena Schulz-Gartner (9-5): Schulz-Gartner has played anywhere from the No. 2 slot to the No. 4 slot.  She is 7-3 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 at Nebraska.

4No. 4 singles -  Ewelina Skaza (12-4): A transfer from Miami, 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 12 straight matches at the No. 4 slot.

4No. 5 singles - Pamela Castillejos (15-1): The junior currently is on an 13-match winning streak at the No. 5 slot, the longest of her career.  During that time, Castillejos has dropped only two sets at the 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 six conference wins.

4No. 6 singles - Katie Garcia (10-4): A three year captain, Garcia tied her career-long winning streak of six matches earlier this season.  Garcia has amassed 31 career singles wins.