Huskers Take On Colorado in Final Match of Regular Season

    The No. 35 Nebraska women’s tennis team travels Boulder, Colo., to take on the No. 62 Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, April 24.  This is the last regular season match for the Huskers, who enter the weekend with a 17-2record, 8-2 in conference.  With a victory, NU would enter the conference tournament with the No. 3 seed, which would be the highest in school history. 

Colorado marks the ninth ranked team Nebraska has faced.  The Big Red have a 6-2 record against ranked teams, including defeats of then-No. 28 Texas A&M and then-No. 40 Oklahoma.

Last weekend, Nebraska traveled to Ames, Iowa, to play conference foe IowaState.  NU dominated the match, handing the Cyclones their ninth shutout of the season.  In singles play, senior Gitte Ostermann recorded her 72nd career singles victory when she defeated Jill Palen at the No. 1 slot, 6-1, 6-2, while senior Katie Garcia recorded her 11th win of the season when she rolled over Charlotte Ljungkrantz, 6-0, 6-3, at the No. 5 slot.

In doubles play, NU outscored ISU a combined 24-5.  At the No. 3 slot, freshman Ellinor Zugner and junior Pamela Castillejos defeated Ljungkrantz and Beth Takemoto, 8-3, and Garcia and Ostermann won over Palen and Elizabeth Chermel at the No. 1 slot, 8-1.

On Wednesday, April 20 the Huskers defeated No. 75 Kansas State, 4-3.  It marked the sixth ranked team NU has beaten this year, which is believed to be the most in school history.  In doubles, Nebraska continued its dominance by taking what proved to be a crucial point with wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 slots.  Gitte Ostermann and Katie Garcia defeated Maria Rosenberg and Tamar Kvaratskhelia, 8-6, at the No. 1 slot, while at the No. 2 slot, junior Ewelina Skaza and freshman Imke Reimers won over Jessica Simosa and Tereza Prochazkova, 8-4. Reimers’ and Skaza’s victory marks their 16th vwin on the season, which ranks No. 5 on NU’s team season doubles wins chart.

In singles play, three matches were taken to a third set. At the No. 1 spot, No. 36 Ostermann defeated Rosenberg in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, to tie up the team score, 2-2. With the score tied, 3-3, Pamela Castillejos won the match of the day, a three-set thriller over Tereza Prochazkova, 6-2, 5-7, 6-0, at the No. 4 spot to clinch victory for the Big Red.

Ostermann, a three-time All-Big 12 selection and three-time academic All-Big 12 selection, is fifth on NU’s career singles wins chart with 73.  She has attained the highest singles ranking in school history, No. 18, and, with Garcia, the highest doubles ranking of No. 23.  Ostermann has been NU’s No. 1 singles player all four years of her Husker career.. 

Garcia is Nebraska’s first three-time captain.  She has posted 32 career singles wins and has moved past Amy Frisch for fourth on NU’s career doubles chart with 47 wins.

NU slipped from No. 31 to No. 35 in the ITA national rankings released Tuesday, even though it NU shut out IowaState last weekend.  Although the Huskers are 2-0 over the last two weeks, this is the second week in a row that the, have fallen in the rankings.  Only two conference teams, No. 10 Texas and No. 14 Baylor, are ranked higher than NU.

With its victory over KSU, Nebraska set mark for the most conference wins in a single season under Head Coach Scott Jacobson with eight.  NU posted six wins in league play in 1999 and 2000.  Ostermann matched her career-best 25 season wins, which ranks fourth all-time.  She has won a career-high 15 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 18 wins this season, eclipsing her previous high of 10 wins, while Skaza is one win  away from matching her personal best of 14 wins set during her freshman year at Miami.  Castillejos, with a 21-2 season record, is on pace to have the best single-season winning percentage in school history of .909.

This year, the Huskers have also achieved several all-time team highs. NU began the season ranked No. 71 before shooting up in the ITA rankings 41 spots to No. 30, 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 ever in program 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.    

 

A Look at the No. 62 Colorado Buffaloes

   The No. 62 Colorado Buffaloes enter the weekend with a 9-10 overall record, 4-5 in conference.  CU is 4-9 against nationally ranked foes and has lost eight of its last 11 matches, including a five- match losing streak. 

   The Buffaloes have a young lineup, featuring four freshmen.  The team’s only senior, No. 1 singles player Kendra Strandemo owns a 4-9 record at that spot, while junior Jessica Vanderdys and Strandemo are ranked No. 43 nationally in doubles with a 6-5 overall record.

   The Buffaloes are led by sixth-year Head Coach Nicole Kenneally, who owns a 62-66 career record.  Assistant Coach Gretchen Haynor is in her first year.

 

Huskers-Buffaloes History

   Colorado leads the all-time series with NU, 9-12.  The Huskers won the match, 5-2.

Last season Nebraska faced the Buffaloes in Lincoln on senior day.  In doubles, Rose Katmayura and Leslie Harvey defeated Colorado’s Morgan Sall and Jessica Vanderdys at the No. 1 slot, 8-3.  NU’s No. 2 tandem of Gitte Ostermann and Katie Garcia rolled over Lynzee Kever and Kendra Strandemo, 8-2. 

   In singles, Ostermann defeated Kever in straight sets at No. 1, 6-3, 6-4, while at the No. 5 slot Pamela Castillejos won the match of the day.  After dropping the first set, 6-2, Castillejos bounced back to take the last two sets, 7-5, 7-6 (3). 

 

About the Huskers ...

4Nebraska has produced eight straight winning seasons including 2005.

4Nebraska’s 16 wins in 2005 represents its second highest victory total under Jacobson. 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 was the highest in school history.

4Senior Katie Garcia and Ostermann’s doubles ranking of No. 23 was 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 achieved the highest ranking in school history when the Huskers were ranked No. 30 on March 30.

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 for NU over a top-40 team since its victory over No. 38 Ohio State in 2003.

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

4Castillejos’ 20 wins marks her highest single-season win total, eclipsing her previous high of 10 victories last season.

4The duo of Reimers’ and Skaza’s 16 doubles victories rank fifth on NU’s single season doubles wins.

4NU is 6-2 against nationally ranked teams this season.

4Castillejos, with a 20-2 season record, is on pace to have the best single season winning percentage in school history of .909.

4NU’s 17 wins ranks fifth on its all-time team wins chart.

4Nebraska set its mark for the most conference wins in a single season under Head Coach Scott Jacobson with eight.

4Team captain Katie Garcia has posted 47 caeer doubles wins, which ties Lisa Hart at No. 3 all-time at NU.

4Ostermann ranks No. 5 on NU’s career combined wins (individual and doubles) list with 119. 

4The Huskers, with a winning percentage of .894, are on track to post the highest season winning percentage in school history.

4Fresman Imke Reimers has won eight of her last ten matches at the No. 2 slot.

 

A Quick Look at the Probable Husker Lineup

4No. 1 singles - Gitte Ostermann (15-3): Ostermann is ranked No. 36 nationally in the ITA rankings.  For two weeks, Ostermann was ranked No. 18, which represented the highest ranking in school history.  Ostermann had a strong fall campaign, recording nine victories and winning the ITA Regional  Championships in Tulsa, Okla.  She has won 14 of her first 17 matches this spring.

4No. 2 singles - Imke Reimers (13-6): The freshman is 13-5 to start the season, including 11 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 eight of her last nine 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 (13-6): 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’ 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 (18-1):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.  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 eight conference wins.

4No. 6 singles - Katie Garcia (11-6): A three-year captain, Garcia tied her career-long winning streak of six matches earlier this season.  Garcia has amassed 32 career singles wins.