Nebraska Travels to Salt Lake City for ITA Central Regional Tournament

All but one member of the Nebraska women’s tennis team travel to Salt Lake City Oct. 19 for the Rolex Central Regional which runs through Oct. 23. The trip marks the Huskers’ third fall tournament in five weeks.

In the singles qualifying tournament, the Big Red will send seniors Pamela Castillejos and Ewelina Skaza and freshman Vanessa Heute. Skaza is seeing her first action since Sept. 17 at the Lloyd Stokdad tournament held at Drake. She advanced to the second round of the Bull Flight Singles Draw where she posted a 2-1 record as she defeated conference foe Nicole Thurston of Colorado in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. After falling to Iowa State’s No. 1 singles player from last year, Jill Palen, Skaza bounced back to defeat Northern Colorado’s Renee Nuccio, 6-4, 6-2.

Castillejos is coming off of one of the most successful seasons in school history, as she posted the highest single-season winning percentage of, .880. Head Coach Scott Jacobson said that Castillejos has continued to develop her all-court game. She is one of the quickest players Jacobson has coached over his 14 years. The senior from Mexico recorded a 12-match winning streak and a 15-win doubles season in 2005.

Heute will see her first action as a Husker. Jacobson has said she hits a very heavy ball of the baseline and is capable of hitting a winner from anywhere on the court. She will use her strong backhand and steady forehand to set the pace of her matches.

In the singles main draw of the tournament, freshman Kim Hartmann and sophomore Imke Reimers will compete in their second tournament of the fall. At the Riviera/ITA-All-American Championships, Reimers defeated the No. 111-ranked player in the nation, Sylvia Kosakowski of Pepperdine, 6-3, 6-2, en route to advancing to the final round of the prequalifying tournament, where she adnvanced to the third round. In her first collegiate action, Hartmann recorded a 5-1 record. Of her five wins, three were against ranked opponents, No. 100 Illona Summers of Ole Miss, No. 22 Nataly Cahana of Old Dominion and No. 78 Melissa Anderson of Harvard. The freshman from Germany advanced to the third round of the qualifying tournament before falling to BYU’s Lauren Jones, ranked No. 94 nationally.

In the doubles main draw of the tournament, the Huskers will send two duos, Castillejos and sophomore Ellinor Zugner, and Reimers and Skaza. Reimers and Skaza have a history of playing together. As newcomers last season, the duo immediately began playing at the No. 2 spot and started with an 11-match winning streak at the slot. Reimers and Skaza finished the season with a 17-3 record, which ranks No. 5 on NU’s single-season doubles win chart. Castillejos and Zugner are not strangers to each other on the doubles court either, playing in seven matches last season. The duo contributed to NU’s doubles dominance last season by posting three wins over conference opponents. Their wins over Colorado and OklahomaState were crucial in 4-3 team victories.

Last Year at the ITA Central Regionals

The Huskers shot out of the gates quickly to begin their historic season by performing well at last year’s tournament in Tulsa, Okla. After winning her first two matches, Skaza fell to Lauren Jones of BYU, however, Skaza’s run in the tournament did not stop there. Skaza went on to win three-straight matches in the consolation bracket en route to advancing to the semifinals of the tournament.

Castillejos started off strongly as she went 3-1 in singles, while in doubles, advancing to the quarterfinals by defeating three conference opponents. Reimers, who Jacobson dubbed as the most talented freshman he had ever recruited, did not disappoint, advancing to the field of 32. Gitte Ostermann showed why she was ranked No. 19 nationally by taking six-straight matches and won the ITA Central Regional Championship, which gave her an automatic bid to the ITA National Indoor Championships.