Huskers Host Two Ranked Teams

The Nebraska women’s tennis team plays host to two nationally ranked teams this weekend in No. 3 Texas on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 10 a.m. and No. 57 Arkansas on Monday, Feb. 13, at Noon.  Both matches will be played at the WoodsTennisCenter. 

The Huskers played host to Air Force on Feb. 3 for the first time in two years.  NU got started on a good note with senior Ewelina Skaza back in the lineup. After sitting out last weekend with an illness, Skaza and sophomore Imke Reimers, who are ranked No. 7 regionally, played at the No. 1 doubles spot and rolled the No. 8 regionally ranked tandem of Kat Bushney and Christine Abayan, 8-1. At the No. 2 spot, senior Milena Schulz-Gartner and freshman Kim Hartmann clinched the coveted doubles point for the Huskers by defeating Lauren Wilson and Meghan Kiser, 8-4.  Nebraska also swept the singles matches and defeated Air Force, 7-0.

On Feb. 5, Nebraska closed the weekend out in style as it defeated Drake, 5-2, and extended its home-non conference winning streak to 67 matches.  Senior Jennifer Cremieux kept her perfect singles record intact with a victory in straight sets at the No. 6 spot. The senior from Canada defeated Sarah Plowman, 6-4, 6-2. The win marks Cremieux’s sixth win after not playing in her junior campaign. Castillejos, who played at the No. 5 spot, improved to 4-0 on the spring as she made quick work of Omaha native Allsion Wilkie, 6-1, 6-1.

The Huskers have their work cut out for them as they try to remain undefeated and start conference play on a high note.  Of the 11 teams in the Big 12 who have played matches, NU is one of only two teams to have an unblemished record.

The Longhorns are the highest ranked team NU has played since Texas was ranked No. 5 in 2001, and the highest ranked team the Huskers have played at home since 2002 when Texas came to Lincoln ranked No. 10.  NU fell in both of those matches.

Nebraska has moved up in the national rankings after every weekend of play in the spring season.  After defeating ColoradoState and Illinois-Chicago in the opening weekend of play, NU moved up from No. 38 to No. 37.  Then after the dominating performances over Air Force and Drake, Nebraska moved up to its highest ranking of the season at No. 36. 

Nebraska has benefited from strong outings from Hartmann and Reimers.  Hartmann, who is ranked No. 36 nationally, has posted a team-best 11-2 singles record.  She has begun her career as the No. 1 singles player in a talented, experienced Husker lineup.  Hartmann is 4-0 at the No. 1 spot and has yet to surrender more than a game in any set she has played this spring.  The freshman from Germany has also blanked two of her opponents. 

In what could possibly be the match of the day against Texas, Hartmann will face Texas’ talented senior Kendra Strohm.  Strohm, who is ranked No. 55 nationally, comes into the match with a 6-10 singles record.  Strohm has played eight ranked opponents during this season and has fallen in seven of those.  Her sole victory over a ranked player was against then-No. 31 Blair DeSasa in the Riveria/ITA All-American Championships.  Hartmann has fared much better than Strohm against ranked opponents.  Hartmann has defeated three out of four ranked players she has faced this year, including then-No. 28 Anca Anastasiu.

Reimers, who won the ITA Central Regionals Consolation Tournament, leads the Huskers with victories with 16 combined wins this year.  In her last three matches, Reimers has dominated her opponents, surrendering only one game.  The sophomore from Germany entered the year with only one 6-0, 6-0 victory but now owns three.  Reimers, who has played action at the No. 3 spot, owns a 4-0 spring singles record. 

The Huskers have also taken advantage of jumping out early by taking the doubles point.  Of NU’s 12 doubles matches this spring season, Nebraska has taken 11.  Hartmann and Schulz-Gartner have shown much success at the No. 2 spot.  Hartmann and Schulz-Gartner had big shoes to fill as they were replacing the Huskers’ No. 2 duo of Reimers and Skaza, who’s 2005 doubles season ranks fifth all-time on NU’s season team doubles win chart, from last season.  Hartmann and Schulz-Gartner have proven to be up to the challenge as they have posted a 4-0 spring doubles record.

The Huskers are hoping to enter the weekend with a healthy lineup.  Despite the injuries and the illness that has plagued Nebraska to start the season, NU has performed well.  Freshman Vanessa Heute is showing signs of recovering from a nagging ankle injury as she has won two of her last three matches.  When healthy, Heute has proven she can be an effective player.  In the Wilson/ITA Central Regional Championships, Haute produced four straight wins, including beating then-No. 79 Ksenia Bukina of Kansas, 6-4, 6-4.

Nebraska has also missed the presence of senior Ewelina Skaza due to an illness.  Skaza is beginning to recover, as she saw her first action of the spring playing in both singles and doubles against Air Force.  Skaza began the match against Air Force at the No. 1 doubles spot with Reimers.  The duo, who is ranked No. 7 regionally, dominated the Falcons’ Kat Bushney and Christine Abayan, 8-1.  In singles, Skaza defeated Kelly Morgan of Air Force, 6-1, 6-3, at the No. 6 singles spot.

With the victories last weekend, Jacobson became the program’s first coach to reach 185 victories.  Jacobson is both the winningest and the longest-serving coach in school history, with 15 years as head coach.

 

A Look at the Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns enter Lincoln with a 3-3 record and a No. 3 national ranking.  Texas has played six ranked teams this season with no team ranked lower than No. 16 Arizona State.  The Longhorns have won three of their last four matches, including defeating No. 7 Georgia Tech and No. 5 Duke, with its only loss in that stretch to No. 1 Stanford. 

Former Big 12 Freshman of the Year Kendra Strohm is ranked No. 55 nationally in singles play.  Strohm owns a 6-10 singles record.  Strohm and fellow senior Marija Milic are ranked No. 31 nationally in doubles play and have posted a 8-7 record.  The duo has faced six ranked opponents and has lost five of those while not finishing their match with No. 19 Daniela Bercek and Jessi Robinson of Duke.

Texas is coached by Patty Fendick-McCain.  Fendick-McCain is in her first year at Texas and her eighth year as a head coach.  She owns a 124-69 career record.

 

Husker-Longhorn History

The Huskers and the Longhorns last met on Feb. 19, 2005, in Austin, Texas.  NU entered the match ranked No. 53, while Texas was ranked No. 13.  Nebraska was without No. 1 singles player Gitte Ostermann due to an ankle injury.  In its only victory of the day,  Nebraska’s No. 3 team of freshman Ellinor Zugner and junior Milena Schulz-Gartner defeated Texas’ Ristine Olson and Courtney Zauft, 8-5, as Texas defeated Nebraska, 7-0.

The Longhorns lead the all-time series 8-0.

 

A Look at the Razorbacks

Arkansas is the second of two ranked opponents NU faces in its next two matches.  The Razorbacks are ranked No. 57 and own a 3-0 record, including defeating No. 66 Missouri State. 

Ela Kaluder is ranked No. 38 and has posted a 19-3 singles record, including winning the ITA Central Regional Championships.  She has faced six ranked opponents and has defeated four of them, including No. 22 Helena Besovic.  Kaluder has played both at the No. 1 and No. 2 slots.

Arkansas is coached by Michael Hegarty.  He is in his second year and has posted a 22-25 career record.

 

A Quick Look at the Probable Husker Lineup

4No. 1 singles - Kim Hartmann (11-2): Ranked No. 36 nationally which is the highest national ranking for a freshman in school history.  She is also ranked No. 9 in the singles Central Regional rankings.  Hartmann has defeated three ranked players, then-No. 28 Anca Anastasiu of USC, then-No. 78 Melissa Anderson of Harvard and then-No. 100 Ilona Somers of Ole Miss.  Anastasiu is the highest-ranked player a Husker has beaten since Gitte Ostermann defeated then-No. 22 Nataly Cahana of Old Dominion in 2003.  Hartmann defeated ColoradoState’s Emily Kirchem, 6-1, 6-1, and defeated UIC’s Callan Smith, 6-0, 6-0.

4No. 2 singles - Vanessa Heute (6-3): The freshman is 1-1 to start the season.  Heute saw her first action at the ITA Regionals where she rolled through the Qualifying tournament with two victories, including defeating KU’s Brittany Brown, to advance to the Main Draw of the Tournament.  Heute recorded her first spring victory as a Husker when she battled through an ankle injury and defeated UIC’s Corey Steven, 6-2, 7-5.

4No. 3 singles - Imke Reimers (10-2): Reimers posted two wins in the first weekend of spring play.   Last Friday, Reimers posted her third career 6-0, 6-0 victory as she defeated Lauren Wilson of Air Force.  The fiery Reimers showed her resiliency at the ITA Regionals.  After dropping her first match of the Main Draw, she bounced back to take four consecutive victories and capture the Consolation Bracket Championship.  After posting a 6-2 fall singles record, Reimers was ranked No. 21 in the Central Regional rankings, and No. 7 in the regional doubles rankings with Skaza.

4No. 4 singles -  Milena Schulz-Gartner (2-4): A third-year player who has competed near the top of the Husker lineup throughout her career in Lincoln.  As a sophomore, she posted a 20-win season, and as a junior she went 7-4 at the No. 3 spot, where three of her four losses were three-set thrillers.  Schulz-Gartner recorded her first win of the spring when she defeated CSU’s Jessica Jones, 6-0, 6-3.

4No. 5 singles - Pamela Castillejos (4-1):The senior enters her final season as a Husker as team captain.  She returns Nebraska’s most productive player.  In 2005, the senior from Mexico set the school’s best single-season winning percentage (.880) as she posted a 22-3 record.  Castillejos continued her winning ways this past weekend defeating Erika Shortridge of Air Force, 6-4, 7-5, and Allison Wilkie of Drake, 6-1, 6-1.

4No. 6 singles - Jennifer Cremieux (6-0): In her first competition since her sophomore year, the senior from Canada rolled through the singles flight at the Lloyd Stokstad Invitational, posting four straight victories and winning the singles tournament.  In doubles, she teamed with sophomore Ellinor Zugner to outscore opponents 24-1 in three straight victories at the Lloyd Stokstad.  The duo finished third in doubles, posting a 3-1 tournament record.                       

 

About the Huskers ...

4Nebraska has produced eight straight winning seasons.

4Nebraska’s 18 wins in 2005 represents its third 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 67 match home non-conference winning streak.

4Freshman Kim Hartmann received the first national ranking of her career, No. 36.

4Hartmann’s No. 36 ranking is the highest national ranking for a Husker freshman in school history.

4The Huskers have a history of starting the season fast.  NU has won four of its first five  matches for nine straight seasons.

4The Big Red has posted at least a six-match win streak to start the last two seasons.

4Nebraska’s No. 38 team national ranking is the highest ranking to begin the season in school history.

4NU’s current No. 36 national ranking is the highest NU ranking since April 26, 2005.

4Nebraska has climbed in the national rankings each of the past two weeks.

4NU achieved the highest ranking in school history when the Huskers were ranked No. 30 on March 30, 2005.

4Both of NU’s newcomers, Hartmann and Heute, enter the season regionally ranked, and play at the Nos. 1 and 2 singles spots in the Husker lineup.                          .
4Wins by Hartmann and Heute over the weekend mark their first spring wins at NU.

4Hartmann’s regional ranking, No. 9, is believed to be the highest regional ranking for a freshman in school history.

4Castillejos’ 22 wins last season mark her highest single-season win total, eclipsing her previous high of 10 victories in 2004.

4The 17 doubles victories by Reimers and Skaza last season rank fifth on NU’s single season doubles wins.

4Castillejos’ 22-3 season record last year marks the best single season winning percentage in school history at .880.

4With 185 wins in 15 years, Head Coach Scott Jacobson is Nebraska’s winningest and longest serving coach in school history.

4Pamela Castillejos enters her senior season as team captain.

4Sophomore Imke Reimers’ No. 21 regional ranking marks the first time she has entered the season regionally ranked.

4Reimers’s 6-0, 6-0 victory on Feb. 3 marks the third-time in her career she has blanked an opponent.

4Sunday’s match with Drake will broke a 13-13 series tie and gave the Big Red the edge in the series.

4Jacobson became NU’s first coach to reach 185 wins.

4Nebraska has won 11 of its 12 doubles matches this season.