Huskers Head to Missouri for First Road Test of the Season

The No. 36 Nebraska women’s tennis team tries to win its first conference match as it heads to Missouri to take on the Tigers in the first road match of the season.  This is the first of nine matches NU will play on the road this year. 

The Huskers came away from one of the toughest weekends of the season in good shape, taking one of two matches. 

On Saturday, Feb. 11, No. 3 Texas came to Lincoln for Nebraska’s first conference test of the season.  The Big Red was hot, outscoring its opponents 23-5.  The Longhorns had a 3-3 record and had faced six ranked opponents, including No. 1 Stanford and No. 5 Duke.

The Huskers fell in doubles play, losing a close match at the No. 2 doubles slot.  Freshman Kim Hartmann and senior Milena Schulz-Gartner fell in a tight match to Kelly Baritot and Courtney Zauft, 9-7.

Nebraska took several singles matches down to the wire but fell short in all but one.  Senior Pamela Castillejos, who played at the No. 5 spot, found herself down early dropping the first set 6-2.  In the second set, however, the senior from Mexico dominated Baritot, 6-2.  In a tight third set, after exchanging long points, Castillejos fell, 6-4.

Senior Ewelina Skaza also started slowly but battled back after falling in the first set.  In the second set, Skaza, down 5-3 and her back to the wall, fought to force a seventh game.  The lingering affects of an illness and a slight injury caught up with Skaza and she fell in the second set, 7-5.

The Huskers’ No. 1 singles player, Kim Hartmann, ranked No. 36, faced Texas’ Petra Dizdar.  Dizdar, who was the 2004 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, proved to be one of  Hartmann’s toughest challenges of her short career.  The freshman from Germany jumped out to an early lead over Dizdar taking the first set, 6-2.  In the second set, she found herself down, 5-4, before she rallied to take the second set, 7-6 (7-5), and preserved her undefeated spring record.

On Monday, Feb. 13, No. 57 Arkansas was the third ranked team Nebraska has played host to in the last two seasons.  Arkansas’ touted freshman, Ela Kaluder, came to Lincoln boasting a 19-3 singles record.  Kaluder was ranked No. 38 nationally and won the ITA Central Regional Championships.  Coach Scott Jacobson decided to make a change near the top of the lineup and turned to sophomore Imke Reimers.  

Reimers had won eight of her last nine matches and had played her freshman year at the No. 2 singles spot.  In an exciting first set, Reimers took control of the match during the first set tiebreaker.  Reimers won the first set, 7-6 (7-2).  The sophomore never looked back and took the second set, 6-1.  The win helped turn the tide in the Big Red’s favor.

“Reimers came to play today,” coach Jacobson said. “Her gifts came out on the tennis court. She has to be the highlight of the day.”

Nebraska took a trio of three-set thrillers to take the victory away from Arkansas.  At the No. 4 spot, Schulz-Gartner fell in the first set, 6-1, but rallied to take the second and third sets, 6-2, 6-3.  With momentum leaning in Nebraska’s favor, seniors Pamela Castillejos and Skaza wasted no time in securing a Husker victory.  After failing to take a game in the first set, the experienced Skaza took the next two tight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

NU defeated Arkansas, 4-3, and extended its home non-conference winning streak to 68 matches.

“Arkansas is a program that is better than their ranking, and I think they will end the season ranked in the top 30,” Jacobson said.  “It was a great battle.”

 

A Look at the Tigers

Missouri owns a 3-2 overall record and is 0-1 in the conference.  The Tigers have played one ranked team and were defeated, 4-3, by No. 62 Oklahoma in Columbia.

Missouri’s No. 1 singles player is senior Hana Kraftova, who has posted a 5-2 singles record.  Josbena is on a five-match winning streak and is coming off of a 7-5, 6-4, upset of No. 73 Gabby Baker of Oklahoma.  Kraftova will likely face Nebraska’s Kim Hartmann, who is ranked No. 36 nationally. 

NU has faced two Tigers this season.  Erika Josbena and Yelena Olshanskaya fell to Reimers and Skaza, 8-4, at the ITA Central Regional Championships in the Round of 32. 

Head Coach Blake Starkey is in his ninth season at Missouri and owns a 74-86 career record.

 

Husker-Tiger History

The Huskers and the Tigers last met on Feb. 12, 2005.  Nebraska got off to a fast start, taking the first six matches in convincing fashion.

The Huskers benefited from outstanding play by Ellinor Zugner. The freshman defeated the Tigers’ Charlotte Bellis, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 10-6, at No. 6 singles, and teamed up with senior Gitte Ostermann for an 8-5 victory over Katka Sevcikova and Carolyn Kramer in No. 1 doubles play. The match was Zugner’s first career appearance in the top doubles slot.

Milena Schulz-Gartner and Ewelina Skaza turned in dominating performances for NU on the singles court. At the No. 3 slot, Schulz-Gartner won in straight sets over Erika Josbena, 6-2, 6-1, while Skaza remained undefeated on the season with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Lubica Nadasska in No. 4 singles.

The win over Missouri marked the first home conference-opening win for NU since blanking the Tigers, 7-0, during the 2001 season.

The Huskers lead the all-time series 20-7.

 

A Quick Look at the Probable Husker Lineup

4No. 1 singles - Kim Hartmann (12-3): 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 - Imke Reimers (11-3): Reimers posted five wins in NU’s first six matches of spring play.   On Feb. 3, 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. 3 singles - Vanessa Heute (6-5): The freshman is 6-5 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. 4 singles -  Milena Schulz-Gartner (3-5): 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 (5-2): The senior enters her final season as a Husker as team captain.  She returns as 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 - Ewelina Skaza (4-3): Skaza recorded over 40 combined victories in her first year as a Husker.  Although she has been plagued by an illness and a slight injury in the spring, in the fall, she shoed signs of consistency as she posted a 3-1 singles record at the Lloyd Sokstad Invitational at Drake, including a 1-1 mark against conference foes.

 

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 68 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.

4Hartmann’s victory over No. 28 Anca Anastasiu is the highest ranked player NU has beaten since Gitte Ostermann defeated then-No. 22 Nataly Cahana of Old Dominion.

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 in two of the past three 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.                          
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 marked the third-time in her career she has blanked an opponent.

4The Feb. 5 match with Drake broke a 13-13 series tie and gave the Big Red the edge in the series.

4With a win over Drake, Jacobson became NU’s first coach to reach 185 wins.

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

4NU’s win over No. 57 Arkansas marks its third home victory over a non-conference ranked opponent in the last two seasons.

4A Nebraska win over MU would be the earliest road conference win for NU since defeating MU on Feb. 8, 2002.