NU Returns Home to Face Texas Tech

The No. 49 Nebraska women’s tennis team returns to the Woods Tennis Center Sunday, March 26, at 10 a.m., when it faces No. 65 Texas Tech.  The Huskers are coming off of their longest road stretch of the season.

NU first traveled to Irvine, Calif., to take on No. 45 UC Irvine, Tuesday, March 15.  The Huskers fell short in doubles, falling at the Nos. 1 and 3 slots.  Senor Milena Schulz-Gartner and freshman Kim Hartmann dominated UCI’s Bela Mijic and Heidi Kaloi, 8-2, but the Big Red was unable to puck up another win for the doubles point.  Sophomore Imke Reimers and senior Pamela Castillejos played in their first match at the No. 1 spot since Feb. 24, and fell in a hard-fought match, 8-6, which gave UCI the edge heading into singles play.

Schulz-Gartner was the Huskers’ bright spot on the day.  The senior improved to 3-0 at the No. 3 singles spot after defeating Ashley Siddall in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.  Schulz-Gartner was playing well, having won six of her last eight matches.

No. 95 Reimers fell in a tight match to Inna Gababian.  After falling behind early, 7-6 (5), in the first set, Reimers rallied to take the second set, 6-4.  Reimers, who is fighting an ankle injury suffered during the Colorado match, fell short in a marathon match at No. 2, 15-13.

The Huskers then faced No. 20 Long Beach State on Wednesday, March 16, in Indian Wells, Calif., for their third straight match against a ranked team.  NU put Reimers and senior Ewelina Skaza back at the top of the doubles lineup for the first time since March 4.  The switch paid off as the duo, who posted 17 wins last season, defeated Katy Williams and Sandra Rocha, 8-6.  The Big Red was unable to close out doubles play with another win to clinch the doubles point.  Freshman Kim Hartmann and senior Milena Schulz-Gartner played their second-straight match at No. 2 doubles, but fell short in a close match, 8-5, to Jessica Weeks and Hannah Grady.

The 49ers clinched the doubles point when Stephanie Bengson and Rachael Porsz defeated Ellinor Zugner and Pamela Castillejos, 8-1, at the No. 3 spot.

Nebraska continued to battle in singles play.  Freshman Vanessa Heute, who has been struggling all year with a nagging ankle injury, got the Huskers onto the board.  Heute snapped a five-match losing streak when she rolled over Rachel Porsz, 6-4, 6-2, at the No. 6 spot.  The victory over Porsz marked Heute’s first career victory at the No. 6 spot.  Reimers was facing No. 120 Williams in a crucial match between ranked players at the No. 2 spot.  Reimers fell in the first set, 7-5, but bounced back to take the second set, 7-6 (8).  Reimers took the third set, 6-1, to put NU two points away from the upset.

Senior Ewelina Skaza moved up to the No. 5 slot for the first time this season.  The match between Jessica Weeks and Skaza came down to a third set tiebreaker, with Skaza topping Weeks, 3-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (7).  With the team score tied, at 3-3, the match came down to a battle at the No. 4 slot with Sandra Rocha and Castillejos.  Castillejos jumped out to an early lead taking the first set, 6-1.  However, Rocha bounced back to take the next two sets, 6-4, 7-5, to clinch the victory for the 49ers.

LBSU defeated NU, 4-3, but assistant coach Hayden Perez believed that the Huskers may have turned a corner in their season.

“We showed a lot of hear but just came up short,” Perez said.  “Coach Jacobson and I are very pleased with the effort out team today.”

The Huskers then traveled to Newport Beach, Calif., on Sunday, March 19 to close out their four-match road stretch.  NU first faced No. 75 Loyola Marymount. 

The Big Red got off to a good start by taking the doubles point with wins at the Nos. 1 and 3 slots.  Reimers and Skaza remained at No. 1 spot and looked to be regaining their form from last season, as they defeated Erin Ivey and Patrycia Hubl, 8-4.  The win over Ivey and Hubl marked the first back to-back-win for Reimers and Skaza in doubles since October, as both have been battling injuries throughout the spring.  At the No. 3 spot, Heute made her first appearance in doubles this spring.  Heute and Castillejos dominated Pavla Mesterova and Shawnell Russell, 8-3.  Nebraska entered singles play with a 1-0 team score advantage.

Heute got Nebraska off to a fast start in singles play, blanking Russell, 6-0, 6-0, at the No. 6 slot.  Heute’s win over Russell marked Heute’s first 6-0, 6-0 victory of her career.  Reimers continued to play at a high level, defeating Sladjana Kos, 6-4, 6-1.  Castillejos clinched the victory for the Huskers, dominating Ivey, 6-4, 6-1.

With the Huskers leading, 4-0, play was stopped, because of time constraints.  NU’s opponent was determined by the outcome of the No. 57 Ohio State and No. 71 Washington State match.  Ohio State made quick work of WSU, defeating the Cougars, 4-0 and  Nebraska was set to take on its fifth ranked team in seven days.

Against the Buckeyes, the Big Red took the doubles point with wins by Reimers and Skaza and Schulz-Gartner and Hartmann.  Hartmann and Schulz-Gartner, who have played both at the Nos. 1 and 2 slots this season, dominated Ohio State’s Sonia Ruzimovsky and Angela DiPastina, 8-2.  Reimers and Skaza pulled out a close victory over Caitlin O’Keefe and Julie Blackmore, 8-6, to give Nebraska the advantage going into singles play.

Skaza recorded her first victory at the No. 4 spot, defeating Ciara Finucaine, 6-4, 6-2, before Reimers rolled over Ruzimovsky, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 2 spot.  The highlight of the day, though, was the play of Heute.  After recording a singles and doubles win against LMU, Heute closed out the day for the Huskers with a victory over DiPastina, 6-2, 6-1.

“Vanessa Heute really stepped up and played at a high level,” Jacobson said.  “We are really proud of how she responded, both in singles and doubles.”

Nebraska defeated Ohio State, 4-0.

“Our match against UC Irvine gave us a tremendous amount of confidence and it carried over,” Jacobson said.  “We competed with as much confidence as a team as we have had all season.”

 The Huskers resume conference play with the Red Raiders.  After suffering a two-match losing streak for the second time this season, NU dominated two ranked opponents, beating them a combined 8-0.  Nebraska enters the weekend with confidence and momentum.

A Look at the Red Raiders

Texas Tech enters the match with Nebraska with the second-best overall record in the conference, 10-4.  Only No. 11 Baylor tops the Red Raiders in the conference with a 13-3 record.  Texas Tech is currently ranked No. 65, but has been ranked as high as No. 54 this season.  TTU is one of the hottest teams in the conference, having won six of its last seven matches, with its only loss during that stretch coming at the hands of No. 40 Colorado.

The Red Raiders are 2-3 against ranked teams this season, defeating No. 56 Kansas State and No. 74 Kansas.  Nebraska and Texas Tech have faced three common opponents this year, Colorado, Colorado State and Missouri.  Nebraska defeated all three teams, while Texas Tech fell to the Buffalos. 5-2.

Texas Tech has a young squad, with only two seniors, while having a combined six freshmen and sophomores.  Senior Tara Browning is the Red Raiders No. 1 singles player.  She has posted a 22-10 singles record this season, including an eight-match winning streak with a win over No. 47 Anna Lubinsky.  Browning is 1-4 against ranked players which could bode well for No. 107 Hartmann, who will likely play at the No. 1 spot for NU.  Sophomore Janet Durham is TTU’s most productive player this spring.  She plays mostly at the No. 3 spot and has an 11-3 spring singles record.

Texas Tech’s doubles play has been successful this season, which could provide problems for Nebraska.  While NU only has one team with more than six wins, the Red Raiders have three with seven wins or more.

TTU is led by third-year coach and former Husker Cari Groce.  Groce is one of the most decorated NU tennis player in the program’s history.  A four-year letterwinner from 1984-87, she was the first Husker to be named an All-American for her doubles play with Liz Mooney in 1984.  As a junior, Groce advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.  Groce owns a 181-158 career coaching record and a 31-27 record at Texas Tech.

 
Husker-Red Raider History

Nebraska owns a 10-5 advantage in the all-time series with Texas Tech.  The last time the teams met was on March 26, 2005, in Lincoln.  After dropping all three doubles matches, No. 32 Nebraska took four out of six singles matches to clinch the victory.  Gitte Ostermann, ranked No. 25, defeated TTU’s Cigdem Duru in straight sets at the No. 1 slot, 7-5, 6-2, to get the Huskers onto the board. 

Imke Reimers won a three-set thriller at No. 2 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, and Pamela Castillejos extended her win streak to nine matches, defeating Erin Hunter at the No. 5 slot, 6-3, 6-3.

With the match score tied 3-3, Katie Garcia took the match at the No. 6 spot to give the Huskers the 4-3 victory.

The NU win over Texas Tech marked the Huskers’ seventh win in eight matches.  The Big Red improved to 14-2 on the 2005 campaign, while Texas Tech fell to 4-7.

A Quick Look at the Probable Husker Lineup

*-No. 1 singles - Kim Hartmann (15-8): Hartmann started the season 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, including then-No. 28 Anca Anastasiu of USC.  Anastasiu is the highest-ranked player a Husker has beaten since Gitte Ostermann defeated then-No. 22 Nataly Cahana of Old Dominion in 2003.  During the spring, five of Hartmann’s six losses have come at the hands of three top-40 players: No. 20 Aurelija Miseviciute, No. 12 Zuzana Zemenova and No. 39 Meg Racette.  Hartmann, who is currently ranked No. 107, has been ranked in three of four of the ITA National Rankings this spring.

*-No. 2 singles - Imke Reimers (18-6): Reimers has posted 12 wins in NU’s 16 matches of spring play.   As a result, Reimers has moved up in the rankings for three straight weeks and is now ranked No. 88 nationally, her highest career national ranking.  Reimers has been hot as of late.  When then-No. 57 Arkansas came to Lincoln, Reimers upset then-No. 38 Ela Kaluder in straight sets, 7-6 (2), 6-1.  Reimers showed composure in her three-set win over No. 120 Katy Williams of Long Beach State.  On Feb. 3, Reimers posted her third career 6-0, 6-0 victory as she defeated Lauren Wilson of Air Force.  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.   Although Reimers was not 100 percent last week due to an ankle injury suffered against Colorado on March 12, Reimers posted a three-match winning streak to close out the Huskers’ longest road stretch of the season.

*-No. 3 singles -  Milena Schulz-Gartner (8-8): Schulz-Gartner is 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 Colorado State’s Jessica Jones, 6-0, 6-3. On March 11, coach Jacobson put Schulz-Gartner near the top of the singles lineup.  With Schulz-Gartner at the No. 3 spot, the senior has won three of her first four matches at that spot.

*-No. 4 singles - Ewelina Skaza (10-6): Skaza recorded more than 40 combined victories in her first year as a Husker.  Although she has been plagued by an illness and a slight abdominal injury in the spring, she is beginning to show signs of consistency.  During the Huskers’ four-match road stretch last week, Skaza began to regain her form from her junior year when she 12-1 at the No. 4 spot.  She started the week at No. 6 but by the end of the week, she was playing at No. 4 and had won two of three matches, and was leading her fourth match, 6-2, 4-6 before play was stopped due to time constraints.

*-No. 5 singles - Pamela Castillejos (12-4): The senior is inher final season as a Husker and is the team captain after returning as Nebraska’s most productive player.  In 2005, she set the school’s best single-season winning percentage (.880) as she posted a 22-3 record.  Castillejos won eight of nine matches to start the spring with her only loss coming in a three-set thriller against Texas’ Kelly Baritot, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.  Castillejos posted the team’s only point with a 5-7, 6-4, 11-9 victory over Iva Mihaylova of Baylor. 

*-No. 6 singles - Vanessa Heute (10-11):  Heute saw her first action at the ITA Regionals, where she rolled through the qualifying tournament with two victories, including a defeat of KU’s Brittany Brown, to advance to the Main Draw of the tournament.  Heute is beginning to find her stride this spring after being moved down to the No. 6 spot.  Since the move, Heute is on a three-match winning streak.  Heute’s record is deceiving as she has been a victim of several several three-set matches and has faced two nationally ranked players.  She has lost four of five three-set matches this spring.

About the Huskers ...

*-Nebraska has produced eight straight winning seasons.

*-The Big Red’s 69 match home non-conference winning streak was snapped by No. 40 Iowa.

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

*-Hartmann’s No. 36 ranking was the highest national ranking for a Husker freshman in school history.

*-Hartmann’s victory over No. 28 Anca Anastasiu came against the highest ranked player NU has beaten since Gitte Ostermann defeated then-No. 22 Nataly Cahana of Old Dominion in 2003.

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

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

*-Nebraska’s preseason No. 38 team national ranking was the highest ranking to begin the season in school history.

*-NU’s No. 36 national ranking was the highest NU ranking since April 26, 2005.

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

*-Both of NU’s newcomers, Hartmann and Heute, entered the season regionally ranked

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

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

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

*-With 192 wins in 15 years, Head Coach Scott Jacobson is Nebraska’s winningest and longest serving coach in school history.

*-Pamela Castillejos entered her senior season as team captain.

*-Nebraska’s 18 wins in 2005 represented its third highest victory total under Jacobson. It also marked the fifth time in Jacobson’s tenure that NU tallied at least 15 wins.

*-Sophomore Imke Reimers’ No. 21 preseason regional ranking marked the first time she entered the season regionally ranked.

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

*-With the Huskers’ win over Colorado, Jacobson became NU’s first coach to reach 190 wins.

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

*-Sophomore Imke Reimers received her first career national ranking on Feb. 22.  Reimers currently is ranked No. 88.

*-Nebraska’s 15-match winning streak over Missouri State is the second-longest winning streak over a single team in school history.  Only a 20-match winning streak over Creighton is longer.

*-Baylor is the second-highest ranked team NU has faced this season, only then-No. 3 Texas was ranked higher.

*-Reimers holds a team-high 18 wins.

*-No. 65 Texas Tech marks the 10th ranked team NU has faced this season.

*-NU has faced five striaght ranked teams.

*-Nebraska is 4-5 against ranked teams this season, and 2-2 at home.