Huskers Set to Take on Seventh Straight Ranked Opponent

The No. 54 Nebraska women’s tennis team is set to take on its seventh straight ranked opponent and ninth in its last 10 matches in No. 62 Kansas on Wednesday, April 5, at 2 p.m.

The Huskers were coming off to two straight victories over ranked teams on March 19, when they returned home after their longest road stretch of the season to take on No. 65 Texas Tech a key conference battle.  The Red Raiders came in hot behind a five-match winning streak, including a 4-3 win over Kansas.

Nebraska continued to struggle in doubles play and eventually dropped the doubles point.  Senior Milena Schulz-Gartner and freshman Kim Hartmann, who hold a team-high nine wins this spring, fell to Cigdem Duru and Janet Durham, 8-3, at the No. 2 spot.  The Red Raiders then clinched the doubles point as Katja Kovavic and Erin Hunter defeated Pamela Castillejos and Vanessa Heute, 8-3, at No. 3. 

Although the Big Red dropped the doubles point, senior Ewelina Skaza and sophomore Imke Reimers gave NU some momentum heading into singles play, as the pair won a tight match at No. 1 over Tara Browning and Lakann, 8-7 (3).  The win by Skaza and Reimers marked their fourth straight win.

Texas Tech, though, did not show any signs of letting up.  TTU jumped out of the gates quickly in singles, taking matches at No. 2, when Duru defeated Reimers, 6-3, 6-0, and No. 4 when Durham defeated Skaza in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.  The loss by Reimers, who is ranked No. 88, marked the first time Reimers fell in straight sets to an unranked player in 11 matches. 

With their backs to the wall, facing a 3-0 deficit, the Huskers needed something to spark a comeback, and two of the team’s seniors did just that.

Castillejos, who was on an eight match winning streak at the No. 5 spot, showed her leadership and put Nebraska onto the board with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Samantha van der Drift at the No. 5 spot.  Schulz-Gartner, who was playing at the No. 3 spot, then rallied from losing the first set, 6-3, to winning the second set, 6-4.  Schulz-Gartner controlled the tempo from there on out, wearing down Durham with her hard-hitting style of play to take the third set, 6-3.  Heute fell in the first set, 6-0, at the No. 6 spot.  The freshman, though, won a close set, 7-5, and jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the third set before closing the door on Kovavic, winning 6-3.  The win marked Heute’s fourth straight victory and her first career win in a match when she dropped the first set.

With the match score tied at 3-3, all eyes turned to Hartmann’s match with Browning at No. 1 singles.  Browning was 1-4 against ranked players, which seemingly gave Hartmann, who ranked No. 107, an edge.  Browning had other ideas, though, taking the first set, 6-3.  Hartmann bounced back to force a third set, after winning the second set, 7-5.  In the third, Hartmann jumped out to an early, 2-0, but later found herself down 5-4.  Hartmann won two out of three of the next games to force a tiebreaker.  In the tiebreaker, Hartmann and Browning tied each other several times, including 3-3 and 6-6, before Browning won the last two points to take the match and the team victory.

“We showed a lot of heart,” coach Scott Jacobson said.  “A close match like this was expected.  We did a great job of battling back.  In the Big 12, there is so much parity that you have to show up every day.”

Nebraska fell, 4-3, to Texas Tech.  NU’s record fell to 11-6 on the year and 2-3 in the conference.

A Look at the Jayhawks

The Kansas Jayhawks come to Lincoln with a No. 62 national ranking and are on a four-match winning streak.  The No. 62 ranking marks KU’s highest since April 7, 2003.  The Jayhawks are 2-6 against ranked teams this season, but defeated No. 57 LSU, 4-3, on March 21.

Kansas, which is 9-6 on the year and 0-3 in the conference, is an young team, with six freshmen and sophomores and just one senior.  They are much improved from last season when they finished 11th in the conference and had a 4-17 season.  In fact, KU’s nine team wins is the most for a Kansas team since the 2002 season, when it won 16 matches.  Freshman Ksenia Bukina is the Jayhawks’ No. 1 singles player and is ranked No. 101 nationally.  Bukina owns a team-high 15 wins and is 11-5 at the No. 1 spot.  She has won two of her last three matches and is 2-3 against ranked opponents, including defeating then-No. 30 Maja Kovacek of New Mexico, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, in the fall.  Bukina also faced Vanessa Heute in the fall.  Heute, who is on a four-match winning streak at the No. 6 spot, defeated then-No. 79 Bukina in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, in the ITA Central Regional Championships.  Bukina will likely face No. 107 Hartmann at the No. 1 spot on Wednesday.

Heute has also faced Jayhawk junior Brittany Brown.  The NU freshman earned her first career victory as a Husker by defeating Brown, 6-4, 6-3, at the ITA Central Regional Championship.  Brown, who has contributed at the No. 6 spot for KU, owns a 9-4 overall record and has won five of her last six matches.

Kansas and Nebraska have played four common opponents, including No. 55 Arkansas, No. 40 Iowa and No. 50 Texas Tech.  Against those common opponents, Kansas has posted a 1-3 record, while NU is 2-2, with wins over Arkansas and Drake.

The KU doubles play has been struggling as of late, dropping five of its last eight points.  Bukina and sophomore Elizaveta Avdeeva play mostly at the No. 1 doubles slot and own a 15-9 record.  The duo, which has been KU’s bright spot in doubles play, has won seven of their last eight matches.  Skaza and Reimers struggled early in the season, dropping five straight, but have bounced back to take their last four matches.  With both team playing well as of late, it should be a match up to keep an eye on. 

Kansas is led by second year coach Amy Hall-Holt.  She owns a 20-39 career record.

Husker-Jayhawk History

Kansas leads the all-time series with Nebraska 20-10, and has won three of the last four meetings.  The two last met on March 12, 2005, in Lawrence, Kansas.  Nebraska was playing well, having won five of its last six matches.  The Huskers came out of the gates quickly, sweeping Kansas in doubles.  Skaza and Reimers posted their 13th win together by defeating Christine Skoda and Ashley Filberth, 8-5, at the No. 2 spot.  Gitte Ostermann and Katie Garcia, who were later named first team All-Big 12, topped Brittany Brown and Lauren Hommell, 8-4, to clinch the doubles point.

Ellinor Zugner recorded her third career-win by dominating Stephanie Smith at the No. 6 slot, 6-2, 6-3, and Castillejos capped the day off with a three-set thriller over Filberth, 6-2, 6-7, 1-0 (3).

With the win, the Huskers improved to 13-2 on the season and 4-2 in the conference, while Kansas dropped to 2-9.

Big 12 Update

No. 9 Baylor continues to roll through the season as it leads the conference with a 15-3 record, including a 12-3 mark against ranked teams, including wins over No. 3 USC, No. 10 California and No. 14 Georgia Tech.  Only Texas has played more ranked teams than Baylor this season with 16.  BU has at least three more overall wins than any other team in the conference, with TTU second with 12. 

Tied with Baylor with a 5-0 conference record is No. 15 Texas.  The Longhorns’ 10-8 overall record is deceiving as they have played six teams in the top 10, with a win over No. 5 Miami.  No. 50 Texas A&M is behind Baylor and Texas with a 3-0 conference record.  TAMU owns a 7-8 overall record and has faced 11 ranked teams this season, including No. 2 Notre Dame. 

The conference has nine ranked teams, with five separated by only 12 spots.   Texas Tech owns the second highest win total in the conference with 12, while Nebraska is third with 11. Half of the teams in the conference own winning percentages at .500 or above.            

Individually, Baylor continues to hold down the top conference records at the top three singles spots, with Big 12 Player of the Year and NCAA Singles Tournament champion, Zuzana Zemenova, owning a 5-0 record at No. 1.  BU’s Zuzana Cerna, the 2005 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, is 4-0 at the No. 2 spot, while Klara Zrustova is 4-0 at No. 3.                        

A Quick Look at the Probable Husker Lineup

4No. 1 singles - Kim Hartmann (15-9): 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, six of Hartmann’s seven losses have come at the hands of three top-40 players: No. 23 Aurelija Miseviciute, No. 8 Zuzana Zemenova and No. 33 Meg Racette.  Hartmann, who is currently ranked No. 107, has been ranked in three of four of the ITA National Rankings this spring.  Hartmann has struggled as of late, falling in six of her last seven matches.

4No. 2 singles - Imke Reimers (18-7): Reimers has posted 12 wins in NU’s 16 matches during spring play.   As a result, Reimers has moved up in the rankings for three straight weeks and is now ranked No. 88 nationally, her second-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 BeachState.  The win over Kaluder marked Reimers’ first career victory over a ranked player.  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 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 on March 19.

4No. 3 singles -  Milena Schulz-Gartner (9-8): 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 ColoradoState’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 No. 3, the senior has won four of her first five matches at that spot.  Schulz-Gartner’s wins have come at crucial times in the matches. 

4No. 4 singles - Ewelina Skaza (10-7): 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 went 12-1 at the No. 4 spot.  She started the week of March 12 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.  Skaza has won six of her last nine matches in singles and is on a four-match winning streak with Reimers in doubles.

4No. 5 singles - Pamela Castillejos (13-4): The senior is in her 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.  Castillejos is undefeated at the No. 5 spot this season since Feb. 13, owning a nine-match winning streak at that slot.

4No. 6 singles - Vanessa Heute (11-11):  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 four-match winning streak.  Heute’s record is deceiving as she has been a victim of 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 ...

4Nebraska has produced eight straight winning seasons.

4The Big Red’s 69 match home non-conference winning streak was snapped by No. 40 Iowa.

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

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

4Hartmann’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.

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 two of the last three seasons.

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

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

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

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 marked the best single-season winning percentage in school history at .880.

4With 192 wins in 15 years, Head Coach Scott Jacobson is Nebraska’s winningest and longest serving coach in school history.

4Pamela Castillejos entered her senior season as team captain.

4Nebraska’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.

4Sophomore Imke Reimers’ No. 21 preseason regional ranking marked the first time she 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.

4With the Huskers’ win over Colorado, Jacobson became NU’s first coach to reach 190 wins.

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

4Sophomore Imke Reimers received her first career national ranking on Feb. 22.  Reimers currently is ranked No. 88.

4Nebraska’s 15-match winning streak over MissouriState is the second-longest winning streak over a single team in school history.  Only a 20-match winning streak over Creighton is longer.

4Baylor is the second-highest ranked team NU has faced this season, only then-No. 3 Texas was ranked higher.

4Reimers holds a team-high 18 wins.

4No. 62 Texas Tech marks the 11th ranked team NU has faced this season.

4NU has faced six straight ranked teams.

4Nebraska is 4-6 against ranked teams this season, and 2-3 at home.

4Every member of the roster has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s honor roll for the third-straight semester.