Nebraska Upsets Texas A&M

Lincoln - The No. 49 Nebraska women’s tennis team upset No. 41 Texas A&M in style Sunday, April 9, defeating the Aggies, 5-2.  The win marked just the third time Nebraska has defeated A&M and helped the Huskers improve to 13-6 on the season and 4-3 in Big 12 Conference play.

 

Texas A&M came into the match as one of the hottest teams in the conference.  The Aggies were on a five-match winning streak and were coming off a 6-1 victory over No. 15 Texas on Thursday, April 6.

 

Nebraska jumped out to an early lead, taking the crucial doubles point.  At No. 3, freshman Vanessa Heute and senior Pamela Castillejos topped Anna Blagodarova and Seva Iwinski, 8-4.  To clinch the point, freshman Kim Hartmann and senior Milena Schulz-Gartner stunned the No. 25 ranked tandem of Anna Lubinsky and Nicki Mechem, 8-5.

 

After securing the doubles point, NU entered singles play with an emotional edge.

 

The Huskers continued to put pressure on the Aggies in singles by taking the first set of all six singles matches.  Freshman Vanessa Heute made quick work of Maira Druss at No. 6, 6-4, 6-4, and Reimers defeated Foster, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 2, to give NU a 3-0 advantage. 

 

The Big Red only needed one more win to clinch the upset with four matches still playing.  Schulz-Gartner took an early lead at No. 3, winning the first set, 7-5, but fell in the second set, 6-1.  The senior from Germany set the tone early in the third set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead, before slamming the door on TAMU’s Anna Blagodarova, 6-3, to clinch the win for the Huskers.

 

Hartmann gave the Huskers their fifth point of the day.  The freshman showed resiliency at the No. 1 spot, pulling out a three-set thriller to upset No. 50 Lubinsky, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.  The win over Lubinsky marks Hartmann’s second straight win over a ranked player.

 

“The win is a reflection of how great we can be,” Nebraska Coach Scott Jacobson said.  “It is really a big step in the right direction toward achieving our goal of returning to the NCAA Tournament.  I am really proud of how our kids played.”

 

With the loss, Texas A&M fell to 10-9 and 6-1 in the conference.

 

Nebraska next takes the courts Saturday, April 15, at 11 a.m. when it travels to Norman, Okla., to take on the Oklahoma Sooners.

 

No. 49 Nebraska 5, No. 41 Texas A&M 2

Doubles

No. 1 Tiffany Clifford/Sarah Foster (TAMU) def. Imke Reimers/Ewelina Skaza (NU), 8-4

No. 2 Milena Schulz-Gartner/Kim Hartmann (NU) def. No. 25 Anna Lubinsky/Nicki Mechem (TAMU), 8-5
No. 3 Pamela Castillejos/Vanessa Heute (NU) def. Anna Blagodarova/Seva Iwinski (TAMU), 8-4

 

Singles

No. 1 Hartmann (NU) def. No. 50 Lubinsky (TAMU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
No. 2 Reimers (NU) def. Foster (TAMU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 Schulz-Gartner (NU) def. Blagodarova(TAMU), 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
No. 4 Mechem (TAMU) def. Castillejos (NU), 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5)
No. 5 Clifford (TAMU) def. Skaza (NU), 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 Heute (NU) def. Maria Druss (TAMU), 6-4, 6-4