Huskers Receive Second Straight NCAA Tournament Berth

Lincoln, Neb.?The No. 41 Nebraska women’s tennis team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when the pairings were announced Wednesday evening.  The Huskers face No. 29 Michigan on Friday, May 12, at 10 a.m., in South Bend, Ind., in the first round of the tournament.  The bid marks NU’s second straight NCAA Tournament berth and only the second in school history.

 

"It’s a very exciting time for us as a team," assistant coach Hayden Perez said.  "We are one step closer to reaching our goal for the season and we feel very confident with our chances.  We are looking forward to the opportunity."

 

The Huskers enter the tournament with a 17-9 overall record, which ties the school record for the fifth most team wins in school single-season history.  NU’s eight wins over ranked teams is the most in school history, including wins over then-No. 41 Texas A&M and then-No. 43 Colorado.  Five  Nebraska players own 14 or more singles wins this season, including seniors Pamela Castillejos and Milena Schulz-Gartner, sophomore Imke Reimers and freshmen Kim Hartmann and Vanessa Heute.

 

Hartmann was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year on Monday.  She is one of three Huskers to earn the award as the conference’s top freshmen and is the first honoree since Lisa Hart in 1995.  Hartmann, who owns a 22-10 record, was also named first-team All-Big 12.

 

Last week, the Big Red earned the fifth seed in the Big 12 Championships and advanced to the semifinals for the first time in school history after defeating IowaState and Texas Tech in the first and second rounds respectively.  NU fell to the No. 1 seed Baylor, 4-1, before BU went on to win the Big 12 Championships.