Nebraska Travels to Oklahoma for ITA Regionals

Four members of the Nebraska women’s tennis team travel to Tulsa, Okla., to compete in the ITA Regionals which run from Wednesday, Oct. 18 through Sunday, Oct. 22.  The tournament marks the Huskers’ third fall tournament in a little over a month.

This marks the third tournament for junior Imke Reimers and the second for sophomore Maria Ring and freshmen Diana Kuhl and Wiveca Swarting.  Reimers started off her fall singles season on a high note, owning a 4-1 record and capturing the Maroon Singles Flight Championship of the Minnesota Invitational.  Ring and Swarting also showed glimpses of their ability in the Minnesota Invitational.

Swarting received a tough draw in the Maroon Singles Flight and fell to the No. 3 seed Hillary Mintz before defeating a pair of Missouri Tigers in back-to-back matches to capture sixth place in the tournament. 

Ring won her first match as a Husker in the Gold Singles Flight defeating Charlotte Bellis of Missouri, 6-2, 6-0.  After falling in the second round, she rebounded and defeated Torrie Browning on WichitaState to take seventh place.

Reimers, Kuhl and Swarting will compete in the singles main draw of the tournament with Ring playing in the Qualifying Tournament.  In doubles action, Ring and Reimers will compete after posting a 4-1 record together en route to winning the North Doubles Flight consolation bracket at the Minnesota Invitational.  Kuhl and Swarting went 0-3 at the Minnesota Invitational and will also compete in the main draw.

 

Reimers Falls in First Round of Riviera All-American Championships

Imke Reimers traveled to Los Angeles and was the only Husker to compete in the Riviera All-American Championships, which began on Sept. 30.  Reimers, who owned a 4-2 career record at the Riviera, was the No. 5 seed going into the prequalifying tournament after coming off of four straight victories in winning the Maroon Singles Flight at the Minnesota Invitational. 

The junior from Germany had never advanced to the qualifying tournament and hoped she could break through this season and win the three matches necessary to advance.

In the first round of the prequalifying tournament, Reimers shot out of the gates quickly, taking the first set from San Diego’s Monica Wiesener, 6-3.  Wiesener, however, would not go down easily, as she bounced back to dominate the second set, 6-1. 

The two exchanged points, in a tight third set, as they were tied 5-5 but Wiesener outlasted Reimers, pulling off upset, winning the match-deciding set, 7-5.  With the loss Reimers was eliminated from the tournament.  The Huskers’ loss marked her shortest run at the Riviera in her career.

“Reimers had her chances and fought back well after the second set,” assistant coach Hayden Perez said.  “She showed her character but in the end, Weisener was too strong for us.”                      

Husker History at ITA Regionals Championships                              
In the past two seasons, Nebraska has recorded two NCAA Tournament appearances, the first berths in school history.  In those two years, NU has had much success in the ITA Regionals.  In 2004-05, the Huskers posted a 20-7 total record at the tournament, with Gitte Ostermann and Ewelina Skaza combining for 11 wins. 

Ostermann, who came into the tournament ranked No. 44, turned in a 6-0 record, including defeating two conference foes en route to the championship.  With the win, Ostermann advanced to the ITA National Indoor Championships.  Skaza, on the other hand started out the tournament on a high note, taking her first two matches in straight sets.  She fell, however to Lauren Jones in the main draw of the tournament, 6-1, 6-4, but got back on track in the first round of the consolation bracket.  Skaza won three-straight matches before falling in the semifinals of the consolation tournament to Suzana Maksovic of Denver.

Last season, the ITA Regionals proved to be a breakout fall tournament for Reimers and Vanessa Heute.  Heute won her first four matches as a Husker, including defeating No. 79 Ksenia Bukina of Kansas in straight sets, before being eliminated by Anastasia Surkova of BYU.

Reimers, who had struggled at the Riviera, fell in her first match, but ended her fall season on a high note, taking the consolation tournament.  Reimers took four straight matches, including defeating conference foe Jessica Simosa of Kansas State in a three-set thriller, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.

The Big Red hopes to get back on track in doubles this season at the ITA Regionals as it posted a 4-3 doubles record last season.   

Huskers Building Off Historic 2005-06 Season                                   
The Huskers are coming off of back-to-back seasons with at least 17 wins and an at-large berths in the NCAA Tournament.  In 2006, the Huskers finished with a No. 43 national ranking and eight wins over ranked teams, the most in school history.  The senior class led NU to a 17-10 record and an all-time best 21 conference victories over a four-year stretch.  Kim Hartmann was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year.  She was the third Husker to earn the award as the conference’s top freshman in the last 12 years. 

The Big Red was also recognized for its academic success, including garnering the Herman Award, which is awarded to the NU men’s and women’s team that achieves the highest team grade-point average for the academic year.  The women’s tennis team boasted an athletic department high 3.607 GPA on a 4.0 scale.              

Imke Reimers Looks to Build Off Breakout Sophomore Season

Jacobson dubbed junior Imke Reimers, Nebraska’s only returning player, one of the most talented true freshman he has ever recruited, and she has lived up to the billing as one of NU’s top players.  As a freshman in 2004-05, she played primarily at the No. 2 slot in the lineup, posting 16 singles wins and 17 doubles wins with Milena Schulz-Gartner, which ranks fifth on NU’s single season doubles win chart.

She got off to a shaky start in the fall of her sophomore season last year before she went on a four-match winning streak to end the fall season, taking the ITA Central Regional Consolation Championship. She began the spring at No. 3, but after surrendering only one game in three matches, she moved up to No. 2 where she flourished throughout the season.  On Feb. 11, her first match at No. 2, Reimers upset then-No. 38 Ela Kaluder of Arkansas in straight sets to mark Reimers’ first career victory over a ranked opponent.  The win propelled Reimers into the national rankings for the first time in her career, earning a No. 100 ranking.

Reimers continued to cruise, taking three matches in three days, including defeating then-No. 120 Katy Williams of Long BeachState.  The wins moved Reimers up to No. 88, which proved to be her highest ranking of the season.  She finished the season strongly by taking seven of her last eight completed matches, including a win over Elizabeth Exon of Michigan in the NCAA Tournament.  Reimers’ 25 wins tied Gitte Ostermann for fifth all-time on NU’s singles season win chart.

Big Red Welcomes Six Newcomers to the Squad

After losing seven players, the Huskers welcome six new faces, including freshman Wiveca Swarting, sophomores Marianne Cicmanec, Ashley Finnegan and Maria Ring and junior Maria Popova for the 2006-07 season.  Not all of the newcomers are without college experience as Ring, played with WashingtonState in 2005-06 and Finnegan with the College of Charleston 2005-06.

Ring posted 16 singles wins with the Cougars, playing anywhere from No. 3 to No. 6.  She has a history of starting the season fast, winning seven of 10 matches to start her career.  Ring also took 16 doubles wins, playing mostly at the No. 1 slot, including upsetting then-No. 4 Kady Pooler and Roxanne Clarke of ArizonaState.

At CoC, Finnegan posted 11 singles wins, going 5-1 at No. 3, as well as 12 doubles wins, with nine coming at the No. 2 doubles slot.  She helped the Cougars to a 12-11 overall record and finished third in the Southern Conference, advancing to the semifinals of the conference Championships.