Huskers Prepare for Big 12 Championships

Match Information
Nebraska (12-7, 4-6) vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-10, 3-7)

Date - Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Location - Kansas City, Mo.***Doubles matches only to be played. Match tied at 3-3 after teams split singles matches in their meeting in Lubbock, Texas, on March 25. The teams were unable to finish the doubles matches due to inclement weather and pre-scheduled NU flight arrangements.

Big 12 ChampionshipsIF NU BEATS TTU
Nebraska (12-7, 4-6) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (4-16, 2-9)

Date - Thursday, April 26, 2007

Time - 1:30 p.m.
Location - Kansas City, Mo.

Rankings - Nebraska (NR), Kansas (NR)
Nebraska All-Time vs. Kansas - 11-21
Last Meeting - Kansas, 5-2 (March 10, 2007)

IF TTU BEATS NU
Nebraska (12-7, 4-6) vs. Missouri Tigers (8-12, 3-8)Date - Thursday, April 26, 2007Time - 11 a.m.Location - Kansas City, Mo.Rankings - Nebraska (NR), Missouri (NR)Nebraska All-Time vs. Missouri - 22-7Last Meeting - Nebraska, 6-1 (Feb. 11, 2007)

Huskers Prepare for Big 12 Championships
The Nebraska women’s tennis team travels to Kansas City, Mo., this week for the Big 12 Championships. The Huskers still have the doubles matches remaining for their match against Texas Tech, which will be finished on Wednesday, April 25, in Kansas City just before the Championships start the next day.

The Huskers are aiming for their third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth, a feat that is unprecedented in the history of NU women’s tennis. The Big 12 Championships are just the first step toward the team’s ultimate goal.

Last season, the Huskers enjoyed their most successful Big 12 Championships run, winning their first-round match, 4-0, against Iowa State and then defeating Colorado, 4-2, in the quarterfinals. The Huskers played No. 1 seed Baylor in the semifinals, where they lost 4-1, and Baylor went on to win the tournament.

The seedings for the Championships won’t be official until the final results of the NU/TTU match have been decided. As it stands right now, if the Huskers beat TTU, they will grab the No. 6 seed and play No. 11 seed Kansas at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. If they lose to TTU, they would be the No. 8 seed and play No. 9 seed Missouri at 10 a.m. Thursday.

The top four seeds in the tournament (Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Colorado) all get first-round byes. The Huskers stand to face either No. 1 seed Baylor or No. 3 seed Texas A&M if they make it through the first round.

Scouting the Jayhawks
The Huskers will be the No. 6 seed and take on No. 11 Kansas if NU wins against Texas Tech on Wednesday. The Jayhawks are only 2-9 in conference, however one of their wins came against the Huskers in 5-2 victory in Lawrence back on March 10.

The Jayhawks have struggled since that March 10 victory over NU, losing eight straight matches since. The slate will be swept clean for Kansas this week, however, as they look to defeat the Huskers for a second time this season.

Sophomore Yuliana Svistun has a 13-6 spring record, including 12-3 at the No. 5 position, where she will most likely play on Thursday. The No. 1 doubles combination of Elizaveta Avdeeva and Edina Horvath has a 7-4 record in Big 12 play this season, including a 9-7 victory over NU’s Imke Reimers and Diana Kuhl on March 10.

Scouting the Tigers
The Huskers will be the No. 8 seed and play No. 11 Missouri if NU loses to Texas Tech on Wednesday. The Tigers have a 8-12 record this season and a 3-8 Big 12 record.

The Tigers were NU’s first Big 12 opponent this season, and the Huskers cruised to a 6-1 victory on Feb. 11 in Lincoln.

Nebraska Loses Close Match to Colorado
The Nebraska women’s tennis team dropped its final regular-season match on Sunday, 4-3, against the No. 35 Colorado Buffaloes. The Huskers dropped to 12-7 overall and 4-6 in the Big 12 with the loss while Colorado improved to 16-6 overall and 9-2 in the Big 12 with the win.

The Huskers got off to a slow start after Colorado swept the three doubles matches. CU snapped a seven-match winning streak by the Nebraska No. 1 doubles combo of Imke Reimers and Diana Kuhl as they lost 8-5 to Franziska Jendrian and Monica Milewski, 8-5. The Buffaloes also picked up an 8-5 win at the No. 2 position and an 8-2 win at the No. 3 position to complete the sweep.

Facing a 1-0 hole early, the Huskers rallied to tie the score at 1-1 after the 58th-ranked Reimers won the 10th match in her last 11 tries, beating the 35th-ranked Milewski in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. Reimers closed out the regular season with a 16-4 record, all at the No. 1 position.

The Buffaloes retook the lead after Melisa Esposito defeated Marianne Cicmanec, 6-0, 6-3, at the No. 5 position, but the Huskers quickly tied it again after NU’s Ashley Finnegan beat Martina Sedivec, 6-4, 6-4, at the No. 6 slot.

The last three singles matches all went to three sets, and with the match tied 2-2, each was vital to the final outcome. Nebraska won the first of the three three-set matches, as freshman Wiveca Swarting won her seventh match in her last eight tries with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 decision at the No. 3 position over CU’s Jendrian. The Huskers took a 3-2 lead behind Swarting’s victory and needed to win only one of the remaining two matches to take the team victory.

The Buffaloes tied the match at 3-3 when CU’s Camila Belassi won the third set in her match against NU’s Kuhl at the No. 2 position, leaving the match to be decided at the No. 4 position, where CU’s Gleisy Torres Torres fought back after losing the first set to force a third set. Torres Torres would go on to win the third set, giving the Buffaloes their fourth point and the 4-3 team victory. The final tally between Ring and Torres Torres was 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Huskers Sign Fourth Recruit
The Nebraska women’s tennis team announced that Jana Albers, from Papenburg, Germany, has signed a letter-of-intent to play for the Huskers, making her the fourth addition to the 2007-08 recruiting class. Albers is from the same community as current Husker junior Imke Reimers.

“Jana is a tremendous talent and we are certainly honored to have her joining our Husker family in August,” head coach Scott Jacobson said. “She will have an incredibly positive impact on the future of Nebraska tennis.”

Albers joins Abby Buxton of Eden Prairie, Minn., Amber Chandronnait of Bow, N.H., and Stephanie Evans of Lebanon, Tenn., as the fourth member of the 2007-08 class. All four will have four years of eligibility when they arrive on campus in August.

Notable Streaks
Several Huskers currently have significant stretches of strong play, including:

? Imke Reimers has won 10 of her last 11 singles matches.
? Diana Kuhl has won seven of her last nine singles matches.
? Wiveca Swarting has won seven of her last eight singles matches.
? Imke Reimers and Diana Kuhl have teamed up to win seven of their last eight doubles matches, all at the No. 1 position.
? Maria Ring and Wiveca Swarting have won eight of their last 10 doubles matches, all at the No. 2 position.

Reimers No. 58 in Latest Rankings
Husker junior Imke Reimers is ranked No. 58 in the nation in the latest ITA singles rankings, released April 17, down six spots from her No. 52 spot two weeks ago. Reimers has won nine of her last 10 matches, but saw her eight-match winning streak snapped last weekend by Indiana State’s Jennifer Migan, who is at No. 82 in the rankings.

Reimers is 16-4 on the season, playing at the No. 1 singles position in every match this season for the Huskers. Her highest ranking came at the beginning of the year, where she was ranked No. 30 in the preseason poll, and she has hovered between No. 50 and No. 58 since.

Reimers Named Big 12 Player of the Week
Junior Imke Reimers was honored on April 9 as the Big 12 Player of the Week for her efforts between April 2-8. Reimers won her seventh and eighth straight singles matches and her sixth straight doubles match in matches against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

On April 7, Reimers played a key role in Nebraska’s narrow 4-3 victory over Oklahoma. She teamed with Diana Kuhl to win her doubles match over OU’s Gabby Baker and Irina Lykina, 8-6, giving the Husker duo its fourth straight doubles victory. That win, along with Reimers’ 6-4, 6-1 win over Baker in No. 1 singles, helped the Huskers secure their fourth straight dual victory.

The next day, Reimers again did her part to help the Huskers, but they ultimately fell short and lost to the Oklahoma State Cowgirls, 5-2. Reimers and Kuhl again took their doubles match at the No. 1 postion against OSU’s Yawna Allen and Nataliya Shatkovskaya, 8-4. She kept it rolling in singles play as well, picking up her eighth straight singles victory by making quick work of OSU’s Iryna Tkachenko, 6-2, 6-0.

Reimers is believed to be the first Husker in the Big 12 era to earn the league’s weekly award.

Huskers To Finish Match With Texas Tech on April 25
The Nebraska women’s tennis team will finish its match against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on April 25. The teams were unable to finish their doubles matches on March 25 due to inclement weather.

The match between the Huskers and the Red Raiders is currently at a 3-3 tie. Due to poor weather conditions in Lubbock, Texas, and pre-scheduled flight arrangements by Nebraska, the teams were unable to start the doubles matches after splitting the six singles matches.

Eight Huskers Named to Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll
The Nebraska women’s tennis team placed eight current and former team members on the 2006 Big 12 Commissioner’s Fall Honor Roll. Honor Roll status is awarded to student-athletes who achieve at least a 3.0 grade-point average during the semester. Junior Imke Reimers earned a 4.0 GPA, making her one of 33 Husker student-athletes to post a perfect GPA. Reimers has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll in all five of her semesters at Nebraska. She was also a first-team academic All-Big 12 selection in 2006.

Pamela Castillejos, who earned her degree in December and finished her tennis career at Nebraska in 2006, was named to her third Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, while Ewelina Skaza, also a senior from last year’s team, was named to her fourth. Skaza, along with Reimers, was a first-team academic All-Big 12 selection in 2006.

Five other current team members were honored along with Reimers. Freshmen Diana Kuhl and Wiveca Swarting, sophomores Ashley Finnegan and Maria Ring and junior Maria Popova were also named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Nebraska had a total of 270 honorees across 23 sports, including 33 who had a 4.0 GPA.

Jacobson Earns 200th Career Victory
Nebraska head coach Scott Jacobson earned his 200th career victory on Friday, Jan. 26, as his team beat Wyoming 6-1.

“It’s just like any other win,” Jacobson said. “I’m proud of our team and the way they persevered out there and came through in some pressure situations.” Jacobson also celebrated his birthday on the same day.

After going 37-59 (.385) in his first five seasons as head coach, starting with the 1991-92 season, Jacobson has since gone 153-89 (.632), counting the 12-6 start to this season. He has led the Huskers to 10 straight winning seasons dating back to 1996-97. Before becoming head coach of the women’s team, Jacobson was an assistant on the NU men’s team from 1979 to 1989. Jacobson is the winningest and longest-serving women’s tennis coach in Husker history.

Net Notes
? After beating Indiana State and Kansas State, the Huskers locked up their 11th consecutive winning season.
? After beating Colorado State, the Huskers improved to 4-1, marking the 10th straight season they have won at least four of their first five matches.
? Six of Nebraska’s seven losses have come to teams that are currently ranked in the top 75.
? Imke Reimers has won 34 of her last 41 singles matches, including the spring 2006 and fall 2006 seasons.
? Reimers has won 33 of 43 sets she has played in this season. She has only been outscored by 23 (34-57) in the 10 sets she has lost, while she has outscored her opponents by 135 (194-59) in the 27 sets she has won.
? Reimers has won 112 (228 won, 116 lost) more games than her opponents on the season.
? The Huskers have only been pushed to three sets in 25 of their 120 singles matches this season.
? The 2006-07 Husker team lists no seniors, a first for the program since the 1998-99 season.
? Junior Imke Reimers is the squad’s only returning letterwinner.