Strong Singles Play Propels Huskers to Victory

Lincoln - The Nebraska women's tennis team recovered from a slow start to defeat the Missouri Tigers 5-2 on Friday morning at the Nebraska Tennis Center. The win evens NU's record to 4-4 in the Big 12 and 15-4 overall, while Missouri drops to 9-11 and 1-7 in the Big 12.

The Huskers dug themselves in a hole early, as they weren't able to find a rhythm in doubles play, and dropped two of the three matches. At No. 1 doubles, Jana Albers and Imke Reimers improved to 6-2 in the Big 12 with an 8-4 win, but the Huskers lost 8-2 at No. 2 and 8-3 at No. 3, giving Missouri a 1-0 lead going into singles play.

“We had good energy out there in doubles,” said Head Coach Scott Jacobson. “But sometimes you just don't strike it as clean as you'd like, and today was one of those days. You've got to give Missouri credit too, because they really played great doubles.”

Nebraska turned it up in singles play, quickly taking a 2-1 lead after Stephanie Evans and Amber Chandronnait won at No. 4 and No. 5 singles, respectively. Missouri tied it at 2-2 with Sofia Ayala's win over Maria Ring at No. 6 singles, but that would be the last point the Huskers would concede on the day. Reimers made it 3-2 Nebraska with a three-set victory at No. 1 singles, and Albers clinched the match for NU with a victory at No. 3 singles. Wiveca Swarting closed the scoring with a straight-set victory at No. 2 singles.

Jacobson said he was very impressed with the team's effort in singles after the slow start in doubles.

“(Our singles play) was the most impressive thing about the day, since this was probably the least successful doubles day we've had this season,” said Jacobson. “With the way we bounced back and came out and battled in singles really impressed Coach (Hayden) Perez and I.”

The Huskers return to the courts on Sunday with a conference match against Colorado. Nebraska will look for its 16th win of the season and it's 13th win at home on Sunday, and the match will mark the second-to-last home match of the season for the Huskers.

Results
Nebraska 5, Missouri 2

Doubles
No. 1 Albers/Reimers (NU) def. Ayala/Dunham (MU), 8-4
No. 2 Svetlic/Weber (MU) def. Ring/Swarting (NU), 8-2
No. 3 Giuggioli/Ritchie (MU) def. Chandronnait/Evans (NU), 8-3

Singles
No. 1 Imke Reimers (NU) def. Mallory Weber (MU), 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 Wiveca Swarting (NU) def. Jessica Giuggioli (MU), 7-6 (4), 6-4
No. 3 Jana Albers (NU) def. Chrissy Svetlic (MU), 7-5, 6-3
No. 4 Stephanie Evans (NU) def. Maureen Modesto (MU), 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 Amber Chandronnait (NU) def. Kaitlyn Ritchie (MU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 Sofia Ayala (MU) def. Maria Ring (NU), 6-1, 7-5