Nebraska Opens Big 12 Slate

No. 29 Nebraska (12-1) vs. No. 19 Oklahoma (9-2)
Date: Friday, March 18, 2011
Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Venue: Nebraska Tennis Center
Start time: 2 p.m.

No. 29 Nebraska (12-1) vs. Oklahoma State (3-7)
Date: Sunday, March 20, 2011
Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Venue: Nebraska Tennis Center
Start time:  Noon

The Nebraska women's tennis team is preparing to begin the Big 12 portion of the regular season this week. The No. 29 Huskers (12-1, 0-0) will face No. 19 Oklahoma (9-2, 1-0) on Friday before facing Oklahoma State (3-7, 0-0) on Sunday. Both matches will be in Lincoln at the Nebraska Tennis Center. Nebraska holds all-time records of 12-23 against Oklahoma and 6-26 against Oklahoma State. 

Nebraska Rises in Polls
The Huskers continue to rise in the latest ITA Division I Women's Tennis Rankings, achieving a position of No. 29 in the polls released March 15. This is the highest ranking Nebraska has captured since its record rank of No. 26 on Feb. 22. Nebraska has been ranked for nine consecutive weeks and has posted a record of 6-1 against ranked teams this season, including their defeat of No. 45 Ohio State last weekend.

The Huskers are now fourth in the Big 12 conference, trailing Baylor, Oklahoma and Texas, who all hold 1-0 records in conference play. The Huskers have the highest overall winning percentage in the conference (.923). NU continues to be ranked fifth among Big 12 teams in the ITA polls, following No. 10 Baylor, No. 19 Oklahoma, No. 22 Texas and No. 26 Texas A&M.

Tracking the Rankings
Date                 Rank
Jan. 4               #34
Jan. 25             #34
Feb. 3               #33
Feb. 8               #32
Feb. 14             #31
Feb. 22             #26
March 1            #36
March 8            #32
March 15           #29

Geibert and Weinstein Climb Rankings
Nebraska's doubles pair of Madeleine Geibert and Stefanie Weinstein climbed to No. 71 in the latest ITA Division I Women's Doubles Rankings released March 15.  The duo was previously ranked No. 76, but defeated Iowa's No. 33 pair of Sonja Molnar and Jessica Young last weekend in Iowa City. Geibert and Weinstein hold a 10-2 record this season in doubles action, and have won 10 in a row at the No. 1 position.  

Geibert/Weinstein's Ranking
Date                 Rank
March 1            #76
March 15           #71

Scouting the Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma is 9-2 this season, only dropping matches against then-No. 1 Stanford in January and then-No. 19 Notre Dame in February. The Sooners are 7-2 on the road this season and have captured six wins against ranked opponents.

The Sooners are led on the court by senior Ana-Maria Constantinescu, who is ranked No. 95 nationally in singles and plays at the No. 1 position. In addition, freshman Mia Lancaster has added a 9-1 record in singles to the team, including a 7-0 record at the No. 6 position.

OU is led by Head Coach David Mullins, who is in his third season with the Sooners.

Scouting the Oklahoma State Cowgirls
The Cowgirls arrive in Lincoln with a 3-7 record, including wins over LSU and Oral Roberts. OSU has yet to play a home dual this season; their last outing resulted in a 6-1 loss to No. 22 Tulsa.

The Cowgirls feature senior Sarah Meghoufel, the 2010 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and conference co-champion at the No. 4 singles position. Meghoufel had a team-leading 10-4 record in singles during the fall and currently carries a record of 2-7 between the No. 1 and No. 4 singles positions.

OSU is lead by Head Coach Chris Young, who is in his second season coaching the Cowgirls. Young has compiled a career record of 203-105.

Huskers Rise to 12-1
The Nebraska women's tennis team rose to 12-1 on the season after going 2-0 last weekend on the court. Nebraska defeated its sixth ranked opponent of the season on March 11 by taking down the No. 45 Ohio State Buckeyes, 4-3, at the Nebraska Tennis Center. NU followed up their victory with a 5-2 win over Iowa in Iowa City two days later.

NU first faced Ohio State in Lincoln, where Patricia Veresova and Maike Zeppernick clinched the doubles point for NU at the No. 3 position, 8-5. The Huskers then rolled out three consecutive victories in singles at the No. 3, 5 and 2 positions to clinch the match.

The Huskers wrapped up the weekend against Iowa on March 13. Doubles action for Nebraska was highlighted by Geibert and Weinstein's upset of No. 33-ranked Sonja Molnar and Jessica Young in No. 1 doubles. That win also clinched the doubles point for the Huskers.

Veresova was first to post a win in singles action at the No. 2 position, followed by Jennifer Holmberg in No. 5 singles. Zeppernick clinched the match for the Huskers at the No. 6 position, and Janine Weinreich posted the final singles point of the day for the Huskers at the No. 5 spot.

Live Stats available for Matches
Live stats will be available for both of Nebraska's matches this weekend on Huskers.com. Click on the link at the top of the page to follow the action.