More Experienced Huskers Seek Success in 2015

After losing four seniors, including two first-team All-Americans from the most successful Nebraska women's tennis team in history in 2012-13, a young 2013-14 Husker squad that included six freshmen struggled to find wins in a loaded Big Ten Conference.

The young group battled through the season, finishing with an 8-17 overall record while discovering the challenges of NCAA Division I tennis.

Now a more experienced and healthier group of Huskers looks for greater success in the spring of 2015. 

Although the 2015 Huskers will be more experienced than a year ago, Nebraska will still feature just one senior, Izabella Zgierska. The native of Miesbach, Germany will provide leadership on and off the court for the Huskers in 2015. Zgierska enters her senior year with a 66-68 combined career record for Nebraska. She boasts an impressive off-court resume, including Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2013 and 2014, as well as earning a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. With the help of Zgierska, the Nebraska women’s tennis team earned its fourth straight Herman Award in 2014 for the highest team grade-point average across all Nebraska women’s sports.

“Izabella made a big jump last year,” Nebraska Coach Scott Jacobson said. “We asked a lot more of her. She went from playing the No. 6 spot for our program to No. 2. Her game elevated, and she embraced the challenge. She really played the best tennis of her college career last year. Her work ethic is exemplary. When you have a young team with a bunch of freshmen and sophomores, with the exception of Maggy (Lehmicke) and Lauren (Wagner), to have that kind of leadership from your senior makes a big difference, with respect to work ethic.”

Nebraska also will look to juniors Maggy Lehmicke and Lauren Wagner for leadership. As two of the three upperclassmen, Lehmicke and Wagner will add valuable experience to the young Husker crew. 

Lehmicke earned the position of team captain as she continues her successes on and off the court. The native of Kirkland, Wash., enters her third season as a Husker with an impressive 71-51 combined record, playing at the No. 1 singles spot as a sophomore. Lehmicke also serves as a leader in the classroom and community. She was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors while claiming the prestigious Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award a year ago. She earned spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in both semesters of her freshman and sophomore years and captured a spot on the inaugural Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2014.

“Maggy went from a freshman playing the No. 4 and 5 spot to our No. 1 and made a big jump,” Jacobson said. “She is one whose game continues to grow. The other thing about Maggy that is really important is her leadership with respect to how she engages the team. She is all about others. That’s what you need in a team captain; someone who has a great work ethic but also selfless in nature. She is the real deal.”

Wagner saw limited action in her first two years with Nebraska but looks to build off a successful fall campaign in 2014. The junior from Roslyn Heights, N.Y., earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2014 as well as spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall of 2012. Wagner helped the team earn its fourth consecutive Herman Award, as she received a Nebraska Honors Medallion for having a GPA between 3.0-3.49.

“Throughout the fall she probably played her highest level doubles she’s ever played in her college career, with Kati Matysova,” Jacobson said. “She made a jump. After her sophomore year, she went back home and worked on her game all summer. She continues to improve and get better.”

Nebraska features two sophomores in Lisa Andersson and Mary Hanna. The two will lean on the experience they gained in their inaugural seasons to drive the Huskers to success in 2015. Consistently playing singles in the middle of the lineup for NU, Andersson accumulated a 13-36 combined record, while Hanna rounded out her first season as a Husker with a 24-34 record.

“Both of them probably learned that playing college tennis is never easy,” Jacobson said. “Every time you step on the court you are challenged. Those two learned to embrace competition. That’s the thing they are learning and will continue to get better at. You have to love the battle. I think they are both very gifted sophomores. The thing they both need to focus on is the mental aspect of the game and get stronger mentally. Approach every point with positive energy.”

Two Huskers, Spurti Shivalingaiah and Katerina Matysova, are coming off redshirt seasons and look to make immediate impacts in both singles and doubles in 2015.

Shivalingaiah redshirted her freshman season with an injury after joining the Huskers prior to the start of the spring semester. The native of Bangalore, India, got off to a strong start in the classroom as a member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the spring of 2014.

“Spurti is incredibly gifted,” Jacobson said. “She was one of the top 250 juniors in the world when she came here. We are glad to have her for another four years. She is probably the cleanest ball striker on our team. She strikes the ball in the center of the racquet every single time. Now it’s just a matter of getting her physical condition back and then getting used to competitive play.”

Matysova, a native of Erding, Germany, played some matches in the fall of her freshman season earning a 2-4 singles record and 1-4 doubles mark before having her season end with a knee injury. She earned a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall of 2013 and spring of 2014 while her efforts helped the team earn the Herman Award.

“Kati is striking the ball as well as she ever has and she has made a big jump mentally,” Jacobson said. “Her mindset is unbelievable. We kid her a little bit about how this ACL tear was the best thing that ever happened to her because she realized how much she loves the game and maybe before she took it for granted. Her mental approach is tremendous.”

Nebraska will add one new face, Mackenna Maddox, to the 2015 team. The McKinney, Texas native joins the Huskers after spending two seasons at Brigham Young University, where she accumulated a 21-20 singles record and a 20-19 doubles mark. Maddox earned a spot on the West Coast Conference Honor Roll both her freshman and sophomore year at BYU and will look to continue her success as a Husker.

“Mackenna has been an incredible addition to our program,” Jacobson said. “She has a tremendous work ethic and a positive attitude. She has very good hands around the net and tremendous doubles instincts. In addition, Mackenna is a great competitor and always plays with passion. We believe she has the opportunity to help our program in a big way this coming spring.”

The Huskers have 24 regular-season matches, with 17 scheduled at home. Five of the 11 conference matches will be at home, while they will travel to Michigan State, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Northwestern. The Huskers will kick off the 2015 season at home against Air Force on Jan. 24 at 10 a.m.