Huskers Take Step Forward in 2015

The Nebraska women’s tennis team continues its process of replacing the best senior class in school history, where the 2012-13 squad won the Big Ten title and earned a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16, led by All-Americans Mary Weatherholt and Patricia Veresova. The 2014-15 team featured three returners from that season including lone senior, Izabella Zgierska, and juniors, Maggy Lehmicke and Lauren Wagner. The Big Red relied on veteran experience to continue its rebuilding process and gather a 12-12 overall record in the 2014-15 season.

The Huskers opened the spring season with a 14-match home stand where NU earned an impressive start to the season, tallying 10 consecutive wins en route to an 11-3 home-turf record before hitting the road to East Lansing, Mich. for the first away-match of the season.

The Big Red began its 10-match win streak on Jan. 24 with a 5-2 win over Air Force followed by a 6-1 win over Army. The following weekend brought more wins as the Huskers out-scored Drake, 5-2, and grabbed the 6-1 victory over Eastern Michigan.

NU delivered a dominating 7-0 sweep over Colorado State on Valentine’s Day before rounding out the weekend with a 4-3 win over Missouri, where the Huskers put an end to the Tigers’ three-consecutive 7-0 shutout win-streak.

The wins kept coming as NU earned a pair of 6-1 wins over Wyoming and Illinois State on Feb. 20 and 22. Nebraska hosted St. John’s for a mid-week match where the Big Red weathered the Red Storm, grabbing the 5-2 victory.

The Huskers faced its first ranked opponent as No. 51 Denver came to Lincoln but couldn’t leave with the win, pushing the Huskers to a 10-0 start on the season. NU suffered its first loss of the season on March 1 as Missouri Valley powerhouse and then-ranked No. 29 Wichita State nabbed a 4-0 win over the Huskers.

Despite the loss, Nebraska entered the ITA national rankings the following week at No. 53, and bounced back to earn a 5-2 win over Georgia State on March 6.

The Huskers rounded out the season-opening home stand by playing host to Big Ten opponents, Purdue and Maryland where No. 29 Purdue produced a 5-1 win over NU and No. 43 Maryland earned a 7-0 sweep, sinking the Huskers to No. 61 in the national rankings.

After playing the first 14 matches of the season at home, Nebraska hit the road for the first time to take on No. 73 Michigan State. The Spartans battled back from 3-0 deficit to drop the Huskers in a 4-3 heartbreaker.

The Big Red returned home on March 20 to battle No. 52 Indiana. The Hoosiers and Huskers went head-to-head with the decision coming down to the final match, ending in a 4-3 loss for NU.

Nebraska rallied back to earn a 4-3 win over Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, Calif. on March 25 as the start of a four-match away streak. Nebraska opened a challenging Big Ten Conference season with a 4-3 setback at Iowa, followed by a 6-1 loss at Wisconsin and a 5-2 loss at Minnesota.

The Huskers returned to Lincoln for the final pair of home matches as they hosted No. 64 Penn State and No. 18 Ohio State on April 10 and 12. Nebraska dropped a 4-3 nail biter to the Nittany Lions followed by a 7-0 sweep from the Buckeyes to round out the season’s home matches.

The dual against Ohio State served as Senior Day for Izabella Zgierska. As NU's lone senior, Zgierska played every match at the No. 2 singles spot, tallying a 11-12 overall mark, while going 2-9 in Big Ten action.

Zgierska paired up with Mary Hanna for the majority of the spring season. The duo fueled NU's doubles success with their impressive 14-7 record, going 4-7 against Big Ten opponents.

Zgierska closed her collegiate career with 47 singles victories and 54 doubles wins.

The Big Red took the road for its final matches of the season where NU fell to No. 51 Illinois (6-1) and No. 27 Northwestern (7-0). 

The Nebraska women's tennis team continued to remain successful off the court as several Huskers grabbed post-season honors and awards.

The 2014-15 team captain, Maggy Lehmicke, was one of 14 recipients to earn the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

The student-athletes chosen for this award are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

Additional awards were earned at the 25th annual Student-Athlete Recognition Banquet held at the Lied Center for Performing Arts on April 12.

Junior Mackenna Maddox was awarded the prestigious Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award. The criteria for the HERO Award include exceptional leadership, consistent and dedicated community service, and positive influence on the team. Nominees are identified by the Life Skills staff with approval from the Academic staff and Head Coaches.

Maddox was joined by team mate Mary Hanna as the two were name to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team. To be named to the list, student-athletes must complete a minimum of six new service projects, and/or mentor in the academic calendar year, while being in both good academic and athletic standing.