Huskers Head to Minnesota Invitational

Minneapolis, Minn. - The Nebraska women’s tennis team heads to Minneapolis, Minn. this weekend to compete in its first tournament of the fall season at the Minnesota Invitational. The University of Minnesota’s Baseline Tennis Center, where the 2018 Big Ten Tournament was held, will be hosting the invite.

 

NU returns eight players from last season, including Claire Reifeis and Chanhassen, Minn. native, Hayley Haakenstad.

 

“As a team, we’ve really put a lot of work in, especially conditioning wise, to prepare for this season,” Haakenstad said. “As long as everyone steps on the court this weekend and trusts in our process, a lot of good things will happen.”

 

Haakenstad and Reifeis both enter their junior seasons following impressive sophomore years. The Haakenstad/Reifies duo posted wins at the number two doubles position against then No. 2 ranked Vanderbilt and No. 19 ranked Ohio State. They will team up once again this weekend for the Gopher Invite.

 

“I can’t wait to get some new competition,” Reifeis said. “One thing I’m looking forward to is seeing how our team reacts when we play matches. We’re not so worried about wins and losses right now, but it’s important for us to see how we compete as a team and know that our hard work is paying off.”

  

Another player expected to make a significant impact this season is Jessica Aragon. Aragon, a true freshman from Plano, Tex., comes in as a five-star recruit and was ranked as the No. 3 girls 18’s player in Texas when Head Coach Scott Jacobson got her to sign with Nebraska.

 

Coach Scott Jacobson, who begins his 28th year as the man-in-charge for NU, is excited to see Aragon compete in her first season with Nebraska.

 

“She’s an incredible competitor with great balance to her game,” Jacobson said. “We felt like we got one of the best doubles players in the nation when she chose our Husker family.” 

 

Jacobson also touched on his team's progress and what he is looking forward to seeing in Minnesota this weekend.

 

“One of the things we’ve done a really good job of is competing with a tremendous amount of passion,” Jacobson said. “Success needs to be based on something that’s in your control and we always tell kids effort and attitude is what’s most important. As long as we see positive attitude, good temperament and great effort, we’re going to be proud of the results.”

 

In the 2018 season, the Huskers just missed out on an appearance in the NCAA tournament. The team posted an 18-7 (7-4 B1G) record, landing them a No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. NU looks to build off that success last season by getting off to a great start in the fall.

 

The Minnesota Invitational field includes Drake, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa State, Arkansas, Northern Iowa and Minnesota.

 

Play will begin Friday morning at 9 a.m. with singles and doubles matches. The invite will continue through Sunday, Sept. 23. Daily recaps and results can be found on Huskers.com following each day of competition.

 

To watch the action live from courts 1-6 (inside) at the Baseline Tennis Center, visit https://z.umn.edu/3qvd

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