NU Finishes Strong at Minnesota Invitational

Women's TennisSeptember 23, 2018

NU Finishes Strong at Minnesota Invitational

Name: Nebraska at Minnesota Invitational
Start: 2018-09-21T00:00:00.000000Z
End: 2018-09-23T00:00:00.000000Z
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.

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Minneapolis, Minn. - The Huskers capped off a stellar weekend at the Minnesota Invitational on Sunday by winning three different singles flights. With over 70 individual competitors this weekend, having three players win their respective flights left NU Head Coach Scott Jacobson feeling optimistic about his 2018-19 bunch.

“Effort, attitude and passion were the three things we were focused on,” Jacobson said. “Today was definitely a highlight for us and it was great to see the way the girls elevated their games this fall. We’ll continue to grow and get better in preparation for our spring season.”

Claire Reifeis and Marina Cozac, two of the upperclassmen leaders for NU, both finished with undefeated 3-0 singles records this weekend. Reifeis, a junior from Indianapolis, Ind., took Flight B this afternoon when she beat Tiffany Huber (MINN) 6-4, 6-2. Cozac, a former DePaul transfer now in her second year as a Husker, topped Laura Janickova (USD) 7-6, 6-3 to win Flight F.

Vasanti Shinde completed a 2-1 weekend in Singles Flight A after defeating Agne Cepelyte (ARK) 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the third place match. Hayley Haakenstad also finished 2-1 in singles play after she defeated Caitlyn Merzbacher (MINN) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 to take fifth place in Flight B.

Jessica Aragon, a freshman from Plano, Tex., played in her first collegiate matches this weekend and did not disappoint. She went undefeated in Flight D, finishing with a 3-0 record after besting River Hart (MINN) 6-2, 6-4 in the championship.

“Competing for the first time this weekend with the team was such an incredible experience,” Aragon said. “Going undefeated in singles made me appreciate all the hard work we’ve put in and gave me a lot of confidence going forward.”

Coach Jacobson, now in his 28th season as the head coach at Nebraska, loved what he saw from his Aragon this weekend.

“Sometimes you have to get the jitters out of the way when competing in your first collegiate tournament,” Jacobson said. “Jessica got stronger as the weekend went on and played her best singles match today against a talented competitor from Minnesota. She exuded great confidence and I love what she brings to our program.”

Claire Reifeis and Hayley Haakenstad continued their success as a double pair this weekend by defeating the top pair from Iowa State, 6-2 on Sunday morning. They fell in their second match by the score of 7-6 in a back and forth battle to Cepelyte/Rice (ARK). The junior duo finished 4-2 together on the weekend.

Both doubles pairs of Vasanti Shinde/Jessica Aragon and Marina Cozac/Elizabeth Gould went 1-1 on Sunday. Each pair finished 3-3 overall, splitting matches in all three days.

The Huskers will have a couple weeks off before heading to the ITA Central Regionals in Iowa City, Iowa from Oct. 12-16 to complete the fall season.

Day Three Results

Singles (Flight A)

Third Place Match: Vasanti Shinde (NEB) def. Agne Cepelyte (ARK) 6-4, 7-6 (4)

Singles (Flight B)

Championship: Claire Reifeis (NEB) def. Tiffany Huber (MINN) 6-4, 6-2

Fifth Place: Hayley Haakenstad (NEB) def. Caitlyn Merzbacher (MINN) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4

Singles (Flight D)

Championship: Jessica Aragon (NEB) def. River Hart (MINN) 6-2, 6-4

Singles (Flight E)

Third Place: Isabella Lambert (MINN) def. Emma Worley (NEB) 6-2, 6-2

Singles (Flight F)