College Tennis News - Huskers Battle First Big Ten Opponent

No. 17 Nebraska (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
at. No. 55 Ohio State (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Saturday, Feb. 2, 11 a.m. (Columbus, Ohio)

The No. 17 Nebraska women's tennis team (4-0,0-0 Big Ten) head to Columbus, Ohio to face their first Big Ten opponent on the season with No. 55 Ohio State (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten) will be tough competitors coming off of a 7-0 win over Eastern Kentucky at home.

The Huskers remain undefeated following the ITA Kick Off weekend claiming two more victories at home. The Huskers defeated No. 23 Tennessee on Saturday 4-3 in a tight shoot-out to move into Sunday’s finals against No. 18 Notre Dame (who defeated No. 22 Georgia Tech). Nebraska rose to the challenge and ousted No. 18 Notre Dame 4-1 in the finals on Sunday. No. 22 Georgia Tech defeated No. 23 Tennessee 4-2 on Sunday in the consolation match.

Mary Weatherholt Earns Big Ten Player of the Week
The Huskers senior from Prairie Village, Kan. won the Big Ten Player-of-the-Week honors on Jan. 30 following her impressive results from the ITA Kick Off weekend. Weatherholt defeated three individually ranked opponents to go undefeated on the weekend and remain undefeated this spring season.

Against No. 23 Tennessee on Saturday, Weatherholt defeated No. 23 ranked Brynn Boren in the No. 1 singles position 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 after pairing with fellow Husker Patricia Veresova to defeat No. 12 ranked Brynn Boren and Kata Szekely at the No. 1 doubles position 8-3. On Sunday against No. 18 Notre Dame, Weatherholt defeated No. 58 ranekd Britney Sanders at the No. 1 singles position 6-3, 6-4.

Weatherholt on the Record Hunt
Being undefeated on the season with 7-0 combined (4-0 single, 3-0 doubles), Weatherholt only needs 19 more combined wins on the season to become the winningest women’s tennis player in Huskers history (18 to tie record) currently held by former teammate Madeleine Geibert with 181 total career combined wins for Nebraska (Weatherholt 156 concluding 2012 and 163 including 2012-13).

Nebraska in the National Rankings
The ITA Division I women’s tennis rankings were released Wednesday, Feb. 2 and the Huskers remained at the No. 17 spot seeing no change in position following their 2-game winning stay at home over the ITA Kick Off weekend.

Nebraska has defeated two nationally-ranked teams this season against No. 23 Tennessee and No. 18 Notre Dame.

The Huskers are the third-highest ranked Big Ten team, trailing only behind No. 14 Northwestern and No. 16 Michigan. Only two Big Ten teams didn't make the ITA rankings, being, Iowa and Michigan State, which makes it a total of ten teams from the Big Ten to make the cut rounded out by No. 26 Purdue, No. 31 Illinois, No. 41 Minnesota, No. 48 Penn State, No. 51 Indiana, No. 55 Ohio State, and bottom of the pole No. 75 Wisconsin.

Looking Ahead
After winning the ITA Kick Off event, the Huskers head to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Team Championships in Charlottesville, Va. Feb. 8-11. The Wichita State match that was scheduled for Feb. 9 is canceled due to the results and will not be scheduled for a later date.

Following the National Indoor Team Championships, Nebraska faces Illinois State at home on Friday, Feb. 15 at 4 p.m.

Scouting the Ohio State Buckeyes
Head Coach: Melissa Schaub
2012 Record: 10-15 (4-7 Big Ten)
National Ranking: 55

The Buckeyes sit at No. 55 in the ITA Division I team rankings that were released Jan. 30. Ohio State currently has one player in the ITA singles rankings with Kelsey Dieters siting at No. 41 on the list. The No. 55 Buckeyes have no pairs in the ITA doubles rankings. OSU defeated Eastern Kentucky 7-0 in their last match at home in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday.