Univ. of Nebraska (Lincoln) Team Page
The No. 12 Nebraska Huskers women's tennis team (15-3, 4-0 Big Ten) heads up against Big Ten foe No. 30 Penn State (12-2, 2-2 Big Ten) on Sunday, March 31 in State College, Pa. This is the second meeting between the two teams with Nebraska leading the series 1-0.
Huskers Hope to Out-Roar Nittany Lions
Nebraska vs Penn State notes
No. 12 Nebraska (15-3, 4-0 Big Ten)
vs. No. 30 Penn State (12-2, 2-2 Big Ten)
Sunday, March 31, 11 a.m. (State College, Pa.)
Huskers In The ITA National Rankings
Nebraska is currently ranked 12th after remaining there following their loss to No. 35 Oklahoma State. The ITA Division I women's tennis rankings were released Tuesday, March 26 and Nebraska held the No. 12 spot in the nation this week.
Mary Weatherholt dropped to No. 13 in ITA singles following her loss against Oklahoma State putting her record at 15-0 (7-1 against ranked opponents) on the season, including victories against then-ranked No. 16 Ema Burgic of Baylor, No. 23 Brynn Boren of Tennessee, No. 58 Britney Sanders of Notre Dame, No. 41 Kelsey Dieters of Ohio State, No. 17 Petra Niedermayerova of Kansas State, No. 120 Melissa Kopinski of Illinois, and No. 55 Kate Turvy of Northwestern and a loss to No. 83 Malika Rose of Oklahoma State.
Mary Weatherholt and partner Patricia Veresova dropped in the ITA doubles rankings to No. 11. The two are 11-1 on the season, including three victories against ranked opponents over then-ranked No. 12 Brynn Boren and Kata Szekely of Tennesse, No. 31 Petra Niedermayerova and Karla Bonacic from Kansas State, and No. 8 Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton of Northwestern.
Nebraska is currently 9-2 against teams ranked in the ITA top 75, with five of them falling outside the top 25. The Huskers have knocked off No. 7 Northwestern, No. 15 Baylor, No. 18 Notre Dame, No. 21 Vanderbilt, No. 23 Tennessee, No. 32 Kansas State, No. 37 Illinois, No. 55 Ohio State, and No. 64 Wyoming. Nebraska's losses came from No. 10 Miami at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 8 and No. 35 Oklahoma State on March 21.
The Huskers are the third-highest ranked team in the Big Ten behind No. 10 Michigan and No. 11 Northwestern. Nine teams from the Big Ten are in the top 75 this week, with a total of four in the top 25. The other ranked Big Ten teams are No. 17 Purdue, No. 30 Penn State, No. 40 Indiana, No. 52 Illinois, No. 57 Ohio State, and No. 69 Iowa.
Mary Weatherholt Earns Athlete of the Week Third Time
The Huskers senior from Prairie Village, Kan. won the Big Ten Women's Tennis Athlete-of-the-Week honors on March 13 following her impressive undefeated record, including several victories over ranked opponents in both singles and doubles. This marks the third time that Weatherholt has earned the award this season thus far, after claiming the honors the week of Jan. 30 and Feb. 13.
Weatherholt Sets Career Singles Wins Record for Nebraska
Weatherholt, with her 15 singles victories thus far this season, has set the record for Career Singles wins at 108, previously held by Sandra Noetzel from 1996-2000. She set the record on Friday, Feb. 22 with a victory agaisnt UALR.
Weatherholt Sets Career Combined Wins Record
With an impressive record this spring season at 26-2 combined record (15-1 single, 11-1 doubles), Weatherholt has reached 182 combined victories become the winningest women's tennis player in Huskers history, formerly held by former teammate Madeleine Geibert with 181 total career combined wins. This pushes Geibert down to No. 2 and Sandra Noetzel's 172 down to No. 3, formerly at No. 2. Only halfway through the season, Weatherholt will easily stretch this record even further with the remaining matches to be played.
Weinstein on the Record Hunt
Stefanie Weinstein has notched 34 combined victories this season which notches her at No. 4 on th Career Combined wins record board (with 169). She toppled Imke Reimers' 164 on Friday, March 8 with her two victories against Illinois. Weinstein currently needs four more wins to overtake Sandra Noetzel's 172 and only three more to match.
Weinstein also has 18 individual doubles wins this season which bumps her to the No. 2 spot on the school's Career Doubles Individual Wins list at 87. This pushes former No. 2 Imke Reimers' 74 to third and former No. 3 Sandra Noetzel's 71 to fourth, Weinstein's former mark. Four more individual doubles wins would put her tied for first with former teammate Madeleine Geibert with 91. Five more victories would set the record and peak her at the top of the list.
Looking Ahead
Nebraska returns to Lincoln, Neb. to host Purdue and Indiana. The match against Purdue is set for April 5 at 3 p.m. and the match against Indiana is scheduled for April 7 at 11 a.m. These matches will be played outside at the Vine Street Courts, but will relocate to the Nebraska Tennis Center in the case of harsh weather.
Scouting Penn State
Head Coach: Dawna Denny
2012 Record: 12-11, 4-7 Big Ten
National Ranking: 30
Penn State is currently 12-2 overall. The Nittany Lions are coming off of a win against Iowa resulting in a 6-1 score. Penn State currently are ranked No. 30 and have one player in the singles rankings with No. 57 Petra Januskova and one duo ranked in doubles with No. 75 Petra Januskova and Chelsea Utting. Last season Penn State went 12-11, 4-7 Big Ten. Penn State and Nebraska have met once throughout history with the series led by Nebraska 1-0.
