Lincoln, Neb. - Mary Weatherholt and Patricia Veresova cruised to wins in the top singles and doubles spots to lead No. 16 Nebraska to a 5-0 sweep of Wichita State in the first round of the NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament at the NU Varsity Courts on Friday afternoon.
With the victory, Nebraska improved to 23-5 on the year and advanced to an NCAA second-round match against No. 57 UNLV (20-7). The Rebels moved on to the second round with a 4-3 upset of No. 27 Tulsa earlier Friday. The Huskers will be gunning for their first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
Weatherholt's 6-2, 6-2 victory over Rebecca Pedrazzi at No. 1 singles made her the first Husker in history to record 200 career combined victories. The nation's No. 11 player notched No. 199 by teaming with Patricia Veresova for an 8-5 win over Wichita State's Veronika Blaskova and Lucia Kovalova at No. 1 doubles. Weatherholt and Veresova, the nation's No. 3 doubles team, raced to a 7-1 lead before settling for the win.
Weatherholt, who improved to 44-3 overall on the year, moved to 24-1 in singles this season, while she and Veresova improved to 20-2 in doubles action.
Nebraska Coach Scott Jacobson said Weatherholt's accomplishments as a Husker have been nothing short of amazing.
"She is the best ever at Nebraska. She's been through a lot, and I couldn't be happier for her," Jacobson said. "We are really proud of her, and it couldn't happen to a nicer kid than Mary Weatherholt, that's for sure."
Weatherholt and Veresova got Nebraska off to a strong start in doubles, before Janine Weinreich and Stefanie Weinstein secured the doubles point for the Huskers with an 8-6 win over Wichita State's Carla Venticinque and Pedrazzi at No. 2.
The Huskers went up 2-0 after Izabella Zgierska rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Venticinque at No. 6 singles.
After Weatherholt's win at No. 1 singles, the Huskers closed out the 5-0 victory with Veresova's 6-1, 6-3 win over WSU's Julia Schiller at No. 2 singles and Maggy Lehmicke's 6-4, 6-2 victory over Satjaporn Mahajaroenkul at No. 5. The matches at No. 2 and No. 5 finished simultaneously to account for the 5-0 team win.
Wichita State Coach Colin Foster was impressed with the Huskers from top to bottom.
"Nebraska is hosting for a reason. They are a really strong team. The four seniors at the top really played well, and really their whole lineup played well," Foster said. "I was proud of the way we competed and certainly pushed them across the board. They were obviously the better team. We wish them luck tomorrow, but I was proud of our effort today, and proud of our season."
#16 Nebraska - 5
Wichita State - 0
NCAA Tournament First Round
Friday, May 10, 2013 (2 p.m.)
NU Varsity Tennis Courts
Lincoln, Neb.
Doubles
#1 - Weatherholt/Veresova (NEB) def. Blaskova/Kovalova (WSU), 8-5
#2 - Weinstein/Weinreich (NEB) def. Venticinque/Pedrazzi (WSU), 8-6
#3 - Lehmicke/Zgierska (NEB) vs. Mahajaroenkul/Fernandez (WSU), DNF (7-5)
Order of Finish: (1, 2)
Singles
#1 - Mary Weatherholt (NEB) def. Rebecca Pedrazzi (WSU), 6-2, 6-2
#2 - Patricia Veresova (NEB) def. Julia Schiller (WSU), 6-1, 6-3
#3 - Stefanie Weinstein (NEB) vs. Lucia Kovalova (WSU), DNF (2-6, 6-3, 2-1)
#4 - Janine Weinreich (NEB) vs. Montse Blasco Fernandez (WSU), DNF (6-1, 2-6)
#5 - Maggy Lehmicke (NEB) def. Satjaporn Mahajaroenkul (WSU), DNF (6-4, 6-2)
#6 - Izabella Zgierska (NEB) def. Carla Venticinque (WSU), 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: (6, 1, 2, 5)
