Mary Hanna Advances To Third Round at Midland

Midland, Texas - The Nebraska women's tennis squad saw some success at the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational on Friday. It was a solid showing for the scarlet and cream as freshman Mary Hanna moves forward to the third round in the singles draw while both Husker duos will see second round matches. 

In the singles first round, Hanna toppled TCU's Hanna Victorsson 6-3, 6-0 while fellow Husker Maggy Lehmicke ousted Abilene Christian's Brittney Reed 6-3, 6-1. Maike Zeppernick fell to Pepperdine's Mata Cutura 0-6, 0-6 as Brittany Brewster slipped against preseason No. 49-ranked Rice's Dominique Harmath 1-6, 6-3, (6-10) putting both of the scarlet and cream players in the consolation draw.

In second round play, Hanna squashed North Texas' Augustina Valenzuela 6-2, 6-3 but one Husker had her singles matches come to a halt when Baylor's Mckenzie Craft swept Lehmicke aside 7-6 (4), 6-2.

After dropping to the consolation bracket, Brewster dominated Texas State's Monica Pieratt 6-2, 6-4 and Zeppernick ended her tournament 4-6, 4-6 in a loss to Texas Tech's Claire Williams.

The Huskers produced two advancing pairs in the doubles bracket. Lehmicke and Brewster paired up and proceeded to the next round on a default win over North Texas' Alexis Thoma and Kseniya Bardabush. Zeppernick and Hanna challenged Texas State's Eva Dench and Jessica Kahts emerging with an 8-4 victory.

In third round play on Saturday, Hanna is slated against the No. 2 seed, No. 21-ranked Rice's Natalie Beazant, the 2012 defending champion.

In second round consolation play Brewster goes head-to-head with Kansas' Paulina Los. 

For the doubles second round, Lehmicke and Brewster take on TCU's Millie Nichols and Seda Arantekin and fellow Huskers Hanna and Zeppernick duel TCU's No. 4 seeded Stefanie Tan and Simona Parajova.

"Today was a good day," Nebraska Assistant Coach German Dalmagro said, "given that it was the first tournament of the season, and we have only been practicing for one week. The competition here is very high. For the freshmen it was a good day. Mary (Hanna) played great both matches. Brittany (Brewster) played a really tough first match and bounced right back with a solid win. Maike (Zeppernick) had a tough first round that didn't match well, but the opponent played very well. Maggy (Lehmicke) had a solid first round win, and lost a tough match against a ranked player. In doubles, both teams are moving on in the main draw. It was a positive day, everyone competed hard and well, and with each match we got better. Tomorrow is a new day to get better and compete hard. I'm pleased with the effort and work we put in today, and there is more room to improve." 

Following the Racquet Club invite, Nebraska heads to the Missouri Invitational in Kansas City, Mo. from Friday, Sept. 20 through Sunday, Sept. 22. 

Stay tuned for more updates and find Saturday's results here on Huskers.com concluding play. Go Big Red!