No. 25 NU Hosts Creighton In Home Opener

No. 25 Nebraska (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
vs. Creighton (0-0, 0-0 Big East)
Tuesday, Jan. 21, 4 p.m. (Lincoln, Neb.)

Huskers to Face Creighton In Season Opener

The Huskers look to face Creighton in their spring season opener. The match takes place Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m. at the Nebraska Tennis Center. NU will test its six new recruits in regular season play as well as marking the first official regular season match for new assistant coach, German Dalmagro, who joined the Huskers from the Kansas coaching staff during the summer of 2013.

Joining the Big Red squad is six freshman who replace the four seniors lost after the 2013 season. The six newcomers are Lisa Andersson, Brittany Brewster, Mary Hanna, Katerina Matysova, Spurti Shivalingaiah, and Hannah Sulz. The recruits all had a strong fall campaign, except Shivalingaiah who joined the Huskers during the holiday break, and look to be positive additions to the young program.

Huskers In The ITA National Rankings

Nebraska found itself ranked No. 25 in the pre-season national ITA Top 75 after its successful campaign last season and a solid fall outing in 2013. The rankings were released on Thursday, Jan. 2. The Huskers hope to push their way higher up the list as the season goes on.

The Big Red are one of eight Big Ten teams to start the season in the ITA Top 75. Nebraska is joined by No. 11 Michigan, No. 15 Northwestern, No. 44 Illinois, No. 41 Indiana, No. 72 Ohio State, No. 49 Penn State, and No. 27 Purdue. The Huskers are the third-highest ranked Big Ten team behind No. 11 Michigan and No. 15 Northwestern, making them the only three teams inside the top 25. 

Sophomore Maggy Lehmicke, who went 14-12 overall on 8-5 singles and 6-7 doubles in the fall pre-season, pushed her way into the ITA singles rankings at No. 63 despite going 0-3 against ranked players in the fall campaign.

NU Gears Up For Challenging Schedule

Nebraska will play against plenty of quality competition this season, as the schedule contains 10 teams ranked in the preseason ITA Top 75. The Huskers will play Georgia Tech, Texas Tech, and Vanderbilt at home as part of their non-conference schedule, and will host Big Ten opponents Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State. To add an extra layer of difficulty, the Big Red hit the road against Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern, and Illinois.

Scouting the Creighton Bluejays

Head Coach: Tom Lilly
2013 Record: 8-13
National Ranking: NR

The Bluejays begin their season against Nebraska before heading to Kansas City, Mo. to face UMKC and Wichita state. Creighton last year went 8-13 overall and lost to Southern Illinois in the Missouri Valley Championships at the end of the season. The Bluejays begin the season unranked with no ranked singles or doubles players. Nebraska and Creighton have met a total of 26 times throughout history, with the Huskers taking home the victory in all of the encounters.

Looking Ahead
Following the Creighton match, Nebraska hosts one of the campus sites for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Jan. 25-26 due to their finish at No. 16 in the 2013 season final rankings. The Huskers welcome Georgia Tech, Texas Tech, and Vanderbilt to the Nebraska Tennis Center for some Top 75 matchups.

Ex-coach Hayden Perez, now the Associate Head Coach for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, makes his return to Big Red soil for the first time since leaving the program for the Lone Star state in the summer of 2013 concluding the spring season.