Huskers Look to Upset No. 10 Ohio State

No. 43 Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-1 Big Ten) vs. No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes (8-3, 5-1 Big Ten)

Friday, March 5

4 p.m.

Dillon Tennis Center 

No. 43 Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-1 Big Ten) vs Penn State Nittany Lions (4-2 Big Ten)

Sunday, March 7

10 a.m.

Dillon Tennis Center

The No. 43 Nebraska women’s tennis team (5-1 Big Ten) is at home for the second-consecutive weekend as they host No. 10 Ohio State and Penn State. The Huskers welcome the Buckeyes for a Friday afternoon matchup followed by a Sunday morning contest against the Nittany Lions.

Huskers Enter ITA Rankings 

On March 3rd, the Huskers entered the ITA rankings at the No. 43 spot, its highest ranking since April of 2018. The Huskers are on a 5-match winning streak after dropping its season opener to No. 7 Northwestern, 4-3. 

The 5-1 start is the Huskers best start since 2017 when Nebraska went 15-0 to open the season. 

Novak Remains Unbeaten In Regular Season Play

Sophomore Kristina Novak remains unbeaten in regular season singles play. The Radovljica, Slovenia native has won six-matches in a row at the No. 1 spot. Last weekend, Novak topped Laura Masic of Indiana and Ena Babic of Purdue. Novak is the only Husker that has not dropped a singles match during the regular season. 

In doubles action, Novak is 4-4 overall and 4-0 during the regular season playing with three different partners. She has helped the Huskers in winning the last 5 of 6 doubles points in match play.

Chloe Kuckelman Continues Singles Winning Streak

Sophomore Chloe Kuckelman is on a four-match singles winning streak and 7-1 overall. Last weekend, the Overland Park, Kan., native defeated Jelly Bozovic of Purdue and Seira Shimizu of Indiana both at the No. 4 spot.

In doubles play, Kuckelman is on a four match winning streak with partner Hayley Haakenstad. The duo is 4-0 out of the No. 3 spot playing a major role in the Huskers doubles success this season.

Scouting Ohio State

The No. 10 Buckeyes opened 2021 winning the ITA Kickoff Weekend tournament after defeating Syracuse and Virginia. Ohio State moved on to the ITA Indoor Championships, falling in the first round to No. 1 North Carolina before defeating Georgia Tech. OSU closed out the tournament with a 4-3 loss to Northwestern.

In regular season conference play, the Buckeyes are 5-1 with wins over Purdue, Indiana, Maryland, Rutgers and Michigan State. OSU suffered their first conference loss on Sunday as they fell to Michigan 4-3 in Columbus. 

Sophomore Irina Cantos Siemers is currently ranked No. 78 in singles. This season she is 8-2 in singles play including two wins over top-15 opponents. Cantos Siemers holds a 7-5 doubles record and is on a four-match winning streak with partner Luna Dormet. 

Ohio State leads the all-time series over the Huskers 7-6. 

The Buckeyes are led by three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, Melissa Schaub.

Scouting Penn State

The Nittany Lions enter Lincoln with a 4-2 record. Penn State has wins over Indiana, Rutgers, Maryland, and Michigan State. Penn State has suffered losses to Purdue and Michigan. 

Senior Samantha Smith climbed to second on the Penn State all-time singles win after earning her 69th win over Michigan’s Merri Kelly 6-4, 6-3 last weekend.

In series history, the Huskers lead the Nittany Lions 5-4.

Prior to competing in Lincoln, Penn State is set to take on Iowa on Friday afternoon in Iowa City. 

Penn State is led by second-year Head Coach Alexandra Anghelescu.