Huskers Host UM, MSU to Open Big Ten Play

With a 10-1 start to the season, the No. 44 Nebraska women’s tennis team is set to host the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines this Friday, March 7 and the Michigan State Spartans Sunday, March 9. The match against the Wolverines is set to start at 5 p.m. (CT), and Sunday’s match will begin at 12 p.m. (CT). 

NU is coming off double-header wins against the Miami Redhawks, 6-1, and the Liberty Flames, 7-0, improving their season to 10-1. The Huskers were ranked No. 36 in the Feb. 20 National ITA Rankings, a team-best since the 2020-21 season, and are now ranked No. 44 in this week’s rankings. 

The Wolverines are 7-3 this season with their most recent win against No.16 Oklahoma State. The Michigan State Spartans are 8-3 on the season with a recent loss against No. 57 Columbia. Michigan State is set to face the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City on Friday, March 7 at 5 p.m. (CT). Michigan will follow and play the Hawkeyes on Sunday, March 9 at 10 a.m. (CT). 

The Huskers are coming off the fall individual season in which the team tallied 34 single wins. Sophomore Maria Taranova led the Big Red in fall singles wins with seven, and had a stellar freshman season in which she earned a 23-8 record, the most wins by a freshman since 2010. 

In the 2023-24 season, led by head coach German Dalmagro in his first year at NU, the Huskers went 14-11. The team accomplished two Big Ten Tournament wins for the first time in program history and senior Raphaelle Lacasse was named an All-Big Ten First Team honoree. 

No. 4 Michigan (7-3, 0-0 Big Ten)
History: NU trails, 0-11
Michigan comes to Lincoln on a 28-straight Big Ten regular-season match win streak after claiming its second-straight Big Ten championship last season. Julia Fleigner leads the team with a No. 2 singles ranking behind a 24-4 overall record. No. 25 Piper Charney, No. 31 Lily Jones, No. 80 Reese Miller and No. 95 Emily Sartz-Lunde join Fleigner in the singles rankings. Michigan also has three ranked doubles teams.

Michigan State (8-3, 0-0 Big Ten)
History: NU trails, 5-6
Before Michigan State’s close loss to Columbia last weekend, MSU held its longest-win streak since the 2004-05 season, winning eight dual matches in a row. The first meeting between the two teams was in the 2011-12 season, where the Huskers topped Michigan State, 6-1. Nebraska has also won the last two meetings and is looking to improve the all-time series record on Sunday. 

Matches will have a live stream available and linked on huskers.com.

For match and spring season updates and content, follow @HuskerWTennis on Instagram and X, or Nebraska Women’s Tennis on Facebook.