Women’s tennis
Nebraska women’s tennis captured its ninth and tenth wins over the weekend, defeating No. 65 Purdue 4-1 and then Indiana 4-3 on the road.
Nebraska won the doubles event against Purdue, winning the No. 3 and No. 2 matches, with the No. 1 match ending unfinished.
Freshman Ellie Kuckelman and junior Samantha Alicea took the No. 3 match, defeating senior Seira Shimizu and freshman Carmen Gallardo Guevara, 6-2. Sophomores Chloe Kuckelman and Isabel Adrover Gallego quickly defeated Purdue’s No. 2 team of sophomore Rut Galindo and freshman Tara Katarina Milic, 6-4.
The dominant showing continued in the singles competition. Alicea defeated Shimizu in the opening No. 6 match, finishing 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Sophomore Maja Makoric dominantly handled Milic, completing a 6-1, 6-3 sweep in the No. 3 match. Makoric’s doubles partner, sophomore Kristina Novak, swept her No. 1 opponent, junior Csilla Fodor, with an identical score of 6-1, 6-3.
Purdue’s lone win in the match occurred in the No. 2 matchup, where Gallardo Guevara beat Adrover Gallego, 6-3, 6-3.
The Huskers came out on top against Indiana due to a strong performance in the doubles competition. The top-ranked duo of Novak and Makoric defeated Indiana’s No. 1 ranked duo of sophomore Laura Masic and freshman Lara Schneider, 7-5.
The No. 1 team’s win captured the doubles event for Nebraska after the teams split victories between the No. 2 and No. 3 matches.
Nebraska opened doubles play by taking the No. 3 match. Ellie Kuckelman and Alicea handily defeated Indiana juniors Lexi Kubas and Rose Hu, 6-0.
In the No. 2 doubles match, Indiana got its lone win of the doubles tournament, with juniors Alexandra Staiculescu and Mila Mejic besting Chloe Kuckelman and Adrover Gallego, 6-2.
The No. 1 matchup in the singles tournament would not go as planned, with Novak falling 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a hard-fought loss to Schneider, but Nebraska earned three victories in the tournament to put it over the top.
Adrover Callego took the No. 2 matchup with a 7-6, 6-2, two-set victory over Masic.
National No. 110 ranked singles player Makoric continued her stellar campaign, completing a two-set victory over Staiculescu 6-3, 6-4.
Indiana earned two more victories at the No. 4 and No. 5 ranked matchups.
Mejic outlasted Chloe Kuckelman in a four-set thriller, winning 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). At the No. 5 rank, Hu bested Alicea 6-3, 6-4 to earn another point for the Hoosiers.
Nebraska’s opening win in the singles tournament would prove to be the difference maker, with sophomore Vivien Sandberg triumphing over sophomore Sayda Hernandez 6-1, 6-1.
The Huskers currently sit at No. 51 nationally and are tied for fourth in the Big Ten. Next, Nebraska will have a great chance for another ranked win and conference win against No. 35 Northwestern on Friday in Lincoln.
Men’s golf
The Nebraska men’s golf team had a trio of golfers finish inside the top 50 at the Seahawk Intercollegiate, placing the team eighth in a field of 14 teams.
The Huskers shot a three round score of 887, which was 23 over par at the Country Club of Landfall, the Nicklaus course, in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Leading the way for the Huskers was junior Will Marshall. Marshall had a total score of 222 (+6) and good enough to tie for No. 32. Marshall’s best round came in the first round with a score of 71 that was followed by a 72 and then a 79 in the third round.
Following close behind Marshall, senior Tom Westenbeger claimed 39th place alongside three others. Westenberger finished with a total score of 224 (+8) with a three round split that started with a first round of 74 coupled with a pair of 75s.
Rounding out the Huskers in the top 50 was senior Branden Meyer who finished tied for 43rd place. Meyer’s 225 (+9) started with a 74 followed by a rough second round score of 82. The Gilbert, Arizona native finished off with a career-best final score of 69.
Wrapping up the Seahawk Intercollegiate for the Huskers were seniors Mark Foelbaek and Caleb Badura, who finished in 64th place and 84th place, respectively.
The host team, North Carolina-Wilmington, captured the title with a total score of 853. The Seahawks won in a demanding fashion, as they won by 13 strokes.
Wright State’s junior Tyler Goecke placed first over the two-day event with a three round score of 208 (-8). Goecke had a three round split of 70, 68 and 70.
Nebraska’s next action on a course will take place in the same state but on a different course. The Huskers will travel to Cary, North Carolina to play at MacGregor Downs Country Club for the Stitch Intercollegiate over April 8-9.
Track and field
The Nebraska track and field team kicked off its 2022 outdoor season this week, competing in the Emporia State Relays and Combined Events along with the Arizona State Invitational from March 24-26.
Sophomore Kolby Heinerikson had the best finish for the Huskers in the Emporia State Relays and Combined Events. The Kansas City, Missouri native placed eighth in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, finishing with a personal best time of 15.13 seconds. Heinerikson also earned a new personal best in the javelin, finishing 17th with a throw of 176 feet (53.64 meters).
At the Arizona State Invitational, Nebraska snatched three event titles across the weekend, sweeping the javelin and winning the men’s shot put. In javelin, sophomore Maddie Harris won the women's title while redshirt freshman Trey Patterson claimed the men's title. Patterson won the event with a throw of 204 feet, 2 inches (62.23 meters), while Harris earned her first place title with a toss of 172 feet, 3 inches (52.50 meters).
The final event won by Nebraska came from sophomore Maxwell Otterdahl in the men’s shot put. Otterdahl won the title with a throw of 62 feet, 1/2 inches (18.91 meters), which also puts him at No. 10 in school history for the event. Otterdahl was also the top Nebraska finisher in men's discus, placing seventh with a mark of 173 feet, 1 inch (52.7 meters).
Freshman Kalynn Meyer finished fourth in discus with a throw of 170 feet, 3 inches (51.89 meters) in her first outdoor competition. Diew was eighth in the event with a personal-best throw of 159 feet, 5 inches (48.60 meters).
Freshman Hannah Godwin posted a top-10 time for Nebraska in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing third in 10:42.75 to put her at No. 9 in school history. Sophomores Taya Skelton (10:57.08) and Brynna McQuillen (11:16.33) finished behind Godwin in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Another notable performance was by sophomore Henry Zimmerman who took fifth place in the men’s hammer throw. Zimmerman's throw of 207 feet, 3 inches (63.19 meters) puts him at No. 6 in school history.
The team’s next competitions will be the Pepsi Florida Relays and the Stanford Invitational on April 1-2.