Feb. 17, 2012

LINCOLN, Neb. - Washington State University captured three singles matches but came up short in its upset bid as No. 28 Nebraska rallied for a 4-3 victory Friday afternoon at the Nebraska Tennis Center.

Nebraska entered the match 5-1 on the season, including a victory over No. 24 Arkansas and a narrow, 4-3, loss against No. 12 Northwestern. The Cougars were facing their second-straight ranked opponent after a matchup against No. 49 Sacramento State last Saturday in Pullman.

The Cougars trailed following doubles play as the Cornhuskers swept all three matches for the opening point. At No. 1 the nation's 22nd-ranked team of Madeleine Geibert and Stefanie Weinstein defeated the Cougar duo of Liudmila Vasilieva and Andjela Kankaras, 8-5. The Cornhuskers' No. 2 team of Patricia Veresova and Mary Weatherholt clinched the opening point by defeating Charlotte Koning and Elisabeth Fournier, 8-5, winning the final four games while Janine Weinreich and Jennifer Holmberg closed out doubles with an 8-6 win over Olga Musilovich and Elizaveta Luzina at No. 3.

In singles play Nebraska extended its lead to 2-0 as Weinstein, ranked No. 118 nationally, defeated Ksenia Googe 6-4, 6-1 at No. 4 singles. Luzina cut the margin in half as she defeated No. 87 Weinreich 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5. With the win Luzina improved to 19-3 this season and extended her win streak to 10. Holmberg made it 3-1 Nebraska with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Koning at No. 6.

At No. 1 singles, Vasilieva rallied from a set down to defeat Weatherholt, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Weatherholt entered the match with a national ranking of 57 but after winning the first game of the third set, had no answers and dropped six of the next sever game. Vasilieva improved to 22-1 on the season while winning her 14th-straight match.

Fournier, ranked No. 115, also needed three sets for the victory, winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, capturing five straight games to close out the match. Her win, which improved the Cougar senior's record to 20-3 on the year, evened the match at 3-3.

The match came down to No. 3 singles where Nebraska's Geibert and WSU's Kankaras needed three sets to decide a winner. Geibert captured the first set 6-4, before Kankaras picked up an early break of serve in the second and held on to win the set, 6-4. In the third Geibert raced to a 4-0 lead before Kankaras earned one break back to make it 4-2. Each played held serve the rest of the way as Geibert closed out the match, 6-3, giving Nebraska the slim margin of victory.

The Cougars are back in action Saturday as they face Miami of Ohio at 8 a.m. PT.

WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
No. 28 Nebraska 4 def. Washington State 3
February 17, 2012
Nebraska Tennis Center
Lincoln, Neb.

DOUBLES

SINGLES:
No. 1 Liudmila Vasilieva (WSU) def. No. 57 Mary Weatherholt (Neb.) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 No. 115 Elisabeth Fournier (WSU) def. Patricia Veresova (Neb.) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
No. 3 Madeleine Geibert (Neb.) def. Andjela Kankaras (WSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
No. 4 No. 118 Stefanie Weinstein (Neb.) def. Ksenia Googe (WSU) 6-4, 6-1
No. 5 Elizaveta Luzina (WSU) def. No. 87 Janine Weinreich (Neb.) 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 Jennifer Holmberg (Neb.) def. Charlotte Koning (WSU) 6-4, 6-3
Order of Finish: 4,5,6,1,2,3