MU falls to Cornhuskers

• The Tigers had trouble battling strong winds and a stronger Nebraska team.

The elements took their toll on MU players, making the Cornhuskers’ strong returns take unpredictable turns. The Tigers’ (4-11 overall, 1-7 Big 12) only victory came on Joni Jordan’s three-set win over Nebraska’s Gina Pelazini at No. 5 singles.

“I knew this was going to be a difficult match for us,” MU coach Blake Starkey said. “Some of the singles matches were very winnable, but they (Nebraska) took advantage of the conditions out here today.”

Nebraska (16-2, 1-7) was led by senior Sandra Noetzel, who won her 99th career match in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1, over MU’s Marina Zelenovic.

“She had a huge serve and a big forhand,” Zelenovic said. “I had to make my points because she was never going to give them to me.”

Noetzel was in control of the match from the start. The two No. 1 singles players exchanged shots back and forth, but Noetzel took advantage of Zelenovic’s errors. Noetzel showed her entire repertoire with a dazzling display of slicing forhands, powerful two-handed backhands and serves that had Zelenovic running all over the court.

“I didn’t have my best match out there,” Zelenovic said. “There were so many points where I was in control, but I simply made mistakes after we exchanged five or six shots.”

In the No. 2 singles match, it was more of the same Cornhusker dominance as Ndali Ijomah beat MU’s Kristina Olshanskaya 6-3, 6-2.

Olshanskaya entered the match riding a six-match win streak but was no match for the stronger Ijomah, who, like Noetzel, made her opponent run from one side of the court to the other.

“She made me move out there today,” Olshanskaya said. “I had some random shots out there today, and I didn’t really know what I was doing out there. I just tried to keep the ball in the court.”

The swirling wind also played a factor in her match.

“With the weather it’s hard to predict who’s going to win. It’s 50-50.” Olshanskaya said.

The Tigers are currently in ninth place in the Big 12 with three more matches remaining before the conference tournament April 27-30 in Lawrence, Kansas.

The Big 12 is one of the premier tennis conferences with six teams ranked nationally in Texas, Baylor, Kansas State, Nebraska, Texas A&M and Kansas – all teams that MU has lost to.

“Our schedule has been as challenging as any out there,” Starkey said. “But if you want to be a good team, you have to have a challenging schedule.”

Starkey expects to beat Oklahoma State and Iowa State next week to close out the regular season.

“We’ll just take it one match at a time,” Starkey said. “We’ve had tough matches to prepare us for these. Whoever manages the pressure of the match the best will probably win. Hopefully that will be us.”

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