Story by NU Athletic Communication
After a seven-dual home stand, the Nebraska women’s tennis team is hitting the road this weekend for conference matches against Northwestern and Illinois. The #58 Huskers (10-3, 0-2 Big Ten) start the trip in Evanston, Ill., to face the #38 Wildcats (8-6, 1-1 Big Ten) on Friday, March 14, at 4:30 p.m. (CT). Big Ten action will continue on Sunday, March 16, at noon (CT) against the #46 Fighting Illini (6-7, 1-1 Big Ten).
Head coach German Dalmagro seeks to notch his 25th dual win at Nebraska this weekend, as well as the team’s first conference victory of the season. Husker sophomore Maria Taranova currently leads the Big Red in spring singles wins, with her 10-1 record. On the doubles court, sophomores Emma Rizzetto and Tiziana Rossini have notched five spring victories, helping the Huskers to win their nine doubles points.
#38 Northwestern (8-6, 1-1 Big Ten)
History: 11-2 Northwestern leads. Most recently, the Huskers fell to the Wildcats 4-3 in Lincoln.
Northwestern boasts a top-40 team ranking despite having no ranked Wildcats. NU has wins over DePaul, Eastern Illinois, Georgia Tech, UIC, Milwaukee, #30 Kansas and #60 Minnesota. The Wildcats have six underclassmen on their roster, led by 26th-year head coach Claire Pollard.
#46 Illinois (6-7, 1-1 Big Ten)
History: 7-5 Illinois leads. In their last matchup, the Fighting Illini defeated the Big Red 4-1 in Lincoln.
Illinois has one ranked singles player, No. 114 Violeta Martinez. Although the Illini currently have a losing record, the team has notable wins over Northwestern, Colorado, Iowa State and Minnesota. Most recently, the Illini opened their Big Ten play with a 4-3 win at #60 Minnesota and lost 4-1 to #17 Wisconsin on the road.
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.
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.