University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Hosts Nebraska, Iowa in Home-Opener Weekend
2/18/2021 9:52:00 AM | Tennis
Minneapolis - The University of Minnesota women's tennis team will host Nebraska for their first home B1G match of the season on Friday, Feb. 19 at 2:00pm. The team is also scheduled to host Iowa on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 11:00am. Nebraska and Iowa were two of the opponents the Gophers faced in the Wisconsin Invitational. These will be the first two matches of seven scheduled B1G home matches for Minnesota in the 2021 season.
Previous Match
Last Sunday, the Gophers opened their B1G Schedule in Wisconsin. Minnesota started strong, but ended up dropping the match 5-2.
In the match, two Gophers earned their first career B1G victories. Sophomore Lucia de Santa Ana won her first career B1G doubles match with partner Dalila Said. Rachel Hanford won a clutch singles match in her first B1G action and picked up her first doubles win with partner Ekin Ercetin.
Minnesota (0-1) returns to Baseline for B1G competition for the first time in 350 days. The last time the Gophers faced Nebraska and Iowa at home in the same weekend (2019), the team won both matches.
The 'U' currently holds a 13-match win streak at Baseline Tennis Center.
The Competition
Nebraska (1-1) narrowly lost to No. 8 Northwestern and defeated Illinois in their last weekend of competition. Senior Hayley Haakenstad, 2015 Minnesota Class AA State High School Girls Tennis champion, formerly of Chanhassen High School returns to her home state. The last home loss the Gophers have suffered to the Cornhuskers came in 2013. Minnesota leads the all-time series 15-7.
Iowa (1-3) also defeated Illinois and was defeated by Northwestern in their last weekend of competition. Freshman Alexa Noel won B1G Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week this past week after going 4-0 over the weekend in the No. 1 singles and doubles position. Noel is currently ranked at No. 97 in singles by the ITA. The last Hawkeye victory at Baseline Tennis Center came in 2017. Minnesota leads the all-time series 42-22.
Updates
For updates during the match, follow @GopherWTennis on Twitter. A stream will be available. A recap will follow the conclusion of the match on GopherSports.com. Fans will not be permitted to attend home matches.