University of Nebraska at Kearney women’s tennis team has historic season

The University of Nebraska at Kearney women’s tennis team finished the season ranked No. 9 in the nation, the highest-ever ranking in program history.

“During the year we beat 11 nationally ranked teams,” said Scott Shafer, UNK women’s/men’s tennis head coach. “We qualified for the NCAA National Championships by winning our NCAA Regional that we hosted. Sixteen teams make it to nationals. We were seeded No. 8 seed and beat the No. 9 team in the Round of 16. In the quarterfinals we lost to the eventual runner-up.”

Winning at nationals was also a first for the Division II university, Shafer said. Seniors Jazmin Zamorano and Melisa Becerra helped lead the team. Last fall, Zamorano won the Central Regional Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Tournament and qualified for the ITA Cup. She won two matches there and was ranked No. 8 in the nation in singles to start the spring season.

“Next year, our goal is to improve in doubles and see if we can match what we did last year,” Shafer said. “It'll obviously be a challenge since we lost Jaz and Melisa.”

The Lopers ended the year first in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) with a 7-1 record. UNK finished the season with a 21-6 overall record.

To view the final NCAA Division II ITA women’s tennis rankings, click here. To read a UNK article on the women’s tennis team’s historic season, click here.