Apr. 19, 2003
The Iowa women’s tennis team (6-12 Overall, 4-5 Big Ten) recordeda 4-3 victory over Penn State Saturday at the UI Recreation Building. The Hawkeyes werebehind 3-0, but came back to win the final four singles matches to take the team victory.
Iowa lost the doubles point to start off the match. Senior Steffi Hoch and sophomoreGloria Okino recorded a thrilling victory over Penn State’s Leigh Ann Merryman and MaariaHusain at No. 1 doubles (8-6). Hoch and Okino were down 5-2 and came back to tie the matchat 5-5. They dropped the next point, but rolled through the next three for the win. JuniorsCassie Haas and Deni Alexandrova fell to Megan Marton and Judy Wang 8-2 at No. 2 doubles.
Junior Jennifer Hodgman and freshman Chelsea Glynn had a close match with Penn State’sSarah Spence and Lindsay Downing. The match was tied at 6-6, but Penn State scored the finaltwo points for the victory (8-6).
The Hawkeyes had an uphill battle after losing their first two singles matches to go down3-0 in team competition. Haas was downed 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 1 spot by Marton, while Okinofell to Husain at No. 3 (6-3, 6-2). This set the stage for Iowa’s dramatic comeback victory.Glynn got a big win in a hard-hitting match at No. 4. She defeated Wang by a score of 7-5, 6-2.
Alexandrova had perhaps the most exciting victory of the day at the No. 5 position. She lost thefirst set to Downing 6-1 and was down 5-2 in the second set. She came back for a 7-5 victory inthat set and kept the momentum going into the third set where she won 6-3. Hoch made easywork of Merryman at No. 2 (6-2, 6-2). The teams were tied at 3-3 with Hodgman’s matchdetermining the victor. Hodgman delivered a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Spence at No. 6 tosecure the team victory.
The Hawkeyes will face Ohio State tomorrow at 10 a.m. Weather permitting, the matchwill be held at Klotz Courts. In case of inclement weather, the match will take place at the UIRecreation Building.
