April 23, 2006
IOWA CITY, IA – The 30th-ranked Hawkeyes defeated Illinois today, 5-2. Iowa finishes the regular season with a 17-4 overall record including 9-1 against Big Ten opponents. The record is the best Big Ten record in the history of Iowa women’s tennis.
Iowa claimed the doubles point with victories in all three matches. Meg Racette and Jacqueline Lee defeated Emily Wang and Macall Harkins, 8-5, while Hillary Mintz and Kayla Berry defeated Brianna Knue and Shivani Dave, 8-4. Mili Veselinovic and Krissy Dowlin defeated Momei Qu and Alejandra Meza Cuadra, 8-2.
In singles competition, No. 41 Racette defeated No. 56 Harkins, 7-5, 6-4, to finish her senior campaign with a 25-8 overall record.
“Meg is a great player and one of the best players to ever come out of The University of Iowa. We’re all very proud of Meg and everything she’s accomplished this year, and it’s been a huge honor and pleasure to coach her,” said Iowa Head Coach Daryl Greenan.
In other singles play, Mintz defeated Qu, 6-1, 6-1 at the number two position, while Veselinovic defeated Knue, 6-1, 6-0 at the number three position, and Lee defeated Wang, 6-2, 6-0, at the number four spot.
At the number five singles position, Berry fell to Dave, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, and Merel Beelen lost to Cuadra in a tiebreaking set, 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6).
“I’m almost speechless, I’m extremely happy with everything we’ve accomplished this season. We had to work extremely hard to achieve the second place spot at Big Tens, and it’s the best placing we’ve ever had,” said Coach Greenan.
Iowa will continue competition, April 28th at the Big Ten Championships held at The University of Illinois.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #41 Racette (Iowa) def. #56 Harkins (Illinois), 7-5, 6-4
2. Mintz (Iowa) def. Qu (Illinois), 6-1, 6-1
3. #82 Veselinovic (Iowa) def. Knue, 6-1, 6-0
4. Lee (Iowa) def. Wang (Illinois), 6-2, 6-0
5. Dave (Illinois) def. Berry (Iowa), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
6. Cuadra (Illinois) def. Beelen (Iowa), 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6)
Doubles
1. Racette/Lee (Iowa) def. Wang/Harkins (Illinois), 8-5
2. Mintz/Berry (Iowa) def. Knue/Dave (Illinois), 8-4
3. Veselinovic/Dowlin (Iowa) def. Qu/Cuadra (Illinois), 8-2