No. 54 Iowa Breaks Into ITA Rankings

March 2, 2010

THIS WEEK
Iowa, ranked 54th nationally, is back in action at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex this weekend. The Hawkeyes welcome Missouri Saturday and No. 24 DePaul Sunday. The matches are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and 10 a.m. Live scoring can be found on www.hawkeyesports.com.

THE COMPETITION
Missouri makes the trip to Iowa City after falling to then No. 21 Southern Methodist University and University of Louisville. The Tigers, 2-5, are coached by Blake Starkey. No. 24 DePaul is coming off of an upset loss at then No. 71 Utah. The Blue Demons, 9-2, are lead by Head Coach Mark Ardizzone.

HAWKEYES BREAK INTO ITA RANKINGS
The women’s tennis team made its first appearance of the season in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s team rankings this week. The Hawkeyes are ranked 54th, the highest since the May 27, 2009 rankings when the team was 52nd. Sophomore Sonja Molnar also improved in the ITA rankings this week, moving up ten places to the 77th spot. Molnar is currently 7-1 in dual competition and 16-6 overall in singles play. The Guelph, Ontario native played in the ITA All-American Qualifying event in October, recording a 2-2 record.

IOWA TAKES DOWN RANKED PRINCETON
Head Coach Katie Dougherty guided the Hawkeyes to a big win over Princeton, previously ranked 44th, last weekend. Molnar, Jessica Young and Lynne Poggensee-Wei all claimed singles victories to boost Iowa to a 4-3 win over the Tigers. Molnar clinched the Iowa win with an exciting ace to finish her match. Doubles pairings were new for the Hawkeyes, but that did not slow the determined group. All three duos recorded wins, including Molnar and Merel Beelen defeating No. 26 Bartlett and Marable, 8-6.

IOWA TENNIS BLOG
Iowa tennis fans will be able to follow members of the Hawkeye tennis team as they blog about the 2010 season . The Iowa student-athletes will discuss the Hawkeyes’ upcoming matches, road trips and what it’s like being a student-athlete at the University of Iowa.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes head west for a spring break trip to California. The team faces Wichita Staste March 18th and Tulsa March 20th.

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