Hawkeyes to Play Fall Finale at Purdue

Nov. 1, 2011

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Complete Release | 2011 Fall Results

THIS WEEK:
The University of Iowa women’s tennis team will compete for the final time this fall Nov. 4-6 at the Schwartz Tennis Challenge. The hidden dual will be hosted by Purdue University at the Schwartz Tennis Center in West Lafayette, Ind. Iowa opens tournament play by facing Vanderbilt in doubles at 10:45 a.m. (CT) on Friday.

THE LINE-UP:
Six Hawkeyes will travel to Purdue; Cassandra Escobar, Christina Harazin, Ally Majercik, Ellen Silver, Shelby Talcott and Katie Zordani.

THE COMPETITION:
Iowa will be joined by Big Ten foes Illinois and Purdue, Georgia Tech (ACC) and Vanderbilt (SEC). Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt both advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2011 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships. In addition, the tournament features 11 of the 125 players ranked in the ITA preseason singles poll.

QUOTING HEAD COACH Katie Dougherty:
“This is a great way for us to end the fall. We’ll see how far we’ve come this semester and where we still need to improve. We have had a good fall so far and will get to see new doubles combinations and play against great competition.”

MOLNAR DOMINATES SINGLES:
Senior Sonja Molnar owns an 11-2 singles record, with 10 of her 11 wins in straight sets. Molnar, ranked No. 65 in the ITA preseason poll, is 3-2 against opponents ranked in the ITA preseason poll. She has earned wins against No. 67 Rachael White of Illinois (Oct. 4), No. 122 Anastasia Erofeeva of Tulsa (Oct. 23) and No. 119 Madeleine Geibert of Nebraska (Oct. 23).

TALCOTT ROLLIN’ IN DOUBLES:
Freshman Shelby Talcott is 9-2 in doubles this fall. Talcott owns a 6-1 mark when teamed with Sonja Molnar. The tandem won the Koivu Doubles Flight, the top doubles flight, at the Gopher Invitational on Sept. 16-18 and went 2-1 at the ITA Central Region Championships on Oct. 21-22. Talcott paired with Ally Majercik at the Wildcat Invitational on Sept. 30, posting a 3-1 record. Talcott is 6-3 in singles this fall.

BETTER WITH AGE:
Senior Ally Majercik beat Michigan State’s Katarina Lingl, 7-5, 6-1, at the Wildcat Invitational on Oct. 2 to earn her fifth win of the fall season, setting a new career-high for wins during the fall season. The Overland Park, Kan., native won three fall matches as a freshman (2008), two as a sophomore (2009) and four as a junior (2010). Majercik has been an Academic All-Big Ten selection the past two seasons.

MOLNAR ADVANCES TO ITA REGIONAL FINAL:
Senior Sonja Molnar earned five straight-set victories to advance to the finals of ITA Central Regional Championships on Oct. 21-24 before falling to No. 4 seed Samantha Vickers of Tulsa, 6-1, 6-2. Molnar, the No. 2 seed, is believed to be the first Iowa women’s tennis player in program history to compete in a regional championship final.

MOLNAR COMPETES IN 3RD CAREER ITA ALL-AMERICAN:
Senior Sonja Molnar competed in the ITA-All American Championships for the third time in her career on Oct. 4-6. Molnar posted a career 7-6 record, going 2-1 in 2011, 3-3 in 2010 and 2-2 in 2009. Eleven of her 13 matches were against opponents ranked in the ITA preseason poll.

TRIO LEADS HAWKEYES:
Senior Ally Majercik and freshmen Shelby Talcott and Katie Zordani posted 2-1 records at the Wildcat Invitational on Sept. 30-Oct. 2 to lead the team against a strong 11-team tournament field. The field included six Big Ten teams and four 2011 NCAA Championships qualifiers (Illinois-Chicago, Northwestern, Oklahoma, South Carolina).