April 4, 2012
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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s tennis team hits the road to face two nationally-ranked Big Ten opponents this weekend. The Hawkeyes will take on No. 45 Indiana (14-5 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) on April 7 at 11 a.m. (CT) in Bloomington, Ind., before traveling to West Lafayette, Ind., to square off against No. 34 Purdue (11-3 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) on April 8 at noon (CT). Live scoring will be available on the women’s tennis schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
SERIES RECORDS
The Hawkeyes are 10-28 all-time against Indiana. Iowa defeated the Hoosiers, 4-3, in Iowa City when the two teams met in 2011. The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series against Purdue, 25-20. The Boilermakers beat the Hawkeyes, 4-3, in 2011 at the Hawkeye Tennis Recreation Complex.
HOOSIERS, BOILERMAKERS BEWARE
Senior Sonja Molnar is a combined 7-0 against Indiana (4-0) and Purdue (3-0) during her Hawkeye career. All seven victories have been straight-set decisions.
HAWKEYES APPEAR IN ITA RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes were tabbed 72nd in the ITA team poll on April 3. Iowa debuted in the rankings on March 6 at No. 58. The Hawkeyes were one of nine Big Ten teams to be ranked in the poll. Eleven Big Ten teams have appeared in the poll this season. The Big Ten is tied with the Pac-12 for the third-most teams ranked of any conference, trailing the SEC (11) and ACC (10). Four Big Ten teams (No. 14 Northwestern, No. 15. Michigan, No. 17 Nebraska, No. 19 Illinois) were ranked in the top-25 of the poll.
ITA SINGLES RANKINGS
Senior Sonja Molnar appeared at No. 115 in the ITA singles poll on March 27. Molnar has been ranked as high as No. 91 this season. Molnar will face 99th-ranked Leslie Hureau of Indiana on Saturday. Hureau, the reigning Big Ten Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week, owns a 14-4 dual record that includes a 5-0 Big Ten mark. Molnar is 2-0 all-time against Hureau, as she registered a 6-2, 6-0 win as a junior and a 6-1, 6-1 win as a sophomore.
MOLNAR, ZORDANI COMPLETE PERFECT WEEKENDS
Senior Sonja Molnar and freshman Katie Zordani both went 2-0 during the Hawkeyes home stand last weekend. Both individuals won a pair of straight-set decisions. Molnar defeated Penn State’s Petra Januskova (6-4, 6-4) and Kara Cecil of Ohio State (6-4, 6-4) at the top spot. Zordani scored victories against Fernanda Perrotta of Penn State (6-4, 6-1) and Ohio State’s Gabby Steele (6-3, 6-4) at the No. 4 position. Molnar improved to a team-best 12-4 (3-2 Big Ten) in dual play, while Zordani evened her record at 8-8.
MOLNAR EARNS THIRD WIN VS. RANKED OPPONENT
Senior Sonja Molnar defeated Penn State’s Petra Januskova, ranked No. 61 by the ITA at the time, on March 30. Molnar won a 6-4, 6-4 decision at the No. 1 position. The Guelph, Ontario, native has won her last two matches against nationally-ranked opponents, as she topped No. 92 Allison Falkin of Illinois on March 25. Molnar owns a 3-3 record against nationally-ranked opponents during dual play.
FOUR AWAY FROM HISTORY
Senior Sonja Molnar won the 95th and 96th singles matches of her career against Penn State (April 30) and Ohio State (April 1). With six regular season dual matches remaining, Molnar is four wins away from joining Milica Veselnovic (113 career wins) and Laura Dvorak (102 wins) as the only Hawkeyes in program history to win 100 career singles matches.
HOME SWEET HOME
Iowa advanced to 6-0 at home with a 4-3 win against Penn State on March 30. It was the Hawkeyes’ best home start since the 2008 season when they also started 6-0. Iowa fell to Ohio State, 4-3, on April 1. The Hawkeyes would have been the first team to start 7-0 at home since the 2004 squad.