Hawkeyes Pick Up First Road Victory

Feb. 15, 2014

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The University of Iowa women’s tennis team picked up their first road win of the season on Saturday with a 6-1 victory over Marquette University at Helfaer Tennis Stadium. The Hawkeyes are now 4-3 overall on the season.

“Marquette is a good team and is a tough place to play,” said UI head coach Katie Dougherty. “We were resilient today and competed well to pick up a good road win.”

The Hawkeyes made a statement early on by winning all three doubles matches. Iowa’s top duo of Ruth Seaborne and Morven McCulloch went toe-to-toe with Marquette’s Rocio Diaz and Erin Gebes before pulling out a 7-6 victory at the No. 1 position.

The momentum from doubles carried over to singles where the Hawkeyes went 5-1. Senior Ruth Seaborne defeated Ana Pimienta, 6-3, 7-6, at the No. 1 slot to pick up her fourth singles win of the season.

After falling in her first set at the No. 2 position, 1-6, junior Morven McCulloch came back to defeat Marquette’s Erin Gebes in the next two sets, 7-6, 6-4. McCulloch is now 3-0 in tiebreaker matches.

Juniors Shelby Talcott and Katie Zordani picked up two more singles victories for the Hawkeyes with a pair of straight set victories at the No. 3 and 4 spots. Talcott topped Ali Dawson, 6-2, 6-1, and Zordani knocked off Vanessa Foltinger, 6-3, 6-0.

Sophomore Annette Dohanics defeated Laia Hernandez Soler in three sets, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. This is Dohanics first win at the No. 5 slot, and she is now 3-2 in singles.

“It is always tough playing on the road, but we played and competed hard at every spot and the results spoke for themselves,” said Iowa’s Ruth Seaborne.

Iowa returns to the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Center on Tuesday, Feb. 25, for a dual with the University of Missouri Kansas City. Matchups are slated for a 3:30 p.m. (CT) starting time.

Iowa 6, Marquette 1

Singles
1. No. 82 Ruth Seaborne (IOWA) def. Ana Pimienta (MU) 6-3, 7-6
2. Morven McCulloch (IOWA) def. Erin Gebes (MU) 1-6, 7-6, 6-4
3. Shelby Talcott (IOWA) def. Ali Dawson (MU) 6-2, 6-1
4. Katie Zordani (IOWA) def. Vanessa Foltinger (MU) 6-3, 6-0
5. Annette Dohanics (IOWA) def. Laia Hernandez Soler (MU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-1
6. Rocio Diaz (MU) def. Ellen Silver (IOWA) 7-5, 4-6, 12-10

Doubles
1. Morven McCulloch/Ruth Seaborne (IOWA) def. Rocio Diaz/Erin Gebes (MU) 7-6
2. Katie Zordani/Ellen Silver (IOWA) def. Ali Dawson/Ana Pimienta (MU) 8-2
3. Annette Dohanics/Shelby Talcott (IOWA) def. Vanessa Foltinger/Laia Hernandez Soler (MU) 8-3