Hawkeyes to Compete at Big Ten Tournament

April 21, 2014

2014 B1G Tournament Bracket

IOWA BEGINS POSTSEASON PLAY
The Hawkeyes travel to Evanston, Ill, this week to compete at the 2014 Big Ten Championships on the campus of Northwestern University at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center. The four day tournament begins on Thursday with first-round matches starting at 10 a.m. (CT). Friday and Saturday’s quarterfinal and semifinal matches start at 10 a.m. (CT). Sunday’s championship match is slated for a noon start time. This year’s tournament features a total of eight ranked teams.

HAWKEYES DRAW MICHIGAN STATE IN FIRST ROUND
Iowa enters Thursday’s matchup against No. 67 Michigan State as the No. 9 seed in the tournament. The Hawkeyes and Spartans previously met in Iowa City back on March 30 in a match that Michigan State won, 4-3. Michigan State is 17-8 overall and is riding a three-match losing streak.

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Since the Big Ten Tournament began in 2009, Northwestern has been crowned champion four times (2009-10-11-13) and Purdue once (2012). The highest seed Iowa has obtained was No.4 in 2010, which was also head coach Katie Dougherty’s first season with the Hawkeyes.

QUOTING @COACHKDOUGH
“We had a close match with Michigan State earlier this year, losing 4-3, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to play them again. We’ve grown a lot as a team since that time and are looking forward to the challenge.”

SEABORNE AND McCULLOCH AMONG BIG TEN’S BEST DUOS
Iowa’s top doubles team of senior Ruth Seaborne and junior Morven McCulloch post an overall record of 20-7 this year while going 14-4 during the dual season. The duo is 7-2 in conference play and is 8-2 in their last 10 matches. On April 13, Seaborne and McCulloch suffered their first conference loss of the season against No. 29 Veronica Corning and Alicia Barnett of Northwestern.

DOHANICS DOMINATING AT No. 5 POSITION
Sophomore Annette Dohanics improved to 13-7 overall this past weekend with victories over Ohio State’s Nicole Flower on April 18 and Penn State’s Katherine Whiteaway on April 20. Dohanics has won four consecutive matches and is undefeated at the No. 5 position (5-0).

IOWA IN GOOD SHAPE AT TOP OF THE LINEUP
The Hawkeyes are a combined 38-27 (.585) at the top three singles positions, going 16-6 and 13-8 at the No. 1 and No. 3 slots, respectively.

SEABORNE GETS IT DONE ON THE ROAD
Seaborne, ranked No. 75 in last week’s ITA poll, has won nine road contests in a row, which includes a victory over No. 34 Veronica Corning of Northwestern, and posts an overall singles record of 9-1 in matches away from Iowa City. Her only blemish came against Oklahoma’s Hermon Brhane on Jan. 31.

DOUBLES PROVE TO BE CRITICAL
The Hawkeyes have won the doubles point 13 times this season and own a 10-3 mark in the matches. Iowa is 0-9 when losing the doubles point.

BECOME A FAN
Fans can follow the Iowa women’s tennis team at facebook.com and via twitter @Iowa_Tennis. Live results from this weekend are available on the Iowa women’s tennis schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.