Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2016-17 | Fight For Iowa | Hawk Talk Monthly — September 2017
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Two University of Iowa women’s tennis players, senior Zoe Douglas and sophomore Elise van Heuvelen, are headed to Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, this weekend to qualify for a spot in the main draw singles bracket of the ITA All-American National Championships. The opening round begins Saturday at 11 a.m. (CT). The Championships are hosted the following week in Pacific Palisades, California, by the Riviera Tennis Club.
Douglas is ranked No. 92, while van Heuvelen is ranked 117th nationally.
Douglas and van Heuvelen have already qualified for the ITA doubles bracket which starts at 11 a.m. Tuesday. The duo was 10-2 playing at the Hawkeyes top spot in 2016.
“Elise brings out my best tennis and when we’re playing doubles together we click well and have a great connection.” said Douglas.
This summer the two played together in the ITA summer circuits winning one title and placing runner-up at another tournament. Van Heuvelen also grabbed two singles championships over the summer.
“This weekend is my first match, so I want to feel confident and hit the ball well. I obviously want to win every match, but I don’t have any expectations as in results, besides playing to win.” said van Heuvelen. “I am ready to get on the plane and go. I have never been to that side of America so I am sure we will do some fun stuff while we’re out there as well.”
Out of the 64 players in the pre-qualifying singles bracket, eight will advance to the qualifying singles. To do so they must win 3 rounds. There are also “Lucky Losers”, the highest seeds that lose in the final rounds before qualifying, who can be chosen to move onto the next bracket at any time during the first round of play.
Follow the Hawkeyes throughout the next week on hawkeyesports.com and itatennis.com.
