THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s tennis team competes in the 2021 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff on Saturday and Sunday at the Texas Tennis Center in Austin, Texas. The Hawkeyes are in a four-team bracket with No. 3 Texas, No. 20 Arizona State and No. 23 Baylor. Iowa and Texas meet Saturday at 9 a.m. (CT). The Hawkeyes meet either Arizona State or Baylor on Sunday at noon.
ABOUT THE EVENT
The 13th annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend takes place January 22-25, 2021 at 10 different facilities across the country. The Hawkeyes are making their fourth appearance at the ITA kickoff. Iowa visited the Austin site in 2020, falling to No. 7 Texas (4-0) and No. 29 Texas Tech (4-1). In 2011, Iowa fell to No. 13 Georgia (5-2) and No. 25 Illinois (5-2). In 2009, Iowa lost to Virginia Tech (7-0) and Princeton (5-2). Live stats and video are available at Texas’s women’s tennis home page: https://texassports.com/sports/womens-tennis.
ON IOWA
The Hawkeyes return eight players from a 2020 team that finished 6-6 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten before the season was canceled. Senior Elise van Heuvelen Treadwell returns for a fifth season. She was named ITA Central Region Senior of the Year in 2020 and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors for the fourth straight year. She is the fourth Hawkeyes in program history to be a four-time honoree.
The Hawkeyes welcome three freshmen to the 2021 squad. They include Gina Kondos, Alexa Noel and Vipasha Mehra.
NOEL RECOGNIZED IN ITA TENNIS RANKINGS
Freshman Alexa Noel is ranked No. 97 in singles and No. 7 among the top 10 newcomers in the International Tennis Association preseason singles and newcomers rankings.
Noel, a freshman from Summit, New Jersey, ended her high school career ranked No. 4 in the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings, as well capturing the 2019 USTA Girls 18s National Championships doubles title. She is the third freshman in program history to appear in the ITA national rankings. Sonja Molnar reached as high as No. 75 in 2009 and Sam Mannix was ranked No. 125 in 2019.
TEXAS BREAKDOWN
- Texas is 2-0 this season and ranked No. 3 in the ITA preseason poll.
- The Longhorns have four players ranked in the ITA preseason polls, including No. 66 Peyton Stearns, No. 5 Anna Turati (UT), No. 94 Lulu Sun (UT) and No. 125 Charlotte Chavatipon. Turati and Fernanda Lahrana are ranked No. 48 in doubles.
- Texas leads the all-time series, 1-0.
ARIZONA STATE BREAKDOWN
- Arizona State is 1-0 and ranked No. 20 in the ITA preseason poll.
- Arizona’s lineup includes No. 37 Ilze Hattingh and No. 115 Sammi Hampton.
- Arizona State leads the all-time series, 4-0.
BAYLOR BREAKDOWN
- Baylor is 3-0 and ranked No. 23 in the ITA preseason poll.
- Baylor leads the all-time series, 2-1.
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Fans can follow the Iowa women’s tennis team on facebook and via twitter @Iowa_Tennis. Results from this weekend will be available on the Iowa women’s tennis schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.