IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s tennis team improved to 6-1 in the Big Ten this season with a 5-2 win against Penn State on Friday at the Hawkeye Recreation and Tennis Complex. The win was Iowa’s fifth in a row and its first against the Nittany Lions since 2017.
The Hawkeyes started out the match capturing the doubles point. Elise van Heuvelen and Samantha Gillas earned a 6-3 win over Penn State’s Olivia Rohrbacher and Samantha Smith at the No. 2 spot. The win puts the duo at 10-1 as a doubles pair this season.
Vipasha Mehra and Danielle Bauers clinched the doubles point with at 6-4 win at the No. 3 spot. The duo has won three straight at No. 3 doubles.
“I have talked about how important the doubles point is,” said Iowa coach Sasha Schmid.” “Having an urgency on all three doubles courts really starts us off on a good note.”
Penn State opened singles with the first win at the No. 5 spot with Alexandra Nielson defeating Vipasha Mehra, 6-1, 6-2. The Hawkeyes then went on a three-match win streak to clinch the fourth and winning point. Junior Samantha Mannix defeated Frederikke Svarre, 6-3, 6-3, at the No. 3 spot, and van Heuvelen ended her opponent’s five-match win streak beating Sofiya Chekhlystova, 6-2, 6-2, at the No. 2 spot.
“I just go out there and play my own game,” said van Heuvelen. “I stuck to the game plan and stayed confident throughout the match to get the job done. I have had a lot of experience with this being my fifth year, and it helps to have a lot of experience under my belt.”
