THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s tennis team returns home to compete against No. 49 Wisconsin on Friday at 4 p.m. (CT) and Minnesota on Sunday at 3 p.m. (CT) both at the Hawkeye Recreation and Tennis Complex. There will be no fans allowed at either matches due to COVID-19 restrictions. Fans can follow along through live stream or live stats, which are available on Iowa women’s tennis schedule page.
ON IOWA
The Hawkeyes enter the week 6-4 in the Big Ten, suffering a pair of one-point losses on the road. Iowa lost both matches to Illinois and No. 10 Northwestern, 4-3. Iowa captured the doubles point in both matches but fell short in singles. No. 97 Alexa Noel went undefeated in singles for the weekend to remain undefeated this season.
IOWA EARNS SPOT IN ITA RANKINGS
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released updated team rankings March 17. The Hawkeyes are tied for 49th with Wisconsin. This is the Hawkeyes’ first time being ranked since May 22, 2019 (65), and the team’s highest ranking since 2017 (47).
NOEL AND VAN HEUVELEN START STRONG UP TOP
No. 97 ranked Alexa Noel and senior Elise van Heuvelen have a combined Big Ten record of 18-2. Noel is 10-0 in the Big Ten at No. 1 singles. Van Heuvelen is 8-2 at the No. 2 spot.
VAN HEUVELEN MAKES HISTORY
Senior Elise van Heuvelen Treadwell ranks fifth all-time in singles wins (87) and doubles wins (79). She has 166 combined singles and doubles wins, three wins shy of tying Sonja Molnar for fourth all-time. Van Heuvelen trails Milica Veselinovic, Natalya Dawaf and Toni Neykova for second place all-time in doubles wins (81). Hillary Mintz (93) is Iowa’s all-time leader in doubles wins. Van Heuvelen’s .664 career winning percentage in singles is fourth all-time among Hawkeyes with more than 100 career matches.
UNDEFEATED RECORD
Freshman Alexa Noel is 16-0 playing at the No. 1 singles position. She has won 14 of 16 matches in straight sets, including the last eight. She is also 10-4 overall in doubles, teaming with Samantha Mannix at the No. 1 spot. 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. 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. The complete 2021 ITA rankings are available at wearecollegetennis.com.
NOEL EARNS BIG TEN ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Alexa Noel earned her first Big Ten weekly honor on the week of Feb. 15 when she was named Big Ten Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week. Noel went 4-0 for the Hawkeyes against Illinois and Northwestern playing at the No. 1 singles and doubles position. A freshman from Summit, New Jersey, Noel went undefeated at the top spot against No. 8 Northwestern. She beat No. 57 Julie Bryne, winning a three-set tiebreak (6-4,6-7,10-5) at No. 1 singles, and teamed with Samantha Mannix to earn a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles.
WISCONSIN BREAKDOWN
•Wisconsin is 7-4 overall and 6-3 in the B1G Conference
• Iowa ended a four-year losing streak on Feb. 19, beating Wisconsin, 4-3.
• Wisconsin leads the all-time series, 43-11
• Wisconsin is on a four-game winning streak
MINNESOTA BREAKDOWN
• Minnesota in 3-6 overall and in the B1G
• Iowa ended a four-year losing streak on Feb. 21, beating Minnesota, 5-2
• Minnesota leads the all-time series, 42-23
• Freshman Zeyneb Sarioglan is unbeaten in her last four singles matches
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.
