MADISON, Wisconsin — The University of Iowa women’s tennis team improved to 13-6 on the season with a 4-0 win against Maryland on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Big Ten Tournament. The No. 42 Hawkeyes advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2010.

The Hawkeyes, who are seeded No. 4 in the tournament, opened the match winning the doubles point. Danielle Burich and Vipasha Mehra got the Hawkeyes on a roll with a 6-0 win against Maryland’s Zoe Kulkarni and Ebony Sampson at the No. 3 spot.

Elise van Heuvelen and Samantha Gillas continued their dynamic duo connection with a 6-2 win against Minorka Miranda and Adela Josefova at the No. 2 spot to capture the doubles point. Van Heuvelen and Gillas are on a four-game win streak.

Iowa continued its momentum in singles winning three matches in a row. Van Heuvelen defeated Maryland’s Eva Alexandrova, 6-0, 6-4, at the No. 2 spot to add one more win to her seven-game win streak.

Michelle Bacalla earned her sixth win of the season, defeating Zoe Kulkarni, 6-3, 7-5, at the No. 5 spot.

Maryland wouldn’t go down without a fight, but Samantha Mannix clinched the quarterfinal victory at the No. 3 spot, defeating Minorka Miranda in a three-set match, 2-6, 6-1, 7-5. The junior is now on a two-game win streak going into the semifinals.

QUOTING @SASHASCHMID 

“Today was a great hard-fought match against Maryland. They have been playing well, defiantly a hot team. We had to dig in in those singles matches, and I was proud of how hard we fought on all courts, and it feels great to be in the semifinals. It’s been a long time since our program has been in the seminals in the conference tournament, and I think that’s awesome. I know that this group is hungry, and they want to keep going. We are going to enjoy this victory a little longer, and then we will be ready to play Ohio State tomorrow.

UP NEXT 

The Hawkeyes turn around to face the No. 1 seed Ohio State on Saturday at 3 P.M. (ET).