DENVER – The University of Iowa women’s tennis team fell, 4-3, to Denver on Friday afternoon at the Denver Tennis Park.
The Hawkeyes took the doubles point to get out to a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Vipasha Mehra and senior Samantha Mannix captured a 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles, and freshman Barbora Pokorna and senior Michelle Bacalla battled in a tie-break to win, 7-6, 6-4 at the No. 3 spot to go into singles with a 1-0 lead.
The Pioneers captured the first two wins at the No. 3 and 4 spots. Bacalla fell to Britt Pursell in two sets, and Mehra lost to Andrea Burgete, 6-2, 6-2 to give Denver a one-point lead.
Mannix captured her third singles win of the season after sweeping Taylor Melville, 6-1, 7-5, at the No. 2 spot to tie the match.
Freshman Marisa Schmidt fell at the No. 1 spot to Anna Riedmiller, 6-4, 6-2.
Senior Samantha Gillas would go into the third set in hopes to give Iowa its third point, but lost the last set, 2-6, to give Denver their fourth point to seal the match win.
Pokorna finished her match at the No. 6 spot, and defeated Toni Nelson in two sets, 6-4, 7-5 to record her fourth win on the season.
UP NEXT
No. 71 Iowa remains in Colorado, heading to Boulder to face the Buffaloes on Sunday. The match is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. (CT) inside the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center. Fans can follow along on Colorado’s live stats at https://bit.ly/33C9agX.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH SASHA SCHMID
“It was a tough match today. Not being able to get four points after winning a hard-fought doubles point was hard. We need to regroup and learn to get ourselves back on track because we’ve got a great opponent on Sunday.”
Results
Denver 4, Iowa 3
Singles
1. Reidmiller (D) def. Schmidt (UI): 6-4, 6-2
2. Mannix (UI) def. Melville (D): 6-1, 7-5
3. Pursell (D) def. Bacalla (UI): 6-2, 6-2
4. Beltran (D) def. Mehra (UI): 6-2, 6-2
5. Verden-Anderson (D) def. Gillas (UI): 6-1, 1-6, 2-6
6. Pokorna (UI) def. Nelson (D): 6-4, 7-5
Doubles
1. Pursell/Verden-Anderson def. Gillas/Schmidt: 6-4
2. Mannix Mehra def. Melville/RiedMiller: 6-1
3. Pokorna/Bacalla def. Nelson/Burger, 7-6: 6-4
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2,3 ); Singles (3,4,2,1,5,6)