THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s tennis team travels to Bloomington, Indiana, to face the Hoosiers on Saturday. The match is set to start at 10 a.m. (CT) at the Indiana University Tennis Center. The Hawkeyes continue Big Ten play on the road on Sunday against No. 65 Purdue. That match is set to begin at 11 a.m. (CT) at the Schwartz Tennis Center. Iowa enters this weekend having played six of its last eight matches, including four straight, against ranked foes. Fans can follow along via the live scoring and streaming links on the Iowa women’s tennis schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
ON IOWA… LAST TIME OUT
Iowa enters the weekend with a 4-9 record, with seven of the defeats coming against ranked opponents. The Hawkeyes suffered a pair of home losses to ranked teams (No. 4 Ohio State; No. 70 Penn State) last weekend. Senior Samantha Mannix topped Ohio State’s Sydni Ratliff, ranked No. 43 nationally, in a close match, 7-6(9), 2-6, 10-6, on Friday night. She improved her season record to 2-1 in the No. 3 singles position. The duo of Samantha Gillas and Marisa Schmidt recorded a doubles win against the Buckeyes, improving their record to 3-0 in the No. 2 doubles position.
The Hawkeyes rallied against Penn State, but ultimately came up short. Freshman Barbora Pokorna, senior Samantha Gillas, and sophomore Vipasha Mehra recorded wins on courts four, five and six, respectively, in the Hawkeyes’ contest against the Nittany Lions. The duo of Michelle Bacalla and Pokorna also recorded a doubles win against Penn State.
POKORNA SUCCESS
Barbora Pokorna leads the Hawkeyes with a 7-3 record at the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 spots. Pokorna recorded her seventh win of the season over Penn State’s Karly Friedland in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). Pokorna and Michelle Bacalla also defeated Penn State’s Lasorda/Lebedevato to improve their record on court three to 5-3 (5-4 overall).
INDIANA BREAKDOWN
• The Hoosiers are 7-8 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Both conference setbacks came to nationally ranked teams (No. 32 Michigan; No. 55 Michigan State).
• The Hoosiers are currently on a three-match losing streak.
• Iowa has an overall record of 13-35 against Indiana.
• Iowa won both matches in 2019 – the last time the opponents competed.
• Indiana has no athletes ranked in the ITA Singles or Doubles Tennis Rankings.
PURDUE BREAKDOWN
• The Boilermakers are 9-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play, most recently falling to No. 22 Michigan.
• Purdue owns a slim 26-25 edge in the all-time series history.
• The Hawkeyes’ last win against the Boilermakers came in 2019.
• Purdue is ranked No. 65 in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings.
• Purdue has no athletes ranked in the ITA Singles or Doubles Tennis Rankings.
IOWA TO HOST 2022 BIG TEN WOMEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The University of Iowa has been selected to host the 2022 Big Ten Women’s Tennis Championships. The event will take place April 27 through May 1 at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex. The last time Iowa hosted the conference tournament was 2010.
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Fans can follow the Iowa women’s tennis team on Facebook and via Twitter @Iowa_Tennis. Results from each match is available on the Iowa women’s tennis schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
NOEL NATIONALLY RANKED
Sophomore Alexa Noel is ranked No. 3 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s national rankings. Noel is currently out indefinitely due to injury. The rankings are a result of individual competition that took place last fall and the start of spring competition beginning last month. Noel has been ranked as high as No. 3, which is the highest ranking of any player in program history. The Summit, New Jersey, native won seven matches in the fall, including notching a win over both the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players in the nation.