THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s tennis team travels to College Park, Maryland, on Friday to face Maryland. The match is set to start at 4:30 p.m. (CT) at the Junior Tennis Champions Center. The Hawkeyes continue their road trip up the East Coast to New Brunswick, New Jersey, to challenge Rutgers. That match will begin at 10 a.m. (CT) on Sunday at the Rutgers Tennis Complex. Iowa will be facing two unranked opponents; seven of its last eight foes have been ranked. 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 4-13 record, with nine of its defeats coming against ranked opponents. The Hawkeyes suffered a pair of home losses last weekend, both to ranked opponents. Iowa recorded two singles wins against Illinois. Barbora Pokorna added to her match win streak with a straight-set defeat over Illinois’ Ashley Yeah (7-6, 7-6). Samantha Mannix also contributed points for the Hawkeyes with a three-set victory over Illinois’ Josie Frazier (0-6, 6-0, 6-3). Vipasha Mehra had an undefeated weekend, scoring the lone point for the Hawkeyes against No. 37 Northwestern. After falling in the first set, she battled back to upend Justine Leong in a nail-bitter (3-6, 7-6, 10-8).
POKORNA SUCCESS
Barbora Pokorna leads the Hawkeyes with an 9-4 record at the No. 2, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 spots. She recently jumped to the No. 2 spot where she now holds a 1-1 record and boasts a 3-1 mark over her last four matches. Pokorna recorded back-to-back-to-back wins against Penn State’s Karly Friedland in three sets (3-6, 6-3, 7-6), Indiana’s Mila Mejic in straight sets (7-5, 6-3) and Illinois’ Ashley Yeah (7-6, 7-6). Pokorna has won her past three out of four doubles matches, improving her doubles record to 7-6. Pokorna and Michelle Bacalla defeated Penn State’s Lasorda/Lebedevato and Indiana’s Kubas/Hu to improve their record on court three to 6-3 (6-4 overall). Pokorna has competed with Samantha Mannix the past three matches, where they currently hold a 1-1 record.
MARYLAND BREAKDOWN
• Maryland is 13-4 overall with a conference record of 2-3.
• Iowa has an overall record of 1-4 against Maryland, with its lone win coming in 2019.
• Maryland is undefeated on its home court this season (10-0).
• Maryland has no student-athletes ranked in the ITA Singles or Doubles Tennis Rankings.
• Maryland head coach, Katie Dougherty, previously served as head coach at Iowa for seven seasons.
RUTGERS BREAKDOWN
• Rutgers is 5-11 overall and 0-5 record in conference play.
• Iowa has a perfect 3-0 record all-time against Rutgers, last winning in 2019.
• Rutgers is currently on a six-match losing streak.
• Rutgers has no student-athletes ranked in the ITA Singles or Doubles Tennis Rankings.
TWO RECRUITS SIGN WITH THE HAWKEYES
Daianne Hayashida from Lima, Peru, and Pia Kranholdt from Hilders, Germany, have signed a national letter of intent to join the Hawkeyes this fall.
Kranholdt is one of the top junior tennis players from Germany. She has a Top 100 German Women’s Open Ranking. Kranholdt won a doubles title at the German Junior Nationals. The German native won multiple Women’s Open tournaments with victories over several players inside the Top 100. Her high school team won the German national title and represented Germany at the World Championships.
Hayashida has a Juniors career high International Tennis Federation (ITF) ranking of No. 110 and has ascended as high as No. 953 in the Women’s ITF Rankings. A Fed Cup Group II American Zone Champion, she has a Universal Tennis Rating of 10.10. Hayashida won the gold medal in doubles and earned bronze in singles at the 2021 Pan American Games that took place this past December.
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.