DEKALB, Ill. — The University of Iowa women’s tennis team ended day one of the NIU Huskie Winter Invitational with a combined nine wins on Saturday at the Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House.
In the doubles action, Iowa’s three doubles squads won all three first-round matches. In the Fighting Huskie Draw, Pia Kranholdt/Sam Mannix beat Erika Dimitriev/Anastasia Rakita of Northern Illinois, 6-1. In the Mission Draw, Marisa Schmidt/Anya Lamoreaux beat Montana State’s Marta Garcia-Reboredo/Mirte Van Baelen, 6-2. Dai Hayashida/Barbora Pokorna recorded at 6-4 victory over Eleanor Nobbs/Valentina Martin of DePaul in the Red Draw.
In the next round, Pokorna/Hayashida beat NIU’s Nataly Miroslavova Ninova/Reagan Welch, 6-4. Kranholdt/Mannix was edged by Lenka Antonijevic/Yuliya Kizelbasheva of DePaul, 7-6. Schmidt/Lamoreaux fell to DePaul’s Greta Carbone/Hannah Smith, 6-4.
Schmidt started off the singles play in Flight 1 with a straight-set victory over Hannah Smith of DePaul (6-2, 6-2). Also in Flight 1, Kranholdt defeated NIU’s Diana Lukyanova (7-6, 1-6, 10-5). In Flight 2, Hayashida (6-4, 6-3) and Mannix (6-4, 6-3) both notched straight-set victories.
In Flight 3, Lamoreaux was outlasted by Reagan Welch of NIU in three sets (2-6, 6-2, 10-8). Pokorna bounced DePaul’s Valentina Martin (6-1, 6-3).
The Hawkeyes will compete in day two of the NIU Huskie Winter Invitational on Sunday with two rounds of doubles, followed by singles semifinals.