THIS WEEK
The 64th ranked University of Iowa women’s tennis team travels to play at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis on Saturday to compete against 12th ranked Wisconsin followed by 60th ranked Minnesota on Sunday. The Hawkeyes will challenge the Badgers on Saturday at noon, followed by the Gophers on Sunday at 11 a.m.
ON IOWA
The Hawkeyes, who are 4-4 overall, dropped both of their matches last week against DePaul and Iowa State. On Tuesday against DePaul, the Hawkeyes were able to secure the doubles point against DePaul, with wins from Hayashida/Mehra and Kranholdt/Mannix. Iowa fell to Depaul in the end 4-3, coming down to the last singles match. Barbara Pokorna was at a tie in her match against Lenka Antonijevic 5-5, and came up short losing 5-7. The Hawkeyes had a tough battle against Iowa State on Friday, losing 4-0. Three singles matches went unfinished due to Iowa State securing their win after three singles wins.
FORMER HAWKEYE RETURNS
Former Hawkeye Elise van Heuvelen Treadwell was hired in December as assistant coach. Van Heuvelen Treadwell joins the Hawkeye coaching staff after serving as an assistant coach at Delaware since January 2022. She began her coaching career the Fall 2021 semester as a volunteer assistant coach with the Hawkeyes.
Van Heuvelen Treadwell concluded her Hawkeye career in the spring of 2021, as one of the most decorated women’s tennis student-athletes in Iowa and Big Ten history. Achieving an individual rank within the top-100 nationally in both singles and doubles, Van Heuvelen Treadwell ranks second all-time at Iowa with 180 combined wins. She was named first-team All-Big Ten five times and was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2017.
In her final year, Van Heuvelen Treadwell earned the ITA Central Region Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award. The East Sussex, England, native was also named the ITA Central Regional Senior Player of the Year in 2020 and was the ITA Summer National Doubles Champion in 2019.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
• The No. 12 Badgers are 9-2 overall, with their only losses being to 2nd ranked UNC and 5th ranked Duke.
• The Badgers are 12-43 in their series against the Hawkeyes.
• Four of the eight players are international, splitting the team evenly between international and native.
• Xinyu Cai, a senior, is currently undefeated in singles matches since her junior year.
• Wisconsin’s head coach Kelcy McKenna is in her eighth season as head coach.
• McKenna led Wisconsin to the NCAA tournament in the 2018-19 season for the first time since 2005.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
• The No. 60 Gophers are 5-5 this season, and 0-1 in the Big Ten conference with a loss against Nebraska, 4-0.
• Minnesota trails Iowa 24-43 in their series against each other.
• Five of the seven players on Minnesota’s roster are international, the other two hailing from Ohio and Colorado.
• Catrina Thompson, the Gophers head coach, is in her seventh year as head coach.