THIS WEEK
The 65th-ranked University of Iowa women’s tennis team will head to the state of Michigan this week for its final two regular season duals of the season. The Hawkeyes will faced No. 2 Michigan on Saturday at 11 a.m. (CT) at the Varsity Tennis Center and Michigan State on Sunday at 10 a.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
FOLLOW LIVE
• Fans can follow Saturday’s match live on mgoblue.com, and the match on Sunday can be followed via MSUSpartans.com.
• Fans can also follow the action live via the Iowa women’s X account (@iowa_tennis).
LAST MATCH
The Hawkeyes split their final home weekend, falling 4-1 to No. 16 Ohio State on April 12 before sweeping Penn State, 4-0, on April 14 in its home finale.
• Iowa captured the doubles point in both duals. The Hawkeyes followed with three singles wins against the Nittany Lions, including a clinching victory from senior Vipasha Mehra.
SCHMIDT EARNS B1G HONOR
Junior Marisa Schmidt earned her first career Big Ten Player of the Week honor on March 27. She earned the distinction after going 2-0 in singles, which included a 6-0, 6-2 win over Northwestern’s 88th-ranked Justine Leong. Schmidt has added one more win to her list after defeating Tara Chilton of Rutger’s last week, 6-2, 6-2. The honor was Iowa’s first since 2021.
THE B1G SEASON
With two regular season matches remaining, the Hawkeyes are currently sitting in sixth place in the Big Ten standings with a 5-4 record. Two of the team’s wins have come on the road and three at the HTRC.
STRINGING Ws
• Junior Marisa Schmidt has a team-best 12 wins this season, including posting an 11-1 record at the No. 2 singles position.
• Senior Vipasha Mehra has won six of her last seven matches with four being straight-set victories.
• Iowa is 22-18 in singles matches in Big Ten play this season.
A PERFECT PAIR
• Sophomore Pia Kranholdt and junior Barbora Pokorna have a team-best 11 doubles victories this season. The duo has played at every spot in the doubles lineup, posting a 1-0 record at No. 1, 4-4 at No. 2, and 6-1 at No. 3.
ALL DAI
• Sophomore Daianne Hayashida has been Iowa’s No. 1 singles player throughout the spring, posting a 10-6 singles record.
• During the fall, Hayashida advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA Midwest Regionals and she competed in the main draw of the ITA Women’s All-American Championships in September. She was the first Hawkeye to advance to the regional quarterfinals since Elise van Heuvelen in 2019.
SCOUTING THE NO. 2 WOLVERINES
• Michigan brings a 21-3 record into Friday’s dual with its only losses coming against Oklahoma State (twice) and No. 17 USC. The Wolverines are 9-0 in Big Ten action.
• The Wolverines have six nationally-ranked singles players and one nationally-ranked doubles team.
• No. 3 Kari Miller holds is 13-4 at the top singles position, which includes a 5-0 mark in Big Ten play.
• Jaeden Brown and Kari Miller sit at No. 6 nationally for doubles. The duo has a 9-5 overall record this season.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
• Michigan State is 10-13 overall and 1-8 in the Big Ten this season. The lone league victory came against Indiana (4-0).
• The Spartans are 12th in the Big Ten standings.
• Iowa holds 37-17 advantage over Michigan State in the all-time series.
• Ria Bhakta is ranked 106th nationally in singles competition with a 12-5 overall record.
• The doubles duo of Nicole Conard and Ayshe Can are ranked 35th nationally. The pair has an 8-2 record this season.
UP NEXT
Iowa will begin postseason play next week at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.