THIS WEEK
The 61st-ranked University of Iowa women’s tennis team will host its final two home matches of the season this weekend at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. The Hawkeyes will host No. 16 Ohio State on Friday at 5 p.m. (CT) and Penn State on Sunday at 10 a.m. for Senior Day. Admission to both matches is free.
FOLLOW LIVE
• Fans can follow the match via StatBroadcast on hawkeyesports.com. A live stream will be available via Playsight.com.
• Fans can also follow the action live via the Iowa women’s X account (@iowa_tennis).
LAST MATCH
The Hawkeyes rallied after dropping the doubles point to post a 5-2 victory over Rutgers on April 6 in Iowa City. Iowa posted singles victories at the one through five positions, including a straight send win from junior Marissa Schmidt that ran her winning streak to nine matches.
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.
B1G WINS
With four regular season matches remaining, the Hawkeyes are currently tied for sixth in the Big Ten standings with a 4-3 record. Two of the team’s wins have come on the road and two at the HTRC.
STRINGING Ws
• Junior Marisa Schmidt is riding a team-best nine-match winning streak in singles. She is a perfect 10-0 at the No. 2 line this season and her 11 singles wins are tops on the team.
• Senior Vipasha Mehra has won five of her last six matches — four being straight-set victories — and one in a third-set tiebreaker.
• Iowa is 19-14 in singles matches in Big Ten play this season.
A PERFECT PAIR
• Sophomore Pia Kranholdt and junior Barbora Pokorna have a team-best nine doubles victories this season. The duo has played at every spot in the doubles lineup, posting a 1-0 record at No. 1, 2-3 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 9-6 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. 16 BUCKEYES
• Ohio State brings a 13-6 record in Iowa City. The Buckeyes are riding a six-match winning streak.
• The Buckeyes are currently third in the Big Ten standings with a 4-1 conference record.
• Ohio State leads Iowa, 29-23, in the all-time series.
• No. 15 Irina Cantos Siemers (23) and No. 47 Luciana Perry (18) lead the Buckeyes in singles.
• Ohio State has three nationally-ranked singles players and four nationally-ranked doubles teams.
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
• Penn State is 5-12 overall and 4-3 in Big Ten action. The Nittany Lions most recent loss was a 7-0 decision against Ohio State.
• Iowa leads the all-time series against Penn State, 28-9.
• Sofia Chekhlystova leads the Nittany Lions in singles with an 11-8 overall record.
UP NEXT
Iowa closes out regular season play with a road trip to the state of Michigan where it will square off against No. 2 Michigan and Michigan State on April 20 and April 21.