Iowa Drops Heartbreaker to No. 18 Wisconsin

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The 32nd-ranked University of Iowa women’s tennis team dropped a heartbreaker, falling 4-3 to No. 18 Wisconsin on Sunday at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Center.

The loss snapped Iowa’s three-match winning streak and drops the Hawkeyes’ record to 10-5 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play.

Iowa opened the match by claiming the doubles point. On court two, Daianne Hayashida and Marisa Schmidt secured a decisive 6-1 victory over No. 42 Taylor Cataldi and Ellison Reynolds.

Wisconsin responded at No. 1 with No. 85 Maria Sholokhova and Ariel Johnson narrowly defeating No. 76 Tereza Dejnozkova and Nikita Vishwase, 6-4. Barbora Pokorna and Pia Kranholdt clinched the doubles point on court three with a 6-4 victory over Tianna Rangan and Ekaterina Ivanova.

In singles play, Hayashida picked up her second win of the day, defeating No. 76 Cataldi, 6-2, 6-0 on court two. The Badgers followed with Johnson’s 6-3, 6-2 win over Kranholdt at No. 5. The Hawkeyes took a 3-1 lead courtesy of Pokorna’s 6-3, 6-4 win over Reynolds at No. 4.

In a tightly contested match on court one, No. 5 Sholokhova overcame No. 106 Dejnozkova in a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 three-set battle. At No. 6, Jacobson edged Vishwase 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, tying the match at three.

In the deciding match on court three, Ivanova claimed a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory over Schmidt to send the Badgers to their 12th win of the season and fifth in Big Ten action.

QUOTING HEAD COACH SASHA BOROS 
“We had a great opportunity against a good, competitive Wisconsin team that has won a lot of matches and is having a great season. We just fell short today. I think this was one of those matches where the sting of the loss will teach us a lot of lessons. Obviously, every match in the Big Ten is tough and we’re going to have to get ourselves ready for a good competitive match against Nebraska on Sunday.”

UP NEXT 
Iowa (10-5, 4-2) will return to the courts on Saturday, March 29, hosting Nebraska at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex at noon (CT). Admission is free. 

No. 32 Iowa 4, No. 18 Wisconsin 3

Singles Results 
No. 1 - No. 5 Maria Sholokhova (WIS) def. No. 106 Tereza Dejnozkova (UI): 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
No. 2 - Daianne Hayashida (UI) def. No. 76 Taylor Cataldi (WIS): 6-2, 6-0
No. 3 - Ekaterina Ivanova (WIS) def. Marisa Schmidt (UI): 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
No. 4 - Barbora Pokorna (UI) def. Ellison Reynolds (WIS): 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 - Ariel Johnson (WIS) def. Pia Kranholdt (UI): 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 - Kája Jacobson (WIS) def. Nikita Vishwase (UI): 7-6(2), 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 4, 1, 6, 3

Doubles Results 
No. 1 – No. 85 Sholokhova/Johnson (WIS) def. No. 76 Dejnozkova/Vishwase (UI): 6-4
No. 2 - Hayashida/Schmidt (UI) def. No. 42 Cataldi/Reynolds (WIS): 6-1
No. 3 – Pokorna/Kranholdt (UI) def. Rangan/Ivanova (WIS): 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3