No. 31 Iowa Falls to No. 22 UCLA, 4-2

IOWA CITY, Iowa –  The 31st-ranked University of Iowa women’s tennis team dropped a hard fought 4-2 decision to No. 22 UCLA on Friday night at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.

UCLA (11-7) opened the match by securing the doubles point. On court three, Ahmani Guichard and Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer defeated Barbora Pokorna and Pia Kranholdt. The Bruins clinched the point with No. 19 Kimmi Hance and Elise Wagle edging No. 75 Tereza Dejnozkova and Nikita Vishwase, 6-4, at No. 1. On court two, Daianne Hayashida and Marisa Schmidt held a 6-5 lead over Olivia Center and Kate Fakih before the match was left unfinished.

In singles, UCLA extended its lead to 3-0 with two straight-set victories. On court four, No. 33 Fakih defeated Pokorna, 6-1, 6-2, followed by No. 19 Lutkemeyer topping No. 113 Dejnozkova, 6-2, 7-5.

Iowa responded with back-to-back wins to cut the deficit to one. At No. 5, Kranholdt earned a 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 win over Guichard. Vishwase followed with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 win over Fernandez on court six.

The Bruins clinched the match on court two, as No. 97 Hance defeated Hayashida in a three-set battle, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.

The final singles match between Schmidt and No. 76 Wagle was left unfinished. Schmidt was leading No. 76 Wagle, 4-6, 6-3, 3-1 when the match was called.

QUOTING HEAD COACH SASHA BOROS 
“We had a hard-fought battle against a good UCLA team. We appreciate all the great fans that came out to support us tonight. We were searching for that fourth point and just came up short. But it was a great match and there’s a lot we can learn from it. We’re looking forward to honoring our two seniors, Marisa and Barbora, on Sunday and celebrating their wonderful careers at Iowa before the match, and having a good, competitive battle against USC.”

UP NEXT 
Iowa (12-7, 6-4) will return to action on Sunday for its final home match of the season, hosting USC at noon (CT) at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. The Hawkeyes will honor seniors Barbora Pokorna and Marisa Schmidt.

No. 31 Iowa 2, No. 22 UCLA 4

Singles Results 
No. 1 - No. 19 Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. No. 113 Tereza Dejnozkova (UI), 6-2, 7-5
No. 2 - No. 97 Kimmi Hance (UCLA) def. Daianne Hayashida (UI), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
No. 3 - Marisa Schmidt (UI) vs. No. 76 Elise Wagle (UCLA), 4-6, 6-3, 3-1 (unfinished)
No. 4 - No. 33 Kate Fakih (UCLA) def. Barbora Pokorna (UI), 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 - Pia Kranholdt (UI) def. Ahmani Guichard (UCLA), 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
No. 6 - Nikita Vishwase (UI) def. Bianca Fernandez (UCLA), 6-3, 1-6, 6-2

Order of Finish: 4, 1, 5, 6, 2

Doubles Results 
No. 1 - No. 19 Hance / Wagle (UCLA) def. No. 75 Dejnozkova / Vishwase (UI), 6-4
No. 2 - Hayashida / Schmidt (UI) vs. No 2. Center / Fakih (UCLA), 6-5 (unfinished)
No. 3 - Guichard / Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. Pokorna / Kranholdt (UI), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1