Hawkeyes Fall at NCAA Tournament

ATHENS, Ga. – The 33rd-ranked University of Iowa women's tennis team fell to 29th-ranked Georgia Tech, 4-1, in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday morning at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Georgia Tech (13-11, 6-6) opened the match by capturing a highly-contested doubles point. At No. 3, Barbora Pokorna and Pia Kranholdt earned a quick 6-1 win over Taly Licht and Given Roach. On court one, No. 55 Kylie Bilchev and Scarlett Nicholson edged No. 65 Tereza Dejnozkova and Nikita Vishwase, 6-3.

The deciding match on court two was a tight contest that saw Kate Sharabura and Alejandra Cruz rally to defeat Daianne Hayashida and Marisa Schmidt, 7-6 (7-4).

In singles, Vishwase tied the match at one with a 6-2, 6-2 straight-set win over Bilchev on court six.

The Yellow Jackets followed with three straight wins. On court one, No. 28 Nicholson downed No. 107 Hayashida, 6-1, 6-1. On court two, No. 90 Cruz extended the lead with a 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 124 Dejnozkova. Georgia Tech clinched the win on court five with Licht narrowly defeating Kranholdt in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-4).

The remaining two matches were closely contested but left unfinished with Georgia Tech clinching the deciding point. Schmidt was in a 6-4, 6-6 tiebreaker against Sharabura while Pokorna was leading Roach, 7-5, 6-5.

QUOTING HEAD COACH SASHA BOROS 
“I’m proud of this team and their accomplishments this season. They put together a great body of work all season long and really moved the program forward. I’m especially proud of our two seniors who were instrumental in getting us back to the NCAA Tournament. Although we wish we could have advanced today, it came down to a couple key points for the doubles point and a couple key singles matches. Credit to Georgia Tech for playing better than we did in those moments, but I have no doubt that we will learn a lot from this season. This is a season that will be a great foundation for our program to continue to build upon for continued success in the future.”

No. 29 Georgia Tech 4, No. 33 Iowa 1

Singles Results 
No. 1 - No. 28 Scarlett Nicholson (GT) def. No. 107 Daianne Hayashida (UI): 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 - No. 90 Alejandra Cruz (GT) def. No. 124 Tereza Dejnozkova (UI): 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 - Marisa Schmidt (UI) vs. Kate Sharabura (GT): 6-4, 6-6 (7-8) (unfinished)
No. 4 - Barbora Pokorna (UI) vs. Given Roach (GT): 7-5, 6-5 (unfinished)
No. 5 - Taly Licht (GT) def. Pia Kranholdt (UI): 7-6(7), 7-6(4)
No. 6 - Nikita Vishwase (UI) def. Kylie Bilchev (GT): 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 1, 2, 5

Doubles Results 
No. 1 – No. 55 Bilchev / Nicholson (GT) def. No. 65 Dejnozkova / Vishwase (UI): 6-3
No. 2 – Sharabura / Cruz (GT) def. Hayashida / Schmidt (UI): 7-6(4)
No. 3 – Pokorna / Kranholdt (UI) def. Licht / Roach (GT): 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2