Hawkeyes Split Monday Road Duals

DURHAM, N.C. – The University of Iowa women’s tennis team split a pair of road duals on Monday at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. The Hawkeyes fell in a competitive match to No. 8 Duke, 4-1, before securing a dominant 4-0 victory over NC Central.

Duke started the first dual strong, claiming the doubles point after a hard-fought battle. On court three, Irina Balus and Aspen Schuman defeated No. 82 Eline Bex and Nikita Vishwase, 6-2. On court one, Daianne Hayashida and Mia Mack upset No. 14 Liv Hovde and Shavit Kimchi, 5-3.

In the deciding match on court two, Pia Kranholdt and Emma Tothová battled, but ultimately fell, 6-4, to Eleana Yu and Claire An.

The Hawkeyes evened the score at one in singles play after Mack defeated No. 98 Hovde on court two, 6-3, 6-3. Ava Krug followed with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Sally Xu on court six. No. 22 Balus extended the Blue Devils’ lead with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Hayashida on court one and the match was clinched on court four, where No. 87 Yu defeated Kranholdt, 6-3, 6-4.

Against NC Central, the Hawkeyes opened play with three dominant straight-set doubles victories.  It was the team’s first doubles point win of the season.

At No. 2, Kranholdt and Tothová defeated Valeria San Miguel Soria and Sara Barbaric, 6-1, and No. 82 Bex and Vishwase followed with a 6-2 victory over Patricia Palencia and Gabriela Majia Arenas. Hayashida and Mack completed the doubles sweep with a 6-1 victory over Alejandra Hidalgo Vega and Mariana Zottoli the one line.

The momentum continued in singles play. On court two, Mack made quick work of San Miguel Soria, winning 6-0, 6-0. At No. 1, Hayashida earned a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Hidalgo Vega and Tothová clinched the match on court three, defeating Zottoli, 6-0, 6-1.

The remaining singles matches were left unfinished, with the Hawkeyes leading on all three courts.

QUOTING HEAD COACH SASHA BOROS 
"This was a great weekend. It was terrific to start the season on the road and be with this great team. We grew a lot over the course of the weekend, and it feels like we have good momentum going into the National Indoors in Columbus against Ohio State. I’m proud of the effort to go 2-1 to get the spring season started on a strong note.”

UP NEXT 
Iowa will travel to Columbus, Ohio, next weekend to compete at the ITA Kickoff Weekend at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center. The Hawkeyes will face No. 13 Ohio State at 9 a.m. (CT) on Saturday before taking Georgia Tech or UC Santa Barbara on Sunday.

No. 8 Duke 4, Iowa 1

SINGLES RESULTS
No. 1 - No. 22 Irina Balus (DUKE) def. Daianne Hayashida (UI): 6-4, 7-5
No. 2 - Mia Mack (UI) def. No. 98 Liv Hovde (DUKE): 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 - Emma Tothová (UI) vs. Aspen Schuman (DUKE): 6-4, 3-6, 0-2 (unfinished)
No. 4 - No. 87 Eleana Yu (DUKE) def. Pia Kranholdt (UI): 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 - Nikita Vishwase (UI) vs. Claire An (DUKE): 6-3, 3-6, 2-2 (unfinished)
No. 6 - Ava Krug (DUKE) def. Sally Xu (UI): 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish: 6,2,4,1

DOUBLES
No. 1 - Hayashida/Mack (UI) def. No. 14 Hovde/Kimchi (DUKE): 6-3
No. 2 – Yu/An (DUKE) def. Kranholdt/ Tothová (UI): 6-4
No. 3 - Balus/Schuman (DUKE) def. #82 Bex/Vishwase (UI): 6-2
Order of Finish: 3,1,2
 
Iowa 4, NC Central 0

SINGLES RESULTS
No. 1 - Daianne Hayashida (UI) def. Alejandra Hidalgo Vega (NCC): 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 - Mia Mack (UI) def. Valeria San Miguel Soria (NCC): 6-0, 6-0
No. 3 - Emma Tothová (UI) def. Mariana Zottoli (NCC): 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 - Pia Kranholdt (UI) vs. Patricia Palencia (NCC): 6-4, 1-1 (unfinished)
No. 5 - Nikita Vishwase (UI) vs. Sara Barbaric (NCC): 6-3, 2-2 (unfinished)
No. 6 - Eline Bex (UI) vs. Gabriela Majia Arenas (NCC): 6-2, 1-2 (unfinished)
Order of Finish: 2,1,3

DOUBLES
No. 1 - Hayashida/Mack (UI) def. Hidalgo Vega/Zottoli (NCC): 6-1
No. 2 - Kranholdt/ Tothová (UI) def. San Miguel Soria/Barbaric (NCC): 6-1
No. 3 - #82 Bex/Vishwase (UI) def. Palencia/Majia Arenas (NCC): 6-2
Order of Finish: 2,3,1