WTEN Preview \\ ITA Kickoff Weekend

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s tennis team travels to Columbus, Ohio, this weekend to compete in the ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Hawkeyes will face No. 12 Ohio State at 9 a.m. (CT) on Saturday at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center before squaring off against Georgia Tech or UC Santa Barbara on Sunday.

FOLLOW LIVE
• Fans can follow the matches via live stats and updates will be provided on the Iowa women’s tennis’ X account at @iowa_tennis.

THE OPPONENTS
• Ohio State finished as the regular season Big Ten runner-up during the 2025 season before winning the Big Ten Tournament and advancing to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. Saturday’s dual is the Buckeyes’ regular season opener.
• During the fall, Ohio State sent three student-athletes to the NCAA Singles Championships.

LAST MATCH
Iowa went 2-1 during its opening weekend of the spring season. The Hawkeyes defeated Furman, 4-1, in the season opener on Jan. 17 before splitting a doubleheader on Jan. 19. Iowa dropped a 4-1 decision at No. 8 Duke before sweeping NC Central, 4-0.

ITA KICKOFF WEEKEND
The Hawkeyes have competed in the ITA Kickoff Weekend six times in school history, most recently in 2024 in Raleigh, N.C.

QUICK HITTERS
• Iowa returns five letterwinners from a team that won 13 matches and finished tied for eighth in the Big Ten standings and earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.
• The Hawkeyes’ NCAA Tournament appearance was the first in 15 years.
• Sasha Boros is in her 10th season as Iowa’s head coach. The Iowa alum has guided the Hawkeyes to 104 victories -- the second-most in program history behind Micki Schillig’s 112 wins. Boros has 281 wins as a head coach in stops at Stetson, Missouri and Iowa.

IN THE RANKINGS
• Sophomore Sally Xu and freshman Eline Bex were ranked 82nd in the ITA doubles rankings at the conclusion of the fall season.

ALL EYES ON DAI
Senior Dianne Hayashida has been named a Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch for the 2026 season. The Peru native posted a 5-4 record in singles and doubles during the fall.
• Hayashida won a team-best 20 singles matches during the 2025 season, earning her second first-team All-Big Ten honor.
• Hayashida is 2-1 in dual action in singles and 2-1 in doubles, teaming with Mia Mack. She played at the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles.

MIA’S STRONG START
Germany native Mia Mack opened her Hawkeye career winning five of six matches during the opening weekend of the spring. Mack went 3-0 in singles at the two line and 2-1 in doubles at the one, picking up a pair of ranked wins. Teaming with Daianne Hayashida, the duo knocked off the 14th-ranked Duke tandem before she downed No. 98 Liv Hovde in straight sets to claim Iowa’s lone point against the Blue Devils