WTEN Preview \\ at Michigan State, Michigan

THIS WEEK
The 39th-ranked University of Iowa women’s tennis team travels to the Great Lakes State this weekend for a pair of Big Ten matches. The Hawkeyes will face Michigan State on Friday at 4 p.m. (CT) at the MSU Tennis Center before taking on No. 35 Michigan on Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Varsity Tennis Center.

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
• Michigan State is 7-5 overall and is coming off a 4-2 loss at Penn State on March 6.
• Iowa leads the all-time series against the Spartans, 37-15.
• Michigan is 4-5 overall after splitting its opening weekend of Big Ten play, falling to Ohio State (4-1) on March 6 and defeating Penn State (4-0) on March 8. The Wolverines will face Nebraska on Friday prior to Sunday’s dual.
• Michigan’s lineup features the No. 36 doubles tandem of Lily Jones and Jessica Bernales, along with three ranked singles players (No. 14, 15 and 123).

LAST MATCH
The Hawkeyes opened Big Ten play 2-0, defeating Northwestern, 4-3, on March 6 and Illinois, 4-3, on March 8.
• Iowa picked up singles victories on courts one, four, five, and six after dropping the doubles point against the Wildcats.
• Junior Mia Mack clinched the win over Illinois with a 7-5, 6-7(0), 7-6(5) victory over No. 34 McKenna Schaefbauer.

MACK NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Mia Mack was named the Co-Big Ten Player of the Week on March 11 after posting a 3-1 combined singles and doubles record last weekend against ranked opponents in victories over Northwestern and Illinois.

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. 
• Six of Iowa’s eight wins this spring have come with the team claiming the doubles point.
• Sasha Boros is in her 10th season as Iowa’s head coach.  The Iowa alum has guided the Hawkeyes to 110 victories -- the second-most in program history behind Micki Schillig’s 112 wins. Boros has 287 wins as a head coach in stops at Stetson, Missouri and Iowa.

IN THE RANKINGS
• Iowa is ranked No. 39 in the March 10 ITA team rankings.
• Junior Mia Mack is ranked No. 87 in singles.
• Daianne Hayashida and Mack are ranked No. 25 in the March 3 ITA doubles rankings – a season best – while Hayashida and Tereza Dejnozkova come in at No. 90

MIA’S STRONG START
Germany native Mia Mack has gotten off to a strong start with the Hawkeyes, posting an 10-2 record in singles at the No. 1 and 2 lines and 8-4 at No. 1 doubles. 
• Mack has four singles wins over nationally ranked opponents and is 3-2 with Daianne Hayashida against ranked doubles foes.
• She opened her Hawkeye career by winning five of six matches during the opening weekend of the spring, going  3-0 in singles at the No. 2 spot and 2-1 in doubles at the No. 1 position.  Two of her victories came over ranked wins.
• Mack made her spring debut at the No. 1 singles position against Wichita State on Feb. 1.

ALL EYES ON DAI
Senior Daianne Hayashida was named to the 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 5-5 in dual action in singles and 8-4 in doubles, teaming with Mia Mack.  She has played at the No. 1 and 2 positions in singles and at No. 1 in doubles.

TESS RETURNS
Senior Tereza Dejnozkova made her spring debut on Feb. 1 after missing the first six duals because of injury.  The Czech Republic native played at the No. 4 line in singles and the No. 2 doubles position with senior Pia Kranholdt.
• Dejnozkova was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2025 after winning 14 singles and 13 doubles matches during the season.
• Dejnozkova is 4-3 in dual action in singles and 4-2 in doubles. She has played at the No. 3 and 4 positions in singles and at No. 2 in doubles.