Mack Clinches Iowa’s 4-3 Win Over Illinois

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Junior Mia Mack’s three-set tiebreak victory lifted the 45th-ranked University of Iowa women’s tennis team to a 4-3 victory over Illinois on Sunday afternoon at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.

It is the team’s fourth 4-3 win this season and it improves the team’s record to 8-5 overall, 2-0 in Big Ten play.

The Hawkeyes opened the match by securing the highly contested doubles point. On court two, Tereza Dejnozkova and Nikita Vishwase cruised to a 6-1 victory over Ariel Madatali and Cara Mester. The Fighting Illini responded with Kimiko Cooper and McKenna Schaefbauer defeating Emma Tothová and Pia Kranholdt 6-4 on court three.

The deciding match on court one saw No. 25 Daianne Hayashida and Mia Mack rally to defeat No. 86 Tess Bucher and Alice Xu, 6-4.
 
In singles action, Iowa extended its lead to 2-0 on court three, where Dejnozkova earned a win over Madatali, 6-2, 6-0. Tothová added a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Bucher on court four.

The Fighting Illini responded, tying the match at 3-3 with three-set wins on courts five, six, and two. At No. 5, Xu defeated Vishwase, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. On court six, Mester followed with a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) victory over Kranholdt. At No. 2, Hayashida was narrowly lost toCooper, 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-1.

In the deciding match on court one, No. 87 Mack triumphed over No. 34 Schaefbauer, 7-5, 6-7(0), 7-6 (5), securing the Iowa victory. The win marked Mack’s second-ranked singles victory of the weekend.


QUOTING HEAD COACH SASHA BOROS
“This was another hard-fought Big Ten match. We’ve had a lot of these 4-3 battles lately, and I’m really proud of the team for continuing to compete hard in the moments that matter most. We’re going to look forward to some good practice this week and getting on the road for Michigan State on Friday night.”
 
UP NEXT 
Iowa (8-5, 2-0) will return to action March 13, facing Michigan State at 4 p.m. (CT) at the MSU Tennis Center. 

No. 45 Iowa 4, Illinois 3

SINGLES RESULTS
No. 1 - No. 87 Mia Mack (UI) def. No. 34 McKenna Schaefbauer (ILL): 7-5, 6-7(0), 7-6(5)
No. 2 - Kimiko Cooper (ILL) def. Daianne Hayashida: 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-1
No. 3 - Tereza Dejnozkova (UI) def. Ariel Madatali (ILL): 6-2, 6-0
No. 4 - Emma Tothová (UI) def. Tess Bucher (ILL): 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 - Alice Xu (ILL) def. Nikita Vishwase (UI): 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 - Cara Mester (ILL) def. Pia Kranholdt (UI): 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(3)
Order of Finish: 3,4,5,6,2,1

DOUBLES
No. 1 - No. 25 Hayashida/Mack (UI) def. No. 86 Bucher/Xu (ILL): 6-4
No. 2 -  Dejnozkova/Vishwase (UI) def. Madatali/Mester (ILL): 6-1
No. 3 - Cooper/Schaefbauer (ILL) def. Tothová/Kranholdt (UI): 6-4
Order of Finish: 2,3,1