The Hawkeye woman’s tennis team got the season underway this past weekend with the University of Central Florida Invitational. The team played well throughout the tournament, especially the doubles tandem of junior Ruth Seaborne and sophomore Morven McCulloch — the two improved upon their undefeated doubles record.

Head coach Katie Dougherty said she wasn’t surprised with her team’s success this past weekend, and she was pleased with how the season started with such little time being back from break.

“We got the team back from break, had two practices, and then flew down to Florida,” Dougherty said. “We were able to get two good practices in down there, too, and then once the tournament play started, I was very happy with how our players performed.” 

While the team expects big things for the upcoming season, one player to keep an eye on sophomore is Katie Zordani. Zordani is coming off a promising fall season that included a few breakthrough wins, which her coach credits to Zordani getting used to playing against elite competition.

Next up for the Hawkeyes is a match with Iowa State in Ames over the weekend. After traveling to Ames, the team will get a nine-day until the home-opener Feb. 4, when they will face the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.