The Iowa women’s tennis team lost a tight match to the Oklahoma Sooners on Feb. 22, falling 4-3. The team then rebounded well to beat Marquette, 5-2, on Feb. 23.

Both matches were highly competitive. Iowa head coach Katie Dougherty was pleased with her players’ performances, and said she believes her team is poised to make some noise in conference play.

“We are getting better every week; things are starting to click for us, and we are really starting to play some good tennis at all spots now,” Dougherty said. “I don’t see the loss against Oklahoma as a setback; I think it makes us better … Being able to rebound and come back today was big for us. For a young team like this, for them to be able to get their composure back after an emotional loss is a credit to them, and they did a great job.”

Caitlin Hindmarsh and Shelby Talcott provided a few bright spots — each won every match she played.

Sophomore Talcott recorded two impressive victories while continuing to show improvement from match to match.

“I think I am starting to really fine-tune my game, making shots that a month ago I might have been a little more iffy about,” she said.

Even though the Hawkeyes lost on Feb. 22, the results were impressive. Walking out of that match with the victory was the obvious goal, but with the way the Hawkeyes played, they have to feel good heading into conference play.

“I think we’ll do really well,” Talcott said. “We have had a lot of close matches with highly ranked teams, and it’s just going to get better from here. We are all looking to improve. Taking a few early season losses will really help us for big tens.”

The players’ confidence was apparent Feb. 23 — the Hawkeyes won all four singles points in straight sets.

Iowa’s No. 1 doubles team of junior Ruth Seaborne and sophomore Morven McCulloch improved their record to an impressive 7-1. If the Hawkeyes plan on making a statement in conference play, the two will have to continue play solidly.

Another Hawkeye playing well is freshman Hindsmarsh, who is off to a 4-0 start. Her perfect start has her excited about conference play, and she believes the Hawkeyes can hang with anyone in the conference. 

“I expect it to be really tough and competitive, but there’s no reason we can’t beat some of the big teams with the team we have here,” Hindmarsh said.