The Iowa women’s tennis team got off to a strong start in the first round of the 2013 Big Ten Tournament.

The Hawkeyes knocked off ninth-seeded Ohio State, 4-2, on April 26 with a strong performance from Ruth Seaborne. She defeated Ohio State’s Kelsey Dieters (6-3, 6-2) in the first singles slot. The eight-seeded Hawks were then able to run with that, despite losing the doubles point.

Iowa head coach Katie Dougherty loved the effort from her team.

“I’m proud of how the team battled today,” she said in a release. “We were able to immediately take the momentum back after losing the doubles point and kept our foot on the gas from there.”

Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, they could not keep it rolling on April 26 in the semifinals against top-seeded Michigan. After losing the doubles point, the Wolverines were able to secure just enough wins in singles action. Iowa’s Morven McCulloch and Katie Zordani were able to win their individual games, but the rest of the team was unable to deliver. 

McCulloch defeated Sarah Lee (6-4, 6-4), and Zordani knocked off Mimi Nguyen by the same score. But Michigan was too strong. Ronit Yurovsky defeated Shelby Talcott (6-4, 6-3) at the No. 2 position, and Michigan was able to secure two other wins to edge out the Hawkeyes. 

Iowa’s season came to an end with the loss, but winning in the first round was an improvement from last year, when they were bumped out of the tournament by Minnesota in the first round.

“This match was a great battle,” Dougherty said about the matchup with Michigan in another release. “We played well in singles and came up a little short. Michigan is a very good team, and we had them on the ropes there for a little bit. I’m happy with the way we ended this year and the growth overall of the team."