By Shafin Khan
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Struggles for the Iowa women’s tennis team continued as they tacked on another two losses on March 25 and Sunday to extend their losing streak to six games.
The women are now 0-5 in conference play, with their only victory coming against Illinois-Chicago earlier this month.
The Hawkeyes fell 4-3 to both Wisconsin and Minnesota, losing to the Badgers on March 25 and the Gophers on Sunday.
Iowa got a doubles win on March 25 from Zoe Douglas and Anastasia Reimchen against Lauren Chypyha and Lauren Burich (6-4).
“We battled and came up short. We knew the doubles point was going to be crucial,” Iowa head coach Katie Dougherty said in a release.
A bright spot for the Hawkeyes came in their singles matches, as they came up with three victories. Kristen Thoms defeated Maria Avgerinos (6-4, 6-0), and Douglas rolled against Ekaterina Stepanova (6-3, 6-3). Adorabol Huckleby stepped up for Iowa by clinching the last singles win by beating Kelsey Grambeau (6-3, 6-4).
“Dori, Zoe, and Kristen stepped up in singles today and did a great job,” Dougherty said in a release. “We’re making progress; we have to regroup quickly and get ready for Minnesota.”
Reimchen played at the No. 1 spot and lost to Chypyha in straight sets (6-3, 6-2). Hawkeye Annette Dohanics was defeated by Kendall Kirsch (6-3, 7-5), Aimee Tarun lost her match to Burich at the No. 6 spot (6-2, 6-2).
The men’s tennis team split their two matches, losing to No. 37 Wisconsin on March 25, 4-1, but got its first Big Ten win of the season against Minnesota at home on Sunday, 4-1.
Iowa started off hot on March 25, with a singles win behind Josh Silverstein when he defeated Alexander Kokorev (7-6 [3], 6-1). Silverstein was the only bright light for the Hawkeyes nabbing the single win of the night for Iowa and putting up his ninth personal victory of the season.
The loss against Wisconsin put Iowa’s record on the season at 7-8 and left them winless in Big Ten play. The Badgers continued their success by moving to 12-1 on the season, 2-0 in the conference.
Against Minnesota, the Hawkeyes began the day winning the doubles point, and sophomore Jake Jacoby won the match by defeating Jeremy Lynn (6-3, 7-5). Jonas Larsen and Robin Haden followed up with singles victories of their own, while Iowa left two unfinished matches with Dominic Patrick and Silverstein on the court. This victory ends a six-game slide for the Hawkeyes.
The men play next weekend as they travel to compete against Dayton and Ohio State on Friday. The match against Dayton is set to begin at 11 a.m., and the second match will start 6 p.m.