By Nicholas Moreano
Iowa women improve to 2-0
Before the Iowa women’s team dominated Creighton, 7-0, in their home-opener at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex, five Presidential Committee Athletic Awards were given out.
Senior Natalie Looney and sophomores Carin Runefelt and Taylor Tamblyn received bronze medallions, which is awarded to a student’s first-year of accomplishing both academic and athletic triumph.
Junior Montana Crawford received the light bronze medallion, which is awarded for a second year of athletic and academic achievement. Senior Aimee Tarun received the silver medallion, which honors a student with three years of academic and athletic success.
After the respective Hawkeyes received their medallions, they went to work. It started with the Hawkeyes taking the doubles point, something they failed to do last week in their win against Central Florida.
Tarun and sophomore Kristen Thoms defeated Katherine Nelsen and Michaela Henne (6-0). Next, junior Zoe Douglas and freshman Elise van Heuvelen defeated Darby Rosette and Ashley Ishimura (6-2) to take the doubles point.
Head coach Sasha Schmid noted the importance of her team coming out on top with the doubles point.
“I think that the doubles point in all college tennis matches is really crucial, and I think for us it will be the same,” Schmid said. “That doubles point will be, maybe, the determining factor.”
After doubles, the Hawkeyes kept on winning.
Van Heuvelen defeated Ishimura in straight sets (6-0, 6-1). Then Douglas did the same to Nelsen (6-2, 6-0). Junior Anastasia Reimchen also won in straight sets (6-1, 6-1).
When asked what was the biggest factor in both Reimchen’s and van Heuvelen’s dominate performances, the two pointed to their teammates.
“I think we had a great supporting system coming from our teammates,” Reimchen said. “Everybody was loud and cheering for each other, I think that’s probably one of the biggest factors.”
Van Heuvelen said intensity and confidence was a big factor in their matches.
“The intensity was high in both courts, all the courts, so that helps,” she said. “I think that confidence from our previous at UCF, I think that was brought on today as well.”
Tarun and sophomores Kristen Thoms and Adorabol Huckleby also had singles victories. Huckleby was in the last match of the night against Michaela Henne and picked up a hard-fought two-set victory, (6-3, 7-6 [3]).
Iowa men sweep their season-opener
The Iowa men, who had to wait a bit longer than the women to start their season, didn’t waste any time displaying the skill scattered throughout the lineup when they took on Western Michigan and Creighton on Jan. 21.
The Broncos fell to the Hawkeyes (5-2) in the season-opener. With a pair of 6-4 doubles victories from the teams of Josh Silverstein/Lefteris Theodorou and Robin Haden/Jake Jacoby, Iowa took the doubles point.
Singles victories at No. 1 (Theodorou), No. 4 (Kareem Allaf), No. 5 (Jonas Larsen), and No. 6 (Jake Jacoby) clinched the match for the Hawkeyes.
In the second half of the day’s action, Iowa outclassed Creighton, 7-0. Silverstein (No. 1), Theodorou (No. 2), Allaf (No. 3), Haden (No. 4), Larsen (No. 5), and Jacoby (No. 6) all picked up straight-set singles victories.
