By Nicholas Moreano
The Iowa women’s tennis team will try to remain undefeated as it hosts two teams at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex on Feb. 5 against Iowa State at 2:30 p.m. and Montana at 6 p.m.
The Hawkeyes are undefeated against both teams in the all-time series. Domination is the perfect word to describe the Hawkeyes and Cyclones series: 35-0 in favor of Iowa. As for the series against the Grizzlies, the Hawkeyes are 2-0.
Just as in any sports rivalry, especially one such as Iowa versus Iowa State, emotions can get the best of athletes, but Iowa head coach Sasha Schmid said it’s important to avoid exerting too much energy during the first match of the day.
“That energy that comes off from playing an inner-state rival with Iowa State, you really do have to not hype that up too much,” she said. “If anything, we need to keep our composure with really good focus.”
Although the records are in the Hawkeyes’ favor, Schmid knows that both the Cyclones and Grizzlies will provide good challenges. She noted that the Hawkeyes need to play solidly in both singles and doubles if they want to be successful.
If the Hawkeyes can continue their trend of winning the doubles point, it will give the team an early lead and an opportunity for any of the undefeated Hawkeyes this season — senior Aimee Tarun, juniors Zoe Douglas, Anastasia Reimchen, and Montana Crawford, sophomore Kristen Thoms, or freshman Elise van Heuvelen — to help secure the match-winning point in singles. For Crawford, focusing in practice will be the deciding factor if the Hawkeyes want to secure both victories. It starts with the team’s shot tolerance, the number of balls an individual is willing to get into play.
“When she [Schmid] first got here in the fall, our shot tolerance wasn’t very big,” Crawford said. “It’s really grown since then, and she is always encouraging us in practice and our matches.”
For the Hawkeyes to remain consistent, practice and weightlifting will stay the same this week, Monday through Friday. Douglas said that to prepare for the increased number of matches on Feb. 5, it starts with a great week of practice.
“[We are] working hard now at the beginning of the week, pushing ourselves so that we know that we are ready,” she said. “Then tuning it down toward the end so that we are physically in perfect condition.”
Being physically ready for the matches will definitely play a vital role on Feb. 5, but Crawford doesn’t believe it will be that big an issue due to the way Schmid has prepared the team throughout the season. The key to remaining undefeated is to be mentally tough, she said.
The Hawkeyes’ hard work at practice will be tested, especially in their second match. When the time comes to close out the second set in the second match of the day — that will determine if all that hard work has paid off.