Iowa women’s tennis is taking five of its athletes to Tallahassee this weekend to compete in the FSU All-Conference Showdown. As Iowa’s last tournament of the fall season, the event gives the Hawkeyes the opportunity to close their fall on a good note.
“This is my last ever tournament of the fall, and I want to finish it on a strong note,” senior Anastasia Reimchen said. “I’m very excited. Half of the team is going, and we’ve all been working really hard to this point.”
In addition to Reimchen, head coach Sasha Schmid is sending junior Adorable Huckleby, sophomore Elise van Heuvelen, and freshmen Danielle Burich and Danielle Bauers.
Schmid praised her freshmen and the work they put into the season so far.
“The freshmen have done well,” Schmid said. “They’ve improved. Both Danielle Bauers and Danielle Burich have both made a lot of technical changes and I’m really proud of them for working hard individually. I’m excited to see them finish strong in the fall. Yufei is not going to Florida State but has really competed well. She’s proved that she can compete with the top girls not only in our region but in the nation.”
Improvement was the key to Iowa’s fall season, according to Schmid.
The team started its season in September at the Tribe Invitational, where the team mostly dominated in doubles, but fell often in singles. At the Milwaukee Invitational later that month, the team saw more early losses.
The third tournament of the season saw senior Zoe Douglas alongside van Heuvelen in their doubles début. The pair ranked, No. 42 nationally in ITA’s ranking, fell in their first match together at the All-American Championships.
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At the ITA Central Regionals, something was clicking for the women’s squad. As a doubles team, Douglas and Long battled through the tournament and eventually fell in the quarterfinals while Douglas played well in singles, also making it to the quarterfinals, while Long fell in the Round of 32.
A consistency in Iowa’s lineup has been Long. She played strongly throughout the fall but is unable to compete in Saturday’s tournament because of the NCAA’s tournament-cap rule.
“Comparing now to the start of the semester we’ve all taken a big step forward,” Reimchen said. “Sasha [Schmid] has really helped us all gain much more confidence in ourselves as players and we’re all excited to show that confidence on Saturday.”
Saturday’s tournament allows the team to play new competition, which they will not see often in season.
“[I’m excited] to see a lot of teams that we don’t see year-round,” assistant coach Daniel Leitner said. “Some good teams from some very strong conferences will give us a great opportunity to measure ourselves against good competition to get us ready for January.”
Following this tournament, the team will go on more than a two-month hiatus until competition starts back up on Jan. 20 against Creighton and Northern Iowa in Iowa City.