The Hawkeyes are beginning to learn a lot about themselves after an action-packed weekend that included a drama-filled loss to North Texas on Feb. 3 followed by an impressive victory over Southern Methodist on Feb. 4.
Despite dropping two of their last three contests, Hawkeye head coach Sasha Schmid has a great deal of confidence that the team will be just fine.
“It would have been much better to win both, and it was really heartbreaking to lose on [Feb. 3],” she said. “However, after a tough loss, it’s not easy to bounce back. It really tells you a lot that we were able to have such success against SMU a day later.”
Because of the frigid temperatures that plagued the Midwest since November, the Hawkeyes haven’t played outside for around three months.
Senior Zoe Douglas believes that this put the team at a slight disadvantage in the match against North Texas.
“We haven’t played outside since the fall, so the conditions added a different level that we weren’t used to,” she said. “With that being said, I feel we did our best and competed hard until the last point.”
She, like Schmid, knew that Feb. 4 would be a huge opportunity for redemption.
“The tough, close loss added to our heart and gave us the desire to get out there the next day against SMU to make up for it,” Douglas said. “We knew we were right there and deserving of a win, so we learned from our mistakes and gave it all we could on Sunday.”
The team will head to Champaign, Illinois, this weekend to take on Illinois. The Illini come in to the contest at 4-1 following an impressive victory over Texas, which was ranked 11th in the country at the time.
Although both teams are members of the Big Ten, the match will be classified as a nonconference tilt.
Schmid scheduled the contest knowing that it would be great preparation for conference play.
“[We] picked them up because they are a great team, and we are approaching it as a real conference match,” she said. “They have a great freshman class, and it will be a great challenge for us.”
The Hawkeyes will rely on freshman Yufei Long to help secure a victory on the road. Last weekend, she improved her singles record to 6-0. Like her head coach, Long knows that she and her teammates will have to be prepared to bring intensity.
“[On] Saturday, we are going to play probably the strongest team that we’ve played so far. We have learned and grown from the wins and losses this season,” Long said. “We will have to carry our positive spirit to Illinois and try to play our best tennis.”