Hawkeye women’s tennis emotional as season ends

Cody Smith, [email protected]

April 23, 2018

Iowa’s Zoe Douglas waits to return the ball during the women’s tennis match between Iowa and Wisconsin at the Klotz Tennis Courts on Sunday, April 22, 2018. The Hawkeyes lost to the Badgers, 4-1. (Chris Kalous/The Daily Iowan)

It was an emotional roller coaster for the Iowa women’s tennis team this past weekend.

Concluding the season at home in front of a huge crowd against Minnesota on April 20 gave the Hawkeyes plenty of confidence going into the first matchup, but ultimately, it wasn’t enough.

After the Gophers secured the doubles point, they never looked back. Iowa dropped the first two matches in singles at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions before Iowa’s captain, Zoe Douglas, secured the first win for the Hawkeyes at No. 2.

After Douglas won, the Hawkeyes seemed to be coming back. Senior Anastasia Reimchen followed up the win with another as she forced a third-set tiebreaker against Minnesota’s AnneMarie Emme (6-4, 6-7 [9], 10-6).

However, Iowa couldn’t complete the comeback; junior Adorabol Huckleby lost in a third-set tiebreaker to give the Gophers the win.

Following that defeat, the Hawkeyes looked to recover quickly. Playing outside on the Hawkeye Tennis Complex in front of the biggest crowd the team has seen had the team more determined then ever.

As the season came to a close, the day was set to honor seniors Douglas, Reimchen, Montana Crawford, and Adrienne Jensen for all their contributions. The Wisconsin match featured Crawford beginning by playing the national anthem on the violin.

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Once the match got underway, the Badgers got out ahead early, securing the doubles point with two wins.

In singles, Reimchen was determined to finish her Hawkeye career with a victory, jumping out to 6-1 win in the first set one before defeating MaryAnn Rompf in straight sets.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have finished on such a great note,” Reimchen said. “I’ve always dreamed of finishing my college career here on a high note, and I think that is exactly what was going through my head when I was playing.”

But not every Hawkeye was able to finish her career on a high note. Douglas pushed as hard as she could, fighting off the wind before falling to Sara Castellano (7-6, 6-1).

“It’s never good to end the season on a loss,” Douglas said. “But these last four years have meant the world to me. Its been a great opportunity, everything I’ve come and done, I’m very grateful, and everything Iowa has done for me to get a chance to do is incredible, and I thank them.”

Crawford and Jensen lost at No. 5 and No. 6.

Although Iowa wasn’t able to get the win, losing (4-1), head coach Sasha Schmid couldn’t be happier with how much the seniors have grown since their freshman years.

“The seniors have been really great. They’re great students, they have always had a great attitude coming to practice every day,” Schmid said. “It was wonderful to see Anastasia have a great win, she’s really proud of the way she played, and that’s all you can really ask for. Douglas has been our captain and just a tremendous leader for us. Montana has the most wonderful personality, she’s a great kid, and it was beautiful to hear her play the national anthem on the violin. It is a tremendous gift that all of them have given to our program. Adrienne helping us finish out the season was really cool to see her finish on a good note as a Hawkeye.”