Hawkeye freshmen shine for men’s and women’s tennis
All of the Hawkeye tennis freshmen picked up victories in their respective tournaments this past weekend.
Iowa freshman Danielle Burich tosses up a serve during the NCAA women’s tennis match between Iowa and Creighton at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. The season opener for Iowa ended with a victory against the Bulldogs 6-1.
October 15, 2018
Iowa women’s and men’s tennis teams competed in high-stakes tournaments this weekend in Iowa City and Champaign, Illinois.
The women’s team is hosting the Central Regionals that runs from Oct. 12 through Tuesday. It’s the first time ever the event has been held at the Hawkeye Tennis Complex.
Seven Hawkeyes competed in the tourney, including freshman Michelle Bacalla, Sophie Clark, and Samantha Mannix and sophomore transfer Ashleigh Jacobs, who all made their Iowa débuts. They were joined by sophomores Danielle Bauers and Danielle Burich and lone senior Adorabol Huckleby.
Through three days of competition, the women’s team made it surprisingly far given it was their first tournament of the fall season. Unfortunately for Hawkeye fans, Iowa fell short of the championship round, with Clark, Mannix, Bacalla, and Jacobs all falling in the main draw Round of 16 in both the singles and doubles.
On the bright side, however, all four of the new Hawkeyes started their Iowa careers off with wins.
Jacobs advanced past the qualifying round after besting Megan Tagloa of Western Illinois (6-3, 6-1) and Erin Epperson of Creighton (6-3, 6-1) on Oct. 12.
In the main draw of single’s round of 128 on Oct. 13, Bacalla captured a win in a third-set tiebreaker thriller (6-3, 7-6, [7-1]) over Hayley Haakenstad, and Mannix defeated Ines Absisan from Nebraska-Omaha in straight sets (6-1, 6-1).
“It was great to see the newcomers get over their jitters and finally play and represent the Hawkeyes,” head coach Sasha Schmid said in a release. “There was great competition throughout the day, and we are excited to build on the things we learned today going into tomorrow’s singles and doubles.”
Clark also got her first victory in an Iowa uniform after she bested Reghan Lynch of Northern Iowa in straight sets (6-3, 7-5).
“I was quite nervous, but I was able to get comfortable and come out on top,” Clark said in a release. “It was great to get my first singles win as Hawkeye.”
Despite its being their first college tournament, freshmen Clark and Mannix stood out in the women’s tennis opener.
As singles competitors and teammates in doubles play, the two managed to go the furthest of the Hawkeyes, making it to the Round of 16 before falling. They fought hard, playing the No. 1 seed and No. 4 seed in those respective singles matchups.
“The experiences our young players gained is invaluable,” Schmid said in a release. “Each of them had a hard-fought match today, and I’m proud of the way they played. The other players competing in these high-pressure matches have been there before, and for our freshmen, it’s their first time. Our girls are heartbroken to be out of this tournament, but being in a tournament of this stature and experiencing these moments will be valuable for our team in the long haul.”
Bacalla made it to the main draw Round of 32 singles, slightly further than Huckleby, who made it to the main draw Round of 64. Jacobs fell short in the main draw Round of 128 for singles but made it to the Round of 16 in doubles.
Burich and Bauers, however, didn’t make strong impressions in their season débuts after failing to make it to the main draw Round of 128, losing in the qualifying rounds.
The Hawkeyes will now wait until the UNLV Invitational in Las Vegas on Nov. 9 to take the court again.
On the men’s side, only freshman Nikita Snezhko participated in the Champaign Challenger singles elimination tournament.
Playing on the afternoon of Oct. 13 at the Atkins Tennis Center on the Illinois campus, Snezhko picked up where he left off in the Bobby Bayliss Invitational last week. In his first match of the tournament, Snezhko picked up his fourth win of the fall season, besting junior circuit player Kevin Huang in straight sets (6-3, 6-3).
“Nikita has a big game and can go toe-to-toe with anyone,” assistant coach Joey Manilla said in a release. “He proved that today.”
Following an impressive win, Snezhko continued through the tournament, advancing to the next round to face off against first-team All-Big Ten honoree Alex Brown of Illinois. In an exhausting second match of the day, Snezhko fell to Brown in two tiebreakers (7-6 [5], 7-6 [5]).
The men’s team will be back at full strength when it gets set to play in the Central Regionals on Thursday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
