Iowa tennis sophomore Alexa Noel headed to ITA Fall National Championships
Noel hasn’t played competitive tennis since she participated in the ITA All-American Championships Oct. 6-10.
Iowa’s Alexa Noel serves the ball during the Iowa Women’s Tennis match against Purdue on Feb. 28, 2021 at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. Iowa defeated Purdue 6-1.
November 3, 2021
Iowa women’s tennis player Alexa Noel was the only Hawkeye invited to compete in the 2021 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Fall National Championships. The sophomore will travel to the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, California, Nov. 4-7.
The ITA Fall National Championships will begin Thursday with the singles and doubles main draw rounds of 32.
Noel has never competed in the ITA Fall National Championships. Last season, the event was canceled because of COVID-19.
Noel earned her spot in the ITA Fall National Championships via her appearance in the ITA All-American Singles Championship Finals in October.
Noel will compete against tennis players from 23 other institutions this weekend. She’s the 13th overall seed in the singles main draw.
Noel enters this weekend’s tournament fresh off a quadricep injury. She hasn’t competed since she played in the ITA All-American Championship nearly a month ago.
Noel’s injury even held her out of the ITA Central Regional Championships Oct. 21-25. The Hawkeyes hosted the 2021 ITA Central Regional Championships at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex in Iowa City.
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Before the ITA Central Regional Championships began, Iowa head coach Sasha Schmid told The Daily Iowan that there was no specific timetable for Noel’s return.
“I think she’s making good progress,” Schmid said Oct. 18. “She’s definitely had to take some time to make her recovery her No. 1 priority and make sure she takes care of her quad. She’s been really diligent about that, so I feel like she’s making progress.
“I don’t think we’re talking [about] a long-term injury, it’s just a matter of managing it,” Schmid added. “She was coming off an event where she had more workload, more volume of tennis than she’s had since April. I think it’s just going to take time for her to get healthy again.”
The 2021 ITA Fall National Championships will feature four draws: Women’s singles, men’s singles, women’s doubles, and men’s doubles. The tournament will conclude Saturday with the men’s and women’s singles finals.
