Iowa women’s tennis sophomore Alexa Noel competed in the 2021 Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Fall National Championships in San Diego, California, this weekend.

Noel’s tournament singles draw run began on Thursday in the round of 32 against Princeton freshman Victoria Hu. Noel defeated the freshman in two sets, both by a score of 6-2, to advance to the round of 16.

The Hawkeye defeated another Princeton tennis player in the round of 16 — Reilly Tran. Noel fell in the first set, 4-6, but rebounded in the second and third set, winning by a score of 7-5 and 6-1, respectively.

Noel notched her third tournament win in the quarterfinals, as she took down South Carolina’s Sarah Hammer on Friday afternoon, 6-0, 2-6, 7-6, 7-1. 

Her tournament run ended in the semifinals against USC’s Eryn Cayetano. Noel had defeated Cayetano in the ITA All-American Championships earlier this season, but Cayetano earned the victory in California, 7-5, 6-3.

BIG PICTURE

Noel has advanced to two ITA Championships semifinals matches this season, but failed to move on to the final match of the tournament.

The sophomore had to withdraw from the semifinals of the  ITA All-American Championships in October because of a quadricep injury, and fell to Cayetano in the Fall National Championships.

RETURN FROM INJURY

Noel suffered an ankle injury in the NCAA Tournament in May and spent most of the offseason rehabbing her ailment.

Then, after competing in matches this fall, she injured her quadricep in October.

Now, Noel proved herself to be healthy enough to fully compete in a tournament for the first time this fall.

UP NEXT

The Hawkeyes will compete in the Daytona 25K in Daytona, Florida, Nov. 10-14. Iowa women’s tennis head coach Sasha Schmid has yet to announce which of her players will compete in the event.