Iowa women’s tennis loses first Big Ten Conference dual of spring season
The Hawkeyes dropped a fifth consecutive match on Monday afternoon in Iowa City.
Iowa’s Marisa Schmidt serves the ball during a tennis match between Iowa and Drake at Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex in Iowa City on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022. Schmidt defeated Drake’s Ines Stephani. Iowa beat Drake, 6-1.
March 7, 2022
Iowa women’s tennis lost, 6-1, in its first conference dual of the season Monday afternoon. The Minnesota Golden Gophers downed the Hawkeyes at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.
Minnesota collected the first point of the match, defeating Iowa in two of three doubles matches. Senior Michelle Bacalla and freshman Barbora Porkorna’s doubles match against Minnesota’s Dalila Said and Anfisa Danilchenko went unfinished.
Sophomore Vipasha Mehra and freshman Marisa Schmidt fell in doubles competition, 6-2, to the Gophers’ Rachel Hanford and Emilee Duong.
Meanwhile, seniors Samantha Mannix and Michelle Bacalla lost, 6-4, to Minnesota’s Lucy Lu and Maria Rizzolo.
In singles competition, Schmidt was extinguished by Hanford in two sets, 7-6, 6-1.
Bacalla fell in two sets to Duong, 6-4, 6-4.
The Hawkeyes also lost three singles matches in three-set fashion.
Senior Samantha Gillas was defeated by Minnesota’s Vasia Karvouni, 2-6, 6-3, 0-6, and Pokorna was dispatched by Said, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6.
Mehra faced off against Danilchenko. After earning a first-set victory, Mehra fell, 6-3, 2-6, 4-6.
BIG PICTURE
The Hawkeyes have now lost their fifth consecutive match of the spring after starting the season 4-1.
Iowa is suffering its longest losing streak since 2010-11, when the Hawkeyes lost six consecutive matches.
ROLE PLAYER
Mannix was the only Iowa player to record a singles victory on Monday afternoon.
In the No. 3 spot, Mannix defeated Minnesota’s Minnesota’s Maria Rizzolo in two sets, 6-4, 6-4. The win was Mannix’s first in singles since Feb. 25
UP NEXT
Iowa will host Memphis for its final nonconference match of the spring season. The Tigers have a 12-4 overall record, and they’ll ride a five-match winning streak into their dual with the Hawkeyes.
“We are obviously in a stretch where we have had disappointing losses,” Iowa head coach Sasha Scmid said via release. “Today was another tough match where we fell short. We have to keep going. We have a tough opponent coming up Friday against Memphis and we have to stay hungry, focused and get better.”
The match begins at 4 p.m. at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.
Iowa could still reschedule its now-postponed dual with Kansas. The Hawkeyes were supposed to compete against the Jayhawks in the Sunflower State on Feb. 4. Positive COVID-19 tests within the Iowa program forced the postponement of the match.
