Iowa women’s tennis falls to Indiana and No. 65 Purdue on the road
The Hawkeyes have now lost 10 straight matches, the longest streak in program history.
Iowa’s Marisa Schmidt returns 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 in three sets. Iowa beat Drake, 6-1.
March 28, 2022
Iowa women’s tennis dropped two matches on the road in Indiana this weekend.
Iowa was narrowly defeated by Indiana University, 4-3, at the IU Tennis Center in Bloomington on Saturday.
In the No. 3 doubles match, Iowa senior Michelle Bacalla and freshman Barbora Pokorna comfortably defeated Indiana’s Lexi Kubas and Rose Hu, 6-2. The Hawkeyes ultimately lost the doubles point, falling in the two other matches.
The Hawkeyes collected three singles match victories against the Hoosiers. In the No. 1 singles match, Marisa Schmidt defeated Indiana’s Laura Masic in two sets (7-6, 6-1) Pokorna took down Indiana’s Mila Mejic (7-5, 6-3) at the No. 4 spot. At No. 6 , sophomore Vipasha Mehra prevailed over Indiana’s Sayda Hernandez in a three set battle (3-6, 6-1, 6-1).
Saturday marked the first time that Iowa has had three or more singles match victories in back-to-back meets since Jan. 29 and Feb. 15 earlier this spring season.
On Sunday afternoon, Iowa lost to No. 65 Purdue by a score of 4-1 at the Schwartz Tennis Center in West Lafayette, Indiana.
In doubles competition, the Hawkeyes won in the No. 2 spot when senior Samantha Mannix and Pokorna handily defeated Purdue’s Rut Galindo-Tara Katrina Milic duo (6-1).
Iowa’s lone singles win on the day came in the No. 6 spot when senior Samantha Gillas defeated Purdue’s Seira Shimizu in two sets (6-4, 6-4).
“We fought hard today,” head coach Sasha Schmid said via release Sunday. “I know the team is dedicated to continuing to work hard and fight for themselves and each other in matches.”
BIG PICTURE
Iowa fell to 4-11 overall on the season and 0-5 in Big Ten Conference matches.
The Hawkeyes’ 10-match losing streak now stands as the program’s longest in a single season. Iowa has not won a match since it defeated Missouri, 5-2, on Feb. 15.
Iowa has struggled to win the doubles point in its recent matches. In nine of the Hawkeyes’ 10 losses, they couldn’t obtain the doubles point.
Iowa is 9-21 overall in doubles competition over the past 10 matches.
UP NEXT
Iowa will return to the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex on April 1 to take on Illinois.
The Fighting Illini currently hold a 10-6 overall record in the spring season, including a 3-1 Big Ten mark.
But the Fighting Illini have struggled away from home, with an 0-3 record on the road.
Iowa won two of the three head-to-head matches against Illinois last season.
The match will start at 3 p.m.
