The Iowa women’s tennis team opened its season against Charlotte and Furman this weekend, splitting the matches.

Iowa lost to Charlotte, 7-0, on Jan. 20 then went south to face Furman where they won, 5-2, and earned their first win of the spring season. In the victory, the Hawkeyes earned four singles and two doubles wins.

Playing at Lifetime Fitness in Charlotte, Iowa managed to force multiple third sets in singles matches but were ultimately outplayed against the 49ers. Head coach Sasha Schmid said the match served as a reminder of her team’s continuing progress.

“I don’t think we did the things that we needed to do to manage a match to beat a high-level opponent right away,” Schmid told The Daily Iowan. “Sometimes it’s more than tennis. It’s more strategy and more resiliency. It’s a little more spirit. It’s a bunch of those factors that I think were really exposed, and Charlotte did those a lot better than we did.”

After the lopsided loss, the Hawkeyes had two days to put the loss behind them. For freshman Daianne Hayashida, the turnaround required a boost in energy.

“On Sunday against Furman, I think we were there as a team and more united,” Hayashida said. “The energy was much better than Friday, so that was the key to winning on Sunday. We were more focused and, since the warmup, we were unified as a team and motivating each other.”

Schmid agreed with Hayashida’s assessment, adding a more unified team has the potential to rattle an opponent.

“I think we really support each other when we’re on court,” Schmid said. “I think some match-management issues like that can really make a difference and can make an opponent feel uncomfortable when they know the entire opposing team is really unified and united with spirit, fight, and resiliency.”

Schmidt shines in No. 1 slot

Sophomore Marisa Schmidt was in the No. 1 singles slot for both matches. In her match at Charlotte, Schmidt battled senior Ruxi Schech to three sets, losing the final set, 10-6. The 49er and German native were first-team All-Conference USA the past two spring seasons.

“I’ve told her that it’s always hard at that No. 1 spot because you constantly have a huge test in front of you,” Schmidt said. “You’ve got to be resilient and be really gritty, and I think that’s something that she’s really willing to accept and meet the challenge of.”

In her singles match against Furman, Schmidt defeated the Paladin’s Ellie Schulson in straight sets. Then, partnered with Iowa fifth-year senior Anya Lamoreaux, Schmidt won her doubles match, 6-3.

“I think [Schmidt] has really good shot tolerance, and she’s going to make the other person play,” Schmidt said. “She doesn’t give away free points easily … She’s always working on creating more offense in our game, but she definitely has a really good, solid foundation to her groundstrokes.”

Mannix’s Early Struggles

Iowa fifth-year senior Samantha Mannix didn’t win either of her singles matches over the weekend, falling in straight sets to Charlotte’s Lucia Quiterio and then to Furman’s Jess Dawson. Mannix played in the third spot for singles against Charlotte then moved up to second in the Hawkeyes’ next match.

“She’s really competitive and takes those losses really hard,” Schmid said. “So no doubt she’s going to want to be really hungry for some wins… Just got to get back to practice and gain some confidence in the fact that she has a really great work ethic.”

Up Next

After a weekend off, Iowa will have its first home match of the season against Denver at 5 p.m. on Feb. 4 at the Hawkeye Tennis Recreational Complex. Two days later, the Hawkeyes will face off against Kansas State.