The Iowa tennis team wrapped up competition at the Michigan Invitational this weekend and looks ahead to the ITA Central Regionals in Norman, Oklahoma, next weekend.
The Hawkeyes sent five players to the tournament in Ann Arbor, as Elina Bex, Pia Kranholdt, Emma Tothova, Nikita Vishwase, and Sally Xu saw action in singles and doubles.
In singles play on Friday, Tothova, a second-year, picked up her first win as a Hawkeye, beating Gabriella Lindgren of Michigan in straight sets, 6-3 and 6-4. The remaining four Hawkeyes all dropped their matches in singles on day one.
Iowa went 1-1 in doubles on the first day, with Kranholdt and Xu taking down Eastern Michigan’s Matilde Parriera and Sabrina Tolstova, 7-6. Vishwase and Tothova fell to Matilde Morais and Ellie Blackford of Michigan State, 6-4.
“Today we had some strong, competitive matches,” assistant coach Elise van Heuvelen Treadwell told Hawkeye Sports after Friday’s matches. “We came up on the short end of a few matches but are continuing to make progress. It was great to see Emma [Tothova] get her first win as a Hawkeye and celebrate her.”
In Saturday’s action, Tothova recorded another victory, beating Eastern Michigan’s Tolstova convincingly, 6-0 and 6-4. Vishwase also picked up a dominant win over Pehal Kharadkar of Eastern Michigan, 6-1 and 6-2.
The Hawkeyes couldn’t find the same luck in doubles on day two, however, as they lost both matches to two different Ohio State pairs. Kranholdt and Xu fell to Sophia Cisse and Flora Johnson, and Vishwase and Tothova dropped their match to Megan Basil and Hephzibah Oluwadare.
Tothova continued her success on Sunday, locking up her third singles win on the weekend, defeating Mike Dugan Fruchtman of Northwestern, 6-1 and 6-4. Kranholdt, Vishwase, and Bex did not find such success on Sunday, each dropping their matches in two sets.
The Hawkeyes again went 1-1 in doubles on day three, as Kranholdt and Xu picked up their second doubles win of the weekend, beating Ava Bruno and Laura Maser of Michigan, 6-1. Vishwase and Bex lost their match to Michigan’s Piper Charney and Bayley Sheinin.
Iowa will compete in the ITA Central Regionals from Thursday, Oct. 16, through Monday, Oct. 20. The Hawkeyes look to continue their success in doubles, and will try to turn themselves around in singles play.
The regionals are the first of three tournaments remaining for the Hawkeyes before the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships in late November. Following the regionals, Iowa will compete at the ITA Sectional Championships in College Station, Texas, on Nov. 6 through Nov. 10.
After the ITA action, Iowa will travel to South Bend, Indiana, to compete in the Notre Dame Invitational, hosted by the University of Notre Dame. The NCAA Championships will be the final competition for the Hawkeyes until the spring season begins in January.