University of Iowa Women’s Tennis Team- Big Ten Championships

April 30, 2010
Iowa Women’s Tennis has had a great season thus far. They are currently ranked 26th in the nation and have a couple of outstanding players. The University of Iowa women's tennis team defeated Indiana in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Championships. The score ended up being 4-1, Iowa, and 17-5 overall. The Big Ten Championships were held at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex Friday, in Iowa City. They are advancing to face one of the top teams in the nation, Michigan, in the semifinal round on Saturday.
During the match on Friday against Indiana, the two tennis players that got things started were Junior Jessica Young and Senior Kelcie Klockenga who defeated Indiana’s Charlotte Martin and Katya Zapadalova. The pair had their 22nd doubles victory. The next doubles up were there teammates Sonja Molnar and Merel Beelen. This duo is ranked 15th in the nation and struggled their way to a triumph over the Hoosier’s Lindsey Stuckey and Evgeniya Verteshaeva, with a score of 8-5. This gave Iowa a 1-0 match advantage.
Jessica Young had a straight-set victory over Lindsey Stuckey, 6-3, 6-3. Indiana’s Leslie Hureau then defeated Iowa’s Lynne Poggensee-Wei in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5 allowing the Hoosier’s to cut Iowa’s lead in half. However, Merel Beelen- a fifth year senior, pushed Iowa’s lead to 3-1 by winning the opening set 6-2, then the second frame 6-0, and then the third set 6-2. She did an outstanding job pulling Iowa ahead even further than before.
The Hawkeyes finished off the Hoosier’s in the tournament victory when junior Alexis Dorr fought through a straight-set win over Indiana’s Myriam Sopel. Alexis had a 6-1 victory in the opening frame, a 7-6 victory in the second set to finish off the match and give Iowa a 4-1 quarterfinal victory!
With Alexis’s big win the Hawks were able to seal the deal and win against the University of Indiana Hoosiers. Iowa has been triumphant in seven of its last 10 matches against Big Ten opponents. The University of Iowa Hawkeyes women’s tennis team are going to return to action to face Michigan, who is titled 4th nationally, in the semifinals Saturday May 1.