Illinois Falls to Iowa, 4-1

URBANA, Ill. – The No. 31 Illinois women’s tennis team closed out the regular season on Sunday, falling 4-1 to No. 53 Iowa.

It was Senior Day at Atkins Tennis Center, with the program honoring its two seniors Emily Casati and Ashley Yeah.

Illinois moves to 17-8 overall and finished tied for third in the Big Ten with an 8-3 record for the second straight season.

Iowa, meanwhile, is now 12-9 on the year and ended Big Ten play tied for fifth at 7-4.

Iowa took the doubles point to open the match, posting wins at No. 2 and No. 3.

The Hawkeyes then made it 2-0 with Daianne Hayashida posting a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles over Josie Frazier.

Iowa stretched its lead to 3-0 with a win at No. 5, as Vipasha Mehra defeated Kida Ferrari, 6-3, 6-2.

Illinois got on the board, cutting the score to 3-1 as Megan Heuser beat Marisa Schmidt, 6-4, 7-6(3) at No. 2.

But Iowa then closed out the match at No. 1, with Samantha Mannix claiming a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over No. 81 Ashley Yeah to give the Hawkeyes the 4-1 victory.

Next up for Illinois is the Big Ten Tournament, April 26-30 at Purdue’s Schwartz Tennis Center.

RESULTS:  NO. 53 IOWA 4, NO. 31 ILLINOIS 1

Doubles:

No. 1 – Megan Heuser/Emily Casati (ILL) vs. Samantha Mannix/Marisa Schmidt (IOWA) – 5-4, unfinished

No. 2 – Vipasha Mehra/Anya Lamoreau (IOWA) def. Josie Frazier/Ashley Yeah (ILL) – 6-3

No. 3 – Barbora Pokorna/Pia Kranholdt (IOWA) def. Kida Ferrari/Violeta Martinez (ILL) – 6-4

Singles:

No. 1 – Samantha Mannix (IOWA) def. No. 81 Ashley Yeah (ILL) – 6-2, 4-6, 6-3

No. 2 – Megan Heuser (ILL) def. Marisa Schmidt (IOWA) – 6-4, 7-6(3)

No. 3 – Daianne Hayashida (IOWA) def. Josie Frazier (ILL) – 6-2, 6-0

No. 4 – Kasia Treiber (ILL) vs. Barbora Pokorna (IOWA) – 6-1, 6-7(2), 3-5, unfinished

No. 5 – Vipasha Mehra (IOWA) def. Kida Ferrari (ILL) – 6-3, 6-2

No. 6 – Violeta Martinez (ILL) Pia Kranholdt (IOWA) – 4-6, 7-6(4), 1-1, unfinished

Order of Finish:

Doubles: 2, 3

Singles: 3, 5, 2, 1

Time: 3:04

Attendance: 119