INDIAN WELLS, Calif. - No. 68 Wichita State had more to battle than the Iowa Hawkeyes, as the Shockers fell to the No. 25 team in the country, 6-1.
The Shockers battled something they have not yet dealt with this season on their first day in California - heat. After dropping an epic 90-minute doubles match to lose the doubles point, head coach Colin Foster felt as if the Hawkeyes gained the advantage. They went on to take all but the No. 2 singles match from the Shocks.
"We continue to compete at a high level," Foster said. "We just weren't able to play quite at their level today. With that said, the match was much more competitive than what the final score shows."
Senior Florentina Hanisch and sophomore Lily Wakim fell to the No. 3 Iowa tandem of Lynne Pogensee-Wei and Alexis Dorr, 8-3. The other sophomore/senor combo of Lutfiana Budiharto and Lenore Lazaroiu tied the quest for the doubles point when they knocked off Jessica Young and Kelcie Klockenga, 8-4.
Enduring 90-degree temperatures for an hour and a half, the No. 23 duo of Sonja Molnar and Merel Beelen withstood the No. 22 Shocker combo of senior Stephanie Dalmacio and sophomore Delia Damaschin, 9-8 (4).
"We lost a very hard-fought match at No. 1," Foster said. "I felt like that gave Iowa a big jolt of adrenaline heading into singles play, especially in these 90-degree temperatures."
With the momentum on their side, the Hawkeyes won the first two singles matches to take the commanding 3-0 lead. Lazaroiu fell to Beelen in the No. 3 match, 6-0, 6-2 while Dorr took care of Wakim in the No. 6 spot, 6-0, 6-1.
Dalmacio did her best to rally the Shocks with a dominating 6-0, 6-2 win over Pogensee-Wei in the No. 2 match, but that would be the Shocks only singles win of the afternoon.
No. 74 Sonja Molnar stormed past No. 34 Budiharto at the top spot, 6-2, 6-0 to clinch the Iowa victory. The Shocks fell in the No. 4 after an all-out battle between Damaschin and Young, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 10-8. Another dramatic match that ended in a super tiebreaker for the third set was the final loss at the No. 5 position to seal the 6-1 loss.
The Shocks are in action again on Friday when they take on No. 33 Tulsa. First serve is set for 1 pm PT/3 pm CT.
Singles
1. No. 74 Sonja Molnar (IOWA) def. No. 34 Lutfiana Budiharto (WSU), 6-2, 6-0
2. Stephanie Dalmacio (WSU) def. Lynne Pogensee-Wei (IOWA), 6-0, 6-2
3. Merel Beenlen (IOWA) def. Lenore Lazaroiu (WSU), 6-0, 6-2
4. Jessica Young (IOWA) def. Delia Damaschin (WSU), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 10-8
5. Kelcie Klockenga (IOWA) def. Florentina Hanisch (WSU), 6-7 (4), 6-4, 10-6
6. Alexis Dorr (IOWA) def. Lily Wakim (WSU), 6-0, 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 6, 2, 1, 4, 5
Doubles
1. No. 23 Molnar/Beelen (IOWA) def. No. 22 Dalmacio/Damaschin (WSU), 9-8 (4)
2. Budiharto/Lazaroiu (WSU) def. Young/Klockenga (IOWA), 8-4
3. Pogensee-Wei/Dorr (IOWA) def. Hanisch/Wakim (WSU), 8-3
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
-Wichita State-