COLUMBUS, Ohio — The University of Iowa women’s tennis team opened the ITA Kickoff Weekend with a 4-1 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday afternoon at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center.  It is the first time the Hawkeyes have won a championship bracket dual at the event.

With the win, the Hawkeyes advance to the Round of 32 to face No. 12 Ohio State with the winner moving on to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.  The Sunday dual will begin at 11 a.m. (CT) in Columbus.

The Gauchos won the first match of the day  when Isabelle Wong and My-Anh Holmes downed Pia Kranholdt and Emma Tothová, 6-1, on court two. The Hawkeyes won the remaining two matches to claim the doubles point for a second straight meet.

At No. 1, Daianne Hayashida and Mia Mack notched Iowa’s first win with a 6-2 victory over Emma Tutoveanu and Lily Pradkin. The doubles point was clinched on court three, with No. 82 Eline Bex and Nikita Vishwase defeating Ekua Youri and Shachf Liebermann, 6-4.

In singles action, Kranholdt extended the Hawkeyes’ lead with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Leroux on court four. Vishwase added another point with a dominant 6-1, 6-4 win over Pradkin at No. 5. The Gauchos lone point came on court one, with Youri defeating Hayashida, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Mack clinched the match for the Hawkeyes on court two, defeating Wong in straight-sets, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

The remaining singles matches were left unfinished. On court three, Tothová was leading Liebermann, 7-6 (7-5), 4-3, while Xu was battling Holmes, 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 2-1.