Lindsey Hefel

After a hot start to the season in which it won six of its first eight matches, including a 9-0 sweep of cross-town rival University of Dubuque, the women’s tennis team found itself looking at a gauntlet of tough competition over the past week.

Looking to rebound after a couple of tough losses, the Duhawks traveled to Coe College for a tussle on the courts, IIAC-style, looking to pluck the Kohawks. The trip would not turn out the way Loras envisioned and it found itself in a dogfight with a very tough Coe team. The same scenario played out in another road trip against Simpson, also an Iowa Conference opponent. The Duhawks lost both matches and saw their record fall to 6-6 overall and 3-2 in conference.

This brings the young Duhawks to the middle of their conference season, and their goal of qualifying as a team for the Iowa Conference Tournament is still very much alive. Standing fifth in the standings, the Duhawks need to maintain a sixth-place-or-better finish to qualify as a team.

This means that this weekend’s matchup again Luther College has added significance. Luther currently sits second in the conference standings, and a win against the Norse would go a long way in solidifying the team’s place in the standings.

The time between the Coe and Luther matches is seen as crucial.

“We are keeping up our hard work in practice, focusing in doubles strategy especially in volleys,” said sophomore player Alejandra Ruales.

After the Luther match, the Duhawks will be gunning for four other conference foes that likely will determine whether the young team can qualify for the conference tournament.