Tennis drops home match to Iowa, 5-2

Despite singles victories from sophomore Laura Neal and freshman Caitlin Fluegge, the CSU tennis team came up short against 38th-ranked Iowa Friday night at Miramont Lifestyle Fitness, losing 5-2.

Neal defeated Merel Beelen, 6-4, 6-4, to capture the No. 3 singles match, and Fluegge outlasted Lynne Poggensee-Wei, 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (8), to secure the No. 6 singles match.

The loss puts the Rams at 3-3 after posting consecutive victories the previous two weekends against Gonzaga and UTEP. The Hawkeyes improved to 8-0 with the win, their best start in 14 years.

“We played great against a highly ranked team,” Rams coach Jon Messick said in a statement released by the university. “We gave ourselves a chance to win; we just didn’t get the points we needed.”

The Rams return to the court March 16 at Southern Utah.