COLUMBUS, Ohio – In the first round of ITA Kickoff Weekend, UC Santa Barbara fell to Iowa, 4-1, on Saturday, battling through several tightly contested singles matches after dropping the doubles point.

THE MATCH
Final: UC Santa Barbara 1, Iowa 4
Records: UC Santa Barbara (1-2), Iowa (3-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Santa Barbara struck first in doubles with a dominant 6-1 win at the No. 2 position behind Isabella Wong and My-Anh Holmes. Iowa answered with a 6-2 victory at No. 1 from Daianne Hayashida and Mia Mack before the doubles point was decided on court three, where Eline Bex and Nikita Vishwase secured a 6-4 win over Ekua Youri and Shachf Liebermann.

In singles play, Youri delivered UCSB's lone point of the match with a gritty comeback at the top spot. Similar to her recent performance against Utah, she rebounded after dropping the opening set to defeat Hayashida, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Iowa secured straight-set wins on courts four and five, as Pia Kranholdt topped Raphaelle Leroux, 6-3, 6-1, and Vishwase defeated Lily Pradkin, 6-1, 6-4. The Hawkeyes also earned a tightly contested win at No. 2 singles, where Mack edged out Wong, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

The decision left two singles matches unfinished. Liebermann was trailing 6-7 (5-7), 3-4 against Emma Tothová on court three, while Holmes held a 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 1-2 scoreline against Sally Xu at the No. 6 spot when play was halted.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. Daianne Hayashida/Mia Mack (IOWA) def. Emma Tutoveanu/Lily Pradkin (UCSB) 6-2
2. Isabella Wong/My-Anh Holmes (UCSB) def. Emma Tothová/Pia Kranholdt (IOWA) 6-1
3. Eline Bex/Nikita Vishwase (IOWA) def. Ekua Youri/Shachf Liebermann (UCSB) 6-4

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles
1. Ekua Youri (UCSB) def. Daianne Hayashida (IOWA) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
2. Mia Mack (IOWA) def. Isabella Wong (UCSB) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
3. Shachf Liebermann (UCSB) vs. Emma Tothová (IOWA) 6-7 (5-7), 3-4, unfinished

4. Pia Kranholdt (IOWA) def. Raphaelle Leroux (UCSB) 6-3, 6-1
5. Nikita Vishwase (IOWA) def. Lily Pradkin (UCSB) 6-1, 6-4
6. My-Anh Holmes (UCSB) vs. Sally Xu (IOWA) 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 1-2, unfinished

Order of finish: 4, 5, 1, 2

UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara returns home to face its first Big West Conference opponent of the season, UC Davis, on Jan. 31 at 11 a.m.