By Nicholas Moreano
Iowa women’s tennis is back, and the new season brings with it a new head coach.
The hiring of Sasha Schmid to lead the program means a new beginning for the team.
Schmid was named head coach on July 29; she replaces Katie Dougherty, who joined the Maryland women’s tennis staff.
Schmid is not new to Iowa; she was a student-athlete from 1992-1996. In her final year, she was named the Hawkeye MVP. One year after graduating, Schmid returned to Iowa to become the assistant coach from 1997-99.
And with her return came success.
Under Schmid, the Hawkeyes reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history and earned a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16.
After coaching the Hawkeyes, she went on to become head coach for 10 years at Stetson (2002-2011). While there, Schmid was a three-time Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year honoree and won the 2009 regular-season conference title.
The success didn’t end there.
After coaching at Stetson, Schmid coached at Missouri for five years. She helped the Tigers become nationally ranked in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016.
The 2016 Hawkeyes have a successful coach who is excited to be back home.
“I am absolutely thrilled to return to the Hawkeyes and build on the foundation recently established by Katie Dougherty,” Schmid said in a release. “The University of Iowa represents a return home for my family. I am humbled by the opportunity and cannot wait to get to work.”
Athletics Director Gary Barta was also excited about Schmid becoming the new head coach.
“Sasha had great head coaching experience at the highest level and a strong national reputation,” he said in a release.
Schmid will coach a Hawkeyes team that served up a 10-15 (0-11 Big Ten) record a season ago.
If the Hawkeyes want to have any success heading into the new season, finding a way to beat opponents in the conference will be the first priority. To help make that happen, Schmid will have to rely on her entire roster to help change the program around, starting with the two seniors, Natalie Looney and Aimee Tarun.
Last season, Looney and Tarun paired in doubles and ended with a 10-3 record.
Juniors Montana Crawford, Zoe Douglas, and Anastasia Reimchen will also play pivotal roles this season.
Douglas and Reimchen paired in doubles last season and finished with a 7-5 record and were ranked No. 71 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Sophomores Carin Runefelt, Taylor Tamblyn, and Kristen Thoms will also try to put the team in the right direction.
Last spring, Runefelt competed in one doubles match with Tarun against Maryland.
Tamblyn spent all three of her doubles matches playing with Thoms.
Schmid and the upperclassmen will all have to be positive role models and show freshman Elise Van Huevelen how to adapt to the college level.
The Hawkeyes will start their season at the Gopher Invitational in Minneapolis on Sept. 22.
