By Nicholas Moreano | [email protected]

Iowa junior Montana Crawford stands to the right of the center mark on the tennis court during a Tuesday practice, with a tennis ball in her left hand. She tosses it straight up in the air and with her right hand comes downward with high velocity to finish her serve.

That is just one of the many types of shots the Hawkeyes have in their repertoire, but what is each player’s favorite one? Each Hawkeye discussed which ones they like to use in their matches.

For seniors Aimee Tarun and Crawford, their favorite shot is the serve. It starts every point of every match and is hit above the player’s head. It is hit from either the deuce court, which is right of the center mark or the ad court, left of the center mark.

Tarun likes the serve because it helps her to establish offense first, whether by getting an ace or hitting the ball on one corner of the box that will help set up her next shot.

That next shot could be the forehand, which was the most popular among the Hawkeyes. Freshman Elise van Heuvelen, sophomore Adorabol Huckleby, and junior Anastasia Reimchen all chose this to be their favorite shot.

There are different versions of the shot, and Huckleby and Reimchen like the forehand cross court — a player hits the ball on a diagonal, and it goes from one corner to the opposite corner. Reimchen chose the forehand cross court because it helps to establish her next move.

“On the ad side when I serve wide to their backhand, because I’m lefty, the ball usually comes back cross court, and it’s a perfect setup for my forehand cross court,” Reimchen said.

Huckleby likes the forehand because she can use it in numerous ways, either by rallying to stay in the point or her personal favorite, by stepping onto the court to become more aggressive.

Van Heuvelen is fond of the inside-out forehand. The shot is hit on the backhand side of the court and requires the hitter to shuffle her feet to get in the proper position. If hit at a lower angle, the forehand makes it extremely difficult for the opposing player to return it.

Another shot both sophomore Carin Runefelt and junior Zoe Douglas like in their game is the volley — a shot hit before the ball contacts the ground and is typically hit when one is close to the net.

“I like being at the net,” Douglas said. “It’s like me being in control of the point and finishing the point in the way that I like to.”

Runefelt said she liked the volley because it gives her plenty of options. She can use the entire length of the court, which increases her chances of closing out the point.

When it comes to closing out points, sophomore Kristen Thoms likes to do that with her down the line backhand, a shot hit with the back of the racquet close to the sideline. Senior Natalie Looney also likes her backhand, but she likes to hit the ball cross court.

“I am confident in it and feel like it’s powerful and consistent,” she said.

Each Hawkeye has her own shot she feels confident in, and that could be a factor in the team being undefeated and ranked No. 48 in the Collegiate Tennis National Team Rankings.