Hickey Upsets 13th Seed to Advance

TULSA, Okla. - The Iowa State women's tennis team got off to a blistering start in the first round of the Division I Wilson/ITA Central Region Championships, Thursday in Tulsa, Okla., as sophomore Kara Hickey defeated the 13^th-seeded player in the tournament, and Chrissy DeRouin and Alyssa Palen won a first-round match in the doubles flight.

Hickey, who is on a five-match winning streak this fall, used three sets to take down Arkansas's Audrey Bordeleau, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2. The Columbia, Mo., native will move on to face Oklahoma State's Natalia Shatkovskaya on Friday.

“I was really proud of how hard Kara played,” head coach Michele Conlon said. “Our team should expect to be winning these types of matches.”

Senior Jill Palen also advanced in the singles bracket, knocking off Missouri's Erika Josbena, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4. Palen meets Tulsa's Santie Delport on Friday.

“Jill did a great job getting her game together after a rough start in the first set,” Conlon said. “She played hard to close out the match.”

Alyssa Palen and Derouin won their first-round doubles match over Oral Roberts' Hayden Rush and Rafaela Souza, 8-1, before falling to a pair from Oklahoma State. Hickey and Jill Palen had a first-round doubles bye, and fell in the second round to a team from Wichita State.

Players Mentioned

Kara Hickey

Kara Hickey

Alyssa Palen

Jill Palen

Jill Palen

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