The Iowa men’s tennis team fell to No. 37 Northwestern, 4-1, in the opening round of the 2013 Big Ten tournament on April 25. The loss concludes a winless Big Ten season for the Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes continued their solid doubles play against the Wildcats. Iowa rallied after losing the first doubles match to win the next two and take the doubles point. Doubles partners Garret Dunn and Matt Hagan won their match by a score of 8-5. Juan Estenssoro and Jonas Dierckx closed out their match, 8-5, to give Iowa an early 1-0 lead.

The lead didn’t last very long — the Hawkeyes were handily beaten in singles play. The Wildcats rolled over the Black and Gold and proved they were the superior team. They won every singles match in straight sets. Juniors Michael Swank and Estenssoro didn’t finish their matches because Northwestern had reached 4 team points and clinched the victory.   

No. 1 seed Ohio State tore through the competition this past weekend. The hosts did not drop a match over the weekend and won every meet 4-0. The Buckeyes defeated archrival Michigan in the championship meet on Sunday afternoon, redeeming themselves after a tough loss to Illinois in last season’s Big Ten Tournament finale.