The Iowa men’s tennis team will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, this weekend for the regionals.
The Hawkeyes would like to build on of their performance at last year’s tournament.
The Hawkeyes had a strong showing in Norman, Oklahoma, last year from numerous players who return to the tournament this season.

Sophomores Jake Jacoby and Josh Silverstein both qualified for the main draw of the tournament but suffered first-round losses. Jacoby picked up a win in the main draw consolation bracket.

Senior Dom Patrick also qualified for the main draw, picking up a win in the first round to qualify for the round of 32.

On the doubles side, Patrick and his then-partner Matt Hagan, now an assistant coach with the Hawkeyes, suffered a first-round loss.

Junior Nils Hallestrand and Andres Estenssoro, who since graduated, won their first round match to qualify for the round of 32.
Jacoby and Silverstein earned two wins in the doubles bracket to qualify for the round of 16.

Patrick, returning this year as team captain of the Hawkeyes, is expecting a lot from his teammates this weekend.

“We’re expecting everyone to compete this weekend and make the improvements that we have been working on since the first fall tournament,” he said. “Everyone knows what style of game they need to play, and it needs to be executed.”

Patrick, Hallestrand, and Jacoby are returning to the regionals and are joined by junior transfer Robin Haden and freshmen Tony Leto and Jonas Larsen.

The regional is the first time this fall the Hawkeyes have traveled to a tournament as a team.

“This is the first time traveling together, and that’s really exciting for us,” Patrick said. “There will be a lot of team support and we’re going to see if we can fire it up on the court and in the crowd and play up to our potential.”

Jacoby, a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, gets to play in front of family and friends when the Hawkeyes step onto the University of Arkansas campus.

“I’m excited to go play down there,” Jacoby said. “I have a lot of friends that go to school down there, and it should be fun.”

The sophomore said he wants to better his performance from a year ago and thinks his team is ready to make a splash at the tournament.

The Hawkeyes have set their sights high for the regional, looking to make a statement at a national event.

“Our goals are to have at least two doubles teams in the round of 16 and hopefully one to make the semifinals,” Jacoby said. “In singles, we want at least three or four guys in the round of 16 and hopefully two in the quarters.”