The Iowa men’s tennis team will square off against No. 36 ranked Drake in Des Moines today. The Hawkeyes sit just above Drake at No. 33

Iowa will continue to count on junior transfer Robin Haden this weekend to deliver at the No. 4 spot, where he has a 5-2 record.

“He’s made a huge contribution to our team this year and not only in singles but in doubles playing with Nils [Hallestrand],” Iowa head coach Ross Wilson said. “In singles, he’s won a lot of matches for us, he stepped up huge for us against Denver [on Feb. 26]. He’s definitely been a great asset for our program on and off the court.”

Last week, Haden’s stepped up big to defeat Denver’s Alex Gasson (7-6 [2], 4-6, 6-4). That win kept the Hawkeyes undefeated at home this year and pushed their overall record on the season to 7-2.

“The only goals I’ve set for myself is to give 100 percent and to never have any regrets when I leave the court,” Haden said. “I realized that I have to work hard every day, and it’s really paying off in my matches right now.”

The Hawkeyes will face a tough test today because Drake wants to keep it undefeated home record intact. Iowa, which last beat Drake in 2011, lost to the Bulldogs last season, 5-2.

“To get a win at Drake would be huge. They’ve been to the NCAA Tournament every year for the past five years and have been ranked in the top 25 at various times throughout the past five seasons,” Wilson said. “They’ve built a great program there, and so for us to go in, and play well, and give ourselves to win on Friday night would be huge for the guys’ confidence.”

The match is set to kick off at 6 p.m. at the Knapp Tennis Center.

On the other side of Iowa tennis, the women’s team seeks to bounce back after a midweek loss to Nebraska on Wednesday.

They will travel to Chicago this weekend to go up against Illinois-Chicago on Saturday and No. 53 DePaul on March 6.

Iowa will put Anastasia Reimchen at the No. 1 singles spot, where she has played at 10 of 11 matches this season. Her record is 6-4, and the Hawkeyes need a strong performance out of her to snag their first road win of the season.

“We have to be ready to go this weekend against two very good opponents,” head coach Katie Dougherty said. “Chicago is a great place to compete. It’s in the hotbed of our recruiting base, and it has a strong alumni presence. We need to put together a pair of strong performances.”