The Iowa men’s tennis players used summer to improve their skills in Iowa City.
By Pete Ruden
When classes ended and summer came around, many students went home for the season. The members of the Iowa men’s tennis team, on the other hand, stayed in Iowa City to work on their games and take them to the next level.
With many professional and college tournaments within driving distance, the Hawks reaped the benefits of staying in town.
“They’re going to play better throughout the season,” Iowa men’s tennis head coach Ross Wilson said. “I think they’re better prepared for the fall tournaments when they stay over the summer, just because they have been practicing at the intensity level that we practice during our season.”
With so much time and effort put in during those summer hours, it is important for the athletes to carry that momentum over to the fall and spring seasons. However, with big gaps between summer tournaments and fall matches for the team, that isn’t always easy.
“I think the experience of just having played so many matches in the summer will help you a ton,” senior Nils Hallestrand said. “Even though you won’t necessarily carry all the momentum into the spring; it’s a long period in between. But just having all those matches in will help you a ton when you’re in tough situations in matches.”
Redshirt freshman Kareem Allaf is one Hawkeye who had an exceptional summer. He made it to the finals in an Intercollegiate Tennis Association event in Iowa and made it to the semifinals in another association event in Indiana.
After having success in the summer, Allaf hopes it will translate into the season.
“[I] just have to keep the intensity and focus and just keep doing what I’m doing, work hard in practice,” he said. “Hopefully, it transitions into the season the way it is.”
Even though the hours of work put in in the summer can help a player be successful at the college level, there are differences between summer tournaments and college events.
When playing in pro tournaments, athletes are playing for themselves. In college tournaments, they have the rest of the team to think about, too.
Summer is when student-athletes become just athletes, which allows for vast improvements. It lets them see what is going well for them, as well as mistakes being made. It’s a time for players to improve without distractions.
“I think summer is just the time to get better,” junior Josh Silverstein said. “It’s literally just tennis if you just can dedicate your summers to working hard. Summer is the time to reach that next level, to work on the things you have to work on.”
Training over the summer away from home takes commitment, but it seems as though that is not a problem. This summer, the whole team was on campus.
“I think the biggest thing is that the guys need to commit themselves to it,” Wilson said. “They need to commit themselves to being here over the summer and making this their home, making this their training base basically. When they do that, I think they make massive improvements.”
