By Jake Markowitz
The Iowa men’s tennis finished a busy weekend 2-1 after hosting three teams in the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.
Iowa (8-4) started the weekend strong with an impressive win over a solid Utah team, 4-3. Heading into the weekend, Utah (10-4) had only lost to No. 1 Ohio State and New Mexico. In the nightcap, the Hawkeyes rode the momentum they gained earlier in the day to pick up a win against Southern Illinois, 4-3.
The doubles tandem of senior Robin Haden and junior Jake Jacoby continued to dominate, improving to 8-1 on the season after winning the tiebreaker against the Salukis’ Wilder Pimentel and Param Pun.
“Robin and I have learned how each other play and move on the court,” Jacoby said.
Redshirt freshman Kareem Allaf strengthened his rookie résumé, picking up wins against all three opponents over the weekend to improve to 9-3 as a Hawkeye.
Jonas Larsen also had success over the weekend, earning wins over Utah and Southern Illinois. Larsen was 8-2 heading into Sunday’s match.
“Throughout this season Jonas’s game has made a big improvement,” Iowa head coach Ross Wilson said in a release. “The way he handles himself out on the court, he doesn’t press the panic button too early.”
Although both captured wins over the weekend, Larsen and Allaf were not as successful when they were paired for doubles. The duo lost to Southern Illinois’ No. 58 Piotr Baranski and Alex Pozo (7-6). Baranski was also able to secure a win over junior Josh Silverstein (6-1, 6-2).
Iowa’s success early in the weekend came to an end when the Hawkeyes played No. 31 Wisconsin in the Big Ten opener, losing, 5-2.
Both Silverstein and junior Lefteris Theodorou lost in singles. The veterans were unable to turn things around when they paired up in doubles, losing to the Badgers’ Chema Carranza and Josef Dodridge (6-4).
However, the Hawkeyes’ hottest players continued to pick up wins. Jacoby and Haden took down the duo of John Zordani and Osgar O’Hoisin (6-4). The Badger pair suffered only their second loss of the spring season, falling to 7-2. The Hawkeye tandem is now 9-1 in the doubles 3 spot. Allaf secured another victory in singles over Chema Carranza and is now 9-3.
Wisconsin now stands at 9-2 on the season.
“It’s very tough to win matches on the road and I was very impressed with our composure,” Badgers head coach Danny Westerman said in a release.
Iowa fell to 8-4 on the season, 0-1 in conference play.
The Hawkeyes will be back on the road this weekend, continuing Big Ten play against Nebraska on Friday at 6 p.m. They will not play at home until March 31.
