The Iowa men’s tennis team went winless over the weekend to start its five-game road trip.

The Hawkeyes first faced off against No. 27 Illinois (11-9, 6-2) and fell, 6-1.

Kareem Allaf at No. 1 singles faced No. 6 Aleks Vukic of the Illini. Allaf struggled in the matchup, losing to Vukic in straight sets (6-1, 6-2).

Junior Joshua Silverstein was the only Hawkeye who came out victorious in singles, defeating Gui Gomes (2-6, 6-3, 6-2). Silverstein has now collected four wins in the 2-spot this season.

In doubles, Iowa lost on the top two spots. Allaf and Silverstein fell (7-5) at No. 1, and senior Robin Haden and junior Jake Jacoby lost at the No. 2 (7-6). The Hawkeyes were able to avoid the sweep when senior Nils Hallestrand and sophomore Jonas Larsen pulled out a win (6-3).

The next day, Iowa continued its struggles against top-50 teams, losing to No. 21 Northwestern, 4-3.

Iowa surged to begin the match, pulling out a sweep in doubles. The tandems of Silverstein/Allaf and Haden/Jacoby took down ranked duos.

However, the Hawkeyes were outplayed when it came to singles.

Allaf again faced a ranked opponent in No. 43 Strong Kirchheimer at No. 1 singles. Allaf was unable to secure a victory (6-4, 6-3).

In the two spot, Silverstein also faced a ranked opponent but enjoyed more success. He was one of Iowa’s two victories in singles, defeating No. 50 Konrad Zieba (2-6, 6-1, 6-0).

The road trip will continue for the Hawkeyes in Indiana. Iowa will take on Purdue on Friday and then face off against Indiana and Butler on April 16.

— by Jake Markowitz