Big Ten commands tennis talent

A competitive Big Ten field rounds out a difficult path to the conference championship.

James Geerdes, [email protected]

August 22, 2017

FILE – Iowa’s Jonas Larsen returns a ball during the Iowa-North Dakota match at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex on April 23. Larsen is one of the five returning Hawkeyes heading into the 2017-18 season; the team needs six to compete. (File photo/The Daily Iowan)

As the Hawkeyes’ first men’s tennis match nears on Sept. 20, The Daily Iowan breaks down the top Big Ten teams.

Ohio State

The Buckeyes finished fourth nationally last season, led by their top three players: Mikael Torpegaard, Martin Joyce, and Hugo Di Feo. While Torpegaard was lost to graduation, Joyce and Di Feo return. Last year, Ohio State took home both the doubles and singles championships in the Big Ten and posted a 11-0 record in conference play.

Ohio State is the most likely top candidate for the Big Ten as well as the most experienced. The Buckeyes have won a shocking 12 conference titles in a row.

Michigan

Following a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan should be excited about its upcoming season. The Wolverines return star player and now-senior Alex Knight, who posted a 25-10 record in singles and a 21-6 mark in doubles last year. Michigan has three other seniors returning to the team in Carter Lin, Runhao Hua, and Davis Crocker.

Finishing 17th in the national rankings last year and returning almost all of the roster, the Wolverines have the ability to avenge their runner-up finish if Knight is able to secure wins consistently at the No. 1 spot.

Illinois

The Illini return top players Aleks Vukic and Aron Hiltzik. Vukic’s career high singles ranking is third in the nation. He was named a 2017 Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American in singles and was the 2017 Big Ten Athlete of the year. Vukic won the singles title at the 2017 JSM Futures tournament this summer.

Hiltzik posted a 19-7 record in singles, 12-5 record in doubles, and was a unanimous choice for first-team All-Big Ten, with a career high singles ranking of 20th in the nation.

Wisconsin

Last season’s young Badgers posted a 7-4 conference record and return all but one to the roster, while adding two freshmen, Robert Krill and Martin Vilela. Krill was a five-star recruit from Elm Grove, Wisconsin, and he ranked 47th in the nation, according to TennisRecruiting.net.

Seniors Chema Carranza (28-12), Lamar Remy, and Joseph Dodridge (24-18) will lead the way after the team posted a .599 winning percentage.

Chase Colton competed in his freshman season at the No. 5 spot, going 10-9 in the conference.

Wisconsin has a veteran squad that has the ability to tidy up its shortcomings from last season.

Northwestern

Despite losing their top two players, Strong Kirchheimer and Konrad Zieba, the Wildcats still show promise for the upcoming season.

They return junior Jason Seidman and sophomore Dominik Starý. Seidman posted a 24-9 record in his first full season, and Starý posted a 24-10 record as a freshman.

Northwestern went 7-4 in conference last year. It will be difficult for the Wildcats to make up the lost talent in Kircheimer, who posted a record of 105-35 in his four years.

The rest

The Big Ten put four teams into the top 25 ranks at the end of the season, with strong talent coming out of most schools.

In conference play, Penn State (5-6), Indiana (4-7), Iowa (2-9), Nebraska (1-10), and Michigan State (0-11) each return starters.