The Iowa tennis teams will be back in action today (men) and Thursday (women) at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic. Both the men’s and the women’s teams will compete in the four-day (women) or five-day (men) event.

This is the opening tournament for the 2017-18 season for the men’s team, while the women began their nonconference season at the Tribe Invitational on Sept. 15 in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The women had three of the new freshmen — Yufei Long, Danielle Bauers, and Danielle Burich — compete at the college level for the first time, and each enjoyed some success.

“We had three freshmen playing, so it was good that they got a glimpse of what college tennis looks like,” assistant coach Daniel Leitner said.

Leitner joined the women’s tennis staff in June and spent the majority of his first summer on the job recruiting internationally. His efforts seemed to have paid off.

Long, a freshman from Shenzhen, China, won four matches in her first college test.

She won’t be the only Hawkeye to compete this weekend; junior Adorabol Huckleby, senior Montana Crawford, and Burich will see action.

“The goal is to win,” Huckleby said. “I just want to work on my game and to win. I want to keep working on doubles with Yufei and just have fun.”

For the men’s team, only two Hawkeyes will see action in Milwaukee: senior Josh Silverstein and sophomore Kareem Allaf.

Silverstein ranks 66th in the the preseason rankings. Allaf was unranked, but he posted a 27-17 singles record last season.

Winning in Milwaukee will have bigger implications for this season, head coach Ross Wilson said.

“They are giving wild cards to the winners for the Oracle Cup in November, which is our second big national event of the year in college tennis,” he said. “Hopefully, Josh and Kareem can go and get good matches. And if they play well enough, hopefully, they can go and get wild cards to the Oracle Cup.”

Winning the wild card would grant the player admission into the Oracle regardless of standing.

Silverstein and Allaf will begin their Milwaukee competition on Thursday with qualifying matches. A main draw for seeding will follow on Friday.

Both the men and the women will play a double-elimination system with 32 seeds. Saturday will feature the quarter finals and semifinals, while the finals matches will be played on Sept. 24.

Although the men’s team will send only two players to Milwaukee, it leaves six more at home for more training. Three freshmen — Will Davies, Piotr Smietana, and Joe Tyler — have been added to this year’s roster.

“It’s been really easy to settle in,” Tyler said. “It feels normal, it feels like we’re a part of the team. Everyone gets along and bounces off of each other. The team has really been welcoming and friendly.”

It has not been announced when the newcomers will see their first college action, but the Iowa men are scheduled to play again at the All-American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Sept. 30.

The women’s team will pick up action on Oct. 3 with the All American in Los Angeles.