The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Hawkeye tennis finishes weekend with two wins

Iowa+tennis+player+Will+Davies+celebrates+a+point+during+a+match+against+Cornell+University+on+Friday%2C+Mar.+2%2C+2018.+Davies+won+his+match+6-0%2C+6-4+and+the+Big+Red+defeated+the+Hawkeyes+4-3.+%28David+Harmantas%2FThe+Daily+Iowan%29
David Harmantas/The Daily Iowan
Iowa tennis player Will Davies celebrates a point during a match against Cornell University on Friday, Mar. 2, 2018. Davies won his match 6-0, 6-4 and the Big Red defeated the Hawkeyes 4-3. (David Harmantas/The Daily Iowan)

No. 42 Iowa hosted three teams over the weekend, coming out on top against Omaha and No. 40 Oregon, but losing to Cornell.

After an early loss to Cornell, No. 42 Iowa bounced back, snagging wins over Nebraska-Omaha and No. 40 Oregon at the Hawkeye Tennis Complex.

On March 4, Iowa capped the weekend with a sweep against the Mavericks.

Will Davies and Piotr Smietana kicked things off for the Hawkeyes with a 6-2 victory in doubles, their 10th straight. Joe Tyler and Jake Jacoby were lose behind (6-1), leaving the No. 1 doubles unfinished with a 5-2 Iowa lead.

The Hawkeyes have captured the doubles point for the 11th time this season.

After an unfinished afternoon match, Kareem Allaf picked up his first win of the day (6-1, 6-4). Finishing second for the Hawkeyes, Smietana marked his second singles win with another two-set sweep (6-2, 6-4).

Tyler won the first set against Omaha’s Matt Dunn, fell behind early in the second, but prevailed over the Mavericks for a 7-5 set win. Tyler’s win secured the team victory for Iowa with their fourth-straight point.

Silverstein, Jonas Larsen, and Jacoby played out the duration of their matches, shutting down the Mavericks, 7-0.

Silverstein snatched the first set against the Maverick’s Razyan Grigorescu, 6-4, but lost the second, 6-2. The tiebreaker went back-and-forth, but Silverstein triumphed over Grigorescu, recording his fourth win this season.

Larsen (6-2, 6-2) and Jacoby (6-3, 6-4) rounded out the night with two more Hawkeye wins.

“I think in general our team likes to compete, they’re focused on our goals,” head coach Ross Wilson said. “[Double-game] days are long, but it was great to come out with two wins.”

But before defeating Omaha, Iowa took down its lone ranked opponent of the weekend, Oregon.

The Hawkeyes took down the 40th-ranked Ducks, 4-2, to kick off Sunday, beating their second ranked opponent this season.

Allaf and Larsen first fell on court one (6-4). Freshman Davies and Smietana took the first doubles match for the Hawkeyes, 7-5, against 16th-ranked doubles team Thomas Laurent and Cormac Clissold. The pair marked its ninth consecutive doubles victory for the season.

“Will and Piotr have played great all season… You can’t say enough about those guys,” Wilson said.

Tyler and Jacoby secured the doubles point for Iowa. After trailing, 2-4, the pair survived Oregon and rose to a 7-6(8) victory.

Singles competition also started in favor of the Hawkeyes. Smietana garnered the first Iowa win in two-straight sets (6-1, 6-3) followed by Tyler (6-3, 6-1).

Silverstein dropped his match against 13th-ranked Thomas Laurent. Laurent grabbed the first two sets (6-1, 6-2) and chalked up the first team point for the Ducks.

Oregon’s Ty Gentry seized the next point for the visitors. Gentry edged Iowa’s Larsen in two sets, 6-4.

Davies started the match strong, advancing early and nabbing the first set. Riki Oshima narrowed the gap for the Ducks, tying the set score at 5, but Davies redeemed himself, clinching the final two games and the Iowa win.

“Will played to win,” said Wilson. “He stepped up to the baseline, he was looking to win points. He was very sure about how he was going to play and how he was going to win that match.”

Prior to Iowa’s pair of wins on Sunday, the Hawkeyes fell to Cornell on March 2 (4-3). The Hawkeyes recorded their first lost since Feb. 9, ending their five-match winning streak.

Iowa, falling behind early, dropped the doubles point for only the third time this season.

The freshman duo of Davies and Smietana recorded its eighth-straight win and effortlessly took down the visitors (6-1). After long battles, the Big Red took courts one and three with the doubles point.

“Losing the doubles point was big for us. We thought we were in good position,” Wilson said. “We were up 4-1 at No. 1 doubles and No. 2 doubles, able to pull off No. 2 but ended up losing No. 1 in a good match.”

Iowa bounced back in early singles competition. Courts five and six were both awarded to the Hawkeyes, with Larsen winning (6-2, 6-0), followed by Davies (6-0, 6-4).

Cornell snagged the next win, topping Allaf (7-6, 6-5) and tying the match. Tyler stepped up in set three to reclaim the lead for Iowa.

More to Discover