The Iowa men’s tennis team will travel to Ohio and Pennsylvania this weekend to face a nonconference opponent and two ranked conference teams.

The Hawkeyes will kick off their weekend with a game against Dayton at 10 a.m. April 6, then bounce to Columbus to take on No. 3 Ohio State. On April 8, the Hawkeyes will travel east to compete against No. 48 Penn State.

Tight conference competition makes the weekend outcome hazy, says assistant coach Matt Hagan.

“Everyone is so close in the Big Ten,” he said. “You just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Iowa’s nonconference foe, Dayton, hits the court trying to continue its four-match winning streak. The Flyers have a 15-3 record and sit 4-1 in conference play.

Jordan Benjamin leads Dayton in singles competition. The junior currently remains undefeated in 14 matches as the squad’s top player and boasts an 18-1 overall record. Senior Carsten Fisher also hopes to continue his nine-match winning streak .

After taking on the Flyers, Iowa will face its second top-10 team this season.

Ohio State seeks to continue its seven-match winning streak. The Buckeyes swept the Hawkeyes in their last matchup at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex on March 31, 2017.

Ohio State boasts a deep lineup of ranked players. Senior Mikael Torpegaard guides the Buckeyes, claiming the No. 3 spot in the national singles rankings. Sophomore JJ Wolf sits in the No. 43 spot, followed by red-shirt sophomore Kyle Seelig at No. 71. Lower in the rankings are freshman John McNally at No. 98 and junior Martin Joyce at No. 123.

In addition to five ranked singles players, Ohio State’s Joyce and Torpegaard claim the No. 18 doubles position.

“Ohio State is a tough team,” Hagan said. “Penn State is the one we should have a really good shot at.”

The last time Iowa defeated Penn State was March 27, 2011, at the Hawkeye Tennis Complex.

After a seven-year drought, a win over the Lions could put the Hawkeyes in a good postseason position.

“[Penn State] is a team we would need to beat to make the NCAA Tournament,” Hagan said.

Sophomore Christian Lakoseljac has a 17-8 overall record, the best in the Lions’ lineup. Following closely behind are classmate Constant De La Basse (16-10) and junior Christos Antonopoulos (16-11).

Penn State will host Nebraska on April 7 before taking on the Hawkeyes, attempting to maintain its 7-0 home record.

The Hawkeyes still claim two spots in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Freshmen duo Will Davies and Piotr Smietana fell in the national rankings this week to No. 62, and Kareem Allaf and Jonas Larsen climbed 21 spots to No. 51.

Iowa will try to begin its matches strong, a theme so far this season. The team has only dropped 5 doubles points, their last going to Wisconsin on March 25. Davies and Smietana have claimed 13 of their last 15 contests.