The Iowa men’s tennis team concluded its regular season competition April 22 after splitting two road matches in Michigan.
The Hawkeyes finished 16-13 overall, their first winning record since the 2014-15 season. The squad also clinched a 4-7 record in conference decisions heading into the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday. The Hawkeyes fell just shy of their season goal — four road wins — and ended with a 3-7 away record.
Iowa defeated Michigan State (5-2) in East Lansing in its last conference matchup. The Hawkeyes now lead the all-time series, 34-32, over the Spartans.
The Iowa squad started its match strong, clinching the doubles point with two victories. The Hawkeyes have claimed the doubles point in 21 matches this season.
Freshman Will Davies kicked off singles competition for the Hawkeyes by grabbing his third conference victory in two sets (6-1, 6-1). Jonas Larsen dropped the first match for Iowa, falling in straight sets to freshman Davis Wong.
Kareem Allaf responded with a victory over freshman Josh Mukherjee. The Iowa redshirt sophomore claimed his eighth-straight decision and improved his No. 4 record to 6-0 in Big Ten matchups. Piotr Smietana dropped his fifth conference match, falling in straight sets to senior Michael Dube.
As the Hawkeyes led with a narrow margin, Joe Tyler carried his match into set three, and Josh Silverstein battled in a tie-breaker. Tyler captured his first set over senior Jasper Koenen, but then fell short in the second. The Iowa freshman bounced back and claimed a 6-3 third-set victory and his sixth conference win.
Silverstein grabbed his first set with a 7-6 margin. Determined to upset the Spartans’ Senior Day, the Iowa senior snagged another 6-3 win in set two.
Before taking down Michigan State, the Hawkeyes struggled to kick off their final weekend against No. 12 Michigan. The Wolverines defended their home turf and claimed their seventh conference victory over the Hawkeyes (6-1). Senior Alex Knight and freshman Harrison Brown handed Tyler and Jake Jacoby a 6-2 loss to start doubles competition. Allaf and Larsen responded with a 6-3 victory over sophomore Connor Johnston and junior Myles Schalet. Smietana and Davies were unable to clinch the Hawkeye lead, dropping their match for the first time in four contests.
Michigan claimed a 5-0 lead early in singles competition, finishing all matches in straight sets. Schalet claimed the first victory over Tyler (6-1, 6-1), handing him only his fifth conference loss as a Hawkeye. Smietana was unable to defeat his fifth ranked opponent this season, dropping his match to No. 44 senior Runhao Hua.
Davies lost his third-straight match (6-1, 6-4) to freshman Kristofer Siimar, followed by Silverstein losing to 12th-ranked Knight. Allaf was the only Hawkeye to claim a victory over the Wolverines, defeating freshman Mattias Siimar (6-1, 6-4).
Larsen was the last Hawkeye left on the court in Ann Arbor. The Iowa junior battled for a close loss in set one (7-6), then ultimately fell in the second (6-3).
The men’s squad will conclude its season at the Big Ten Tournament beginning Thursday at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex for the first time since 2008.
Assistant coach Matt Hagan believes playing on the squad’s home turf will provide major advantages.