Only Hawkeye junior Kareem Allaf will travel to Sunrise, Arizona, for the Iowa men’s tennis team this week. The sole representative for the Hawkeyes, he will be trying to duplicate his performance at the Central Regional singles championships in which he took first, winning six-straight matches in four days.

After being just the third Hawkeye ever to win an Central Regional, Allaf is set to head west and compete in the Oracle National Fall Championships. The event will take place at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex and will feature the 64 best singles players.

“The only way to guarantee your way into this tournament is to win one of the 16 regional tournaments around the country,” Iowa head coach Ross Wilson said. “Obviously, winning a tournament at this level in tennis in general is extremely difficult. That’s pretty prestigious, and also to be one of the top 64 players in the country is special.”

Although he will play against the top-64 singles players across the country, Allaf has all the confidence in the world.

“I’m excited to play against tough competition,” Allaf said. “I have never been around so many good players at once in a college atmosphere, and I’m pumped just to get out there and play again.”

Allaf will try to continue his seven-match winning streak dating to Oct. 2. Right off the bat in the Round of 64, Allaf will face a ranked opponent in which he hopes to extend his three-game winning streak against ranked foes, the longest streak of his Iowa career.

“Coming to college, I’ve always thought about going to this tournament and how exciting it would be,” Allaf said. “Now it’s a reality, so it’s not something I can take for granted.”

Despite this not being the last tournament for the fall season for the men’s squad, it will be the last for Allaf. The tournament will serve as a great finish line for his impressive fall season.

“There are great players from all over the country, so it’s another opportunity to pick up some quality wins and, hopefully, move up the rankings,” Allaf said.

If he can make a deep run in the tournament, including a couple wins over ranked opponents, he could possibly end up ranked as a singles player going into the spring season. He and doubles partner Jonas Larsen are ranked 35th nationally in the preseason doubles rankings.

Following Allaf’s finish and the rest of the men’s squad playing in the Longhorn Invitational, the Iowa men’s tennis team will complete a demanding fall season. The Hawkeyes won’t resume action until Jan. 19, when they play Western Michigan at home to open the 2019 spring season.

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