Hawkeyes Swept by No. 20 Ohio State

April 23, 2004

IOWA CITY, IA – The Iowa men’s tennis team had its hands full facing one of the nation’s best teams in a 7-0 loss to 20th-ranked Ohio State Friday afternoon at the Klotz Tennis Courts.

Iowa fell behind early after being swept in doubles competition. Iowa’s closet match of the day came at No. 2 singles where sophomore Chaitu Malempati and freshman Jonny Hoak lost an 8-6 decision to Scott Green and Ross Wilson. In the No. 1 match, freshmen Sebastian Delgado and Walter Valarezo fell to Joey Atas and Jeremy Wurtzman, 8-3. Senior Matis Jasicek and sophomore Aaron Schaechterle lost, 8-2, in their No. 3 match with Dennis Mertens and Brenton Contini.

The Hawkeyes were unable to gain momentum in singles competition, losing all six matches in straight sets. In the No. 5 match, Schaechterle lost a 6-1, 6-2 decision to Wilson. The Buckeyes picked up their third point of the day after Delgado fell to third-ranked Jeremy Wurtzman in the No. 1 match, 6-3, 6-1. In the No. 2 match, Malempati was defeated by Atas, 6-2, 6-1. Valarezo lost his No. 3 match to Mullings, 6-0, 6-2. In the No. 4 match, Hoak dropped a 6-1, 6-2 decision to Klingemann. Iowa’s closest match of the day came in the No. 6 match where Jasicek lost to Mertens, 6-4, 6-4.

“Ohio State proved why it is one of the best teams in the country today,” said Iowa Head Coach Steve Houghton.

The Hawkeyes (3-15, 0-9) will return to action Sunday when they faced 63rd-ranked Penn State in their final home dual of the season. Competition is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Klotz Tennis Courts. In the event of inclement weather, the match will be moved indoors to the Recreation Building.

RESULTS
#20 Ohio State 7
Iowa 0

Singles
No. 1 #3 Jeremy Wurtzman (OSU) def. Sebastian Delgado (I), 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 Joey Atas (OSU) def. Chaitu Malempati (I), 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 Devin Mullings (OSU) def. Walter Valarezo (I), 6-0, 6-2
No. 4 Chris Klingemann (OSU) def. Jonny Hoak (I), 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 Ross Wilson (OSU) def. Aaron Schaechterle (I), 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 Dennis Mertens (OSU) def. Matis Jasicek (I), 6-4, 6-4

Doubles
No. 1 Atas/Wurtzman (OSU) def. Delgado/Valarezo (I), 8-3
No. 2 Scott Green/Wilson(OSU) def. Malempati/Hoak (I), 8-6
No. 3 Mertens/Brenton Contini (OSU) def. Schaechterle/Jasicek (I), 8-2