Hawkeyes Lose To Ohio State In Second Round

April 25, 2008

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IOWA CITY, IA – The University of Iowa men’s tennis team, seeded eighth, lost to top-ranked Ohio State today in the second round of the Big Ten Championships, 4-0. The match was moved indoors at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex due to inclement weather. With the loss, the Hawkeyes finished the season 13-10 overall and 5-7 in Big Ten play and will now await word to see if they will qualify for the NCAA Championships.

The Buckeyes claimed the doubles point to begin the match. At No. 1 doubles, the duo of seniors Bart van Monsjou and J.P. Ritchie, ranked 56th nationally in men’s doubles, lost to 13th-ranked Moneke/B. Koniecko, 8-4. Eberly/Kronauge, ranked 19th nationally, defeated Patrick Dwyer and Greg Holm, 8-5, to clinch the doubles point for Ohio State. Christian Bierich and Austen Kauss led O’Connell/Uzawa 7-5, but the doubles point had already been clinched at the No. 2 position.

Moving to singles play, Balazs Novak defeated Tommy McGeorge 6-1, 6-0, at No. 5 singles to put the Buckeyes up 2-0. At No. 3 singles, Steven Moneke, ranked 33rd nationally, defeated J.P. Ritchie 6-3, 6-1, to make the score 3-0. Shuhei Uzawa then clinched the second round victory for the Buckeyes at No. 4 singles, defeating Reinoud Haal 6-3, 6-1.

“We played a tough, hard-fought match,” said Head Coach Steve Houghton. “Once again we had several close matches with the second ranked team in the nation. The Ohio State coach gave us a great compliment, saying that we were one of the toughest teams they played all season.”

#2 Ohio State - 4#55 Iowa - 0
Doubles1.) #13 Moneke/B. Koniecko (OSU.) def. #56 van Monsjou/Ritchie (UI) 8-42.) #19 Eberly/Kronauge (OSU) def. Holm/Dwyer (UI) 8-53.) O'Connell/Uzawa (OSU) vs. Bierich/Kauss (UI) 5-7 (unfinished)
Singles1.) #17 Bryan Koniecko (OSU) vs. #79 Bart van Monsjou (UI) 6-4, 4-4 (unfinished)2.)     #22 Justin Kronauge (OSU) vs. Christian Bierich (UI) 4-6, 3-4 (unfinished)3.) #33 Steven Moneke (OSU) def. J.P. Ritchie (UI) 6-3, 6-14.) Shuhei Uzawa (OSU) def. Reinoud Haal (UI) 6-3, 6-15.) Balazs Novak (OSU) def. Tommy McGeorge (UI) 6-1, 6-06.) Drew Eberly (OSU) vs. Greg Holm (UI) 4-6, 6-1 (unfinished)="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>

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