March 13, 2011
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ORLANDO, Florida — The University of Iowa men’s tennis team got their spring break trip started on the right foot, taking a decisive victory against Central Florida. The No. 71 Hawkeyes earned the doubles point and claimed four of six singles matches to top the Knights 5-2.
Iowa (5-4 overall) earned their first victory on the road this season with the win over UCF (6-8), and broke the .500 mark after falling to No. 4 Illinois last week. Playing in sunny Orlando weather, it was Iowa’s first outdoor match of the season as well.
“It was a particularly good win against a good team considering it was our first match outdoors,” said head coach Steve Houghton. “It helps to win that doubles point, and then we also played extremely well in singles positions one through four.”
The Hawkeyes extended their doubles victory streak to five matches in a row, as Iowa claimed No. 1 and No. 3 doubles to take a 1-0 team score lead.
Senior Marc Bruche and Will Vasos extended their team best doubles record to 6-1 in the No. 1 position, as the duo defeated the Knight’s Eugene Dolgovykh and Matthew Zachary 8-2. Bruche and Vasos are ranked No. 71 in doubles.
Senior Nikita Zotov returned to the doubles lineup, teaming up with sophomore Garret Dunn. The duo knocked off Erik Brunskog and Mitch Thams 8-5, giving Iowa the advantage in doubles.
Iowa made a clean sweep in singles positions one through four, as the Hawkeyes finished with a strong singles performance.
Vasos improved his singles record to 7-2 on the season, defeating Claudio Romano handily in No. 2 singles. Vasos took the match 6-3, 6-2 in his second time playing in the No. 2 position this season.
Bruche collected his sixth victory of the season at the top singles position. Bruche won the first set against Blaze Schwartz 6-2, but Schwartz evened things up with a 6-2 advantage in the second set. Bruche was in control early and often in the third set, winning it 6-1.
Zotov defeated Central Florida’s Erik Brunskog 6-4, 7-5 in the No. 3 position, as Zotov improved his singles record to 5-4.
Senior Austen Kauss took three sets to earn the win in the No. 4 position as well. Kauss collected his sixth win of the season with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 advantage over Leonel Vivas.
The Hawkeyes will continue action in Florida tomorrow, facing USF in Tampa at 11 a.m. (CT). The Bulls are 6-3 on the season and defeated Big Ten foe Penn State 4-3 in their last match.
No. 71 Iowa 5,Central Florida 2
DoublesMarc Bruche/Will Vasos (IOWA) def. Eugene Dolgovykh/Matthew Zachary (UCF) 8-2Blaze Schwartz/Joe Delinks (UCF) def. Austen Kauss/Jonas Dierckx (Iowa) 8-2Nikita Zotov/Garret Dunn (IOWA) def. Erik Brunskog/Mitch Thams (UCF) 8-5
SinglesBruche (Iowa) def. Schwartz (UCF) 6-2; 2-6; 6-1Vasos (Iowa) def. Claudio Romano (UCF) 6-3; 6-2Zotov (Iowa) def. Brunskog (UCF) 6-4; 7-5Kauss (Iowa) def. Vivas (UCF) 6-4; 4-6; 6-4Thams (UCF) def. Dunn 7-6; 6-0Samson (UCF) def. Mitch Beckert (Iowa) 6-0; 6-1="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/pre%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cdiv%20style="text-align: center">