Oct. 31, 2011
IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa sophomore Jonas Dierckx had his impressive run at the Big Ten Indoor Championships comes to an end Monday in the singles main draw semifinals at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.
After winning four straight matches to become one of only four men left standing in the 64-player field, Dierckx fell against Michigan State’s 12th-seeded Aaron Pfister 6-2, 6-0. Pfister went on to win the finals match and finish the tournament without losing a single set.
“Although he didn’t play his best this match, he certainly had an incredible tournament,” said head coach Steve Houghton. “Being unseeded, beating the top seed, reaching the semifinals and winning the doubles tournament: that’s quite a tournament.”
Dierckx finished the tournament with a 4-1 record in singles play and a 4-0 slate in doubles. On Friday, Dierckx teamed up with freshman Matt Hagan to win the Flight B doubles main draw title.
The Lommel, Belgium, native opened singles play with a victory over 13th-seeded Pawel Poziomski of Purdue (4-7, 6-3, 7-6). Dierckx topped Michigan’s Alex Buzzi in the second round (6-2, 6-1) and Eli Brown in the third (6-2, 6-4). Dierckx pulled off the upset of the tournament on Saturday with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against top-seeded Josh MacTaggart from Indiana.
Dierckx had the second most total singles and doubles victories out of any player in the field with eight. Pfister had nine while Illinois’ Stephen Hoh had seven.
The Hawkeyes will now enter the offseason with their next match being the ITA Kickoff Classic on January 28th.
Big Ten Indoor Championships Singles
Main Draw Semifinals
No. 12 Aaron Pfister (MSU) def. Jonas Dierckx (IOWA) 6-2, 6-0
No. 7 Stephen Hoh (ILL) def. Drew Lied (MSU) 6-1, 6-2
Singles Main Draw Finals
Pfister (MSU) def. Hoh (Ill) 6-4, 6-2