March 30, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The University of Iowa men’s tennis team won the doubles point against Penn State, but the Nittany Lions would rally to win, 5-2, at the Sarni Tennis Center on Friday.
The Hawkeyes won the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches, and junior Garret Dunn earned a victory playing at No. 2 singles for the first time in his career.
Penn State earned the win in No. 1 doubles to take an early advantage, but Iowa responded by winning the final two doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead heading into singles play. Freshman Matt Hagan and senior Will Vasos defeated Penn State’s Chris Young and Russell Bader, 8-6, in No. 2 doubles. It was the first time this season that Vasos and Hagan have been paired together in doubles play.
In the deciding match for the doubles point, sophomore Jonas Dierckx and senior Tom Mroziewicz came through clutch for the Hawkeyes. The tandem defeated C.J. Griffin and Christopher Hasyn, 9-8 (7), in a nail-biter.
Dunn, who has the most singles wins on the team, beat Bader in a two set match that featured extra games and two tiebreakers. Dunn won, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6), to collect his seventh dual singles win of the season.
Mroziewicz, who was coming off his first Big Ten singles win of the season, won the second set of his No. 5 singles match against Young, 6-3, but fell in three sets. Sophomore Chase Tomlins won the first set, 6-3, against Hasyn, but Hasyn rallied to win the match at No. 6 singles.
Iowa will hit the courts again Sunday, facing second-rated Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. The match will begin at 11 a.m. (CT) at the Varsity Tennis Courts.
Penn State 5, Iowa 2
Singles:
1. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) def. Matt Hagan (Iowa), 7-5, 6-4
2. Garret Dunn (Iowa) def. Russell Bader (PSU), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6)
3. Taylor Cohen (PSU) def. Jonas Dierckx (Iowa), 7-6 (3), 6-3
4. Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Will Vasos (Iowa), 6-0, 6-0
5. Chris Young (PSU) def. Tom Mroziewicz (Iowa), 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
6. Christopher Hasyn (PSU) def. Chase Tomlins (Iowa), 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 1, 6, 2, 5
Doubles:
1. Taylor Cohen/Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Garret Dunn/Michael Swank (Iowa), 8-2
2. Matt Hagan/Will Vasos (Iowa) def. Chris Young/Russell Bader (PSU), 8-6
3. Jonas Dierckx/Tom Mroziewicz (Iowa) def. C.J. Griffin/Christopher Hasyn (PSU), 9-8 (7)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3