Oct. 13, 2013
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – – The University of Iowa men’s tennis team finished play at the Wake Forest Invite Sunday afternoon on a high note. The Hawkeyes registered four victories in singles play to go along with two doubles wins.
“It was a good tournament for our team,” said head coach Steve Houghton. There were ups and downs, wins and losses, but our team fought hard against some really stiff competition.”
The trio of Matt Hagan, Jonas Dierckx, and Juan Estenssoro were placed in the top brackets of the weekend-long tournament, drawing some of the top talent.
“I thought Jonas, Matt, and Juan all did well,” said Houghton. “They played the top players in the tournament, some nationally ranked players, and all played really well.”
Playing in the top bracket, Hagan began the tournament Friday by dropping Anthony Delcore, the number two seed in the tournament.
Both Dierckx and Estenssoro notched wins against Tomas Hanzlik of Penn State during the tournament. Hanzlik is the number one singles player for the Nittany Lions.
Sunday afternoon featured wins by Hagan, Dierckx, Dominic Patrick, and Joey White in singles play. Both Hagan and White placed seventh in their respective brackets.
In doubles play, partners White and Chase Tomlins took fifth place in the C Doubles bracket with an 8-6 victory over Stiburek/Dragoi of SCSU. Also in C Doubles play, Michal Swank and Nils Hallestrand captured the consolation title with an 8-7(7) victory over Antropikas/Kapukiran of Stetson.
“We are starting to get a better idea of who are good combinations in doubles, and who can make a chunk of progress moving forward,” said Houghton. “I was real pleased with our doubles play this weekend. They faced some good teams and came away with some nice wins.”
The team came into this tournament emphasizing a new style of play for many of the Hawkeyes. The goal is having the players be more aggressive at the net and to try and win points more quickly is already paying off.
“In the last two weeks, a handful of the guys have made the jump and are doing better in terms of results and playing more aggressive,” said Houghton. “Everyone has seen that some of the guys have already made big steps in their results and that will only benefit us moving forward.”
The Hawkeyes return to the courts next weekend for the ITA Regional Tournament.
Wake Forest Invitational
Sunday’s Results
A1 Singles
Matt Hagan (UI) def. Shea Thomas (Liberty): 6-2, 2-6, 10-8
A2 Singles
Jon Ho (Wake Forest) def. Juan Estenssoro (UI): 6-4, 7-5
Jonas Dierckx (UI) def. Tomas Hanzlik (Penn State): 6-0, 6-1
B1 Singles
Dominic Patrick (UI) def. Dillon Segur (Liberty): 6-2, 2-6, 10-6
C1 Singles
Joey White (UI) def. Patriek Wolterbeek (ECU): 6-3, 6-3
D2 Singles
Matt Kealey (UNCW) def. Michael Swank (UI): 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-5
A Doubles
Delcore/Dumont (Wake Forest) def. Dierckx/Hagan (UI): 8-7(5)
B Doubles
Wolterbeek/Lehfeldt (ECU) def. Patrick/J. Estenssoro (UI): 8-1
C Doubles
Swank/Hallestrand def. def Antropikas/Kapukiran (Stetson): 8-7(7)
White/Tomlins def. Stiburek/Dragoi (SCSU)