March 30, 2014
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EAST LANSING, Mich. — The No. 71 Iowa men’s tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision Sunday afternoon to the Michigan State Spartans. The Hawkeyes (9-7, 1-3) picked up victories over Michigan State (8-10, 2-3) at the No. 4 and 5 singles positions.
“We continue to put ourselves in position to win matches which is a big improvement over last year,” said UI head coach Steve Houghton. “Today versus Michigan State was no exception. Going forward we will need to convert on these opportunities.”
The Hawkeyes opened the match with three doubles matches featuring duos that had never played together this year. Chase Tomlins and Nils Hallestrand got the team started with an 8-6 victory at the No. 3 spot. A victory at No. 1 by Michigan State meant that the doubles point hinged on the No. 2 position. The duo of Matt Hagan and Jonas Dierckx fought to a tiebreaker, but fell 8-7 (7-3) to Harry Jadun and Gijs Linders.
In singles action, the Spartans opened with wins at the No. 6 and No. 3 positions before Iowa bounced back with pair of victories. Senior Michael Swank, playing in the No. 5 spot, dropped Mac Roy of Michigan State, 7-5, 6-3. Minutes later, sophomore Dominic Patrick picked up a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 4 over Linders to get the Hawkeyes to a 3-2 deficit. Michigan State was able to close out the match with victories at the No. 1 and 2 positions.
After six straight matches away from home, Iowa will return home next week to start a five-match home stand. The Hawkeyes will open the home stand by hosting Purdue on April 4. First serve for the conference dual is set for 2 p.m. (CT) at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. Admission is free to the public.
Michigan State 5, No. 71 Iowa 2
Doubles
No. 1 – Mullane/Lied (MSU) def. Swank/White (UI): 8-4
No. 2 – Jadun/Linders (MSU) def. Hagan/Dierckx (UI): 8-7 (7-3)
No. 3 – Tomlins/Hallestrand (UI) def. Zade/Davis (MSU): 8-6
Singles
No. 1 – Drew Lied (MSU) def. Jonas Dierckx (UI): 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 – John Patrick Mullane (MSU) def. Juan Estenssoro (UI): 6-0, 7-6 (7-3)
No. 3 – Brett Forman (MSU) def. Matt Hagan (UI): 6-2, 6-4
No. 4 – Dominic Patrick (UI) def. Gijs Linders (MSU): 7-5, 6-3
No. 5 – Michael Swank (UI) def. Mac Roy (MSU): 7-5, 6-3
No. 6 – Harry Jadun (MSU) def. Nils Hallestrand (UI): 6-3, 6-1
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,3,5,4,1,2)