April 6, 2014
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa men’s tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to the 69th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers Sunday afternoon at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. Seniors Jonas Dierckx and Michael Swank, and sophomore Dominic Patrick notched singles victories for Iowa (9-9, 1-5).
“Today was another close loss. As you look back on the match, if we win the doubles point then we likely win the match,” said UI head coach Steve Houghton. “I was happy for Jonas who contributed two victories today in both singles and doubles. Form a pure attitude standpoint he deserved to beat a really good Big Ten player, and he did.”
The match opened with another tight doubles point. After Indiana (13-13, 2-5) started with a victory at No. 1 doubles, Iowa bounced back behind the team of Dierckx and Matt Hagan at the No. 2 position. The duo secured an 8-3 victory to force things to the third and final match at No. 3 doubles. Seniors Chase Tomlins and Joey White held a 6-3 advantage in the match, but Indiana’s Chris Essick and Stefan Lugonjic fought back to force a tiebreaker. The Hoosiers ultimately claimed the match, and the doubles point, with a 7-3 victory in the tiebreaker.
The point proved costly, as the two sides split the six singles matches. Indiana jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead with a pair of victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Iowa got on the board behind a come-from-behind effort by Swank, winning 2-6, 6-0, 6-3. Indiana clinched the match with a 6-1, 7-6 (10-7) victory at No. 4 singles. Iowa closed out the match with victories from Patrick and Dierckx. Patrick’s team-leading 13th win of the season, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 1-0 (10-7) came at the No. 5 position.
“We are getting good contributions from Dominic and Michael,” added Houghton. “Dominic has won four conference matches and Michael has won 3, so we are getting nice production out of our No. 5 and No. 6 positions, which is great.”
Dierckx earned Iowa’s final victory in a hard-fought three-set match. With the match tied at 3-3 in the third set, rain forced Dierckx and Indiana’s Sven Lalic indoors to complete the match. Once play resumed, Dierckx emerged victorious with a 7-6 (7-4) decision in the third set tiebreaker.
The Hawkeyes have a short week, as No. 66 Nebraska comes to town for a Wednesday afternoon match. First serve is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. (CT) at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. Admission is free to the public.
No. 69 Indiana 4, Iowa 3
Doubles
No. 1 – Bednarczyk/Monette def. Alden/Swank (UI): 8-4
No. 2 – Dierckx/Hagan (UI) def. Lalic/Tasic (IND): 8-3
No. 3 – Essick/Lugonjic (IND) def. Tomlins/White (UI): 8-7 (7-3)
Singles
No. 1 – Jonas Dierkckx (UI) def. Sven Lalic (IND): 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 2 – Sam Monette (IND) def. Brian Alden (UI): 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 – Daniel Bednarczyk (IND) def. Juan Estenssoro (UI): 6-0, 6-4
No. 4 – Dimitrije Tasic (IND) def. Matt Hagan (UI): 6-1, 7-6 (10-8)
No. 5 – Dominic Patrick (UI) def. Chris Essick (IND): 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 1-0 (10-7)
No. 6 – Michael Swank (UI) def. Michael Sellitto (IND): 2-6, 6-0, 6-3
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2,3) Singles (2,3,6,4,5,1)