April 11, 2014
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa men’s tennis team dropped a 7-0 decision to the 11th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini Friday afternoon at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. Seniors Chase Tomlins and Joey White picked up the lone Hawkeye victory in doubles action.
“We had some opportunities lost against a very good team,” said UI head coach Steve Houghton “There is no question that there were close matches today. We are getting closer and closer to these good teams and good players.”
The match opened with Illinois’ fifth-ranked doubles team picking up a 8-3 victory at No. 1 doubles. Iowa answered behind the No. 3 team of Chase Tomlins and Joey White. The duo jumped out to an early 6-1 lead before Illinois answered with four straight points to trail 6-5. Tomlins and White took the final two games to claim an 8-5 victory and even up the doubles score. In the final match on the court, Illinois claimed an 8-4 victory behind their 72nd-ranked doubles team.
In singles, Illinois picked up three straight victories at the No. 2, No. 6, and No. 1 positions to secure the match for the Fighting Illini. Iowa tried to make things close as Matt Hagan and Dominic Patrick each forced their match into third-set tiebreakers. However, each fell in their tiebreakers, 10-4 and 11-9, respectively. In the final match of the day, Juan Estenssoro fought to a second-set tiebreaker, but ultimately fell, 7-4.
Sunday marks the final home match of the season, as Iowa hosts the 34th-ranked Northwestern Wildcats. Six seniors, Brian Alden, Jonas Dierckx, Estenssoro, Michael Swank, Tomlins, and White, will be honored during the intermission between doubles and singles.
“More times than not you don’t expect seniors to make a big jump between their junior and senior year, but this group has made big strides,” added Houghton. “We have guys wining Big Ten matches and winning doubles. I give this group credit. There were no signs of senioritis, and are focused on finishing their tennis careers on a high note.”
First serve is set for noon (CT) at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. Admission is free to the public.
No. 11 Illinois 7, Iowa 0
Doubles
No. 1 – #5 Kopinski/Guignon (ILL) def. Alden/Swank (UI): 8-3
No. 2 – #72 Hiltzik/Jesse (ILL) def. Dierckx/Hagan (UI): 8-4
No. 3 – Tomlins/White (UI) def. Chlders/Bazarnik (ILL): 8-5
Singles
No. 1 – #8 Jared Hiltzik (ILL) def. Jonas Dierckx (UI): 6-1, 6-4
No. 2 – #11 Farris Gosea (ILL) def. Brian Alden (UI): 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 – #45 Tim Kopinski (ILL) def. Juan Estenssoro (UI): 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 4 – Blake Bazrnik (ILL) def. Matt Hagan (UI): 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 1-0 (10-4)
No. 5 – Ross Guignon (ILL) def. Dominic Patrick (UI): 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (11-9)
No. 6 – Alex Jesse (ILL) def. Michael Swank (UI): 6-3, 6-1
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,6,1,4,5,3)