Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store
By BAILEY TURNER
hawkeyesports.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Hawkeye fans will be delighted to hear about the incoming freshmen recruiting class featuring Joe Tyler and Will Davies from Corby and Norwich, England. The talented youngsters rated 16th nationally as a class with hopes of playing professional tennis.
How did they get here?
Ross Wilson, who enters his fourth season as Iowa’s head men’s tennis coach, spent a month in the United Kingdom recruiting them and with consistency came gold. Davies and Tyler both signed on April 13, 2017.
“Coach showed us a lot of commitment by coming all the way over to us, we were playing in Portugal and he was there,” said Davies. “That is when we knew we were ready to become Hawkeyes.”
The dynamic duo has had a lot of success playing together as doubles partners for eight years. Including ITF doubles titles in England, Moldova, Finland, Croatia, Macedonia, and, most recently, Qatar and Sweden in 2016.
The combo of Davies and Tyler expressed they wanted to continue their eight year tradition of playing with one another.
“We will mix and match this fall but we will definitely give them a shot to play together so we can have the best lineup possible,” said Wilson.
Davies and Tyler fell in love with Iowa City, the facilities, academics, and the chance to see through their teenage dreams.
“There were other opportunities to play together but Iowa just felt right,” Tyler added.
The Hawkeyes caught their second wind in the month of April by picking up three wins versus Butler, Michigan State, and North Dakota. The new faces are eyeing a record above .500 because losing doesn’t seem to be in the fold this spring.
“We want to win, win, win, and win some more. Winning is key, we will take it day by day but we want to play in the NCAA Tournament, no doubt,” said Tyler.
Wilson loved the tandem’s intensity from the start.
“I want to get these guys adapted and get into a routine of the doing the right things the right way.,” said Wilson. “Get acclimated to our team culture and these two can do anything they set their minds to. The winning and growth will come with time.”
The Hawkeyes make their fall debut, Sept. 20, at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic.
