Hawkeyes to Play Big Ten Home Opener on Sunday

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THIS WEEK:
The No. 40 University of Iowa men’s tennis team will return to Iowa City to begin Big Ten competition on Sunday. Iowa (8-7, 0-0) will entertain Nebraska (9-3, 0-0) at 3 p.m. (CT) at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex. Admission is free to the public.

WATCH MATCHES ONLINE:
All Iowa home matches are available for fans to watch online for free via Playsight Technology. Click on the “Watch” link on the schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.

LAST MATCH RECAP:
•    Iowa lost a 4-2 decision to No. 31 Texas Tech on Monday in California.
•    Iowa won the doubles point and Will Davies won his singles match in straight sets at No. 6.
•    Iowa lost singles matches on courts one through four. The match came down to three singles matches extending to a third set, with Joe Tyler and Kareem Allaf losing while Jonas Larsen’s match was halted once Texas Tech clinched the fourth point.

NEBRASKA PREVIEW:
•    Nebraska enters this weekend with a 9-3 overall record, losing its last two matches to Wichita State (4-1) and New Mexico (4-3). The Huskers will host Wisconsin on Saturday before traveling to Iowa City for Sunday’s contest against the Hawkeyes. 
•    Sunday will be Nebraska’s first match of the season against a ranked opponent.
•    Nebraska and Iowa have faced three common opponents. Both defeated Omaha, Denver, and Creighton.

HAWKEYE NOTEABLES:
•     Iowa ascended two spots in this week’s ITA National Rankings to No. 40.
•     Josh Silverstein is 6-0 this season when his singles matches extend to a third set. 
•      Will Davies has won seven consecutive singles matches. Davies is 10-3 overall this season, including a 6-2 mark on court six.
•     The Hawkeyes have competed against five ranked teams, winning two of the five.

DOUBLES SUCCESS:
•      The Hawkeyes boast two top rated tandems in the country: No. 51 Piotr Smietana/Will Davies and No. 54 Jonas Larsen/Kareem Allaf.
•      Freshmen Will Davies and Piotr Smietana have won 10 straight decisions.

STARTING MATCHES STRONG:
Iowa has earned the doubles point in 12 of its 15 matches. The Hawkeyes lost the doubles point to No. 4 Georgia by a narrow margin, dropping courts one and two in tiebreakers. 
    Jonas Larsen and Kareem Allaf are 9-4 on court one in doubles, with one of their defeats coming in a tiebreak (7-3) to Georgia’s eighth-ranked doubles squad in the nation.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES:
Fans can follow the Hawkeyes all season long and receive live match updates on Facebook (facebook.com/IowaMensTennis) and Twitter (@IowaMensTennis). Fans can also get a behind the scene look on Instagram (iowamenstennis). 

HEAD COACH ROSS WILSON: 
Ross Wilson, a former two-time NCAA All-American and three-time ITA national doubles champion at Ohio State, is in his fourth season as head coach and fifth year with the Iowa men’s tennis program.