Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Hawk Talk Monthly — March 2018 | Big Ten Tournament Central | Match Notes (PDF)
THIS WEEK:
The No. 44 University of Iowa men’s tennis team will host 35th-ranked Minnesota (8-4, 1-0) on Friday at 3 p.m. (CT) at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex (HTRC). Then the Hawkeyes will travel to Madison, Wisconsin, for their first Big Ten road contest versus Wisconsin (9-6, 1-1) on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (CT) at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
LAST MATCH RECAP:
• Iowa routed Nebraska, 6-1, in its Big Ten opener last Sunday in Iowa City.
• Iowa won the doubles point and five of the six singles matches.
#35 MINNESOTA PREVIEW:
• Minnesota enters Friday’s match 8-4 overall, losing its last match to Central Florida (4-2).
• Friday will be Minnesota’s first match of the season against a ranked opponent.
• The Golden Gophers boast three ranked singles players: Stefan Milicevic (75), Felix Corwin (93) and Matic Spec (104). Corwin and Spec are ranked 78th nationally in doubles.
WISCONSIN PREVIEW:
• The Badgers enter Sunday’s match 9-6 overall record. Wisconsin has won three straight matches, including a 4-2 win over Cornell, who edged Iowa 4-3 on March 2 in Iowa City.
• Sunday will be just the Badgers’ second match in 20 days. Wisconsin beat Nebraska, 4-3, last Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska.
HAWKEYE NOTEABLES:
• The Hawkeyes are 8-2 this season at home this season at the HTRC.
• Iowa dropped four spots in this week’s ITA National Rankings to No. 44.
• Josh Silverstein is 7-0 this season when his singles matches extend to a third set. Silverstein’s win on Sunday moved him into 15th place on Iowa’s career singles wins chart.
• Will Davies has won eight consecutive singles matches. Davies is 11-3 overall this season, including a 7-2 mark on court six.
• Jake Jacoby moved into a tie for ninth place in career doubles wins at Iowa with 55.
DOUBLES SUCCESS:
• The Hawkeyes boast two top rated tandems in the country: No. 40 Piotr Smietana/Will Davies and No. 70 Jonas Larsen/Kareem Allaf.
• Freshmen Will Davies and Piotr Smietana have won 11 straight decisions.
STARTING MATCHES STRONG:
Iowa has earned the doubles point in 13 of its 16 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 10-4 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.
