Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Fight For Iowa | Hawk Talk Monthly — March 2018 | Boxscore
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The No. 44 University of Iowa men’s tennis team fell to No. 35 Minnesota, 4-3, Friday afternoon at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex. The Gophers snapped Iowa’s three-match win streak at home.
With the Golden Gophers leading 3-2, the match came down to a pair of third set tiebreakers on courts five and six. After dropping the first set 7-6(6), junior Jonas Larsen battled back to win sets two and three, 6-4, 7-6(5), on court five. Freshman Will Davies’ match on court six was another tight one against Josip Krstanovic. Davies dropped his first match in nine decisions, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(6).
Sophomore Kareem Allaf fought back to win in three sets against No. 75 Stefan Milicevic, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, to post his first win over a ranked opponent this season.
“I thought Kareem came through to get a huge win for us,” said Iowa head coach Ross Wilson. “To lose the first set and then to come back and win one and one, that is really impressive, especially over a quality player.”
Freshman Joe Tyler won his 11th match of the season with a straight sets victory over Eli Ogilvy on court four (6-3, 6-2). Senior Josh Silverstein (6-1, 6-2) and freshman Piotr Smietana (7-6, 6-4) lost to nationally-ranked opponents on courts one and two, respectively.
The match started with the Hawkeyes dropping the doubles point for just the fourth time in 17 matches. Larsen/Allaf lost on court one, 6-2, to the 78th-ranked doubles team in the country. On court two, Davies/Smietana dropped their first match in 12 decisions, 6-4.
“If we were going to lose the doubles we had to find a win in 1-3 singles, and we did,” Wilson said. “It came down to two third set tiebreakers on courts five and six. Our guys competed well and I’m proud of that.”
NEXT MATCH:
The nationally-ranked Hawkeyes travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to face the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (CT) at Neilson Tennis Stadium.
#35 Minnesota 4, #44 Iowa 3
March 23, 2018 | 3 p.m. (CT) | Iowa City, Iowa | HTRC
Singles
1. #93 Felix Corwin (MINN) def. Josh Silverstein (UI): 6-1, 6-2
2. #104 Matic Spec (MINN) def. Piotr Smietana (UI): 7-6 (3), 6-4
3. Kareem Allaf (UI) def. #75 Stefan Milicevic (MINN): 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
4. Joe Tyler (UI) def. Eli Ogilvy (MINN): 6-3, 6-2
5. Jonas Larsen (UI) def. Jackson Allen (MINN): 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(5)
6. Josip Krstanovic (MINN) def. Will Davies (UI): 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(6)
Doubles
1. #78 Corwin/Spec (MINN) def. #70 Allaf/Larsen (UI): 6-2
2. Krstanovic/Levin (MINN) def. #40 Smietana/Davies (UI): 6-4
3. Tyler/Jacoby (UI) vs. Milicevic/Alpeza (MINN): 3-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
#44 Iowa: 9-8 (1-1)
#35 Minnesota: 9-4 (2-0)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,4,2,3,6,5)
