Hawk Talk Monthly — November | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2019-20 | Oracle ITA National Fall Championships | Fight For Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa men’s tennis senior Kareem Allaf, and doubles teams Will Davies/Oliver Okonkwo and Matt Clegg/Nikita Snezhko qualified for the 2019 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships held Nov. 6-10, at Newport Beach, California.
“I am really excited for the five guys that have qualified for ITA Fall Nationals,” said Mellecker Family Head Men’s Tennis Coach Ross Wilson. “It is a credit to our team culture that we’ve built over the past six years. Guys have bought into the coaching staff and our vision and we couldn’t be more excited to see them compete on the biggest stage during our fall season.”
Allaf will be making his second consecutive appearance at Fall Nationals, selected as one of the top 64 singles players in the country. Allaf became the first Hawkeye in 19 years to qualify for this prestigious event a year ago. Last week, the Hawkeye senior won four straight matches to advance to the semifinals of the ITA Central Regional Championships. Earlier in the month, Allaf won three singles matches in the qualifying bracket to became only the second Hawkeye in program history to advance to the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships. Allaf posted a 7-3 record during the month of October, with all three setbacks coming against Top 100 players.
Davies/Okonkwo and Clegg/Snezhko are the first Hawkeye doubles teams to qualify for this prestigious event in 20 years. Iowa is one of only three schools in the country (Baylor, Oklahoma State) to have multiple teams compete in the 32-team bracket. Last week, Davies/Okonkwo won four consecutive matches to become the first Hawkeye duo in more than three decades to finish as doubles finalists at the ITA Central Regional Championships. Clegg/Snezhko are 6-2 this fall, including advancing to the semifinals of last week’s regionals with three victories.
