Hawkeyes Rally Late to Beat Wichita State

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IOWA CITY, Iowa The University of Iowa men’s tennis team improved to 7-1 overall with a 4-2 victory over Wichita State on Sunday at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex to extend its winning streak to six.
 
The Hawkeyes lost the doubles point, but Joe Tyler/Matt Clegg earned their fifth doubles win of the season on court two, 7-5. The tandems of Kareem Allaf/Nikita Snezhko and Will Davies/Oliver Okonkwo dropped their matches 7-5 and 6-4, respectively.
 
Iowa was down 2-0 before it got things rolling in singles, rattling off four victories. On court four, Davies made quick work of Stefan Latinovic in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6, to record his team-leading seventh win of the season. Okonkwo followed suit, defeating Elio Lago at No. 3 (7-6, 6-1). The third point for Iowa came from senior Jason Kerst, prevailing over Alex Richards (6-3, 6-3) on court six. Down a set, Tyler came through to clinch the victory with a comeback-win over Orel Ovil (3-6, 6-2, 6-2). Allaf’s match at No. 1 was suspended due to Iowa winning the match.
 
Quoting Mellecker Family Head Coach Ross Wilson
“We are really happy about the grit and the competitiveness of our team. We hung in there and fought hard even when we lost the doubles point. It was three really contested doubles matches and we had opportunities, but we were unable to take advantage. In singles, we were down two, but we continued to hang in there. We got three wins from Oliver, Will, and Jason, then obviously Joe was able to step up and shut it down for the win in the third set.”
 
Up Next
Iowa hits the road to take on Utah at 2 p.m. (MT) in Salt Lake City on Friday.    
 
Iowa 4, Wichita State 2
Feb. 16, 2020 | 2 p.m. | Iowa City, Iowa | Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.
 
Singles
1. #53 Kareem Allaf (UI) vs. Murkel Dellien (WSU): 3-6, 6-3, 2-2, unfinished
2. Oliver Okonkwo (UI) def. Elio Lago (WSU): 7-6(4), 6-1
3. Joe Tyler (UI) def. Orel Ovil (WSU): 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Will Davies (UI) def. Stefan Latinovic (WSU): 6-1, 7-6(3)
5. #107 Marius Frosa (WSU) def. Matt Clegg (UI): 6-2, 6-3
6. Jason Kerst (UI) def. Alex Richards (WSU): 6-3, 6-3
 
Doubles
1. Dellien/Frosa (WSU) def. #10 Davies/Okonkwo (UI): 6-4
2. Clegg/Tyler (UI) def. Niv/Latinovic (WSU): 7-5
3. Lago/Ovil (WSU) def. Allaf/Snezhko (UI): 7-5
 
Match Notes:
Iowa: 7-1
Wichita State: 8-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,4,2,6,3)

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