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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The No. 28 University of Iowa men’s tennis team defeated Louisville, 4-1, on Friday at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex. The Hawkeyes have now posted victories in 11 of their last 12 matches and won nine of their first 10 home matches.
Iowa captured the doubles point, winning matches on courts one and two. The No. 12 ranked tandem of Will Davies/Oliver Okonkwo overwhelmed Chen/Wesbrooks, 6-1. Kareem Allaf/Nikita Snezhko clinched the point with a victory over Fung/Salle (6-2) on court two. Joe Tyler/Matt Clegg’s match was suspended after clinching the point. The Hawkeyes improved to 9-0 when winning the doubles point.
In singles, Davies sparked the Hawkeyes by defeating Randy Wilson (6-3, 6-1) at No. 4 to record his career-best 11th straight win and team-leading 12th victory of the spring. Allaf, ranked 51st nationally, extended his win streak to nine at No. 1, defeating No. 91 Tim Chen in straight sets (6-1, 6-4). The victory over nationally-ranked Chen was Allaf’s second win against a ranked foe this spring. Okonkwo clinched the dual for Iowa in a close match against Louisville’s No. 2 Sergio Hernandez, 7-6(4), 7-6(4). Senior Jason Kerst was the only Hawkeye to lose, falling 7-5, 6-3 to David Mizrahi on court five.
Quoting Mellecker Family Head Coach Ross Wilson
“Right from the start, I loved how we played in doubles. It was impressive and was probably the best doubles we had played all year. We were doing the basics right; we made a lot of first serves, returns, and we were ready to play in the middle of the court to put volleys away. We played with great energy, we got leads, and most importantly we put them away (6-1, 6-2) within the first 15 minutes of the match.”
Up Next
Iowa hosts No. 16 Cornell on Sunday (11 a.m.) at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex. Admission is free to the public.
#28 Iowa 4, Louisville 1
March 6, 2020 | 5 p.m. (CT) | Iowa City, Iowa | Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex
Singles
1. #51 Kareem Allaf (UI) def. #91 Tim Chen (UL): 6-1, 6-4
2. Oliver Okonkwo (UI) def. Sergio Hernandez (UL): 7-6(4), 7-6(4)
3. Joe Tyler (UI) vs. Fabien Salle (UL): 4-6, 6-4, 1-5, unfinished
4. Will Davies (UI) def. Randy Wilson (UL): 6-3, 6-1
5. David Mizrahi (UL) def. Jason Kerst (UI): 7-5, 6-3
6. Nikita Snezhko (UI) vs. Matthew Fung (UL): 4-6, 6-3, 4-4, unfinished
Doubles
1. #12 Davies/Okonkwo (UI) def. Tim Chen/Alex Wesbrooks (UL): 6-1
2. Allaf/Snezhko (UI) def. Matthew Fung/Fabien Salle (UL): 6-2
3. Clegg/Tyler (UI) vs. Sergio Hernandez/David Mizrahi (UL): 4-2, uf
Match Notes:
Iowa: 11-2
Louisville: 9-5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,1,5,2)
