Iowa City, Iowa — The 38th-ranked University of Iowa men’s tennis team remained unbeaten at home this season with a 5-2 victory over Wisconsin on Friday at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.
Iowa (4-4, 4-2) clinched the doubles point as a result of big wins at No. 2 and No. 3. Joe Tyler/Peter Alam won on court three (6-3), while the duo of Kareem Allaf/Nikita Snezhko were victorious on court two (6-4). The 17th-ranked tandem of Will Davies and Oliver Okonkwo’s match was abandoned once the Hawkeyes clinched the point.
Wisconsin won the first singles match at No. 6 to even the score, but the Hawkeyes finished strong winning four of the final five matches. Jason Kerst won in straight sets (6-2, 6-4) on court five. Okonkwo bounced his opponent at No. 2 (6-4, 7-6). Trailing 5-1 in the first set, Tyler rallied to clinch the match with a hard-fought triumph on court three (7-5, 7-5).
Allaf, ranked No. 39 nationally, fell on court one in three sets, while Davies posted his team-leading fifth victory of the season at No. 4 (7-6, 6-4).
“We won a different way today,” said Mellecker Family Head Men’s Tennis Coach Ross Wilson. “We didn’t win at No. 1 doubles or No. 1 singles. That is the ultimate team win right there. These are the type of matches we are going to have to win moving forward. I’m happy with the effort from all of our guys today.”
Iowa returns to action Sunday, hosting Minnesota at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.
#38 Iowa 5, Wisconsin 2
March 12, 2021 | 1 p.m. | Iowa City, Iowa | HTRC
Singles competition
1. Gabriel Huber (WIS) def. #39 Kareem Allaf (UI): 6-0, 4-6, 6-4
2. Oliver Okonkwo (UI) def. Lenard Soha (WIS): 6-4, 7-6(6)
3. Joe Tyler (UI) def. Jared Pratt (WIS): 7-5, 7-5
4. Will Davies (UI) def. Robin Parts (WIS): 7-6(6), 6-4
5. Jason Kerst (UI) def. Robert Krill (WIS): 6-2, 6-4
6. Mihailo Popovic (WIS) def. Peter Alam (UI): 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #17 Okonkwo/Davies (UI) vs. Dzhurinskiy/Huber (WIS): 3-5, unfinished
2. Snezhko/Allaf (UI) def. Pratt/Parts (WIS): 6-4
3. Tyler/Alam (UI) def. Popovic/Soha (WIS): 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,5,2,3,1,4)