Iowa City, Iowa — The 48th-ranked University of Iowa men’s tennis team lost to No. 8 Michigan on Friday, 5-2, at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.
Iowa (4-6, 4-4) dominated doubles, winning on courts two and three to clinch the doubles point for the fifth time this season. Kareem Allaf/Nikita Snezhko were victorious on court two (6-3), while Joe Tyler/Peter Alam bounced their opponent at No. 3 (6-4). There was a top-20 battle on court one between the 17th-ranked tandem of Will Davies/Oliver Okonkwo and No. 2 Fenty/Siimar of Michigan (7-1, 7-0). The match ultimately was abandoned once Iowa clinched the point, but looked promising for the Hawkeyes having momentum and leading, 5-4.
The Wolverines won the first two singles matches in straight sets on courts two and four. Davies then posted his team-leading seventh singles victory of the season, winning at No. 3 (6-4, 6-4).
With the score even at 2-2, Allaf, Snezhko, and Jason Kerst pushed their respective matches to a third set, but ultimately lost. Allaf, ranked No. 39 nationally, lost to 28th-ranked Ondrej Styler. Okonkwo lost his match to 14th-ranked Andrew Fenty.
“Whenever we play Michigan it is never an easy match. They are a good team,” said Mellecker Family Head Men’s Tennis Coach Ross Wilson. “I thought Kareem, Nikita, and Jason did a good job getting their matches into the third set, giving themselves a chance to win. I thought today was good to get back on track and win the doubles point, because that is an important point for us.”
Allaf’s doubles win increased his combined singles and doubles win total to 158, which is two shy of Tyler Cleveland’s school record of 160.
Iowa returns to action on Sunday against Michigan State at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.
#8 Michigan 5, #48 Iowa 2
March 19, 2021 | Noon | Iowa City, Iowa | HTRC
Singles competition
1. #28 Ondrej Styler (UM) def. #39 Kareem Allaf (UI): 6-2, 6-7 (8-6), 6-2
2. #14 Andrew Fenty (UM) def. Oliver Okonkwo (UI): 6-1, 6-4
3. Will Davies (UI) def. Patrick Maloney (UM): 6-4, 6-4
4. Mattias Siimar (UM) def. Joe Tyler (UI): 6-3, 6-4
5. Nick Beaty (UM) def. Nikita Snezhko (UI): 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
6. Nino Ehrenschneider (UM) def. Jason Kerst (UI): 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #17 Okonkwo/Davies (UI) vs #2 Fenty/Siimar (MICH): 5-4, unfinished
2. Snezhko/Allaf (UI) def. Styler/Johnston (MICH): 6-3
3. Tyler/Alam (UI) def. Beaty/Brown (MICH): 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,4,3,5,6,1)