Hawkeyes Fall to No. 14 Illinois

Iowa City, Iowa — The University of Iowa men’s tennis team lost to No. 14 Illinois, 5-2, Friday afternoon at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.

Iowa (4-11, 4-9) started off strong with the duo of Will Davies/Oliver Okonkwo, who cruised to their 11th career win against a ranked opponent with a 6-1 victory against the 14th-ranked Zeke Clark/Alex Brown. The Fighting Illini won the next two matches at No. 2 and No. 3 to clinch the doubles point.

The doubles win moved Davies into sole possession of second place in Iowa career doubles victories, two shy of record holder Will Vasos (2008-12).

Illinois (14-2, 11-1) won singles matches on courts three, four, five, and six to secure the team win. Two Hawkeyes recorded singles victories on Friday. Okonkwo registered his fourth career win over a ranked opponent, knocking off No. 120 Alex Brown in three-set nail-bitter (4-6, 6-2, 7-5). Senior Kareem Allaf extended his all-time wins school record to 162 with a triumph over No. 43 Siphosothando Montsi (6-3, 4-6, 6-4). The win was Allaf’s 12th of his career over a ranked opponent.

Iowa returns to action on Sunday against Northwestern at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.

#14 Illinois 5, Iowa 2
April 9, 2021 | 1 p.m. | Iowa City, Iowa | HTRC

Singles
1. Kareem Allaf (UI) def. #43 Siphosothando Montsi (ILL): 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
2. Oliver Okonkwo (UI) def. #120 Alex Brown (ILL): 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
3. #39 Zeke Clark (ILL) def. Will Davies (UI): 6-0, 6-3
4. Noe Khlif (ILL) def. Joe Tyler (UI): 6-3, 7-6(4)
5. Hunter Heck (ILL) def. Nikita Snezhko (UI): 6-0, 6-3
6. Lucas Horve (ILL) def. Jason Kerst (UI): 4-6, 7-6(1), 10-1

Doubles
1. #10 Davies/Okonkwo (UI) def. #14 Clark/Brown (ILL): 6-1
2. Heck/Kovacevic (ILL) def. Allaf/Tyler (UI): 6-2
3. Montsi/Khlif (ILL) def. Snezhko/Dixit (UI): 6-4

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,3,4,2,6,1)