By Jake Markowitz
The Iowa men’s tennis team will attempt to collect its first win in April when it travels to Indiana to take on three teams this weekend.
Today, the Hawkeyes (11-11, 1-6) will kick off the weekend against Purdue (14-11, 2-4) at 5 p.m. CDT in West Lafayette. The Boilermakers have split their last 12 matches; however, they have been deadly at home. Their only loss came at the hands of No. 12 California.
While Purdue doesn’t have an intimidating record, it’s important to note that nine of their 11 losses have come versus top-40 teams.
Iowa will try to avenge last year’s loss when then-No. 59 Purdue came to Iowa City and defeated the Hawkeyes, 4-1.
“As always, the key to winning is to stay focused and have confidence,” head coach Ross Wilson said. “If we do those two things, we can be successful.”
The Hawkeyes have to figure out those two things quickly. Losers of four straight and seven of its last eight, Iowa has stumbled down to the bottom three of the Big Ten, sitting at No. 10 (only 12 teams play men’s Big Ten tennis).
However, not everyone has struggled in the last few matches.
Junior Josh Silverstein has rattled off five-straight wins, dating back to March 26. Last weekend, he recorded two victories, one against No. 50 Konrad Zeiba of Northwestern, the second ranked opponent Silverstein has defeated this season.
His recent success has placed Silverstein in the national rankings for the second time this season. He is No. 109, six spots back of his ranking on Feb. 8. His 48-career doubles wins ties him with Martin Aguirre (1986-89) for No. 15 in school history.
“I can feel my game really coming together lately,” Silverstein said. “I was a little inconsistent earlier in the season, but lately, I have improved, and it has shown on the court.”
On April 16, the Hawkeyes will travel two hours south to face Indiana (11-10, 2-5) at noon. The Hoosiers started the season firing on all cylinders, capturing seven-straight wins. Since then, they have looked like a different team, going 4-6.
Their last match on April 9 was the Hoosier’s first loss against an unranked opponent, which cost Indiana its No. 45 ranking and knocked it out of the national poll altogether.
Later that day, Iowa will take on Butler (14-4) at 6 p.m. in Indianapolis.
Like Purdue, the Bulldogs are nearly unblemished at home, holding a 9-1 record in Indianapolis. The one loss was against DePaul, a team Iowa demolished, 7-0.
The meeting will be the fourth in program history; Iowa leads, 3-0.
“While the wins haven’t been there of late, I like how our team is looking,” freshman Jason Kerst said. “I think we all believe we can win any match, and with that mentality, success should come on the court.”
