By Jake Markowitz and Blake Dowson
Both the Iowa men’s and women’s tennis teams competed in their respective conference tournaments Thursday, and both teams fell in the opening round.
Men’s
The Iowa men’s tennis team lost its final match of the season Thursday, 4-0, to Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
The match opened up with doubles play, where the Hawkeyes lost at No. 1 and No. 2. Senior Robin Haden and junior Jake Jacoby fell (6-4), and the tandem of redshirt freshman Kareem Allaf and junior Josh Silverstein were defeated (6-3).
In singles, Iowa continued to struggle, losing every match in straight sets. At the No. 1, Allaf faced sophomore Constant De La Bassetiere for the second time this season. The match was reversed this time, as Allaf fell by the same score that he had previously beaten De La Bassetiere by (6-4, 6-1).
Another rematch took place at No. 2, where No. 115 Silverstein matched up with freshman Christian Lakoseljac. Again, Penn State was able to reverse the tide, defeating the Hawkeye (6-3, 7-5).
Freshman Jason Kerst was the only other Hawkeye who finished his match, falling at No. 6 in straight sets (6-1, 6-1).
Senior Robin Haden was leading on the No. 4 court in his final match as a Hawkeye (6-4, 6-5), when the Nittany Lions clinched the victory.
Silverstein was awarded second-team all-conference honors to end the season.
The junior from New York is the 19th Iowa honoree and the first since Matt Hagan earned first-team honors in 2015.
Haden also earned recognition, being named the Hawkeye men’s tennis Sportsmanship Award honoree. The award is given to individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior.
Iowa finished the 2017 season with a 14-15 record, 2-10 in the conference.
Women’s
The women were able to earn two points against No. 10 seed Indiana but couldn’t avoid an upset, and they ended losing, 4-2.
It started in doubles, where Indiana won at No. 1 and No. 3. Elise van Heuvelen and Adorabol Huckleby lost at No. 1 (6-3). Montana Crawford and Aimee Tarun, who played her last match as a Hawkeye, lost at No. 3 (6-3).
Zoe Douglas and Kristen Thoms were tied at No. 2 (5-5) when their match was called off.
Douglas and Crawford picked up the two singles victories. Douglas won her match against Paula Guitierrez at No. 2 (6-2, 4-6, 6-1).
Crawford won at No. 5 over Pauline Jahren in come-from-behind fashion (4-6, 6-1, 6-2).
Van Heuvelen lost in a three-set tiebreaker at No. 1 (4-6, 6-2, 7-5). Anastasia Reimchen’s match ended early, although she was ahead (3-2) in the third set.
Huckleby lost a three-set match at No. 4 (2-6, 6-1, 6-0), and Thoms lost at No. 6 (6-3, 7-5).
“I’m proud of this team and our season. We grew in many ways,” Iowa head coach Sasha Schmid said in a release. “I’m thankful for our seniors and all they gave to the program. We are looking forward to the 2017-18 season already.”
