Men’s tennis takes two
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An inspired effort from junior Tommy McGeorge helped Iowa to its best start to Big Ten play in four years on Sunday in Iowa City.
Iowa (10-2, 2-0) began its Big Ten season perfect by winning two sensational 4-3 matches against Michigan State and Michigan over the weekend, highlighted by Sunday’s dramatic win over the Wolverines.
The Big Ten is a powerhouse conference nationally in men’s tennis, with four teams prominent in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s latest top 50 — No. 6 Ohio State, No. 9 Illinois, No. 29 Wisconsin, and No. 40 Michigan.
Iowa, however, has not been concerned with rankings. The Hawkeyes believe they are equipped with the ability to win every meet.
The weekend competition displayed that ability to the utmost.
“I can’t remember a time when we had this great a weekend,” Iowa head coach Steve Houghton said. “Somehow, it’s even better that they are 4-3 matches. I mean, those are right down to the wire, [both] very similar matches.
“We had to step up more for Michigan, and we did it. It was absolute nail-biters all the way through, just a great, great weekend.”
Sunday’s match against Michigan was full of suspense in doubles and in singles.
Iowa’s strength is its doubles performance, and the Hawks usually sweep all three matches to clinch the doubles point. But the Wolverines proved to be a tough opponent.
Iowa freshman Will Vasos and McGeorge defeated their No. 3 double opponents, Mike Srocyznski and Drew Daniel, 8-4. But Michigan came back to win the No. 2 doubles match, leaving the doubles point to the No. 1 doubles match.
In that match, Iowa’s Christian Bierich and Nikita Zotov outlasted Michigan’s Jason Jung and George Navas, 8-5.
“The doubles point was huge,” Houghton said. “If we don’t win that, we don’t win.”
The suspense continued in the singles competition.
After three hours of competition, No. 1 Bierich, No. 5 McGeorge, and No. 6 Holm all went into third sets. Holm was defeated by Michigan’s Daniel (3-6, 6-4, 6-3), but Bierich’s sharp volleying around the net fueled his comeback against Andrew Mazlin (6-4, 5-7, 7-5).
The meet was split 3-3, putting the pressure for a win on McGeorge and Michigan’s George Navas at court six in the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex. McGeorge won the first set, 7-6, and Navas claimed the second, 6-3.
“He is a talented player. I won the first set by kind of plugging away,” McGeorge said. “The second set he played well, so I just told myself to keep playing.”
McGeorge’s adrenaline kicked in and his prowess on the court allowed him to keep more balls in play. After a McGeorge drop shot placed him in the lead at 5-4, Navas lay on the court and called a medical time-out.
Strategic or not, the break in play didn’t affect McGeorge. He won the third set, 7-6, and the Hawkeyes charged the Tucson, Ariz., native on the court.
“That’s amazing for Tommy,” junior Reinoud Haal said. “I remember one match his freshman year he had the same [close match], and Tommy lost. Now, he knew how to handle it; he just played great.”
