IOWA CITY, Iowa — Freshman
Alafia Ayeni won in three sets at No. 2 singles, clinching the men's tennis team's 4-3 victory over 42nd-ranked Iowa on Friday night at Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.
Cornell (4-5) started strong by winning the doubles point against an Iowa (6-6) squad that had only dropped two doubles points in 11 matches entering the night. The Hawkeyes cruised at No. 2, but seniior
Jake Hansen and sophomore
Lev Kazakov won the tiebreaker at No. 1 to set the stage for sophomore
Joseph McAllister and junior
David Volfson to lock up the opening point with a 7-5 win at No. 3.
The Hawkeyes countered quickly with straight-set victories at Nos. 5 and 6 singles to take a 2-1 lead. With Iowa also winning the first set at No. 4, Cornell majorly stemmed the tide by winning first-set tiebreakers in each of the top three singles matches.
Among those matches was Kazakov's effort at No. 3, where he won the second set, 6-4, to momentarily tie the match at 2. Iowa pulled out a three-set victory at No. 4 for its third point, but Cornell took over from there. Volfson won his match in the second set to improve to 3-3 from the demanding No. 1 position, then Ayeni rallied for a 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-4 win at No. 2.
Cornell, which improves to 3-2 all-time against Iowa, continues its road trip with a neutral-site match against 40th-ranked Oregon on Saturday at Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.
CORNELL 4, #42 IOWA 3
At Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex
Singles
1. #124
David Volfson (C) def. Josh Silverstein, 7-6(6), 6-4
2.
Alafia Ayeni (C) def. Piotr Smietana, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-4
3.
Lev Kazakov (C) def. Kareem Allaf, 7-6(3), 6-4
4. Joe Tyler (I) def.
Daniel Grunberger, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
5. Jonas Larsen (I) def.
Pietro Rimondini, 6-2, 6-0
6. Will Davies (I) def.
Evan Bynoe, 6-0, 6-4
Doubles
1. Hansen/Kazakov (C) def. Allaf/Larsen, 7-6(4)
2. Davies/Smietana (I) def. Ayeni/
Evan Bynoe, 6-1
3.
Joseph McAllister/Volfson (C) def. Jake Jacoby/Tyler, 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3), Singles (5,6,3,4,1,2)
Records: Cornell 4-5, Iowa 6-6
