No. 31 Tech Tops No. 42 Iowa to Open Spring Break

Monday, March 12

La Jolla, Calif.

2:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

No. 42 Iowa

No. 31 Tech Tops No. 42 Iowa to Open Spring Break

March 12, 2018 | Men's Tennis

Red Raiders secured four singles victories Monday in a 4-2 victory over No. 42 Iowa

By: Texas Tech Athletics Communications

LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 31 Texas Tech men's tennis team opened its four-match Spring Break trip to San Diego with a 4-2 victory over No. 42 Iowa on Monday afternoon at the Hogan Tennis Center.

The Red Raiders, who improved to 14-4 overall on the season, had to overcome a pair of early deficits to claim their second ranked victory this year as the Hawkeyes (8-7) claimed the doubles point and then added a quick singles victory to build a 2-1 advantage.

"I'm really proud of the effort from our guys," Tech head coach Brett Masi said. "We got down early, and we responded in a big way. We had great fighting from each court and boys cheering off the court. It was a true team win to get our week on the road in California started."

Tech secured its first point of the afternoon following a straight-set win from Tommy Mylnikov at the top spot as he quickly dismantled Josh Silverstein, 6-2, 6-3, to improve to 4-5 on the season and 3-4 in matches from the No. 1 position.

Following a loss at the No. 6 slot, the Red Raiders earned the next three points via a straight-set victory from Connor Curry on the No. 2 court and then a pair of three-set rallies from Alex Sendegeya and Ilgiz Valiev at the No. 3 and No. 4 positions. Both Sendegeya and Valiev had to battle back from opening-set losses en route to the win.

Artem Kapshuk was also leading in the third set of his match at the No. 5 court when Valiev secured the game-clinching point. Kapshuk split the opening two sets with Iowa's Jonas Larsen, 7-5, 3-6, and was leading 3-2 in the final frame when his match was halted.

Iowa's doubles victory marked a rarity for the Red Raiders as Tech had captured the opening point in 13-of-17 matches this year heading into this week. The tandem of Jackson Cobb and Sendegeya were leading 4-3 on the No. 2 court when the Hawkeyes clinched the point.

The Red Raiders open the San Diego Spring Break Tournament on Thursday as Tech will be part of an eight-team field that also includes Arizona, No. 23 Harvard, No. 45 Memphis, Rice, Utah and hosts San Diego State and No. 41 San Diego. Tech won the 2016 event courtesy of wins over San Diego State, Princeton and Tulane.

Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men's tennis program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TechMensTennis and @TexasTechTennis on Twitter.

No. 31 Texas Tech 4, Iowa 2
March 12, 2018 at San Diego, California (Hogan Tennis Center)

Doubles
1 – Kareem Allaf/Jonas Larsen (IOWA) defeats Connor Curry/Tommy Mylnikov (TTU): 6-2
2 – Jackson Cobb/Alex Sendegeya (TTU) vs. Will Davies/ Piotr Smietana (IOWA): 4-3, unfinished
3 – Jake Jacoby/Joe Tyler (IOWA) defeats Artem Kapshuk/Ilgiz Valiev (TTU): 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1

Singles
1 – Tommy Mylnikov (TTU) defeats Josh Silverstein (IOWA): 6-2, 6-3
2 – Connor Curry (TTU) defeats Piotr Smietana (IOWA): 7-6 (3), 6-4
3 – Alex Sendegeya (TTU) defeats Kareem Allaf (IOWA): 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
4 – Ilgiz Valiev (TTU) defeats Joe Tyler (IOWA): 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
5 – Artem Kapshuk (TTU) vs. Jonas Larsen (IOWA): 7-5, 3-6, 3-2, unfinished
6 – Will Davies (IOWA) defeats Jackson Cobb (TTU): 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 6, 2, 3, 4

Texas Tech: 14-4; National Ranking: No. 31
Iowa: 8-7; National Ranking: No. 42