IOWA CITY, Iowa – Kicking off the 2019 spring season against one of the top programs in the Midwest, the University of North Dakota men's tennis team fell, 7-0, to Iowa on Friday in Iowa City.
 
The Hawkeyes (3-0), which had already picked up victories this season over Western Michigan and reigning BIG EAST Champions Marquette, won all seven of the matches contested to pick up the sweep.
 
North Dakota (0-1) dropped the opening two tilts in doubles play to concede the point, but the No. 3 pairing of Jake Kuhlman and Chuck Tang were locked in a tight, 5-4 battle before the match was called.
 
In singles play, three of the six matches were highly contested as UND forced a three-set tiebreaker in one of the contests. At the top spot, Nejc Sitar fell to the No. 73 ranked singles play by the ITA Kareem Allaf, 6-3, 6-1, as Iowa collected its fourth point to win the match.
 
At the No. 5 position, Kuhlman brought his second set into extra points as the Grand Forks native fell, 6-3, 7-5, and Johnnie Carmichael-Plester forced his match into a third set after the senior rebounded from a 6-2 defeat in the first frame to win, 7-5, before falling by a 10-8 score in the tiebreaker from the No. 3 spot. The final match of the day was also a close one as Lukas Buth dropped a 7-5 and 6-4 decision to close out the afternoon.
 
North Dakota returns to action on Sunday vs. Carleton College at 9 a.m.