2013-14 (Junior Season)
Iftikhar had a very successful season in both the spring and fall seasons. After posting a 10-4 singles record in the fall tournament season and 14-5 singles record in the regular season, Iftikhar completed his third season at UNM with an overall singles record of 24-9.
Fall 2013 Season
Iftikhar earned an ITA pre-season ranking of 115 to start the season and competed in the Pre-Qualiying Draw at the ITA All-American Championships. He was the only member of the UNM men’s tennis roster asked to play in the event.
In October, he competed in the final match at 2013 ITA/UTSA Mountain Regionals tournament where he came in second place. He fell to Denver’s Henry Craig in the final match of the men’s singles draw.
Iftikhar was also selected to compete in the 2013 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Flushing, N.Y that took place in November. While Iftikhar fell in the first round, it is one of the most elite ITA events to be asked to play in.
Spring 2014
Iftikhar started the regular season with an ITA ranking of 45. It was his highest ranking of the season. He was the only Lobo to earn an individual national ranking.
Iftikhar clinched several matches for the Lobos throughout the regular season including the Lobos’ upset victory over 57th ranked Denver.
Iftikhar finished the regular season with a doubles record of 11-9. He competed primarily with teammate James Hignett. The duo was named to the 2014 All-Conference team for their success as a doubles team.
Iftikhar was also one of two Lobos named to the All-Conference team in singles.
In April, Iftikhar competed in the 2014 Davis Cup with his home country, Pakistan.
Iftikhar completed the 2014 Mountain West Championships with two victories and one unfinished match. His victory in the semifinals match against San Diego State allowed the Lobos to earn a spot in the championship match. Ifitkhar and Hignett were the only UNM competitors to record more than one singles win during the tournament. Ifitkhar and Hignett also recorded two doubles wins at the tournament.
Iftikhar finished the season ranked 5th in the ITA Mountain Region singles rankings. He was one of two Lobos to earn a regional singles ranking. Iftikhar and Hignett completed the season ranked 6th in Mountain Region doubles rankings.
Iftikhar also received plenty of recognition for his academic success during the 2013-14 season. He was named to the 2014 Academic All-Conference team and was also honored a 2014 MW Scholar-Athlete. Iftikhar was also named a 2014 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar Athlete.
2012-13 (Sophomore Season)
Iftikhar had a successful 2012-13 season on the tennis court as well as in the classroom. He was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete for maintaining a minimum 3.5 GPA throughout the season. Iftikhar was also honored as a 2013 Mountain West Scholar Athlete. UNM compensated for five of the nine MW Scholar Athlete Awards. Iftikhar posted an overall singles record of 22-17 for the 2012-13 season. He broke even in conference play with a record of 3-3. He also picked up a 7-11 doubles record competing with teammates Mads Hegelund, Conor Berg, and Jadon Phillips throughout the season.
2011-12 (Freshman Season)
He posted an overall singles record of 21-9 and an overall doubles record of 8-2. He mostly played at number five singles during the dual season. He was one of four for UNM men’s tennis to receive the Mountain West Scholar-Athlete award for 2011-12. He reached the finals at the NMSU Invitational defeating NMSU’s top returning player Matej Stakne in the semifinals. He broke a bone in his wrist during his third event and missed the back end of the fall season.
Prior to UNM
Iftikhar is a 2010 graduate of the Howard of Effingham in Guildford, United Kingdom. He has played in Davis Cup for Pakistan against Hong Kong, China as well as South Korea.
Personal
He is the son of Lindsay Iftikhar and has one sister Anoosha. His hobbies are exercising and reading. His greatest thrill while participating in sports is that he looks forward to the competition. He plans to major in Philosophy.