Hawkeyes to Host Marquette and Indiana State

Feb. 16, 2004

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This Week: The Iowa men’s tennis team will continue its three-meet homestand Saturday when it faces Marquette. Competition is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. The Hawkeyes host Indiana State Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Both meets will take place in the Recreation Building. Admission is free.

The Golden Eagles: Marquette is 3-1 after a loss at South Florida last weekend. The Golden Eagles are led in singles competition by freshman Hugo Leenders, sophomore Eigis Vedrickas and senior Raj Gill. Leenders and Vedrickas are Marquette’s top doubles team. The Golden Eagles are coached by Steven Rodecap. Marquette will host Wisconsin-Green Bay Thursday.

Iowa-Marquette Series: Iowa holds a 6-1 advantage over Marquette. In their last meeting, the Golden Eagles edged Iowa (4-3) in Milwaukee in 1996. Iowa lost the doubles point and won three singles matches.

The Sycamores: Indiana State is 1-1 after a win over Eastern Illinois last weekend. Freshmen Andrey Kumantsov, R.J. Nagel and sophomore Ivan D’Argence Arco lead the Sycamores in singles competition. Freshman Aaron Phillips and D’Argence Arco are Indiana State’s top doubles team. The Sycamores are coached by Ryan Ray.

Iowa-Indiana State Series: The Hawkeyes lead the series 11-1. In their last meeting, the Sycamores defeated Iowa (5-2) in Terre Haute in 2000. The Hawkeyes claimed the doubles point and won one singles match.

Hawkeyes Record First Dual Victory of 2004: Iowa notched its first win of the season with a 5-2 win over DePaul. Iowa lost the doubles point and then rallied to win five of six singles contests.

Malempati Records First Win in Top Position: In his fourth singles match as Iowa’s top player, sophomore Chaitu Malempati recorded a straight-set victory over Mark Henderson.

Delgado and Ross Post Key Victories: Freshman Sebastian Delgado and sophomore Parker Ross played an instrumental role in Iowa’s win over DePaul. The duo recorded Iowa’s only win in doubles competition. Delgado recorded his first dual win defeating Robert Kotroczo in the No. 2 match. Ross clinched Iowa’s fourth and meet-winning point with a win over George Wang in the No. 3 match.

Valarezo and Schaechterle Record Wins: Freshman Walter Valarezo recorded his second career dual victory with a win over DePaul’s Eric Huffman in the No. 5 match. Sophomore Aaron Schaechterle recorded his first dual win as a Hawkeye with a win over Radek Guzik in the No. 6 match.

Young No. 1: Sophomore Chaitu Malempati has played the No. 1 singles position in all four of Iowa’s duals this season. At 19, he is the youngest Hawkeye to play in Iowa’s top position since Tyler Cleveland competed at No. 1 as a 19-year-old freshman in 1998.

Head Coach: Steve Houghton, the dean of Big Ten tennis coaches, is in his 23rd season as head coach of the Hawkeyes. Houghton has a career record of 259-246 (.513). He became the winningest coach in Iowa tennis history in 1992 and is a member of the Iowa Tennis Hall of Fame. He has coached 15 players to 29 all-Big Ten selections including Tyler Cleveland, who became the first men’s player in Big Ten history to be named Big Ten Player of the Year twice. Four of Houghton’s athletes have also been selected Big Ten Sportsman of the Year.

Quoting Houghton: “These will be two very tough meets. I think our guys have gained a lot of confidence after this win and they should be ready to go.”