Oct. 18, 2004
This Week
The University of Iowa men’s tennis team will travel to Ann Arbor, MI, to compete at the ITA Tennis Midwest Regional. Competition will take place Thursday through Tuesday at the Varsity Tennis Center.
The Competition
The field will consist of indiviudals competiting from 28 teams. The competition includes every Big Ten team except Penn State. There are 17 indviduals ranked in the ITA preseason poll, which ranks the top 120 individuals in Division I. Four of the 17 are ranked in the top 50. There are also eight doubles teams ranked in the ITA preseason poll, which consists of the top 60 duos in the country.
Hawkeyes In the Tournament
Their are three Hawkeyes competiting in singles competition this weekend and two duos in doubles competition. All of the competitors will be competiting in the qualifying rounds on Thursday and Friday. The three Hawkeyes competiting in singles play will be juniors Chaitu Malempati and Kyle Markham and freshman J.P Ritchie. The two doubles teams competiting for the Hawkeyes will be Kyle Markham along with Brett Taylor and Chaitu Malempati and Bart van Monsjou.
Schedule of Events
Thursday, Oct. 21 – 1st and 2nd round qualifying singles
Friday, Oct. 22 – Final round qualifying singles; 1st and 2nd rounds doubles
Saturday, Oct. 23 – 1st and 2nd rounds main draw singles; round of 16 doubles
Sunday, Oct. 24 – Doubles quarterfinals and semifinals; round of 16 singles
Monday, Oct. 25 – Doubles final; singles quarterfinals and semifinals
Tuesday, Oct. 26 – Singles final
At Louisville Invitational
The Hawkeyes finished the Louisville Invitational with 15 victories overall in both single and doubles macthes. Iowa had two doubles teams advance to the semifinals in competition. The duos of J.P. Ritchie and Scott Elwell and Chaitu Malempati and Bart van Monsjou. The duos both went 2-1 over the course of the tournament. In singles action Iowa was led by freshman Bart van Monsjou. van Monsjou went 3-1 in his four singles matches and advanced all the way to the semifinals of competition.
Head Coach Steve Houghton
Coach Houghton is the dean of Big Ten tennis coaches, is in his 24th season as head coach of the Hawkeyes. Houghton has a career record of 261-260 (.501). 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 Head Coach Steve Houghton
“We have made a lot of process in our first two tournaments this season, and I hope we can continue this week’s tournament. The field consists of 28 strong teams with a lot of outstanding individuals which should challenge our team. We have done well in this event in the past and we look to do the same this time.”