Jan. 24, 2005
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THIS WEEK — The Iowa men’s tennis team will open its spring season Sunday at the Rec Building against Northern Illinois. Competition will begin a 1:30 p.m. Admission to the event is free.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS — The Huskies opened their spring schedule two weekends ago when they traveled to East Lansing, MI, to take on Michigan State. Northern Illinois fell to the Spartans 6-1. At the No. 5 position Adam Ford came away with the lone Husky victory. Last weekend, the Huskies fell to another Big Ten foe. Northern Illinois fell to Wisconsin in Madison (5-2). Both victories for the Huskies came in single action, by their No. 1 and 2 competitors.
IOWA VS. NORTHERN ILLINOIS SERIES — Iowa leads the series 25-5. The Huskies defeated Iowa last season in Iowa City 6-1. The last Iowa victory in the series came in the previous season when the Hawkeyes defeated Northern Illinois 6-1 in Iowa City.
LAST TIME OUT — The University of Iowa men’s tennis squad competed at the Big Ten Singles Tournament in Madison, WI, to close its fall season. Iowa had four competitors in the qualifying draw and four in the main draw of the competition. All Hawkeye competitors were defeated in their first round of competition. Despite combining for a record of 0-8 at the tournament the young Hawkeyes gained valuable experience through the competition.
HEAD COACH, Steve Houghton — Coach Houhgton is the dean of Big Ten tennis coaches and 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 HOUGHTON — “I expect Northern Illinois to be a very good team and they should challenge our guys. I expect their to be about 3 to 4 new faces in the lineup this weekend, so we will be inexperienced. The guys are excited about this competition though.”