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THIS WEEK — The Iowa men’s tennis team will travel to Indiana to take on a pair of non-conference opponents. The Hawkeyes will first compete against Indiana State on February 5 in Terre Haute, IN at 5 p.m. then travel to Indianapolis to take on Butler on February 6 at 10 a.m.
SCOUTING BUTLER — The Bulldogs bring a 1-5 record to the table this weekend. Their lone victory came in the first dual meet of the season against in-state rival IUPUI, 4-3. Butler has competed against three other Big Ten opponents (Ohio State, Indiana and Purdue) this season. It has dropped all three contests by a score of 7-0. Iowa leads the series, 1-0.
SCOUTING INDIANA STATE — The Sycamores enter this weekend’s match with a 0-0 record in dual play. Last weekend they competed at the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships where they crowned two champions at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions. Iowa leads the series 12-1. The Hawkeyes defeated the Sycamores last season (5-2) in Iowa City.
LAST TIME OUT — The University of Iowa men’s tennis opened its spring schedule by defeating Northern Illinois at home at the Recreational Building, 6-1. The Hawkeyes won eight on the nine matches including a sweep of the doubles events. Three Iowa players were victorious in both singles and doubles play: juniors Kyle Markham and Brett Taylor and freshman Bart van Monsjou. All three were competing in their first dual meet as Hawkeyes. Markham and Taylor teamed up in doubles play for their victory, the two transferred here from Johnson County Community College (KS) where they also competed in doubles.
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 was pleased with our performance last weekend against Northern Illinois and we are expecting to be challenged by two tough competitors on the road this weekend. We are inexperienced and I’m expecting us to continue to get better each week.”