Feb. 7, 2005
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THIS WEEK — The Iowa men’s tennis team host a pair of opponents this weekend at the Recreational Building. The Hawkeyes will face Marquette at 10 a.m. Saturday and Toledo at 10 a.m. Sunday. Admission to both events is free.
SCOUTING MARQUETTE– The Golden Eagles will bring a 3-2 record into competition this weekend. All three of Marquette’s victories this season have come in convincing form. The Golden Eagles defeated Illinois-Chicago (6-1), Eastern Illinois (7-0) and Southern Illinois (6-1). This weekend will mark the second time they have competed against a Big Ten opponent this year. Marquette was defeated by Michigan State earlier this season (6-1).
SCOUTING TOLEDO — The Rockets enter this weekend’s action with a 2-3 record, which includes victories over Dayton and division III Kenyon College. Last weekend Toledo split a pair of matches against Dayton and Wright State. Both matches were 4-3 scores.
LAST TIME OUT — The Iowa men’s tennis team continued its early season success with a pair of victories on the road. The Hawkeyes journeyed to Indiana to take on Indiana State and Butler. Iowa defeated both by a score of 4-3, improving their season mark to 3-0. Junior Brett Taylor and freshman J.P. Ritchie continued their strong play. The two are undefeated in both their singles and doubles matches. Taylor’s victory over Tony Aker (6-4, 6-3) at the No. 6 spot against Butler clinched the Iowa victory.
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 — “We are off to a great start. This weeeknd’s competition will present another challenge for our team. I am pleased with where we are right now, but we need to continue making progress this season.”