March 14, 2005
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THIS WEEK — The Iowa men’s tennis team will face three opponents on its spring trip to California this week. The Hawkeyes (8-2, 1-1 in the Big Ten) will face Denver (6-5) Wednesday and Central Florida (3-8) Friday at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. Iowa will face Dartmouth (5-4) Sunday at Rancho Valencia, CA.
THE SERIES — Iowa is 8-3 against Dartmouth and 0-0-1 against Denver. This will be the first meeting between Iowa and Central Florida.
SCOUTING DENVER — The Denver Pioneers are ranked 75th in the nation. Freshman Adam Holmstrom is ranked 69th in the nation, going 10-1 at the No. 1 singles position, and 21-4 overall. He and teammate Niklas Persson comprise the team’s top doubles squad, which is 6-3 this season. Holmstrong was recently named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week.
LAST WEEK — Iowa lost to #54 Minnesota, 7-0, Friday in Minneapolis. The Golden Gophers improve to 3-7, 1-0 in the Big Ten with the win. Iowa is now 8-2, 1-1 in the Big Ten.
HEAD COACH Steve Houghton — Steve Houghton is the dean of Big Ten tennis coaches and is in his 24th season as head coach of the Hawkeyes. Houghton has a career record of 269-262 (.508). 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.
NEXT COMPETITION — After returning from spring break, the Hawkeyes will travel to Columbus, OH, to take on #13 Ohio State (6-5, 0-0 in the Big Ten) Sunday, March 26. The Buckeyes are led by sophomores Joey Atas (#35) and Devin Mullings (#58).