Hawkeyes Host Big Ten Foes

March 28, 2005

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THIS WEEK — Iowa (9-5, 1-2 in the Big Ten) will host #63 Michigan State (10-7, 2-1 in the Big Ten) Friday at 1:30 p.m. and #56 Michigan (10-5, 3-0 in the Big Ten) Sunday at 10 a.m. The meets will be held at the City Park tennis courts, weather permitting. In case of inclement weather, the meets will be held at the University Recreation Building.

THE SERIES — Michigan leads the series, 39-5, while Iowa leads the series with Michigan State, 29-21.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE — Michigan State comes to Iowa City on a four-match losing streak, dropping recent decisions to #19 Harvard (6-1), #64 Ball State (7-0), #30 Louisville (5-2) and #48 Michigan (6-1). The Spartans are currently ranked 63rd in the nation. Head Coach Gene Orlando is in his 14th season with the Spartans.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN — Michigan is led by freshman Matko Maravic, who is ranked 81st in the nation. The Zagreb, Croatia, native is 10-5 in the No. 1 position and has been named Big Ten Player of the Week twice. He and doubles partner sophomore Brian Hung are ranked 43rd in the nation. The doubles team of Hung and sophomore Ryan Heller are also ranked 50th. Head Coach Bruce Berque is in his first season with Michigan. The 56th-ranked Wolverines will face Minnesota Friday night in Minneapolis, MN.

LAST WEEK — The Iowa men’s tennis lost to 34th-ranked Ohio State, 7-0, at the Jesse Owens Tennis Center in Columbus, OH. Iowa fell behind early after being swept in doubles play. In the No. 1 match, juniors Brett Taylor and Kyle Markham faced the top-ranked doubles team in the nation in Scott Green and Ross Wilson and were defeated 8-2. Iowa’s closest match came at No. 2 doubles where junior Chaitu Malempati and freshman Bart van Monsjou lost an 8-6 decision to Chris Klingemann and Dennis Mertens. The Hawkeyes did not fare any better in singles play, losing all six matches in straight sets.

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 270-265 (.500). 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 will face two strong Big Ten teams this weekend. We are looking forward to playing at home for the first time since March 5.”