April 11, 2005
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THIS WEEK — Iowa (9-8, 1-5 in the Big Ten) will hit the road this week to face two Big Ten foes. Iowa will face #58 Penn State (13-5, 2-4 in the Big Ten) Friday at 2 p.m. (CT) at Sarni Tennis Center in University Park, PA. The Hawkeyes then face #56 Indiana (10-9, 4-2 in the Big Ten) Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT) at the IU Tennis Center in Bloomington, IN.
SCOUTING PENN STATE — The Nittany Lions are ranked 58th in the nation. Iowa holds a 9-6 lead in the series. Junior Mark Berry is ranked 96th in the nation, but defeated #53 Joey Atas of Ohio State last weekend.
SCOUTING INDIANA — The Hoosiers are ranked 56th in the nation, and holds a 41-15 lead in the series. Senior Jakub Praibis is ranked 49th in the nation, and boasts a 16-3 dual record. The Hoosiers will host Minnesota Saturday.
LAST WEEK — Iowa lost, 5-2, to No. 64 Northwestern Sunday in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes opened up with a 1-0 lead after taking two of the three doubles matches. At No. 2 doubles, junior Aaron Schaechterle faced his twin-brother Adam and came up victorious with teammate Chaitu Malempati (8-7 (4)). Freshmen J.P. Ritchie and Bart van Monsjou clinched the doubles point when they scored a thrilling 8-7 (5) win at No. 3 doubles. Northwestern stormed back in singles play winning five of the six matches. For the Hawkeyes, junior Brett Taylor improved to 13-3 at the No. 5 position. He was down 5-4 in the third set, but rallied to send the match into a tiebreak where he prevailed 7-5.
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 270-268 (.502). 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 — The Hawkeyes will host two Big Ten foes to wrap up the spring dual season. Iowa will face Purdue at 11 a.m. April 23 and No. 2 Illinois at 11:30 a.m. April 24. Both matches 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.