April 18, 2005
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THIS WEEK — The Hawkeyes (9-10, 1-7 in the Big Ten) will host two Big Ten foes to wrap up their spring dual season. Iowa will face Purdue (3-14, 0-8 in the Big Ten) at 11 a.m. Saturday and No. 4 Illinois (18-3, 8-0 in the Big Ten) at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. 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.
SCOUTING PURDUE — The Boilermakers enter the meet having lost 11 straight matches. Their last win was a 5-2 decision over Vanderbilt on February 26. Purdue has not won a Big Ten dual since defeating Indiana (5-2) on April 24, 2004. Iowa holds a 31-26 lead in the series. Junior Paul Rose is ranked 77th in the nation.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS — The Fighting Illini are ranked fourth in the nation and lead the league with an 8-0 record. Illinois enters the weekend on a 47-match winning streak against Big Ten opponents, and holds a 48-21 lead in the series with Iowa. Three Fighting Illini are ranked in the nation’s top 50, while one doubles team is ranked in the top 60. Ranked in singles are junior Ryler Deheart (5th), sophomore GD Jones (33) and freshman Kevin Anderson (42). The doubles team of Deheart and Jones is ranked eighth in the nation. The Fighting Illini will face Minnesota Saturday in Minneapolis.
LAST WEEK — Iowa dropped two Big Ten contests on the road, last week losing at #62 Penn State (7-0) and #56 Indiana (6-1). Hawkeye freshman Bart van Monsjou scored the lone singles win of the weekend. He was also part of Iowa’s doubles win, teaming up with freshman J.P. Ritchie.
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 270-270 (.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.
NEXT COMPETITION — Iowa will compete at the Big Ten Tournament, April 29-May 1, in Champaign, IL. All matches will be held at the Atkins Tennis Center on the University of Illinois campus.