April 28, 2005
Chaitu Malempati, a junior on the UI tennis team from Windsor, Ontario, has been added to the 2004-05 McLeodUSA StarHawks team.
“Chaitu is the whole package,” said UI Head Coach Steve Houghton. “He’s an excellent example of a well-rounded individual. He’s an outstanding student and athlete, but he’s also very socially aware and wants to make a contribution in that area as well.”
Malempati is playing at the number one singles spot for the Hawkeyes this year, as he did last year. At age 19 in the spring of 2004, he was the youngest player to compete in Iowa’s top singles position since Tyler Cleveland competed as a 19-year old freshman in 1998. Malempati recorded his first win over a nationally ranked opponent when he defeated Penn State’s Malcom Scatliffe in the last regular season dual match.
“I’m very high on Chaitu,” said Houghton. “He is very easy to coach, not only because of his athletic ability but because he has such a good attitude. Add to that his high expectations for the way he conducts himself both on and off the court and you understand why I depend on him to provide leadership on our team.”
Melampati represents the team on the Iowa Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, a group of student-athletes from each of the UI’s varsity sports programs who help to shape departmental policies and procedures and to initiate department-wide outreach programs. He is a Dean’s List and academic all-Big Ten student with a double major in pre-medicine and psychology.
The StarHawks program is an initiative funded in part by McLeodUSA, a leading telecommunications company with corporate headquarters in Cedar Rapids and a long-time member of the UI’s Partners in Excellence corporate sponsorship program. The StarHawks team is a collection of student-athletes at the University of Iowa who truly represent the very best the intercollegiate athletics program at the UI has to offer. StarHawks typically excel athletically and academically, and also are active in community or leadership activities.