Nov. 7, 2005
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THIS WEEK — The Iowa men’s tennis team will travel to East Lansing, MI, to compete in the Big Ten Indoor Singles Tournament.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION — Matches will be held at the Indoor Tennis Facility on the Michigan State University campus. The qualifying rounds will be held Friday. Main draw competition will begin Saturday and continue throughout the weekend.
THE COMPETITION — All 11 Big Ten teams will be competing at this weekend’s tournament. Three teams have been nationally ranked in the top 50 by College Tennis Online. Illinois (6) is followed by Ohio State (24) and Northwestern (47).
HAWKEYES COMPETING — There will be three Hawkeyes competing in the qualifying rounds: senior Aaron Schaechterle and freshmen Zach Frisch and Gregory Holm. Iowa will have five players in the main draw: senior Chaitu Malempati, sophomore Bart van Monsjou, freshman Christian Bierich, sophomore J.P. Ritchie and senior Brett Taylor.
LAST TIME OUT — The Hawkeyes competed at the ITA Midwest Championships Oct. 20-24. Freshman Christian Bierich and senior Chaitu Malempati both made it through the first round of singles qualifying matches. Malempati was defeated in the second round and Bierich was defeated in the third round. Senior Brett Taylor and sophomore Bart van Monsjou were knocked out in the opening rounds. In doubles competition, the team of Bierich and Malempati made it through the first round, but was defeated in the second round. The Hawkeye team of Taylor and van Monsjou was defeated in the opening round of doubles competition.
HEAD COACH Steve Houghton — Steve Houghton, the dean of Big Ten tennis coaches, is in his 25th season as head coach of the Hawkeyes. Houghton has a career record of 270-270 (.500). His best season came in 1984 when Iowa won a school record 21 matches and two Hawkeyes earned all-Big Ten honors. Four of Houghton’s athletes have also been selected Big Ten Sportsman of the Year. He became the winningest coach in Iowa tennis history in 1992 and is a member of the Iowa Tennis Hall of Fame. While playing at Iowa, Houghton had a career winning percentage of .727 (40-15), the second best in Iowa History.
QUOTING COACH HOUGHTON — “This tournament will be a good way to see what progress we’ve made throughout the fall season. Our guys are fired-up to close out the season in a positive way.”