Oct. 16, 2006
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THIS WEEK — The University of Iowa men’s tennis team will travel to Minneapolis, MN, to compete in the ITA Midwest Championships Thursday through Monday.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION — The tournament is hosted by the University of Minnesota. Matches will be played in the Baseline Tennis Center. For singles play, Hawkeye sophomore Christian Bierich and junior Bart van Monsjou will compete in the main draw while junior J.P. Ritchie, freshman Tommy McGeorge and sophomore Greg Holm will compete in the qualifying draw. In doubles, the teams of van Monsjou and Ritchie, sophomore Greg Holm and McGeorge, and senior Scott Elwell and freshman Patrick Dwyer will compete in the main draw.
LAST TIME OUT — The Hawkeyes had an impressive showing at the Louisville Invitational. Overall, Iowa compiled a 37-9 record and won four championship matches. Iowa’s first titles came in doubles action from the team of van Monsjou and Ritchie and the team of Haal and Elwell. In singles, Elwell and McGeorge captured championship titles.
UNDEFEATED IN DOUBLES — Two Hawkeye teams remain undefeated in doubles competition. Ritchie and van Monsjou are off to a 4-0 start. Haal and Elwell have Iowa’s best doubles record so far (7-0). The Hawkeye squad has an 18-7 (.857) overall doubles record.
HEAD COACH Steve Houghton — Steve Houghton, the dean of Big Ten tennis coaches, is in his 26th season as head coach of the Hawkeyes. Houghton has a career record of 277-286 (.492). 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 is always an outstanding tournament. We hope to use it to build on the momentum from our great performance in Louisville.”