Iowa Set To Host Indiana State

Jan. 29, 2007

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THIS WEEK — The University of Iowa men’s tennis team (1-0, 0-0) will host Indiana State Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.

SCOUTING INDIANA STATE — The Indiana State Sycamores were defeated 6-1 in their spring season opener against Michigan State. At the No. 5 spot, sophomore Michael Wenham posted the Sycamores only win. Last weekend Indiana State competed in the Missouri Valley Conference individual championships. Wenham advanced to the championship match, but was defeated by Guilherme Marsiglia of Drake.

THE SERIES — Iowa leads the series 13-1. Their last meeting was in 2005 in Terre Haute, IN, when the Hawkeyes won 4-3.

LAST TIME OUT — The Hawkeyes opened their spring season with a 5-2 win over Northern Illinois. Junior J.P. Ritchie, sophomore Greg Holm, and freshmen Tommy McGeorge and Patrick Dwyer posted wins in singles competition for the Hawkeyes. McGeorge and Dwyer paired to record one of Iowa’s two doubles victories. Junior Bart van Monsjou teamed with Ritchie to secure the doubles point for Iowa.

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 278-286 (.493). 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 — “I was very pleased with our win over Northern Illinois. I expect that we will improve considerably from our first to second match. We will certainly have to improve as Indiana State will be a stronger team.”