April 9, 2007
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THIS WEEK — The University of Iowa men’s tennis team (7-8, 0-5) will travel to Minneapolis, MN, Wednesday to face Minnesota. Competition will begin at 2 p.m. at the Baseline Tennis Center. The Hawkeyes will return home to host Wisconsin Saturday and Northwestern Sunday. Competition will begin at 11 a.m. and 12 p.m., respectively, at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA — Minnesota (12-6, 2-3) enters this week’s competition ranked 35th. The team is led by junior Raoul Schwark who is 12-5 in singles competition and ranked 73rd. Iowa trails the series with Minnesota, 33-49. Minnesota defeated the Hawkeyes last year in Iowa City, 4-3.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN –Wisconsin (10-8, 2-3) is currently ranked 45th. Juniors Jeremy Sonkin and Nolan Polley have been rotating between the No. 1 and No. 2 single positions. Iowa trails the series with Wisconsin, 31-56. Wisconsin defeated the Hawkeyes last year, 6-1.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN — No. 57 Northwestern (7-10, 2-3) recently suffered losses against Ohio State and Indiana. Seniors Christian Tempke (8-11) and Willy Lock (9-10) have shared time in the No. 1 and No. 2 single positions. Iowa trails the series with Northwestern, 23-53. Iowa was defeated by Northwestern last year, 7-0.
LAST TIME OUT — The Hawkeyes were defeated by Michigan State, 5-2. Freshmen Tommy McGeorge and Patrick Dwyer were victorious in singles competition in the No. 5 and No. 6 positions, respectively. In the No. 3 doubles spot, McGeorge paired with sophomore Christian Bierich to win 8-5.
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 284-294 (.491). 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 — “We are in the midst of a difficult stretch as we play four matches in eight days. However, we are encouraged that our No. 1 player, Bart van Monsjou, seems to be recovered from an injury and will help the team this week.”
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