Hawkeyes Prepare For Two Ranked Opponents

April 2, 2008

IOWA CITY, IA–THIS WEEK — The Iowa Women’s tennis team continues competition this weekend, hosting Notre Dame Friday and traveling to Michigan State Sunday. Friday’s match is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. Sunday’s match is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. at the MSU indoor tennis facility.

THE HAWKEYES —Iowa is currently ranked 46th in the FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. Competing for the Hawkeyes this week will be Jennifer Barnes, Merel Beelen, Kayla Berry, Kelcie Klockenga, Jacqueline Lee, Mili Veselinovic, Jessica Young, Lynne Poggensee-Wei, and Alexis Dorr. Veselinovic leads the Hawkeyes with a 20-5 overall singles record. The duo of Lee/Dorr is currently Iowa’s most successful doubles team, with a 17-8 record.

THE COMPETITION —Notre Dame is currently ranked 20th and is 12-7 this season, 4-1 in the Big East. The Fighting Irish boast the top ranked doubles team and two ranked singles players. The duo of Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft are the top-ranked doubles team in the country. Notre Dame’s Cosmino Ciobanu sits at 122nd in the singles rankings while Tefft is ranked 41st. Michigan State is ranked 71st. Senior Christine Bader is ranked 113th in singles. The Spartans are 10-8 in dual meets and 1-3 in conference play. Michigan State will host No. 57 Minnesota Friday before facing the Hawkeyes Sunday.

LAST WEEK —The Hawkeyes returned home after four road matches to host Big Ten opponents Michigan and Penn State. Iowa dropped its third match in a row to Michigan but rebounded to snap its losing streak against Penn State.

THIS SEASON —Iowa opened its 2008 spring season by dominating the Hawkeye Invitational against Drake, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa, ending the tournament with a 27-2 record. Lee was named co-Big Ten Athlete of the Week Jan. 20 after an outstanding performance at the Hawkeye Invitational. Iowa has since gone 11-3 in dual match play, and is 2-3 in conference play. Senior Mili Veselinovic started the season off with a 13-match winning streak and broke the Iowa school record for career singles wins. Veselinovic currently boasts 107 career singles wins.

HEAD COACH Daryl Greenan —Coach Daryl Greenan is in his fourth season as head coach of the Hawkeyes. Greenan led the Hawkeyes to a 12-10 overall record in 2007, going 7-3 in Big Ten competition for a fourth place league finish. Greenan was named 2006 Big Ten Coach of the Year. Greenan has a 44-26 overall record in three seasons at Iowa. Toni Neykova is the assistant coach and is in her sixth season with the Hawkeyes. She is a former member of the Hawkeye tennis team (1999-2002).

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