Iowa Hits The Road For Final Time

April 7, 2008

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THIS WEEK — The 52nd-ranked University of Iowa men’s tennis team (10-7 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) will hit the road for its final road trip of the season. The Hawkeyes will play at 35th-ranked Wisconsin Saturday. Competition is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Iowa will then play at Northwestern Sunday at 11 a.m.

SCOUTING WISCONSIN — Wisconsin, ranked 35th nationally, is 13-7 overall and 5-1 in Big Ten play. The Badgers are led by three nationally ranked singles players (#44 Moritz Baumann, #113 Marek Michalicka, #100 Nolan Polley). They are coached by Greg Van Emburgh. He is in his third season.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN — Northwestern is 7-13 overall and 0-7 in the Big Ten this season. They are led by first-year head coach Arvid Swan.

THE SERIES — Iowa is 37-51-2 all-time against Wisconsin. The Badgers defeated the Hawkeyes last year in Iowa City, 7-0. Iowa trails the all-time series against Northwestern 23-54. The Hawkeyes fell to the Wildcats last year at home, 5-2.

LAST TIME OUT — Iowa hosted Big Ten rivals Minnesota and Michigan State over the weekend. The Hawkeyes fell to the Gophers, 4-3, Saturday and defeated the 70th-ranked Spartans, 5-2, Sunday.

IN THE RANKINGS — Iowa is ranked No. 52. In men’s singles rankings, senior Bart van Monsjou is No. 69 and in men’s doubles rankings the duo of seniors J.P. Ritchie and Bart van Monsjou is ranked No. 40. Rankings are produced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). They are released every Wednesday and can be found at collegetennisonline.com.

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT — The University of Iowa will be hosting this year’s Big Ten Tournament, April 24-27. The tournament will be held at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex (indoor) and the Klotz Outdoor Courts.

HEAD COACH Steve Houghton — Steve Houghton, the dean of Big Ten tennis coaches, is in his 27th season as head coach of the Hawkeyes. Houghton has a career record of 294-305 (.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), second best in Iowa history.

QUOTING COACH HOUGHTON — “Wisconsin will definitely be a tough match for us. They have had a great Big Ten season. However, our guys have regained confidence and our looking forward to playing them. Northwestern has struggled but they are a team I expect to get better as the season progresses. That match will also be tough for us.”

Click HERE for the Big Ten Network home page.