April 20, 2009
IOWA CITY-
THIS WEEK — The Iowa women’s tennis team will compete in the 2009 Big Ten Conference Championships in Madison, WI beginning Thursday. The Hawkeyes concluded regular season play with a 7-14 mark, 2-8 Big Ten record and are seeded tenth in the Big Ten. Iowa will begin tournament play against seventh-seeded Wisconsin at 3 p.m. (CT) Thursday. All matches will be played at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on the University of Wisconsin campus.
THE HAWKEYES — Competing for the Hawkeyes this week will be Alexis Dorr, Kelcie Klockenga, Ally Majercik, Sonja Molnar, Lynne Poggensee-Wei and Jessica Young. Molnar, ranked 92nd nationally, leads the Hawkeyes with a 17-4 overall singles record. The duo of Molnar/Young is currently Iowa’s top doubles team, with a 5-9 record.
THE COMPETITION — Wisconsin is currently ranked No. 74 and posted an 8-14 overall mark and a 3-7 Big Ten record this season. Iowa was defeated by the Badgers (4-3) earlier this season and holds an 8-33 overall series record against Wisconsin.
LAST WEEK — Iowa concluded regular season play on the road last weekend. The Hawkeyes traveled to West Lafayette, IN, Saturday and were defeated by Purdue 5-2. Molnar grabbed her 17th win of the season in singles play going 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 1 position. Doubles duo Poggensee-Wei/Majercik grabbed their first Big Ten doubles win with a 8-5 victory over the Boilermakers.
LAST TIME AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS — Iowa entered the 2007-08 Big Ten Championships as the seventh seed facing tenth-seeded Penn State. The Hawkeyes found success in their first match of the tournament, defeating Penn State 4-1 to advance into the second round. Iowa then lost to Michigan, 4-0, the following day.
HEAD COACH Daryl Greenan — Coach Daryl Greenan is in his fifth season as head coach of the Hawkeyes. Greenan led the Hawkeyes to a 13-10 overall record in 2008, going 3-7 in Big Ten competition tying for a sixth place league finish. The 2006 Big Ten Coach of the Year, Greenan has a 63-50 overall record in five seasons at Iowa. He is 104-77 in eight seasons as a collegiate head coach. Mira Radu is the assistant coach and is in her first season with the Hawkeyes. She volunteered as an assistant coach at the University of Mississippi (2003-2006) following her membership on the tennis team (1999-2003).
QUOTING COACH GREENAN — “The regular season did not go as well as we had planned. We lost 4-3 to Wisconsin so we hope to begin the tournament with a win over the host Badgers.”