Feb. 3, 2011
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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s tennis team (1-0) will be in action in Chicago, taking on DePaul at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Lakeshore Athletic Club.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Blue Demons, 4-1 overall this season, have combined to defeat Detroit, UIC, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Dartmouth by a 26-2 count.
HAWKEYE COMPETITORS
Marc Bruche, Will Vasos, Nikita Zotov, Austen Kauss, Garrett Dunn, Jonas Dierckx and Mitch Becket will be in action for Iowa.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes are ranked No. 63 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. DePaul is unranked.
AS GOOD AS IT GETS
The No. 63 Hawkeyes looked nearly perfect in their season opener, knocking off Creighton 7-0. Senior Marc Bruche earned a singles win in the No. 1 position, winning 7-5, 6-3. Nikita Zotov won by a large margin in the second spot with a 6-1, 7-5 advantage. Will Vasos also cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory to earn his 35th career singles win. Austen Kauss came from behind in both sets to win 7-5, 7-6 (5) in No. 4 singles. The newcomers in the singles lineup, Garret Dunn and Mitch Beckert, both looked comfortable in their first singles action. Dunn won 6-1, 6-4 in the No. 5 hole while Beckert won 6-2, 6-2. Bruche teamed up with Jonas Dierckx in No. 1 doubles play to win 8-7. Kauss and Vasos won 8-4, while Dunn and Zotov cruised 8-1.
FALL RECAP
Marc Bruche provided the fireworks for the Hawkeyes during the fall season, earning a 9-3 singles record and winning the Flight A singles bracket at the Northwestern Invitational. Bruche’s nine singles wins led the team. Fellow senior Austen Kauss also earned five singles victories during the fall season. The tandem of Kauss and Will Vasos lead Iowa with five doubles victories.
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“DePaul is a very good team so we’re excited for the challenge. I expect the match to be a tough test for the guys.”
Head Coach Steve Houghton
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HEAD COACH Steve Houghton
Steve Houghton, the dean of Big Ten tennis coaches, is in his 30th year as head coach of the Hawkeyes. He has compiled a career record of 324-328 (.496), recording the most wins of any coach in Iowa men’s tennis history. Houghton recorded his 300th win at Indiana State Feb. 6, 2009. 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.
UP NEXT
Iowa travels to Fayetteville, AR, for a pair of matches Feb. 11-12. The Hawkeyes face No. 72 Arkansas Friday and Santa Clara Saturday. Both matches will be played at the Dills Indoor Facility on the campus of the University of Arkansas.