No. 62 Iowa to Face Two Ranked Conference Foes

March 30, 2011

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THIS WEEK The No. 62 University of Iowa men’s tennis team will travel to face two Big Ten squads on the road this weekend. The Hawkeyes (7-6 overall, 1-2 in Big Ten) will face No. 60 Purdue Saturday and No. 29 Indiana Sunday. Both matches have noon start times.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS Purdue is 10-7 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play, tying with Iowa for sixth place in conference standings. Indiana holds an overall record of 16-4, as well as a 3-0 slate in the Big Ten to sit atop the conference standings along with Ohio State. The Hoosiers have one ranked singles player and two ranked doubles teams.

IN THE RANKINGS Iowa jumped up four spots in the recent polls, ranking in at 62nd by the ITA. The Hawkeyes have improved 14 spots in the past two rankings.

LAST TIME OUT Iowa earned its first Big Ten win in its previous match, topping Penn State 4-3 in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes swept through doubles, going 3-0 to claim the first point. Juniors Marc Bruche and Will Vasos each won their singles match, and a win from sophomore Garret Dunn secured the team victory. Just two days before the Penn State match, Iowa gave a tough battle to No. 5 Ohio State, but fell 5-2 at home.

VASOS, DUNN SCORE BIG SINGLES UPSETS Both Vasos and Dunn upset nationally ranked opponents against the Buckeyes last week. Dunn defeated No. 98 Nelson Vick 2-6, 7-6, (10-2) in No. 6 singles. Vasos beat No. 116 Balasz Novak 7-5, 1-6, (10-6). Novak, a senior, was 27-0 in Big Ten dual play up until that point. Vasos currently leads the team with ten singles dual victories, and 36 for his career. Dunn also has eight singles dual wins this season.

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 333-336 (.499), recording the most wins of any coach in Iowa men’s tennis history. Houghton recorded his 300th win at Indiana State Feb. 6, 2009. Houghton has coached 19 All-Big Ten performers and his players have received 93 Academic All-Big Ten accolades. Four of Houghton’s athletes have also been selected Big Ten Sportsman of the Year.

UP NEXT Iowa will return to Iowa City to face Northwestern (9-7, 0-2) on Friday, April 8th at 2 p.m. in the HTRC.