Feb. 15, 2012
THIS WEEK: The University of Iowa men’s tennis team will compete at Illinois State on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and at Western Michigan on Sunday at 1 p.m. Iowa will face the Redbirds at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Normal, Ill. Iowa and the Broncos will square off at the West Hills Athletic Club in Kalamazoo, Mich.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Illinois State holds a 1-3 record on the year. Western Michigan has a 5-3 record. The Broncos are 0-2 against Big Ten opponents, falling 7-0 to Michigan and 7-0 to Indiana.
LAST TIME OUT: Iowa nearly upset nationally ranked DePaul on Feb. 5. The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 3-1 lead before the Blue Demons won the final three matches to rally for the 4-3 win. Iowa won five total matches compared to DePaul’s four. The Hawkeyes swept doubles play and junior Garret Dunn and sophomore Chase Tomlins won in singles. Three of Iowa’s four losses this season have come from one point decisions.
DOUBLES DOMINATION: Iowa sports a 10-3 dual doubles record. Iowa’s doubles winning percentage of .769 is third in the Big Ten behind only Ohio State (15-0/1.000) and Wisconsin (7-2/ .777). Iowa has won the doubles point in four-of-five matches this season. Sophomore Jonas Dierckx and freshman Matt Hagan have a perfect 4-0 doubles record. Dierckx and Hagan have won eight consecutive doubles matches dating back to their Big Ten Indoor Flight B doubles title. Junior Garret Dunn and sophomore Michael Swank are 3-1, and seniors Tom Mroziewicz and Will Vasos are 2-2 in doubles action.
TOMLINS WINS: Chase Tomlins won his first collegiate dual singles match against DePaul. Making his second career dual appearance, Tomlins came through with a big victory in No. 6 singles. Tomlins defeated DePaul’s Adam Reinhart in straight sets; 7-5, 6-1. Tomlins only other dual match came his freshman year against Santa Clara on Feb. 12, 2011 (L: 6-2, 6-1).
HEAD COACH Steve Houghton: Steve Houghton, the dean of Big Ten tennis coaches, is in his 31st year as head coach of the Hawkeyes. He has compiled a career record of 332-345 (.493), recording the most wins of any coach in Iowa men’s tennis history. Houghton recorded his 300th win at Indiana State Feb. 6, 2009. 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.
UP NEXT: Iowa will face in-state rival Drake (7-1) on Feb. 29th. The match will be at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center in Des Moines at 6 p.m. (CT).
