Hawkeyes Prepared for Northwestern

March 5, 2013

Weekly Release

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s tennis team 6-4 (0-1) will travel to Evanston, Ill., to compete against Northwestern University 13-4 (0-1) on Sunday. The match against the No. 20 ranked Wildcats will begin at noon.

DUNN AND SWANK TAKE DOWN RANKED OPPONENT
The stage was set for senior Garret Dunn and junior Michael Swank to take on rival Drake in doubles play. Dunn and Swank have been playing No. 1 doubles for the Hawkeyes all season and this was their toughest match yet. The Hawkeye duo faced off again Ghorbel and McKie of Drake who were ranked No. 51 nationally for doubles play. It was a hard-fought match but in the end, Dunn and Swnak upset the nationally ranked doubles team, 8-6. “Ghorbel and McKie are great opponents and we knew it would be fun playings against those guys,” said Dunn. “We just tried to relax and have fun. We had a lot of energy and the crowd provided a great atmosphere, which really helped us get off to a fast start.”

DIERCKX AND DUNN HIGHLIGHT FAST START
Senior Garret Dunn and junior Jonas Dierckx have led the way for the Hawkeyes in sinlges play so far this spring season. Both lead the team with indentical 7-3 records in singles action. Dierckx has spent the majority of the season playing in No. 2 singles while Dunn has been right behind him playing in the No. 3 singles slot. In doubles play Dierckx and Dunn have been just as impressive. Dierckx holds a 7-2 record in doubles play with his doubles partner Matt Hagan. Dunn meanwhile has a 6-2 doubles record playing with junior Michael Swank.

HEAD COACH Steve Houghton
Steve Houghton, the dean of Big Ten tennis coaches, is in his 32nd year as head coach of the Hawkeyes. He has compiled a career record of 338-367 (.479), recording the most wins of any coach in Iowa men’s tennis history.

QUOTING HEAD COACH Steve Houghton
“We’re in the midst of a very challenging part of our schedule. Northwestern certainly fits in that category. Our guys have all played well at times, but we need them all to play well against the Wildcats.”