Oct. 8, 2013
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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s tennis team travels this weekend to Winston-Salem, N.C. for the Wake Forest Invite. The whole squad will travel to the tournament, which runs Friday through Sunday, as the fall season reaches the midway point.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hawkeyes wrapped up play at the Purdue Invite Sept. 22 and ended the weekend strong. Andres Estenssoro, paired wth Krstiyan Trukov, took home the Flight B Consolation title, 8-5. Playing partners Michael Swank and Joey White reached the Flight A Consolation finals before falling 9-8 (7-3). Jonas Dierckx traveled to Tulsa, Okla., for the ITA All-American Tournament, Sept. 29-30. Dierckx finished the weekend 2-1 after dropping his third round matchup.
VETERANS BACK IN ACTION
Iowa will feature a roster that consists of a large number of veterans. Eight of the 10 Hawkeyes are upperclassmen, with six of them being seniors. Iowa is led by senior Jonas Dierckx. Dierckx compiled a 19-18 (.514) record in singles while playing in the #1 and #2 position to accompany a 12-6 (.667) record in the #2 spot of doubles last year. Dierckx was also a recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship award.
HAWKEYE NEWCOMER
The Hawkeyes will feature one new member to their roster for the fall schedule. Freshman Nils Hallestrand joins the team from Danderyd, Sweden, after an impressive prep career. The 6-foot-5 Hallestrand was a part of the 2013 national runner-up club team that competed outdoors, while placing in the top 16 at the 2013 U21 indoor nationals. Making his collegiate debut at the Purdue Invite, Hallestrand finished the weekend 2-1 in singles, reaching the Flight C Quarterfinals, to go along with a 2-1 record in doubles with partner Chase Tomlins.
NEW ASSISTANT COACH ROSS WILSON
Ross Wilson joins the program as an assistant coach after serving the past year as an assistant coach at San Diego. Wilson was named the 2012 ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year and ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year this past year after he helped guide San Diego to a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Wilson was a two-time NCAA All-American and three-time ITA national doubles champion during his playing days at Ohio State.
HEAD COACH STEVE HOUGHTON
Steve Houghton, the dean of Big Ten tennis coaches, is in his 33rd year as head coach of the Hawkeyes. He has compiled a career record of 345-381 (.475), recording the most wins of any coach in Iowa men’s tennis history.
HOUGHTON ON WAKE FOREST INVITE
“The Wake Forest Invite will be loaded with good teams. Wake Forest will be very good, and there will be tons of other regional teams there that are good. It will be a good test for our players and a step up in the competition level from what they saw at Purdue. I think it’s been a good two weeks of preparation. We have had time to touch up on some things, and in some cases, make a change or two in a player’s style of play, so it will be nice to see them put that into play this weekend.”