Oct. 24, 2013
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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s tennis team travels to West Lafayette, Ind., for the Big Ten Singles/Doubles Tournament, Oct. 25-27. The entire squad will participate in the final tournament of the fall season. All 12 Big Ten schools will be at the season-ending tournament, which begins play Friday.
LAST TIME OUT
The University of Iowa men’s tennis team ended its run at the ITA Regional Tournament, Oct. 19 in Tulsa, Okla. The Hawkeyes finished the weekend with three student-athletes advancing to the round of 32. Highlighting the weekend was sophomore Dominic Patrick. Patrick’s big win came on Friday afternoon when he took on Daniel Santos of Tulsa. Santos was the No. 9 seed in the tournament was was ranked No. 26 in the world ITF Junior rankings coming into the tournament. Patrick beat him in the first round of the main draw, 6-4, 6-3.
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 feature one new member to their roster this fall. Freshman Nils Hallestrand joined 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 joined 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 BIG TEN SINGLES/DOUBLES
“I’m wanting to see continued progress. We have improved week-to-week, tournament-to-tournament. Now here is the last one. Are guys going to be ready for the fall season to be over or will they finish with a bang and have a really good tournament? I think this group will be determined to keep the momentum going. But there will be a lot of tough challenges, and every win will be a good win.”