HAWK TALK

September 2016

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32 Tyler Cleveland was a junior when he pulled off an unprecedented Big Ten double-dip in 2000. e University of Iowa tennis standout became the first student-athlete in conference history to be named e Big Ten's Sportsman of the Year and Athlete of the Year in the same season. ose are two shining accomplishments on Cleve- land's loaded resume. He was also e Big Ten's Player of the Year in 2000 and 2001, Freshman of the Year in 1998, the singles champion in 2000 and ITA singles champion in 1999. "e Sportsman of the Year was a big one for me," Cleveland said. "Growing up, I had always had a problem with my on-court behavior and tempera- ment and all that stuff. To win that was a sign that I had come a long way. I was happy about that." Cleveland, now an investment advisor representa- tive in his hometown of Fairfield, Iowa, was one of seven inductees into the National Iowa Varsity Club Hall of Fame on Sept. 2. "I never thought it would happen," Cleveland said. "I was happy and pleasantly surprised when they called and told me. It's a huge honor. It solidifies my career. at career is only four years long, but being in the Hall of Fame will last forever." Cleveland has had a racquet in his hands since the age of six, and his family played a big influence in his passion for the sport. Especially his brother, Kyle, and his sister, Heidi. "ey would play with my parents, and I was like the little ball boy running around," Cleveland said. "at motivated me to get on the court." Tyler played in his first tournament at seven years of age, and drew interest from college recruiters aer winning three state prep titles playing for Ma- harishi School in Fairfield. "I looked at a ton of schools, and had some decent offers," Cleveland said. "But I liked Iowa, mostly because of coach (Steve) Houghton. I developed a relationship with him while I was being recruited and I felt like he was a good guy and I wanted to play for him." Houghton, who spent 47 seasons at Iowa as a student-athlete or coach, including 33 years as the head coach, retired in September, 2014. He is the winningest coach in school history. "He had a pretty amazing career," Cleveland said. Cleveland still holds school records for career wins (103), career winning percentage (.797) and single-season victories (32 in 1999-2000). He was named the team's most valuable player four times. Iowa's MVP award is now named aer Cleveland. "I never thought it would happen. I was happy and pleasantly surprised when they called and told me. It's a huge honor. It solidifies my career. at career is only four years long, but being in the Hall of Fame will last forever." -- Tyler Cleveland, UI Hall of Famer He made an immediate impact by being named the Big Ten's top freshman in 1998. "Coming from Iowa, I didn't play year-round ten- nis because I played basketball and other sports," Cleveland said. "So it was a little bit unexpected in some ways to do that well that fast. To win Big Ten Freshman of the Year was an exciting time, because I was improving so fast and so much by being at Iowa, and playing with good players every day. My game kept getting better and better." By the time he reached his junior season, Cleve- land took the court with a wealth of confidence. "I had switched from a two-handed backhand to a one-handed backhand kind of late in my career (in high school)," Cleveland said. "It took me awhile to develop a lot of confidence on that side. By the time I was a junior I started to feel like I had con- trol of my game."

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