Iowa men’s tennis player Jonas Dierckx is headed to Tulsa, Okla., this weekend to compete in the All-American Tournament. The tournament will last from Saturday until Oct. 2.

Dierckx missed the team’s first tournament last weekend in preparation for the tournament.

“This week is just about Jonas,” head coach Steve Houghton said. “He is playing this weekend, so we’ve really got two weeks off for everybody else.”

Dierckx said he thinks he’s done enough to prove to the coaches that he is ready for the high level of competition this weekend.

“My record last year [was great], and also I played a lot of tournaments over the summer, so I have a lot of match rhythm,” he said.

Tournament play isn’t entirely new to him. Houghton said he thinks that Dierckx’s experience playing there two years ago helped him become more confident going into the weekend.

“I think that he’s got a little more confidence in him now after being exposed to it before,” Houghton said. “I think he’s a pretty confident guy … since last fall, he’s had some success playing up high in the Big Ten.”

Houghton said a lot of this weekend will depend on the luck of the draw and whom he has to face.

“Anything can happen at that tournament,” he said. “I mean, a lot of it depends on your draw, who you get to face. He will have to win three or four matches to qualify for the next round.”

Senior Michael Swank said he looks forward to seeing how Dierckx does in this weekend’s matches.

“I’m excited for him — the All-American tournament is a really competitive, a great event for guys to get to go to,” he said. “Jonas has definitely earned the right to go, and, hopefully, he can go out there and get some big wins to represent Iowa.”