2/12 Preview

Saturday, February 12th marks the 2nd weekend of play for the Coe College Men's Tennis Team. The Kohawks(2-0) will be hosting UW-LaCrosse and Cornell College.

UW-LaCrosse

LaCrosse narrowly missed the NCAA field in 2010 as a member of Pool B(Independents) and they are currently ranked #16 in the Central Region by the ITA Ranking Committee. Coach Bill Hehli does a fantastic job with his doubles lineup year in and year out. 2010 was no exception as the Eagles rode a doubles sweep to a 5-4 win over Coe. In addition to having outstanding doubles, LaCrosse has a top #1 singles player in left-hander Nick Piotrowski. He topped IIAC MVP Greg Janssen by a 62 62 count in 2010. Bud Fekete, Steven Quiring, and top freshman Peter Stadum will highlight the Eagles' starting lineup.

Cornell College

Cornell College from nearby Mt Vernon, Iowa, will be the 1st Iowa Conference foe in 2011 for the Kohawks. Last year's 6th place finisher in the IIAC, adds 3 first-year starters to a young roster that includes no seniors, and only one junior. Coach Patrick Cote has made roster depth a priority, and the young Rams are expected to provide a stern test for opponents throughout their lineup. Sophomore Garrett Russikoff leads the team with his double-fisted groundstrokes, and expect to see a large contribution from the talented Sam O'Donnell, a Cedar Rapids Washington HS grad.

Kohawks

Coe defeated UW-Eau Claire(6-3) and St Ambrose University(9-0) last Saturday despite struggling all day with their doubles play. Fortunately outstanding singles countered the slow start in doubles. Look for an incremental improvement in doubles basics this week and a continuing display of tenacity in singles.

Schedule of Play

9am Coe vs UW-LaCrosse
1pm UW-LaCrosse vs Cornell College
5pm Coe vs Cornell College

(We will attempt to again supply our "Live-Scoring" feature to the Blog.)