Thursday, March 31, 2011

Saturday/Sunday Preview

Despite the postponement and subsequent re-scheduling of the Men's match vs Wartburg College in Waverly on Friday evening, there will still be plenty of Kohawk Tennis activity this weekend. Saturday the Men host #40 Carleton College at 2pm while another another group travels to Monmouth College where they will play both #73 Monmouth and Central College with play beginning at noon.

Meanwhile, the #38Coe Women's team will play host to #42 Wisconsin-LaCrosse Sunday morning at 9am. LaCrosse already has a win this year over IIAC Champion Luther College. If that isn't enough tennis, then we have even more! LaCrosse will be playing against Augustana too.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

d3 Women's National rankings 3/29

1 Amherst
2 Emory
3 Williams
4 Chicago
5 Tufts
6 Denison
7 Pomona
8 Washington & Lee
9 Carnegie Mellon
10 Middlebury
11 Gustavus
12 John Hopkins
13 Bowdoin
14 WashU
15 TCNJ
16 Depauw
17 Mary Wash
18 Chapman
19 Vassar
20 Skidmore
21 Claremont
22 Santa Cruz
23 Rochester
24 South
25 Wheaton(IL)
26 Whitewater
27 UT Tyler
28 Carleton
29 Redlands
30 Rhodes
31 Brandeis
32 Trinity (TX)
33 Luther
34 Whitworth
35 Methodist
36 Wheaton(MA)
37 Linfield
38 Coe
39 Whitman
40 Salisbury
41 Swarthmore
42 LaCrosse
43 Birmingham Southern
44 Hardin Simmons
45 Grinnell
46 Huntingdon
47 Wellesley
48 Oberlin
49 Wartburg
50 Willamette
51 William Smith
52 MIT
53 St Olaf
54 St Lawrence
55 Dickinson
56 UT Dallas
57 Washington College
58 Austin
59 Mary Hardin Baylor
60 Kenyon
61 Ithaca
62 Muhlenberg
63 Calvin
69 Kalamazoo
65 Sweet Briar
66 Hope
67 Case Western
68 Wesleyan
69 Bates
70 Oglethorpe
71 St Thomas(MN)
72 Hamilton
73 NYU
74 George Fox
75 Cal Lutheran

Monday, March 28, 2011

d3 Men's National Rankings 3/28

1 Emory
2 CMS
3 WashU
4 UC Santa Cruz
5 Amherst
6 Middlebury
7 Kenyon
8 Pomona Pitzer
9 Williams
10 NC Wesleyan
11 John Hopkins
12 Trinity (TX)
13 Bowdoin
14 UChicago
15 Trinity(CT)
16 Redlands
17 Carnegie Mellon
18 Cal Lutheran
19 Whitman
20 Depauw
21 MIT
22 Bates
23 Skidmore
24 Rhodes
25 UT Tyler
26 Mary Washington
27 Denison
28 Case Western
29 Gustavus
30 Whitewater
31 Brandeis
32 Vassar
33 Kalamazoo
34 TCNJ
35 McMurry
36 Swarthmore
37 Luther
38 Washington & Lee
39 Whittier
40 Carleton
41 Tufts
42 Coe
43 Grinnell
44 Christopher Newport
45 Salisbury
46 Hampden Sydney
47 Washington College
48 Stevens Tech
49 Oglethorpe
50 St Thomas(MN)
51 Eau Claire
52 Haverford
53 Chapman
54 Mississippi College
55 Occidental
56 Ohio Northern
57 Colby
58 LaCrosse
59 Willamette
60 South
61 NYU
62 Ithaca
63 Birmingham Southern
64 Whitworth
65 Carthage
66 Wheaton (IL)
67 Augustana(IL)
68 St Lawrence
69 Rochester
70 Wabash
71 Franklin & Marshall
72 Pacific(OR)
73 Monmouth(IL)
74 Oneonta State
75 Hamilton


What I learned Yesterday....and Saturday...

As the posted results state the Coe College Men's Tennis Team participated and won the Kerry Seward Invitational hosted by Wabash College. This has been an annual event for Coe the past few years, but this year, due to a late cancellation, Coe fielded two Teams in the event with Crimson finishing 1st, and Gold finishing 5th.

Although I suspected, the weekend confirmed that the Kohawks have a very deep and talented squad with all 12 participating players performing well against a field comprised of four nationally ranked schools and three other schools in the top portion of their conferences. It was a privilege to have two squads playing and I thank Coach Hutch of Wabash for allowing our players the extra experiences. Each of the next four weekends, Coe will be using at least 12 players, providing more growth opportunities!

Measuring our Tennis Growth is a bit more difficult. Certainly the extra players grew from competing six times over the two day event. For our usual starters, growth was more subliminal, but there. Emotional stability was more present. The concept of tactical adjustment necessity was observed and embraced. (Translation--acknowledging that tactics needed to be changed, listening to coaches and applying their advice, can often work!) Also, once again, our Team Fitness was excellent and continues to be an asset in each event for us. Finally, the idea that our opponents actually can and do hit quality tennis shots, seems to have been accepted as a tennis reality, not a myth that coaches endlessly spout words about. This is a good thing!

Big weekend ahead. Four matches against quality opponents using two Men's squads and the Women return to competition too. I am looking forward to the preparation and the competition. The Schedule gets increasingly more difficult in the month of April and both Teams have the opportunity to play "up" matches the rest of the way.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Kerry Seward Invite - Results

Congratulations to the Kohawk (Crimson) Men for winning the Kerry Seward Invitational this past weekend. Coe Gold took fifth.

Unofficial results are below:

1. Coe Crimson - 59 points
2. Ohio Northern - 55 points
3. Wabash - 52 points
4. Carthage - 51 points
5. Coe Gold - 45 points
6. Rose Hulman-26 points
7. Transylvania-16 points
7. Hanover-16 points

Coe Crimson won 4 of the 9 flights was lead by senior Elliot Rausa, who won Flight 2 singles by defeating Daneric Hazelman from Carthage in the final. Rausa had lost to Hazelman earlier in the season when Coe played Carthage in a dual match. Junior Jonathan Roger won Flight 4 singles, while freshman Sean Stokstad won Flight 5 singles. First years Jeff Damisch and Mike Janssen paired to win Flight 3 doubles for Coe Crimson.

Coe Gold was lead by first year Alex Klaas, who finished 2nd at Flight 4 singles and 3rd in doubles (paired with fellow first year Daken Starkenburg) at Flight 2. Jeff Damisch took 3rd at Flight 2 singles and junior Doug Land finished 3rd at Flight 6 singles.

Congratulations to the Kohawks! Look forward to Coach Rodgers' comments and recap of the event.

Kohawk Tennis Camp - Summer 2011

It is that time of year to start thinking about Summer plans. Coe College will be hosting its annual Summer Tennis Camp the week of June 19th-24th. Registrations received by April 1st will receive a free polyester moisture-wicking Kohawk Tennis shirt (a $25 value).

The Coe College Coaching Staff (Coach Rodgers, myself and Coach Rye) run the camp with the assistance of your very own Kohawk tennis players!

Campers will receive top-notch instruction in all aspects of the game - fundamentals, tactics, emotional control, etc. Match-play and the building of competitive skills will be stressed. Individual assessment (possibly including video analysis) will be received. The atmosphere is fun-filled and will include games and prizes throughout the week.

Please help us advertise by sharing the link below with those that may be interested. A large percentage of the proceeds help fund the Kohawk Tennis Program!

Ages 8-18 welcome of all skill levels!

For more information and/or to register:

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Friday's Recap

Another exciting day of Kohawk Tennis yesterday.

Coach Rodgers spent much of the morning stringing racquets in prep for the men's departure to Wabash College, and the Kerry Seward Invite.

Hannah J spent an hour babysitting Emmie (my almost 3 year old daugther), while my husband and I carried boxes into the new house. Hannah took her to the cafeteria, where Emmie enjoyed dipping french fries into ice cream. Hannah was amazed by the fact that Emmie listened to her and stated, "she's like an actual little person." A big thanks to Hannah for helping us out.

The men left mid-afternoon. Not realizing that the 2 vans departed at separate times, the women feared that Victor had been forgotten, or left behind.

Women's practice was quite productive (despite it being a Friday) and included conditioning, singles and doubles play, and a heated game of Davis Cup. At one point during doubles play, Nat put up a shorter than expected lob to Michelle who was eagerly waiting at the net.....Nat's reaction was an immediate "Oh, S*&%," which she later claimed, was simply her warning to Sara that she need to back up. Honestly, the same fear of Michelle at the net strikes me at times, but I did encourage Nat that a simple "Look Out" will do next time.

Props to Hannah H (B-Nan) and Millie for their continued progress on the doubles court. I was quite impressed with their play yesterday in practice.

I am confident that Millie, Tai and Nat enjoyed their ASA Formal held at the Marriott in Iowa City last night.

Best of luck to the men today!


Friday, March 25, 2011

Fitness & Kohawk Tennis

One of our goals as a Coaching Staff this year was an increased emphasis on Footwork and Fitness. We have incorporated some new drills & equipment. One of the Footwork drills is to "hand-toss" balls to various baseline locations......the photograph depicts the end result of this tiring drill, 4 empty carts of tennis balls to pick up!






In focusing on Team Fitness we(mostly Coach Kris with a few suggestions from me) are working on developing our own unique method of Tennis Fitness Training that we plan on refining through this year and unveil around December of 2011. With Coach Rob serving as Timekeeper, Coach Kris puts the Women's Team through one of our new workouts using an assortment of training aids.



Thursday, March 24, 2011

Preview-Kerry Seward Invitational

The Kohawk Men's Tennis team will travel to Crawfordsville, Indiana, and Wabash College, this weekend for a two day individual flighted tournament. This eight team event provides a mid-season respite from dual match play and provides an opportunity for the players to add, work on, and correct portions of their games prior to the jam-packed challenges of the month of April.

Wabash Coach Hutchinson does a great job of organizing and hosting play, and his Mother provides a great buffet of food, snacks and cookies! The Field is strong this year with #56Ohio Northern, #61 Carthage College, #67 Wabash, and #48Coe. Other participating schools are Transylvania, Rose-Hulman and Hanover. The Kohawks, due to the last minute withdrawal of another school, will be entering both a Crimson and Gold team in the event, giving an unprecedented twelve players a guaranteed six matches each over the two days. Ten of the twelve will return to play for Coe in 2012.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Emmie's Ready!

Emmie Diehl is packed in her very own box, and ready for the Move to Robins, Iowa!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

d3 Women's National rankings 3/22

1 Amherst
2 Williams
3 Emory
4 UChicago
5 Denison
6 Pomona
7 Carnegie Mellon
8 Tufts
9 Wash & Lee
10 Gustavus
11 John Hopkins
12 Middlebury
13 Bowdoin
14 WashU
15 TCNJ
16 Depauw
17 Mary Washington
18 Chapman
19 Skidmore
20 Claremont
21 UC Santa Cruz
22 Rochester
23 South
24 Wheaton(IL)
25 Whitewater
26 UT Tyler
27 Carleton
28 Redlands
29 Luther
30 Vassar
31 Rhodes
32 Brandeis
33 Salisbury
34 Trinity(TX)
35 Whitworth
36 Methodist
37 Coe
38 Linfield
39 Swarthmore
40 LaCrosse
41 Whitman
42 Wheaton(MA)
43 Birmingham Southern
44 Hardin Simmons
45 Grinnell
46 Huntingdon
47 Wellesley
48 Oberlin
49 UT Dallas
50 Wartburg
51 Willamette
52 MIT
53 William Smith
54 St Olaf
55 St Lawrence
56 Dickinson
57 Washington College
58 Austin
59 Mary Hardin Baylor
60 Kenyon
61 Ithaca
62 Muhlenburg
63 Calvin
64 Kalamazoo
65 Sweet Briar
66 Hope
67 Case Western
68 Oglethorpe
69 NYU
70 St Thomas(MN)
71 Hamilton

Monday, March 21, 2011

d3 Men's National Rankings 3/21

1 Emory
2 Claremont
3 Amherst
4 WashU
5 UC Santa Cruz
6 Middlebury
7 Williams
8 Kenyon
9 Carnegie Mellon
10 Pomona
11 NC Wesleyan
12 John Hopkins
13 Redlands
14 Trinity (TX)
15 Bowdoin
16 Trinity(CT)
17 UChicago
18 Cal Lutheran
19 Whitman
20 Depauw
21 MIT
22 Bates
23 Skidmore
24 Rhodes
25 UT Tyler
26 Case Western
27 Mary Washington
28 Denison
29 Gustavus
30 Whitewater
31 Brandeis
32 Vassar
33 Kalamazoo
34 Luther
35 TCNJ
36 McMurry
37 Swarthmore
38 Washington & Lee
39 Whittier
40 Christopher Newport
41 Carleton
42 Grinnell
43 Salisbury
44 Hampden Sydney
45 Tufts
46 Washington College
47 Stevens Tech
48 Coe
49 Oglethorpe
50 St Thomas(MN)
51 Eau Claire
52 Haverford
53 Chapman
54 Mississippi College
55 Occidental
56 Ohio Northern
57 Willamette
58 LaCrosse
59 St Lawrence
60 NYU
61 Carthage
62 Colby
63 Birmingham Southern
64 Sewanee
65 Whitworth
66 Augustana(IL)
67 Wabash
68 Wheaton(IL)
69 Rochester
70 Ithaca
71 Franklin & Marshall
72 Monmouth(IL)
73 Pacific(OR)
74 Oneonta State
75 Hamilton

Sunday, March 20, 2011

What I learned yesterday...

Well, I learned that it is a very nice luxury for a Coach to have Senior Players who are still "into" tennis, and who lead by example on court. Yesterday, our Seniors(El, Scott, Hannah, Nat)got both matches off to a tremendous start with sterling doubles play. I appreciate the luxury!

You know what else is a great luxury? Having TWO great assistant coaches! Coach Rob helped Michelle through a challenging singles match, and Coach Kris sat(suffered?) through another three set marathon by VK, waiting for him to break serve! That left me free to focus on JR and Jeff's three setters. More white hair for me!

It was a nice day. Augustana College has a talented roster on both their Men's & Women's teams, and yesterday the Vikings played well, so it presented a nice measuring stick for your Kohawks. As far as Wins and Losses go, it was obviously a successful day. Beyond that, a few things we need to work on showed up: Faster starts, better match-end closing skills, opportunity-recognition skills, serve percentage control in doubles. Areas that we have been stressing showed up well too: partner communication, positive body language, better offense/defense balance in singles.

The upcoming week and weekend present us with another opportunity to improve. The Kohawks will be traveling 12 strong to the Kerry Seward Invitational, hosted by Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. This will be an eight team flighted tourney with each player guaranteed three singles, and three doubles matches. The women have an off week from competition, so I expect Coach Kris to be cooking up intriguing conditioning workouts!

Moving!

My husband (Phil) and I recently bought a house in Robins, IA (just North of Cedar Rapids) meaning my drive to/from work has been reduced from 30 minutes to a mere 8! In other words, I'll have another 44 minutes each day to dedicate to Kohawk Tennis.......just kidding Phil!

In all honesty, being closer to Coe will allow both myself and family to be more involved in the Coe Community and Kohawk Tennis. I am looking forward to the many athletic games/matches, plays, musicals, cultural events, etc that our family will attend. I know that Emmie will benefit, and grow, from being exposed to the Coe environment.

Emmie herself is excited for the move since Michelle (and the other ladies on the team) will be able to babysit more often! She also really enjoys hanging out in the Racquet Center (or Coach Eric's house as she refers to it), jumping on the track mats, sliding down the inverted ab bench and running around the track with stops at each break in the curtains to peak in the doors to the tennis courts. Long term, perhaps she'll spend a bit more time ON the tennis courts?

We close on March 28th!

A great performance by both the men and women yesterday against Augustana. The efforts put forth by the teams, continuous improvement and goals of the program/players, parent support network and fellow coaching staff solidify our decision to move!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Live Scoring-Women vs Augustana College

Coe College 7 vs Augustana College 2

Lucero/Schupbach 1d McNamara/Sawyer 8-1
Ohlman/Bordignon 2d Sapio/Panko 8-3
Jensen/Hoffmann 3d Reese/Wethington 8-2
Helms/Osburn 4d Augustana 2-8 (exhibition)

Hannah Jensen 1 Kim Sawyer 6-1, 6-4
Michelle Schupbach 2 Shannen McNamara 6-4, 6-4
Tai Lucero 3 Tricia Sapio 6-0, 6-0
Sara Ohlman 4 Samantha Tonn 6-4, 6-3
Natalie Bordignon 5 Sheri Hendricks 4-6, 2-6
Elizabeth Hoffmann 6 Emily Kazmarek 1-6, 2-6
Hannah Helms 7 Augustana 0-8 (exhibition)
Millie Osburn 8 Augustana 4-8 (exhibition)

Live Scoring-Men vs Augustana College

Coe: 8 Augustana: 1

Doubles:2-1

#1Rausa/Stegemann vs. Desimone/Wall 8-3
#2Tucker/Newman vs. Doyle/Lehnart 7-9
#3Khristenko/Stokstad vs. Cullen/Arnol 9-7
#4(Exhibition)Starkenburg/Klaas vs. Augustana 6-8

Singles: 6-0

#1Victor Khristenko vs. Adam Desimone 6-7, 6-4, 7-5
#2Elliott Rausa vs. Kyle Doyle 6-1, 6-1
#3Scott Stegemann vs. Nik Lehnhart 6-2, 7-5
#4Jonathan Roger vs. Andy Wall 7-6, 2-6, 6-2
#5Curtis Newman vs. Jack Cullen 6-1, 6-2
#6Jeff Damisch vs. Colin Arnold 3-6, 6-2, 10-7

Friday, March 18, 2011

On Preparation and Practice

One of the skills that college players seem to pick up slowly, at least here at Coe, is the ability to practice & prepare efficiently and effectively. I often see players in their final two years finally grasping the "Art" of practice.

Practicing well as an Individual in a Team Training environment can be a bit tricky, especially when players do not feel that the current drill is relevant to the development of their own game. Or, in another example, when players focus solely on "winning" in practice drills, or matches.

The mature tennis player is able to isolate the skill development and rehearsal portions of a Team practice and focus on improving their games. These players realize that in order to improve, a quantity of successful repetitions( of a variety of different skills) must be executed. Regardless of the competitive outcome of a practice drill or practice match! And they are able to recognize, identify, and manipulate their emotional energies differently in a practice setting as opposed to a match setting.

Players will improve much quicker, more efficiently, when they create the correct mindset for themselves in practice. Otherwise, emotional forces within each of us will cause internal conflict, and prohibit productivity.


Wednesday, March 16, 2011

3/19 Preview-Augustana College

This coming Saturday the fast-rising Tennis Teams from nearby Augustana College will invade the Clark Racquet Center for an unique double dual with both the Men's & Women's Teams participating.

Augustana Men

Currently sitting at 13-3, ranked 66th in the country, Augie is led by senior Kyle Doyle and juniors Nik Lehnhart and Adam Desimone. Add to this a very talented and highly rated class of first-year players and the Vikings will pose a considerable challenge to the Kohawks. Coe is 13-1 on the year and ranked #48 in the country.

Augustana Women

The Ladies of Augustana stand at 11-6 on the year and finished their Fall campaign with a 2nd place CCIW Conference finish, the highest finish for the Vikings in years, falling only to nationally ranked Wheaton College. Both of the top two players, Shannen McNamara and Kim Sawyer, are first year players who have been putting up phenomenal results thus far and should test the Kohawks. Coe sports an 11-6 record also, with recent close losses to Nationally ranked Wheaton, TCNJ, and Rochester. Coe is ranked 47th in the country.

The Men's match is scheduled at 10am. The Women at 2pm. Both matches could be held on the outdoor courts, but that final decision will be made Saturday morning. ITA regulations specify that the mid-match temperature must exceed 50 degrees, while the sustained wind speed be 20mph or less. Regardless, the nets are up and Coe will be ready to go, inside or outside!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

d3 Women's National rankings 3/15

1 Amherst
2 Williams
3 Emory
4 UChicago
5 Denison
6 Pomona
7 Gustavus
8 Carnegie
9 Tufts
10 Wash & Lee
11 John Hopkins
12 Middlebury
13 Bowdoin
14 Chapman
15 WashU
16 Depauw
17 TCNJ
18 Mary Washington
19 Skidmore
20 Rochester
21 Claremont
22 Sewanee
23 Wheaton(IL)
24 UT-Tyler
25 Whitewater
26 Trinity(TX)
27 Santa Cruz
28 Carleton
29 Redlands
30 Brandeis
31 Vassar
32 Rhodes
33 Luther
34 Wheaton(MA)
35 Methodist
36 Kenyon
37 Wellesley
38 Swarthmore
39 Whitworth
40 Case Western
41 MIT
42 St Olaf
43 LaCrosse
44 Willamette
45 Linfield
46 NYU
47 Coe
48 Ithaca
49 Whitman
50 Sweet Briar
51 Wesleyan
52 Baldwin Wallace
53 Oberlin
54 Washington College
55 St Lawrence
56 Ohio Northern
57 Hardin Simmons
58 William Smith
59 Babson
60 Kalamazoo
61 St Thomas
62 Hope
63 Bates
64 Birmingham Southern
65 Grinnell

Monday, March 14, 2011

d3 Men's National Rankings 3/14

1 Amherst
2 Emory
3 Claremont
4 WashU
5 Santa Cruz
6 Middlebury
7 Williams
8 Kenyon
9 Carnegie Mellon
10 John Hopkins
11 NC Wesleyan
12 Redlands
13 Pomona
14 Trinity(TX)
15 Bowdoin
16 Trinity(CT)
17 Chicago
18 Depauw
19 Whitman
20 MIT
21 Bates
22 Rhodes
23 Denison
24 Case Western
25 Mary Washington
26 Gustavus
27 Christopher Newport
28 Brandeis
29 Skidmore
30 Whitewater
31 Kalamazoo
32 Vassar
33 Cal Lutheran
34 Luther
35 TCNJ
36 Whittier
37 Wash & Lee
38 Carleton
39 Swarthmore
40 Salisbury
41 Mc Murry
42 UT Tyler
43 Hampden Sydney
44 Grinnell
45 Stevens Tech
46 Wash College
47 Tufts
48 Coe
49 Chapman
50 St Thomas
51 UWEC
52 Willamette
53 Occidental
54 Oglethorpe
55 Franklin & Marshall
56 Ohio Northern
57 Haverford
58 St Lawrence
59 Colby
60 NYU
61 Birmingham Southern
62 LaCrosse
63 Carthage
64 Whitworth
65 Linfield
66 Augustana
67 Wabash
68 Monmouth
69 Wheaton (IL)
70 Rochester
71 Hamilton
72 Ithaca
73 USouth
74 Mississippi College
75 IL Wesleyan

Sunday, March 13, 2011

More Spring Break Pictures

Once again, a thank you to Betty Damisch for sharing the following albums with us. To view Spring Break and/or previous pictures:

Pictures of the below mentioned activities....


Hannah, Michelle and Sara after exiting Wet 'n Wild Water Park......heard that the Bomb Bay slide was the best!
Coach Kris and Nat at a Braves Spring Training game in the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Sara and Hannah anxiously awaiting the launch on the Slingshot at FunSpot Park. The launch itself below...
Coach Rob, Hannah H, Millie, Nat, Sara and Hannah J out shopping.
Hannah, Coach Rob and Sara racing down the slides at FunSpot......still not sure how the ladies talked Rob in to that one.
A more fitting activity for Coach Rob. Hannah H in the go cart behind.
Sara and Hannah on the SkyCoaster at FunSpot.
A picture of the iFly contraption in which Sara and Hannah participated in indoor skydiving.
Even Coach Kris enjoyed the Outlet Mall.....Nike, Adidas, North Face and Columbia in the vicinity also. :)

The above activities required a bit of travel. However, the teams also enjoyed multiple activities within walking distance of our hotel: lake with a walking/running trail (the start to each day for Coach Rodgers, and his little to only downtime), Starbucks, Planet Smoothie, 5 Guys Burgers and Fries, Moe's, an indoor mall, movie theater, fitness room, indoor (lap swimming for Coach Kris) and outdoor pool, etc.

The ladies actually stated that they did more, and had more fun off the court, than had been the case on previous Spring Break trips. Hard to believe since Coach Rodgers thinks we spent more time on court, and got more out of it, than ever before. My conclusion.....we were busy! Had a lot of fun both on and off the court, improved as individuals, a team, and a program!

Thanks to Coach Rodgers and Coach Rob for driving the 20 hours each way to make this trip possible! And the many hours spent discussing play, coaching, line-ups, tennis in general, etc. I certainly grew as a coach because of it!

Photo as Promised!

As promised in the last post, a photo of some(not all) of our Parents & Grandparents who comprised an incredible Support System for the Teams on our Florida Trip.

As of 1130am CDST all Players had returned to Coe and are catching up on sleep and school in preparation for tomorrow's classes. My Van drove straight through, arriving at 3am, I believe Coach Rob's Van pulled in at 530am, and Coach Kris and the Ladies landed at the airport at 1120am.

By the way, in addition to the great focus shown by the Players, Kris & Rob were also tremendous in their attention to detail and devotion to the whims of the 20 players. I heard tales of thrill-seeking adventures from Hannah J and Sara, a Braves baseball game, Outlet Mall shopping marathons, Water Park escapades, and the Chili's Restaurant meal where all 20 players AND parents alit at Chili's and asked for seating for a party of 40! Perhaps we will all see & hear more?

Friday, March 11, 2011

Spring Break 2011

Fittingly, yesterday, the final day of tennis play on the 2011 Spring Break Trip began with a rain day. The delay pushed back the Men's morning match vs Ursinus College to a later time, immediately following the Drew University match.

Anyway, we arrived at 1pm for our 130 start and the entire Team set about moving water off of the 12 courts we were to play on that day. Efficient water removal and a bit of sun and wind and we were able to get underway a tad past 2pm. From that point on, I was standing on my feet coaching until the conclusion(exciting!) of the Ursinus match at 945pm!

Kudos to the Teams! I felt that this year we had the best focus on tennis that we have ever had on a Spring Break trip. All 20 players traveling were punctual, wanted to be on court, and improved each day while playing.

A VERY special shout-out to the parents(grandparents) who joined the Teams here in the Orlando area. As you will see from a photo shot to be posted later, we had as many parents with us as players! Parents took care of match hydration needs, daytime food requests, and many other daily needs that allowed Rob, Kris, and myself to exert all of our energies on coaching.

Your Kohawks return to action versus Augustana College, a rapidly improving Tennis Program from nearby Rock Island, Illinois, this coming Saturday. Both the Women's and Men's squads will be hosting the Vikings at the Clark Racquet Center.

Thursday's Results

Women's Tennis

Coe vs Drew University 2pm

Lucero/Schupbach 1d Ashkemazi/Fredrickson C 80
Jensen/Ohlman 2d Madrigal/Conde C 80
Helms/Osburn 3d Monroy/Pribor C 85

Hannah Jensen 1s Sofia Madrigal C 60 60
Michelle Schupbach 2s Sarit Ashkemazi C 60 60
Tai Lucero 3s Christine Conde C 60 60
Sara Ohlman 4s Erica Fredrickson C 60 60
Natalie Bordignon 5s Yiyi Rodriguez C 61 60
Hannah Helms 6s Leslie Monroy C 62 62

Men's Tennis

Coe vs Drew University 130pm

Tucker/Newman 1d Smego/Smego D 82
Janssen/Stokstad 2d Brisotti/Belfiore C 86
Starkenburg/Klaas 3d Imbo/Gerber C 84

Victor Khristenko 1s Raul Smego C 26 64 64
Elliot Rausa 2s Alex Belfiore C 63 60
Scott Stegemann 3s Matt Brisotti D 46 63 64
Jonathan Roger 4s Elliott Smego C 63 61
Curtis Newman 5s Adam Gerber C 61 62
Jeff Damisch 6s Djedjy Hill C 61 61

Coe vs Ursinus College 530pm

Rausa/Stegemann 1d Stutchin/Lord DNP
Newman/Tucker 2d Stevenson/Kelley C 83
Stokstad/Janssen 3d Hope/Marsh U 98

Victor Khristenko 1s Evan Stutchin U 57 76 62
Elliot Rausa 2s Matt Hope C 60 60
Scott Stegemann 3s Chris Wyshock C 60 60
Jonathan Roger 4s Brent Stevenson U 61 64
Curtis Newman 5s Dylan Marsh C 60 60
Jeff Damisch 6s David Rowe C 63 60

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

First Year Fun!

There is a strict no hazing policy in place. Despite that, tradition stands! Our first year men always willingly bleach their hair over Spring Break......picture below:

Live Scoring - Coe vs Rochester - Men & Women

Women: Coe 3 vs Rochester 6

Singles
#1 Hannah Jensen vs. Lia Weiner 6-4, 6-0
#2 Michelle Schupbach vs. Frances Tseng 6-1 6-4
#3 Tai Lucero vs. Alex Goodman 6-1 6-3
#4 Sara Ohlman vs. Danielle Shreck 7-5 6-2
#5 Natalie Bordignon vs. Jamie Bow 6-3 6-1
#6 Elizabeth Hoffmann vs. Hayley Brower 6-4 6-7(5) 10-7

Doubles
#1 Schupbach/Lucero vs. Tseng/Goodman 3-8
#2 Ohlman/Bordignon vs. Weiner/Bow 1-8
#3 Hoffmann/Jensen vs. Shreck/Janice Zhao 8-3
#4 (Exhibition)Helms/Osburn vs. Brower/Zu 8-5

Men: Coe 8 vs. Rochester 1
Singles
Victor Khristenko vs. Boris Borovcanln 6-7 7-6 10-5
Elliot Rausa vs. Jeff Zink 6-2 6-4
Scott Stegemann vs. Joel Allen 6-4 6-2
Jonathan Roger vs. Matt Volkov 4-6 6-2 10-12
Curtis Newman vs. Brian Rice 1-6 6-3 10-6
Jeff Damisch vs. Dan Barbash 6-4 6-4

Doubles
Stegemann/Rausa vs. Borovacnln 8-4
Newman/Tucker vs. Zink/Volkov 8-5
Khristenko/Stokstad vs. Barbash/Etter 8-5

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Live Scoring - Women's Tennis - Coe vs Meredith

Coe 8 vs Meredith 1

Singles:
#1 Hannah Jenson vs. Ashley Pearsall 6-1 6-2
#2 Michelle Schupbach vs. Mary Lawerence Newton 6-1 6-0
#3 Tai Lucero vs. Puja Patel 6-0 6-1
#4 Sara Ohlman vs. Mollie Musgrave 6-0 6-2
#5 Natalie Bordignon vs. Betty Edwards 5-7 7-6(6) 6-10
#6 Elizabeth Hoffmann vs. Hannah Webster 6-0 6-1

Doubles:
#1 Schupbach/Lucero vs. Pearsall/Newton 8-1
#2 Ohlman/Bordignon vs. Musgrave/Edwards 9-7
#3 Jensen/Hoffmann vs. Meg Crumpton/Patel 8-0

Monday, March 7, 2011

d3 Mens National Rankings 3/7

1 Amherst
2 Emory
3 Claremont
4 WashU
5 UCSC
6 Middlebury
7 Williams
8 Trinity(TX)
9 Kenyon
10 Carnegie Mellon
11 Johns Hopkins
12 Bowdoin
13 NC Wesleyan
14 Redlands
15 Trinity(CT)
16 Depauw
17 Whitewater
18 Bates
19 Whitman
20 Pomona
21 Denison
22 MIT
23 Case Western
24 Christopher Newport
25 Washington & Lee
26 Whitewater
27 Kalamazoo
28 Brandeis
29 Mary Washington
30 Salisbury
31 Skidmore
32 Cal Lutheran
33Gustavus
34 Luther
35 TCNJ
36 Carleton
37 Vassar
38 McMurry
39 Whittier
40 Stevens Tech
41 Swarthmore
42 Hampden Sydney
43 Rhodes
44 UT Tyler
45 Washington College
46 Rochester
47 Tufts
48 Grinnell
49 Coe
50 Chapman
51 St Thomas
52 Eau Claire
53 Willamette
54 Occidental
55 Mississippi College
56 Haverford
57 Carthage
58 Franklin & Marshall
59 St Lawrence
60 Colby
61 Ithaca
62 Linfield
63 Birmingham Southern
64 NYU
65 LaCrosse
66 Oshkosh
67 OH Northern
68 Whitworth
69 Augustana
70 Wabash
71 Ursinus
72 Monmouth

Spring Break - Day 3

Coaches up early to hit the gym, swim, walk, etc.

Cook to order, and full continental breakfast at the Embassy Suites, enjoyed by all.

Departed mid morning for matchplay. 3 vans, 2 sites. We had 8 ladies, 6 men and 2 coaches at Lake Cane Tennis Club to play TCNJ. Another 6 men, and Coach Rob, took on Judson at Winter Park Tennis Center. Results from all 3 matches below.

Arrived back at the hotel late afternoon. Players currently enjoying the pool, mall, lake, surrounding area and/or a couple hours of relaxation. Coaches inputting scores, updating blog, etc. and will be off to play tennis themselves once the admin work is complete.

Reservation for 40+ (parents, players, coaches) at a local restaurant this evening.

All in all, an enjoyable day of tennis and sunshine!

Picture below taken at Lake Cane this afternoon:

Men's Tennis - Coe vs Judson

Coe 8 Judson 1

Singles:
#1 Kyle Tucker vs Tyler Adland 7-6 (5), 6-3
#2 Sean Stokstad vs Reilly Good 6-2, 6-0
#3 Mike Janssen vs S.B. Sirapanya 7-6 (4), 6-1
#4 Alex Klaas vs Andrew Moment 6-2, 6-2
#5 Daken Starkenburg vs Derek Wells 6-0, 6-3
#6 Tyler Wilson vs Jared Williams 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (6)

Doubles:
#1 Stokstad/Janssen vs S.B. Sirapanya/Adland 8-4
#2 Klaas/Starkenburg vs Good/Moment 8-5
#3 Tucker/Wilson vs Williams/T.A. Sirapanya 8-3

Women's Tennis - Coe vs TCNJ

Coe 4 TCNJ 5

Singles:
#1 Hannah Jensen vs Karisse Bendijo 6-0 6-4
#2 Michelle Schupbach vs Felice Trinh 7-6 7-6
#3 Tai Lucero vs Allie Tierney 6-2 6-2
#4 Sara Ohlman vs Paige Aiello 1-6, 4-6
#5 Natalie Bordignon vs Lauren Balsamo 3-6 3-6
#6 Elizabeth Hoffmann vs Emily Petersack 2-6 2-6

Doubles:
#1 Schupbach/Lucero vs Bendijo/Tierney 8-4
#2 Ohlman/Bordignon vs Aiello/Balsamo 0-8
#3 Jensen/Hoffmann vs Trinh/Petersack 2-8

Men's Tennis - Coe vs TCNJ

Coe 2 TCNJ 7

Singles:
#1 Victor Khristenko vs Jeremy Eckhardt 2-6 1-6
#2 Elliot Rausa vs Steven Fernandez 2-6 7-6 10-4
#3 Scott Stegemann vs Jon Yu 6-3 6-3
#4 Jonathan Roger vs Dean Thompson 4-6 2-6
#5 Curtis Newman vs TJ Riley 4-6 3-6
#6 Jeff Damisch vs Dan Lee 2-6 3-6

Doubles:
#1 Rausa/Stegemann vs Eckhardt/Riley 1-8
#2 Khristennko/Newman vs Yu/Thompson 8-5
#3 Roger/Damisch vs Stewart Fernandez/Howard Telson 2-8

Saturday, March 5, 2011

News & Reflections from Florida-Day I

Well....both Vans made it down here. Took about 20 hours. Kudos to Coach Rob for doing yeoman's work, driving straight through with only a two hour respite from Elliot! My Van stopped for 8 hours in Forsyth, Georgia.

I learned a few things on the drive:
......Nashville, Tennessee has terrible rush hour traffic!
.....College Kids can sleep a lot(Mike Janssen slept 26 of our 30 hour sojourn!)
.....Georgia must not have much of a roadside billboard law.....billboards stacked on top of each other all the way through the state.
.....Illinois' 65mph speed limit is non-conducive to getting to Florida very quickly.
.....Southern States have a multitude of "Economy" Motels. This appeals to the miser in me!
.....Three Cups of bad convenience store coffee, does not equal one good cup of coffee.
.....75 degrees is 75 degrees....Nothing to complain about!
.....There are more Michigan license plates on Interstate than Florida!

Four of the guys wanted on courts immediately after the long drive. So we got VK, Mike, Alex, and JR out on the courts for two hours. Nice to get the adjustment process underway. Two more practices Sunday. Weather permitting. (it rains down here--no Indoor Courts!)

AND, finally: a "shoutout" to Michelle Schupbach(& partner Tai) for winning twice today versus the NCAA D1 Redbirds of Illinois State! Well done indeed!

Women's Tennis - Live Scoring - March 5th

Coe 2 vs. Illinois State 7

Singles:
#1 Hannah Jensen vs Phyllis Tigges 3-6 2-6
#2 Michelle Schupbach vs Ariane Maack 6-4 6-4
#3 Tai Lucero vs Carolina Abello 0-6 2-6
#4 Sara Ohlman vs Hannah Esker 2-6, 2-6
#5 Natalie Bordignon vs Gabby Phillips 1-6 1-6
#6 Elizabeth Hoffmann vs Sarah Streitz 1-6 0-6

Doubles:
#1 Schupbach/Lucero vs Kiss/Tigges 8-4
#2 Ohlman/Bordignon vs Abello/Maack 0-8
#3 Jensen/Hoffmann vs Esker/Streitz 3-8

Friday, March 4, 2011

Kohawk Tennis News & Notes

Coach Rodgers departed early this morning with members of the men's squad for Orlando (Spring Break!). Coach Rob, and the rest of the crew (those that needed to attend class today), are heading out the door any minute. Thus, there is much buzz and activity in the Racquet Center as the guys gather.....hyped for a the week ahead!

The women's team has a scheduled hit-around today, rather than a full practice, in prep for their match against Illinois State tomorrow. There are admittedly a few nerves amongst the women, yet excitement as well. The women look forward to testing themselves against a quality D1 program. Live scores will be on the blog; please follow along!

Following Saturday's match, the women will finish packing their own bags and jump on a flight Sunday morning with myself to join the men in Orlando. We have practice courts in Orlando (minutes from our hotel) Sunday evening. It will be great to be on outdoor courts under the Sun!

My husband, and daughter, Emmie, will be joining me here at the Racquet Center this afternoon. We currently reside 25-30 minutes South of Cedar Rapids and are in the process of looking at houses in the Cedar Rapids area. Emmie is also decked out in her Kohawk apparel since we will be attending the women's basketball game on Coe's campus this evening (first round of the NCAA tournament!).

Tennis Lounge - Natalie is working on completing the artwork. A large sectional couch has been donated; the ladies and parents have chosen a fabric sample to re-upholster it. A full refrigerator and entertainment center have also been donated. Progress on the project is being made!

At the moment, Nat and Sara are hanging out in the tennis office with me. An update from their lives below:

Natalie Bordignon (senior) received her acceptance letter today from the Education Department to student teach (art) in the Fall of 2011.

Sara Ohlman (sophomore) received a position with Coe's Upward Bound Program this Summer. The program identifies and assists high school aged students who want to go to college, but experience roadblocks to accomplishing that goal. "I am excited to be given this opportunity. It will be very rewarding to work directly with these students in order to help them attain their ultimate goal of earning a college degree." - Sara

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Upcoming Kohawk TENNIS Match Schedule

Saturday, 3/5 Kohawk Women host Illinois State

Monday, 3/7 Kohawk Men vs Judson(IL) 8am (@Rollins College)
Kohawk Men vs TCNJ 11am (Lake Cane Park)
Kohawk Women vs TCNJ 1130am (Lake Cane Park)

Tuesday, 3/8 Kohawk Women vs Meredith 1230pm (Sanlando Park)

Wed 3/9 Kohawk Women vs Rochester 1200pm (Sanlando Park)
Kohawk Men vs Rochester 1230pm (Sanlando Park)
Kohawk Women vs Misericordia 630pm (Rollins College)
Kohawk Men vs Misericordia 630pm (Rollins College)

Thurs 3/10 Kohawk Men vs Ursinus 830am (Sanlando Park)
Kohawk Men vs Drew 1pm (Sanlando Park)
Kohawk Women vs Drew 1pm (Sanlando Park)

This Week in d3 Central

Men

#9 Gustavus vs #14 St Thomas
#10 Luther 0 vs Graceland 9

Women

#1Chicago, #2 Denison, #3 Gustavus, #4 Depauw at ITA National Indoor
Kalamazoo 1 @ #5WashU 8
#8Carleton 9 @ Concordia-Moorhead(MN) 0
Macalester @ #9 St Olaf

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Indoor Mixed

Each season, Fall & Spring, while the Teams are both in season, we hold a Mixed Doubles Tourney. Today was the Indoor Version for 2011.

Tai Lucero with partner Jonathan Roger in the forecourt, take on Michelle Schupbach and Mike Janssen.

The Event consists of an 8 Team Compass Draw.

Champions: Hannah Jensen & Curtis Newman

Runner Ups: Coach Kris & Jeff Damisch

3rd Place: Michelle Schupbach & Mike Janssen

Men's Tennis-Spring Break Previews

Judson

Judson University is located in Elgin, Illinois and the Eagles are currently 6-4 on the 2010-11 season. This will be the 1st match between the two schools, and will be contested on the campus of Rollins College. Judson University is an NAIA & NCCAA member affiliate.

TCNJ

The College of New Jersey, located near Trenton, is the State Liberal Arts college. The Lions, currently listed as the #35 team in the NCAA d3 rankings, will be opening their Spring slate with their annual trip to Florida. Jeremy Eckhardt occupies the #1 singles and doubles slots for the Lions and he is highly ranked in the competitive Northeast Region.

Rochester

The University of Rochester is a member of the University Athletic Association, the most competitive conference in d3 from top to bottom. The Yellowjackets stand at #45 in the country. Coe leads the all-time series 1-0

Misericordia

The Cougars are from Dallas, PA, nearby Wilkes-Barre. They are d3 NCAA & Freedom Conference members. The Team sports a 1-2 record, and will be beginning Spring play with their Florida Trip. Fred Hockenbury leads the Cougars from the #1 singles & doubles positions.

Ursinus

Ursinus College is located in Collegeville, PA, just outside of Philadelphia. Coach Pete Smith has quickly improved the Bears with an influx this Fall of national level talent led by Evan Sutchin. Ursinus should become a factor in the highly competitive Centennial Conference as early as this Spring.

Drew

The Rangers campus is located in Madison, NJ, nearby NYC. As the defending Landmark Conference champions, Drew participated in the 2010 NCAA tourney. Head Coach Jeff Brandes was the Coach of the Year for both Men and Women in 2010. The Rangers will be opening Spring play next week in Florida.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Womens Tennis ANNOUNCEMENT!

NEWS FLASH!!!

KOHAWKS to Host ILLINOIS STATE

Saturday, March 5th at 11am

Womens Tennis--Spring Break Previews

Starting on Monday, March 7th the Coe College Women's Tennis Team will be playing five matches in four days, a fantastic opportunity to grow as competitors, and develop teamwork in doubles. A quick synopsis of the five upcoming opponents.

TCNJ

The College of New Jersey(Ewing, NJ, 5 miles from Trenton, NJ) will be making its Spring debut on their Florida Trip. The Lions stand at 5-0 and are ranked #17 in the country. Their #1 player, Karissa Bendijo won their ITA Regional this past Fall, and then finished 4th at the Fall Nationals in Mobile, Alabama. The Lions defeated Coe 8-1 in 2010.

Meredith

The Avenging Angels stand at 0-2 on the young 2011 season having opened the year with two Division I opponents. They begin the D3 portion of their schedule this Thursday and the March 8th meeting between the two schools will be the first ever. Meredith as a Women's college located in Raleigh, NC.

Rochester

Rochester(Rochester, NY) stands at 5-0 on the season, with a win over D1 Colgate as their most recent competition. The YellowJackets are ranked #20 in the National D3 rankings and are led by two outstanding players, Lia Weiner & Frances Tseng, ranked 11th & 15th in the challenging Northeast Region. Rochester competes in the University Athletic Association, the country's toughest conference from top to bottom.

Misericordia

The Misericordia Cougars are from Dallas, PA(10 miles from Wilkes-Barre, PA), and currently stand at 4-2. They are members of the Freedom Conference. This will be the 1st meeting between the two schools.

Drew

Drew University is located in Madison, NJ(25 miles from NYC), and the Rangers compete in the Landmark Conference. Drew is a Liberal Arts College of 1700. Drew is the defending Landmark Champion and participated in the NCAA tournament in 2010.