Friday, May 27, 2011

Friday NCAA Play

This will be brief. Has been a long 4 days of much tennis, and need to be up early to catch a flight! Still in the process of digesting play, both team and individual (singles and doubles). I am very thankful to Coach Rodgers, and Coach Rob for attending IA Boy's State while I stomped around on his turf, for providing me with the opportunity to attend. I am more stoked than ever to assist in building a team, and individuals, that can and will compete at this level. We already have a very solid base, and will continue to grow each and every day!

A few notes from today's Individual Tournament:
- I haven't seen anyone that can compete with Gabrielle Clark (Emory) on the singles court. Kendra Higgins (Chicago) took a set off her (in a tiebreaker) during the team tournament, but Clark's physicality took over the match at that point. Clark is that much more athletic, quick and physical than the other competitors. I expect her to take the title with ease.
- I also expect Pottish (Emory) and Lane (CMS) to hold seed, and meet in the Finals, with Pottish coming out on top of a battle.
- In other words, I predict a repeat of 2009, in which Emory took both the men's (Michael Goodwin - brother Chris is in the draw this year and was the runner-up last year) and women's (Lorne McManigle) singles titles.
- I only caught a single round of doubles play. On one hand, it is difficult to bet against the experience of 2 time champions, Chrissy Hu and Kendra Higgins, of Chicago. However, their doubles play this week wasn't up to par in the team tournament (beaten by Williams, and Emory?). That leaves the door open for a solid 2nd seeded pair in CMS and/or a double dip victory for Clark?
- Based on the team tournament, the Amherst men play very solid doubles. I did see their top pair fall to Emory's #1 duo but that loss was avenged in 3 sets today by Amherst's #2 squad. Thus, I expect Amherst (#1 or #2) to add to their trophy case with a doubles victory.

I ate one of the best meals I've had in a long time at Dr. Grubb's on Bonita Avenue downtown Claremont this evening. Atlantic salmon, vegetable medley and a tomato pesto sauce. Superb and reasonably priced. Highly recommend if you are in the area.

Thanks again to Coach Rodgers; the trip will pay dividends to Kohawk Tennis in terms of my own growth as a coach. Can't complain that the growth happened to be obtained in sunny CA!

Yeah, yeah......not as brief as I expected it to be. Hope you enjoyed my journey the past 4 days.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Team Finals

Women's Final - Williams vs. Amherst

Doubles: The doubles pairs from Williams simply don't miss.....especially when in the crosscourt. Unforced errors on their side of the net was limited to say the least. Once again, movement from all 4 players on the court was impressive; net players ALWAYS ready to volley. Honestly, Amherst better took advantage of short ball opportunities, and closed the net with more confidence. However, when push came to shove, the grinding ability of Williams could not be matched. I was reminded of an article written by Elliot Teltscher (that very well could have been written by Coach Rodgers himself) on shot tolerance. If the Amherst shot tolerance was 23, Williams boasted one of 32. Following long rallies/points, Amherst would hang their head in frustration. Williams 3, Amherst 0.

Singles: The celebration that ensued after doubles, and look of sheer will on the face of the Amherst players, was evidence to me that the match was not over. I expected Amherst to come out fighting against a lackadaisical/casual Williams squad and witnessed just that. The typical fight/grind that Williams had displayed over the course of the 2 previous days was lacking from the outset, and Amherst took advantage of that, capturing 4 first sets (and battling in the 2 that they dropped). Williams recovered shortly thereafter, and buckled down. Rallies were long; at one point I counted 3 consecutive rallies of 21, 16 and 28 groundstrokes on courts 4, 5 and 6 respectively. On courts 1, 2 (during the 1st set) and 3, Amherst was able to match the consistency/grind of Williams. On top of that, Amherst better recovered to the baseline throughout rallies, and created and capitalized on short balls. This was enough for them to attain victories at the top spot, and court 3. With courts 4 (Williams) and 6 (Amherst) being one sided, it became apparent that courts 2, and 5, would determine the outcome of the match. Worley (Williams #2 player) is very athletic and a fighter, and in many respects, represents the epitome of a Williams tennis player. Starting with Tuesday's play, she quickly became one of my favorite players to watch. Thus, I found it fitting that the match came down to her court. In form, and with the experience of a National Championship under her belt, she captured court 2 in a 3rd set tiebreaker to give her team the title for the 4th straight year.

Williams 5, Amherst 4. My congratulations to both teams for a match/season well-played!

Men's Final - Amherst vs. Emory

Doubles: Once again, the men's doubles was physical and athletic. On both sides of the net, players moved together (with little distance between them), covered the middle, gave up low % shots in terms of court coverage, closed the middle (BOTH players and ALWAYS!), dug low volleys, etc. Returns were BIG, and with depth, yet few return errors. The attack mentality was evident. Offensive lobs, always followed in, were utilized often. With the exception of the top court, Amherst forced errors and played through Emory. Amherst 2, Emory 1.

Singles: Based on the singles play that I had seen from Amherst the previous day, I strongly believed the match to be over after doubles and that ended up being the case. The play of Pottish, Emory's #1 singles player, was the only highlight for the Eagles.

Amherst 5, Emory 2. Congratulations to Amherst for a fairly dominant tournament, and the avenge of their 2nd place finish the previous 2 years.

NCAA Individual Singles and Doubles play opens up tomorrow morning!

Below is a picture of the Williams players storming the court in celebration of their victory.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Day 2 - NCAA Team Tournament

Wednesday play opened up with the women's semi-final matches: Emory/Amherst and Williams/Chicago. I chose to watch the Emory/Amherst doubles and was fairly impressed with the level of play.....especially on Emory's side of the net. Lead by a very physical and athletic freshman, Gabrielle Clark, the Eagles played offensive doubles.....depth on returns, attacking on short balls, crisp closing volleys with the expectation that every ball will come back! Not only did Emory frequently capitalize on short balls, they often would sneak in behind high quality deep rally shots as well. Amherst actually matched Emory's aggression early on the first 2 courts. The Lord Jeff's lead 5-3, and 4-3, respectively on the 2 courts. As if surprised to be ahead in the matches, emotions appeared to get in the way. Amherst, ever so slightly, backed off their groundstrokes and at times, attempted low % shots. Thus, Emory had short balls to pounce on, and started attaining some unforced errors on Amherst's behalf. Emory won 9-8(4) at #1 doubles and 8-4 at #2 doubles. Although too little, too late, Amherst's #2 pair did pick up the aggression again when down 7-4 in the match. They proceeded to play a 12+ deuce game, staying on the court for an extended period of time during an ever so important time of the match! From an emotional standpoint, the reverse was true for the Lord Jeff's at #3 doubles. I believe they trailed 5-2 in the match, playing far too defensive/passive from the outset, but picking up the aggression later in the match. Amherst battled back to win 9-7 and claim 1 of the doubles points.

With the expectation that Chicago would be fairly dominant in doubles (based on play from yesterday and a doubles sweep), I didn't see much of the Williams/Chicago doubles play. I was wrong (it happens!). Williams handily won at #1 against 2 time NCAA Doubles Champions Chrissy Hu and Kendra Higgins (2009 and 2010) 8-3. Williams also took court 3 doubles by an 8-2 score. Those that watched play stated that Chicago simply did not play with the same conviction/aggression that they are known for, and had shown yesterday. I was able to view the latter part of court #2 doubles (Chicago's most aggressive duo in my opinion) and noted the same. Chicago at one point lead 6-3 in the match, and had a 5-2 lead in the tiebreaker. Nonetheless, believe I witnessed BOTH Li and Guzman several feet behind the baseline for the first time in 2 days.....on multiple occasions. In the end, Williams also seized court 2 and took a 3-0 lead into singles.

The Ephs of Williams came out strong in singles and showed why and how they are the 3 time defending NCAA Team Champions (seeking the 4-peat tomorrow). Singles play (dictated by the Ephs on most courts, with the exception of court #1) included long rallies, intelligent crosscourt and directional play, a high level of fitness, rally groundstroke depth, and smart decision making when out of position. Williams captured victories at court 5 and 6 to win the match 5-0.

Turning back to Amherst/Emory, the lone doubles point that Amherst took at court 3 prevented this match from coming down to the wire. Amherst played a similar style as Williams (especially in the lower half of their line-up) and essentially out-grinded Emory. Gabrielle Clark was the only singles victor for Emory. Amherst 5, Emory 3.

At this point in the day, I was able to find an empty field and sneak a workout in before the Men's semi-final matches began: Emory/Wash U and Williams/Amherst.

The Amherst match was quite lopsided. The only highlight for the Ephs was a win at #3 doubles. Otherwise, Amherst once again outmatched their opponent physically, winning 5-1 in quick fashion.

Emory/Wash U doubles was an electric environment. Constant movement from all 4 players on the court, very physical, great hands (to counter to the countless below the net volleys), athleticism, power, etc. A battle ensued on court #2 and #3, but Emory prevailed in both matches. Immediately after Emory seized the 3-0 lead, a sigh of disappointment/surprise from both the Wash U players, and their fanbase, conveyed to me little hope on the singles front. This time, I was correct.....Emory quickly rolled the top 2 singles spots to win 5-0.

Tomorrow's final match-ups include Amherst/Emory on the men's side and Amherst/Williams on the women's side.

I am unable to upload pictures from my camera, but I have included a few from my phone below. I don't claim to be a photographer, but I found the first to be an astonishing view on my walk from the courts to my hotel. The second is at the CMS courts during the introduction of the Chicago/Denison match on Tuesday. The last photo is of Emmie attempting to join my morning workout one day last week. Enjoy!



Day 1 in Claremont

Arrived mid-afternoon and went straight to the CMS courts. Beautiful complex! Between CMS and Pomona-Pitzer, there are 24+ courts within a very small radius.

Watched the women warm-up in prep for the afternoon quarterfinal matches - Chicago/Denison and CMS/Williams. Started my tournament experience with the Chicago/Denison doubles. Two very different styles. Chicago plays a fairly powerful, confident and aggressive game, oftentimes through the net player. On the other hand, Denison's strength lies in their defense (pulling 2 back at times) with high clearance and LOBS! Chicago appeared a bit flustered with the defense from the outset, but quickly rebounded. In the end, their power was simply too much for the Big Red to handle.....witnessed net players often caught off guard and unable to dig volleys. The singles was quite competitive, but again, Chicago's power, size, aggression and depth in their line-up trumped Denison's defense. Chicago 5-0.

Williams 5, Claremont 0.

The evening men's quarterfinal play included Amherst/Trinity(Texas) and CMS/Williams. There was a very apparent change in the atmosphere moving into men's play. The intensity and energy of both the players, and crowd, increased dramatically. Trinity is known for their doubles play and came out with a tremendous amount of passion and hype. Amherst has been fairly dominant all year, and kept matches tight as they rode out the storm. Over time, momentum slowly shifted in favor of Amherst (due to sheer size, power and forward movement) allowing the Lord Jeff's of Amherst to sweep the doubles, and eventually take the match 5-0.

The CMS/Williams match ended up being the most exciting of the day.....a 4 hour marathon! CMS was a clear favorite going into the match, and remained the expected victor despite being down 2-1 after doubles. Williams won at the top singles spot in 3 sets, but dropped the 2-4 matches to a strong CMS trio. With CMS leading 3-2, 5 and 6 singles both split sets. Williams took the lead 3-1 on both courts. After gaining the lead, Page (Williams) held off Cahill (CMS) at the 6 spot and tied up the match score at 3 a piece. 5 singles became a battle though, and was tied at 3-3 when court 6 wrapped up play. Throughout the remainder of the set, Chow (Williams) had several break points and team match points (5?) against him but managed to fight each one off. Wu (CMS) was cramping throughout the set, but did have the home court crowd in his favor! In fitting fashion for an NCAA Elite 8 match, under the lights, just before midnight, Chow captured the first and only match point in his favor to win the 3rd set, 11-9 in a tiebreaker. Intense! Williams 5, CMS 4.

Quote of the day came from Coach Murph as players from CMS and Williams raced back and forth as the players on Court 5 changed sides....."For 2 smart schools, you'd think they would figure out to simply put 1/2 their team on each side."

Definitely an exciting first day of play for me, and more to come! As the sun went down, realized that I should have brought warmer clothes for evening play!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

NCAA d3 Championships

The first-ever combined NCAA d3 Tennis Championships begin today in Claremont, California. quarterfinal Women's play opens the day at 9am PDT, and the day concludes with quarterfinal Men's play at 6pm.

Follow the live scoring here!

http://www.cmsathletics.org/sports/mten/2010-11/releases/20110520jw3a7x

Coe College will have our very own reporter present at the Championships. Last week Coach Rob visited Men's Regional play in St. Louis, and this week, I am pleased that Coach Kris will be blogging and reporting from Claremont! I have always found attending NCAA play the best way to learn the current trends occurring at the d3 level. Claremont has incredible tennis facilities, and I know Coach Kris will be keeping us all up to date with pictures and prolific writing over the next four days!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Men's NCAA Regionals

NCAA Regionals

This past weekend I went down to watch the men's NCAA Regional hosted by Washington University in St Louis. The teams there were, in order of seeding, (1) Wash U, (2) Whitman (flown in from Walla Walla, Washington), (3) UW-Whitewater, (4) Luther (Coe would most likely have been placed in this spot had our men won the conference tournament), (5) Earlham, and (6) Westminster.

I missed the 1st round, in which Whitewater and Luther advanced fairly comfortably past Earlham and Westminster respectively. I got into St Louis Friday night just in time to have dinner with my old teammates and coach from my alma mater, Whitman College. It was great to spend some time catching up with my friends and one of my mentors.

The following morning I watched some of the Luther v. Wash U match, which was held indoors at the Steel Shop Tennis Club--an interesting facility of 5 courts arranged end to end in a building converted from a railroad car factory. The match was competitive, but Luther was never really able to gain a foothold in any match, other than winning the 1st set at #5 singles. The experienced and well-coached Bears were too much for the Norse--Wash U took the match 5-0.

Whitman v. Whitewater

The second semifinal was also played indoors, at Creve Coeur Racquet Club, and pitted Whitman against Whitewater. Although Whitman came in ranked #21 nationally and was the higher seed, I knew from Coe's match against Whitewater in April that the Wisconsin team was very dangerous. The doubles was played with energy and enthusiasm, with Whitewater winning #1 comfortably 8-3, Whitman winning #2 similarly by an 8-4 count, and Whitewater serving strong at #3 to hold out after breaking in the 3rd game of the set, 8-6. From there, the singles was fairly evenly matched, and it looked as if the two teams may have been headed toward splitting the 6 matches. Whitewater took #1 and #4 fairly quickly before Whitman prevailed in a one-sided match at #6. Whitman was 2 points away from a victory at #3 when Whitewater clinched the match 5-2 with a win at #5 singles. #2 singles had just split sets, so in that match neither team was ahead, but I got the feeling that Whitman would likely have eventually won both #2 and #3 singles if the match had been played to completion, which would have made the final score 5-4. It was a hard fought match on both sides, but Whitman was utterly devastated by the loss, as they felt they did not perform as well as they could have and squandered a great opportunity to make it to the Regional Final. Whitewater simply served well in the doubles, and was better able to hold their nerve and hit out on the ball in the singles (particularly at #5, the swing match). The upset certainly was not too much of a shock to me after seeing Whitewater play during the regular season and knowing they were battle-hardened from playing a rigorous schedule.

Although the Whitman guys were understandably disappointed and a bit sulky after their loss, I went with them for dinner at a great pizza joint on the Delmar Loop, which is near Wash U's campus. It didn't take long for spirits to rise as pie upon tasty deep-dish pie was devoured! Again, I was fortunate to be able to spend some more time with my old team, and back at their hotel I talked until the wee hours of the morning with the seniors whose college careers were now at an end. Don't worry guys, it doesn't have to be the end of your tennis life!

On Sunday, I went with Jake Cappel, my former teammate (and doubles partner 3 years ago in the 2008 NCAA regionals!), assistant coach this past season at Whitman, and midwest native (Chicago), to watch the Regional Final, Wash U v. Whitewater. The doubles was exciting and hotly contested at all 3 positions, with an early lead for Wash U at #1, for Whitewater at #3, and a back and forth struggle at #2. Jake predicted a lone win for Whitewater at #2 doubles while I thought it would turn out to be a sweep for Wash U. The experienced team of Woods/Stein from Wash U closed out their match at #1, while their teammates were mentally tougher at #3, winning the last 3 games amidst a breakdown by the Whitewater pair. #2 doubles came down to a tiebreak where both teams exhibited nerves, with Whitewater squeeking out an 8-6 win. Although Jake's prediction held true (barely!), we both were certain that Whitewater would have needed at least 2 points from the doubles to have a chance at winning the meet. And so we were both proved right on that front when Wash U raced to quick victories at #1, #6, and soon after, #5 singles to clinch the meet, 5-2. #s 2-4 were all close, so it is possible Whitewater may have been able to score another point or a few if those matches had been played out. Whitewater went toe-to-toe with the top team in the Central region in doubles, but Wash U was just too solid in singles to slip up against a team just outside the top 30 nationally. The doubles lasted about and hour and a half, while the singles barely lasted more than an hour...

Complete box scores from the regional can be found here:
http://bearsports.wustl.edu/Sports/Content/Pages/2011NCAAMensTennis.aspx

Once again, the importance of doubles is reinforced from what I saw. A lower ranked team with many less star recruits had the chance to be in the thick of a match with a top 5 ranked team due to playing solid doubles--good serves, returns, and first volleys, as well as aggressive movement at the net. On the singles front, groundstroke steadiness combined with an ability to attack when given the opportunity and mental toughness was noticeably better in the higher ranked team.

By advancing past the regional stage, Wash U moves on to the quarterfinals (Nationals) which is held at one site, this year hosted by the Claremont Colleges in California. In a couple of weeks, Coach Kris will fly out there to watch the team championships, as well as the early rounds of the singles and doubles tournaments. Thanks to Coach Rodgers for giving me leave to travel down to watch an interesting regional--it was a great experience from a coaching perspective, not to mention a great bonus to see my old team!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Personal Training

Although difficult to wrap up the season and see many of the players depart campus for home / summer activities, life goes on. I will be spending much of the summer putting time into my own game once again, with the assistance of Coach Rodgers. Those that understand Kohawk Tennis know that Coach would go bananas without someone to coach during the off season.

As for tournament play/schedule, I actually signed up for 4 circuit events, in hopes that I am accepted into at least 1 of the qualifying draws:
$10,000 Cleveland, OH - June 20th - 26th
$10,000 Atlanta, GA - July 11th - 17th
$10,000 Evansville, IN - July 18th - 24th
$10,000 St. Joseph, MO - July 25th - 31st
The qualifying draws begin the Friday before the event start date. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I will also be playing singles and mixed doubles (with recent Coe graduate Scott Stegemann) at the US Open Sectional Qualifier Tournament in Norman, OK June 22-26.

Lastly, I'll be playing a few local tournaments, and will be looking to add to my tournament schedule depending upon whether accepted to the above circuit events.

Physically, I started the Insanity workout series 4 weeks ago. This is my 2nd go at the 9 week program; I completed the series last Spring as well leading up to my tournament play. I actually just wrapped up the 4th week this morning. Next week is a "recovery" (still difficult) week, followed by another 4 weeks of extremely challenging workouts. HOWEVER, I just recently acquired the sequel series to Insanity......The Asylum.....which is geared towards the training of professional athletes. It is likely that I'll start Asylum this Monday, and finish the latter 5 weeks of Insanity following my 30 day commitment to the Asylum (pun intended).

On court, Coach has modified my serve to include a higher ball toss, different set with my feet, and more utilization of the torso to generate racquet head speed. The result......increased consistency, more power and accuracy.....for the first time in my life, I'm actually getting free points on my serve despite being only 5'3.75'' and a $1.12. We are also putting time into the depth on my rally groundstrokes, moving to the bounce in order to capitalize on short ball opportunities, the transition game, etc, etc. Will keep working.....1% better everyday, right!

Off to the Robins Fire Department Pancake Breakfast!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

End of the Season

Each and every year it happens.
Once, twice, and a third time for good measure.
October 16th, May 1st, May 7th

Always, it arrives too soon.
And, suddenly!
Always, it is accompanied by the pain and remorse of defeat.

Leaving me with emptiness and some time on my hands.
(And way too much year-end paperwork)
I use that time for memories, for self-motivating, for planning

While I await the dates that always arrive too slowly
(August 22nd, January 23rd, February 13th)

When Practices begin anew.




Saturday, May 7, 2011

Luther 5 Coe 1

Luther wins 2011 IIAC Men's Tennis Championship by adding wins at #1 and #6 singles to their doubles sweep. Coe's Curtis Newman won at #5. #2 thru #4 single were closely contested and went unfinished.
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Luther 3 Coe 0

Luther sweeps doubles 82 83 85
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Coe 5 Central 0

Curtis Newman 61 61 at #5 singles and Jeff Damisch 62 62 at #6 singles clinched Coe's 5-0 win over Central. Coe now faces Luther for the IIAC title.
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Coe vs Central

Coe leads 3-0

85 86 85
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Friday, May 6, 2011

Friday Happenings!

Nat and Michelle working on the tennis lounge this afternoon.


Men's team dinner held in the tennis lounge this eve. IIAC Conference Championships tomorrow (to be played in Iowa City)!

Our very own Kyle Tucker (currently a junior) launched his own business / product line today. I encourage you to check it out:

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Men's NCAA Tournament Explanation & Thoughts

The month of May, in College Tennis is virtually 100% post-season play. Conference Tournaments which determine Automatic Qualifiers for the NCAA Tournament, are then followed by the opening three rounds of the 64 draw NCAA tournament. The season then concludes with the final three rounds of NCAA Team play, followed by the Individual NCAA Tennis Championships. The singles consists of 32 total players, eight from each of the four regions, and the doubles is even more select, only 16 total pairs from across the country, again four from each region.

A Conference must have a minimum of seven teams to receive a qualifying bid. There are 29 conferences that receive AQ slots. There are seven bids that are awarded to Independents(schools without conference affiliation, or schools whose conferences have six or fewer members), and finally, six At-Large bids, for a total of 42 schools. The Iowa Conference, with its nine member base, receives an AQ slot. The IIAC will contest its combined IIAC Team Championship/NCAA AQ Tourney this May 6-7th with six teams competing.

The NCAA Committee will meet Sunday to select the 42 Team field. I would suspect that three schools from the Central Region will serve as host schools(8 NCAA Regional sites overall). WashU in St Louis, Kenyon College in Ohio, and University of Chicago are all in line to host as they are all top 10 ranked teams. The NCAA has a rule that places teams in regional sites within 500 miles of their campus. The IIAC Champion would then likely go to either Chicago or St Louis, as Gambier, Ohio is well over 500 miles from the nearest IIAC school.

On Tuesday the NCAA Committee will again convene, this time to select the Individual participants based on the recommendations of the Regional Advisory Committees(RAC). All year long the RACs have been meeting to announce rankings, and now, at the conclusion of this weekend's play they will select the 8 singles players, and 4 doubles pairs from each region.
It is interesting to note that going into the final weekend of play, players from schools in the state of Iowa(not known as a hotbed for junior tennis play) are in line to receive four of the twelve Central Region spots. Grinnell's Juan Carlos Perez-Borga, Dubuque's Nick Garcia, and Luther's Scott Sundstrom have all been ranked within the top eight all season. Grinnell's doubles pair of Perez-Borga and Dmitriy Glumov have been in the top four doubles pairs all season long.

The eight schools that advance from Regional play will meet at the NCAA Championship site. For the first time in history(The NCAA III has contested tennis since 1976), the Event will be a joint Men's & Women's championship. The Finals will be held at the tennis complexes at Claremont-McKenna-Scripps Colleges and the Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in Claremont, California May 24-29th.

Amherst College is the top ranked Women's team going into this weekend, and Emory College is the top-ranked Men's squad. Emory, Williams, Chicago, and Tufts round out the top five on the Women's side. Claremont, Santa Cruz, Amherst, and Middlebury fill out the top five on the Men's side. Luther College will represent the IIAC in Women's play. Luther is ranked #35. Luther is also the highest ranked IIAC Men's team at #41, while Coe College is the only other IIAC Men's team ranked, #46.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Senior Banquet 2011

Last night was the annual Senior Banquet. This year, the event was held in honor of our 5 seniors:
Elliot Rausa
Scott Stegemann
Prateek Haralalka
Hannah Jensen
Natalie Bordignon

Coaches, players, parents, alumni and supporters of the program were all in attendance. Each of the seniors stood up and gave a heartfelt speech that included their favorite Kohawk Tennis memories, and a thank you to their parents. The 3 coaches also spoke (even Rob!) and addressed each senior. Coach Rodgers also recapped the previous year of Kohawk Tennis, and shed light on the direction we are headed. It was very touching to be a part of; tears of joy were shed by many.

Each of the seniors will be sorely missed on the tennis court next year, but we fully expect them to remain involved. They will forever be a part of the Kohawk Tennis family!

A sincere thank you to everyone who helped with the planning, set-up and execution of the banquet! It was certainly a success!

A picture of each senior is below. Additional pictures can be found here:





Final IIAC Standings

Coe College 8-0 21-7
Luther 7-1 17-7
Cornell 6-2 14-10
Central 5-3 9-12
Dubuque 4-4 10-16
Wartburg 3-5 6-13
Buena Vista 2-6 3-9
Simpson 1-7 4-19
Loras 0-8 1-13

Iowa Conference Team Championships @Iowa City, Iowa

Friday, 5/6 6pm

Cornell vs Wartburg
Central vs Dubuque

Saturday, 5/7 9am

Coe vs Central/Dubuque
Luther vs Cornell/Wartburg

Saturday, 5/7 1pm

Finals

Luther

After dropping all three of the doubles matches, the Kohawks were unable to rally during singles play despite leading, or competing evenly in four of the six singles. Luther College advances to the NCAA tournament and Coe finishes the 2010-11 season with a 15-9 record

Coe College vs Luther College

Date: 5/1/2011
Location: Luther College
Winner: Luther College
Score: 5-0
Position Coe College Luther College Winner Score
#1 Singles Hannah Jensen Fran Fairfield Unfinished 36 42
#2 Singles Michelle Schupbach Alana Humpal Unfinished 55
#3 Singles Tai Lucero Cami Czech Unfinished 60 30
#4 Singles Sara Ohlman Brynne Zinnecker Unfinished 53
#5 Singles Natalie Bordignon Cassandra Chalhoub Luther College 60 62
#6 Singles Elizabeth Hoffmann Elise Allen Luther College 62 60
#1 Doubles Michelle Schupbach
Tai Lucero
Alana Humpal
Cami Czech
Luther College 85
#2 Doubles Hannah Jensen
Sara Ohlman
Brynne Zinnecker
Katie Nichols
Luther College 83
#3 Doubles Elizabeth Hoffmann
Natalie Bordignon
Katy Lindstrom
Fran Fairfield
Luther College 86

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Wartburg

Although trailing 1-2 following the doubles portion, Coe rebounded by winning the opening set at each flight. The Kohawks nailed down the 5-2 win with straight set wins at #4, #2, #3 and #6 singles.
Coe College vs Wartburg College

Date: 5/1/2011
Location: Neutral
Winner: Coe College
Score: 5-2
Position Coe College Wartburg College Winner Score
#1 Singles Hannah Jensen Molly Eslick Unfinished 75 32
#2 Singles Michelle Schupbach Jenny Dallenbach Coe College 61 61
#3 Singles Tai Lucero Lindsay Greiner Coe College 60 60
#4 Singles Sara Ohlman Leanna Jenkins Coe College 60 60
#5 Singles Natalie Bordignon Claire Evans Unfinished 63 32
#6 Singles Elizabeth Hoffmann Brita Jensen Coe College 64 64
#1 Doubles Michelle Schupbach
Tai Lucero
Michelle MacKenzie
Molly Eslick
Coe College 83
#2 Doubles Hannah Jensen
Sara Ohlman
Jenny Dallenbach
Lindsay Greiner
Wartburg College 85
#3 Doubles Elizabeth Hoffmann
Natalie Bordignon
Leanna Jenkins
Claire Evans
Wartburg College 82

Decorah Weather

After my brisk early morning walk I thought I needed to check the forecast.

Currently 39 degrees with 24mph winds.

Glad I have winter gear still in the Truck!

Today's Tennis will be a test of mental strength!
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