State of Kohawk Tennis

Been quite a while since I opined on the current season, so time to jump in and get started! April has arrived, the weather is still nice in Cedar Rapids, and both Teams working diligently towards upcoming challenges.

The Women, due to lousy scheduling on my part(working to rectify for 2013) will be facing the 18-1 Pioneers of Grinnell College on Saturday after 3 weeks apart from competition. On the bright side the Ladies have been working hard on conditioning, doubles and GPA's! Following Grinnell, Kalamazoo and Hope College loom prior to our hosting the AQ event for the Iowa Conference. Outcomes are never guaranteed, but we will be prepared for the challenges ahead!

The Men just wrapped their annual trip to the KSI hosted by Wabash College. A close 3rd place finish and the competitive opportunities for 8 players made this a positive trek. Up ahead will be the usual challenges of April when we compete against highly accomplished tennis programs, beginning Saturday with Grinnell. We are temporarily out of the Regional rankings despite our 16-3 record. Grinnell, Carleton, Kalamazoo, Elmhurst, Luther and Whitewater loom ahead this month; all of whom are ranked higher. Senior Victor Khristenko, who has been felled the past 6 weeks by mononucleosis, has just been cleared to practice. The return to form of VK will help us, although it may well take time for him to regain his physicality. Like the Ladies, the Men have been emphasizing conditioning, doubles and hopefully GPA's!

It has been a blast working with both squads. Coach Kris and Coach Rob have accepted increased responsibilities and are on court all the time. I have been stringing so much, arthritis has kicked in! Kind of a good thing I guess.....it means players are on the court a lot!

Keep an eye on the Blog....Kohawk Tennis could be ready to make a move!!!!