Iowa Conference Men's Tennis Awards, All-Conference Team

                             Coe's Sprinkel Named MVP

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa --- The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) has announced its All-Conference Team and major awards for the 2013 men’s tennis season. Coe College sophomore Noah Sprinkel (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) has been named the 2013 IIAC Men’s Tennis Player of the Year while Buena Vista University’s Kevin McCadams and Coe College’s Eric Rodgers have been named co-recipients of the 2013 IIAC Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year award.

Sprinkel was voted all-conference in both singles and doubles this season and captured Most Valuable Player honors for the first time in his career after posting a 48-13 overall record, including a 21-7 mark in singles play. In the fall, he took third at the Iowa Conference Individual Championships and advanced to the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA Division III Midwest Region Championships. Sprinkel was ranked sixth in the May 2 ITA Central Region singles rankings and was selected for the field for the 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships at Kalamazoo, Mich., where he fell, 6-4, 7-5, to Amherst’s Andrew Yaraghi in the first round.

In doubles, he partnered with Curtis Newman to post a 27-6 mark, winning the title at the Iowa Conference Individual Championships and advancing to the quarterfinal round at the USTA/ITA Division III Midwest Region Championships. Sprinkel and Newman were ranked sixth in the May 2 ITA Central Region singles rankings and was selected as Central Region alternates for the 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships at Kalamazoo, Mich.

Sprinkel is the sixth Coe player to be named Iowa Conference MVP, accounting for 10 total honors, and the first since Greg Janssen in 2010.

McCadams received IIAC Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year honors for the first time after leading the Beavers to a 10-7 mark and a tie for third in the Iowa Conference standings. It is the first time since 1997 that Buena Vista has posted at least 10 wins. The Beavers also qualified for the Iowa Conference Team Tournament for the first time since it became a six-team affair in 2006, finishing fifth.

Rodgers received IIAC Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year honors for the fifth time overall and the second year in succession. He led Coe to a 32-2 record overall and a 7-0 mark in the league, winning the school’s eighth Iowa Conference men’s tennis title. Under his direction, the top-seeded Kohawks defeated fifth-seeded Wartburg and second-seeded Luther by identical 5-0 scores to win the Iowa Conference AQ Tournament. The Kohawks advanced to the NCAA Championships, earning a first-round bye. Coe dropped Earlham, 5-3, in the second round before bowing out to 10th-ranked Washington University in St. Louis, 5-0, in a third round match-up.

Rodgers is also a five-time IIAC Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year (2006-08, 2011-12).

The IIAC also announced the 2013 All-Iowa Conference Men’s Tennis Team. Thirteen individuals were selected to fill the 12 singles and six doubles positions with Sprinkel, Newman, Coe freshman Yasushi Inoue, Luther junior Ramesh Karki, and Central freshman West Adelman receiving honors for their play in both singles and doubles.

Karki was selected All-Iowa Conference in both singles and doubles for the third time, while Newman and Sprinkel were singles and doubles honorees for the second straight year. Luther senior Nick Mozena picked up his third straight all-conference honor in singles and Coe junior Sean Stokstad earned his second straight All-IIAC honor in singles.

Iowa Conference champion Coe led all schools with eight all-conference selections between five players. Luther received four honors spread among three players, Wartburg had two individuals receive singles honors alone and Central had one individual receive honors in both singles and doubles. Buena Vista and Loras each had one player receive all-league honors in singles alone.

The complete 2013 All-Iowa Conference Men’s Tennis Team follows this release.
 

~~ www.iowaconference.com ~~

2013 All-Iowa Conference Men's Tennis Team
Most Valuable Player – Noah Sprinkel, Coe
Co-Coaches of the Year – Kevin McCadams, Buena Vista & Eric Rodgers, Coe
Singles	School	Year	Hometown / High School
Adam Gustad	Buena Vista	Jr.	Fargo, N.D. / Fargo South
West Adelman	Central	Fr.	Geneva, Ill. / Geneva
Riley Galbraith	Coe	Fr.	Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Kennedy
Yasushi Inoue	Coe	Fr.	Kokubunji, Tokyo, Japan / Waseda
Curtis Newman $	Coe	Sr.	Ankeny, Iowa / Ankeny
Noah Sprinkel $	Coe	So.	Minneapolis, Minn. / South
Sean Stokstad $	Coe	Jr.	Ramstein, Germany / Ramstein
Jon Moore	Loras	So.	Dubuque, Iowa / Wahlert
Ramesh Karki ! $	Luther	Jr.	Kathmandu, Nepal / Xavier International
Nick Mozena ! $	Luther	Sr.	Dubuque, Iowa / Senior
Yusuf Chowdhry	Wartburg	Fr.	Independence, Iowa / Independence
Brian Rasmussen	Wartburg	Sr.	Fort Dodge, Iowa / Fort Dodge
Doubles	School	Year	Hometown / High School
West Adelman	Central	Fr.	Geneva, Ill. / Geneva
Yasushi Inoue	Coe	Fr.	Kokubunji, Tokyo, Japan / Waseda
Curtis Newman #	Coe	Sr.	Ankeny, Iowa / Ankeny
Noah Sprinkel #	Coe	So.	Minneapolis, Minn. / South
Quinn Foley	Luther	So.	Dellwood, Minn. / Mahtomedi
Ramesh Karki ^ #	Luther	Jr.	Kathmandu, Nepal / Xavier International
Honorable Mention	School	Year	Hometown / High School
Kyle Freischlag	Central	Jr.	Downers Grove, Ill. / Downers Grove South
Tim Kahl	Central	So.	Grinnell, Iowa / Grinnell
Ryan Hickman	Coe	Fr.	Hutchinson, Kan. / Hutchinson
Michael Janssen	Coe	Jr.	Oshkosh, Wis. / Lourdes
James Ayer	Luther	Jr.	Philadelphia, Pa. / Central
Matt Bellio	Luther	Jr.	Fond du Lac, Wis. / St. Mary’s Spring Academy
Torstein Jystad	Luther	So.	Kolbotan, Norway / Oppegaard Videregaaende Skole
Alex Hook	Simpson	Jr.	West Des Moines, Iowa / Valley
Eric Hilpert	Wartburg	So.	Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater

Lucero Named to CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large Team

Story here:
http://www.iowaconference.com/news/2013/5/21/MTEN_0521131422.aspx

Well, the 2013 finally came to a close on this past Thursday in Kalamazoo Michigan. The three Kohawk entries into the Individual championships all fell short of victory. Tai started the day off at 8am against the #8 seed from Whitman College and fell to her fellow Texan in a lengthy(of course, Tai was playing!) match 62 64. Noah took on a five-star frosh from Amherst College at noon and came up just short in dropping the 64 75 decision. The final match of the day came after dinner when Tai and Michelle took on a pair from Pomona-Pitzer. The dynamic duo came tantalizingly close before succumbing 62 36 64. Coe traveled with three coaches(and Emmie!) in three vehicles, and a strong cheering section with all parents, JR and Greg Janssen in attendance.

Rain Delay

Rain delay prior to Men's Team final. Coach Rodgers trapped in storm between courts #1 and #7!

NCAAs at the Zoo

Kohawk Tennis is here on location in Kalamazoo, Michigan where the d3 NCAA Championships are being hosted by Kalamazoo College. Former Coe Asst Coach Mark Murphy is the Championships Director.

Competing for Coe in the historical venue of Stowe Stadium will be Tai Lucero and Noah Sprinkel in singles and Tai and Michelle Schupbach in doubles. Play begins Thursday.

NCAA's & Academic Standing

After a Thursday win over Franklin, the women lost to Depauw (ranked 13th Nationally) on Friday.  Schupbach and Lucero (ranked 4th in the Region) defeated the top Tiger duo (ranked 2nd in the Region).  The Doubles victory also made Michelle Schupbach the winningest player in Kohawk Tennis history on the women's side; moving one win ahead of All-American Molly Fiala.  Tai was also leading in a (very long) first set against a fellow NCAA Singles Qualifier upon conclusion of the team match.

The men knocked off Earlham today in the NCAA Round of 32:
http://www.coeathletics.com/article/1478.php#.UY76oXBgvzI
Sweet 16 versus Wash U Sunday at noon in St. Louis!

A chart that intrigues me.....teams remaining in the NCAA Division III Tournament:

Team - National Tennis Ranking - Best Colleges &/or Liberal Arts Ranking

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps - 1 - 10/12/24 (LA)    
Kenyon - 2 - 32 (LA)
Amherst - 3 - 2 (LA)
Emory - 4 - 20
Cal Lutheran - 5 - 14 (Regional Universities - West)
Williams - 6 - 1 (LA)
Trinity (TX) - 8 - 1 (Regional Universities - West)
Johns Hopkins - 9 - 13
Wash U - 10 - 14
Middlebury - 11 - 4 (LA)
Case Western - 14 - 37
GAC - 18 - 85 (LA)
Coe - Not Ranked - 112 (LA)

NCAA's - Live Scoring

Pictured above, a stop at Sonic in Hannibal en route to St. Louis Wednesday afternoon.  Was able to jump on practice courts at Wash U last night.  Up and about early this morning, but play moved to an indoor site due to impending rain.  The ladies are about to take the court to warm-up for their 1st round match-up against Franklin (Franklin, IN).

Live Scoring:
Coe 5  Franklin 0

Doubles:  3-0

1.  Schupbach/Lucero v Franklin  8-0
2.  Birky/Hoffmann v Franklin  8-3
3.  Ferree/Washington v Franklin  8-4

Singles:  2-0

1.  Lucero v Franklin  5-0
2.  Schupbach v Franklin  6-1, 3-0
3.  Sebastian v Franklin  6-0, 6-0
4.  Birky v Franklin
5.  Ferree v Franklin
6.  Hoffmann v Franklin  6-0, 6-1

Weekend Recap

Another busy weekend in the Racquet Center!

The men matched the women's performance last weekend; picking up the NCAA AQ Title (pictured above).  Coe Athletics story here:  http://www.coeathletics.com/article/1465.php#.UYe2iXBgvzI

News coverage here (http://www.kcrg.com/sports/Coe-Tennis-Going-Back-to-National-Tournament-206223961.html) and here (http://www.cbs2iowa.com/shared/newsroom/sports/local/videos/kgan_vid_4599.shtml) - part of the May 5th Sportscast.

Following tournament play was the Annual Senior Banquet made possible and hosted by the Schupbach's and Newman's.  A sincere thank you to both families, and the Damisch's for a wonderful evening / celebration of Kohawk Tennis, and the careers of those players soon departing - Michelle, Curtis, Sushi and Geoffrey.  I find myself once again tearing up in having to type that.

Banquet and tennis pictures from the weekend here:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coe-College-Tennis/105913412828214?id=105913412828214&sk=photos_stream

Both the men's and women's team will find out this evening where they are headed for NCAA Tournament play this weekend!!

Picture of the Week

Part of the women's team at a Downtown Cedar Rapids candy store on Thursday afternoon / early evening.  Emmie hidden in the background, and unwilling to pause for a picture, upon entrance!

Surprisingly, and not warranted, it was Michelle that caused trouble before Emmie!

NCAA AQ Schedule

Given weather, the men's AQ weekend schedule is as follows.  All play hosted by Coe College.

FRIDAY - INDOORS

3:00 PM

No. 4 Buena Vista v No. 5 Wartburg

7:00 PM (or 30 minutes following the 3:00 PM match)

No. 6 Dubuque v No. 3 Central

SATURDAY - INDOORS

7:00 AM

5th-place match

10:00 AM (or 30 minutes following the 5th-place match):

No. 1 Coe v 4/5 Winner

1:00 PM (or 30 minutes following the first semifinal)

No. 2 Luther v 3/6 Winner

6:00 PM (or 1 hour, 15 minutes following the second semifinal OR earlier by mutual agreement):

3rd-place match

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH OUTDOORS (PREFERRED) OR INDOORS:

SUNDAY

12:00p

A Buttery Adventure

We’ve got some exciting stuff to talk about today, but before we get to that there is something else I need to say first. This past weekend was a busy one for the tennis teams: the women won their NCAA Automatic Qualifier tournament while the men went on the road to play Wheaton, Elmhurst, and UW Whitewater. I was on the trip with the men this weekend which ended in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Anyone who has read the blog before knows that Wisconsin had previously been on my list of states yet unvisited. Not only did we have a great regular season, but we ended it with me getting to fill in another state on the big board!

Woo

A few weeks ago I talked about Twitter in a blog that heavily featured freshmen Ryan Hickman. Since then I have been inundated with requests from another player for a blog post. This player didn’t ask just to be part of the story as Ryan was but to actually be the entire story. After much meditation, soul searching, and eyes glazed TV watching I’ve decided to grant this wish. Besides, anyone who can find a way to incorporate the word “superfluous” into everyday conversation without trying to be ironic (or whatever those weird hipsters are into these days) is deserving of some love.

So just who is this mystery player? Who has the huevos to request their own spotlight, blog post and the pantaloons to carry around all that confidence? It’s Butters!!!

That's me!

For those of you wondering, that is not a real picture of him and no, Butters is not his real name. Zachary Decker is a freshmen hailing from the Twin Cities area in Minnesota. I agreed to this little endeavor since Zack is my very own protégé. Back in January we started working together on his game a few times a week and from then on Zack apparently became my own personal project. As for His nickname that comes from a character on the show South Park. It was during the fall tournaments that Zack had the mantle of “Butters” forever ensconced on his life. This nickname has become so pervasive that the entire campus now knows him at Butters. Zack is even listed in my phone as “Butters Decker” because if we’re going to give someone a name it had better be done properly.

Luckily for me Butters is one of the more intellectual 19 year-old's you will find out there which always means our lunch conversations are a bit more interesting than your average cafeteria banter. While most other tables jabber on about Facebook pictures and American Idol, Butters and I will often find our conversations steered into differing esoteric realms such as the Trolley Problem (an ethical thought experiment) or the various responses (both conscious and subconscious) people have to stressful and life threatening situations.

This does not mean we’re serious all the time. One day while browsing the internet Butters found a website called planefinder.net which tracks all the commercial planes in the air on an interactive map. We spent over two hour clicking on random planes to see their arrival and departure airports. The most coveted finds were those rare flights taking the polar route between destination cities. This shouldn’t have been so exciting, but there was something incredibly intriguing about finding a plane flying over the North Pole to reach its destination.

Look at all those planes! Let's click on all of them!

While Butters introduced me to plane finder I introduced him to the hit show Game of Thrones; yes the Emmy Award winning show that has set the bar for sex and violence in one setting. I’m sure his parents will thank me one day. Every Sunday evening Butters joins me in the racquet center to watch the 10pm re-broadcast of the 8pm airing. Since Butters is a new comer to a show with 257 recorded cast names he spent the first 3 episodes with a cast member chart open on his computer while asking me a new question about the plot approximately every 3 minutes.

As I said earlier on of the best aspects about working with Butters is the quality of conversations we’ve had this year not which besides being very deep are also often quite funny. With this blog post in mind I started recording some of the best quotes I heard over the past few weeks. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

(After tasting Kris’ Dark Chocolate with Ginger)

Butters: That’s terrible. Why would anyone do this to chocolate? I’m never getting this taste out of my mouth!

(On our way to the cafeteria after a hitting session)

Butters: It smells like baked beans. If they have that today I’m going to be very happy. Baked Beans are my favorite.

Me: It’s just a tennis match. Has anything bad every happened to you if you lost? No, of course not.

Butters: My dad took my dog out back and shot him once.

Me: Ray Ban sunglasses don’t really work for me.

Butters: They’re more of a young person thing… Not that you’re old or anything!

Butters: You can’t leave me in this car. I’ll scream! (proceeds to scream)

Butters: Studying is getting really boring. How many times do they need to posit that South Africa sucked in the ‘80s?

Butters: You calling me a liar? You don’t call a man a liar and I’m a man, a man

Me: (looking skeptical)

Butters: No I’m not, I’m not.

Butters: I keep forgetting you're only like 5 years older than us because you talk as if you're 45.

Me: Do I?

Butters: I don't know if you're going to take that as a compliment or not.