IIAC Champions!

Somehow, during all the activity over the past five days, Coach Rodgers 
neglected to post this picture which was taken last Thursday evening after
the Kohawks defeated both Dubuque & Loras to capture their 4th consecutive
 IIAC title

ITA Wrap

Title Bid Falls Just Short

The championship bid of Riley Galbraith and Brady Anderson fell just short in the final round of the ITA Regional doubles where the Kohawk duo lost to 2nd seed Al Houni/Saenz of Gustavus Adolphus College by a 57 61 10-5 count.

Earlier the Kohawks knocked off top seed Humphries/Skylar of WI-Whitewater in the semi-finals. Coe started out sizzling and jumped to a 5-0 lead. The Warhawks fought back to on serve at 5-6, but the resilient Coe duo upped their game to gain the break and then Riley served it out.

The Final was similar as Coe jumped to an early lead with explosive returns and first serves. The Gustavus pair fought back with a high level of net play, to even the match at 5-5, before Coe garnered another break and this time, Brady served out the set. Gustavus ramped up their level in the 2nd set, cruising to a 6-1 win despite extreme pressure on their service games from the Kohawk return game.

The Match Tiebreaker was earned by the Gusties with a winning streak of six straight highly contested points to extend to a 6-1 lead before closing out the TB 10-5.

ITA Update

ANOTHER 80 degree day with no(little) wind.....unusual at the Wilkinson Bubble...aka Swanson/Brown Tennnis Courts on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College....Jon Turbett, Rajesh Venkatraman, Johnny Watson, Nick Frank, Nick Barnes and Noah Sprinkel, and other historical Kohawk legends, eat your hearts out! No INDOOR!

Brady Anderson and Ryan Hickman began the day in the Round of 16....Brady knocked off the GAC #5 player 63 64, but Ryan fell to Jack Michael (Carroll University) the #2 seed.  Mr Michael sailed through the day without an unforced error..... Brady fell to GAC's #3, who capped off a career day with wins over both Brady and #1 seed, All American Jake Humphries of WI-Whitewater by identical 64 64 scores.

Doubles play saw the return-savvy duo of Galbraith/Anderson knock off Bethel's #1 pair 86 in the 16s and GAC's #2 pair in the Quarters, also by the score of 86. Sunday Morning at 1030 the Kohawk duo will take on the top-seeded pair of Humphries and Ben Skylar of Whitiewater.

MT at ITA's

Minnesota:  hot, sunny and no wind. For those elderly Kohawks, you are not believing the weather we had today!  Well, it was a nice day! Your Kohawks played OK, nothing out of the ordinary, and, as is the usual up here, a bit below the ordinary.

For Saturday we have two in the round of 16.....Brady Anderson will play one of the many Gustavus players at 9am and Ryan Hickman will be up against #2 seed Jack Michael of Carroll University. Both at 9am.

In doubles, #3 seeded Riley Galbraith and Brady Anderson will be in the round of 16. There opponents will either be Bethel College's #1 or Luther College's #1 pair. A win there would advance them to the quarterfnials against, in all likelihood, Gustavus' talented pair of Elofson/Al Houni.

Results to follow as they occur.....

And yes, more 80 degree weather is forecast.....

I do not believe it either!

Battle of the K's

Kohawks top Knights, Inch closer to IIAC Title

With a resounding 8-1 win in Waverly, Iowa over the Wartburg Knights, the Coe College Women's Tennis team moved within one day of clinching their 4th consecutive Iowa Conference title. The Kohawks(9-0) host both the University of Dubuque(2-6) and Loras College(4-5) today at the friendly confines of the Clark Racquet Center. 

Coe College 8, Wartburg College 1
Sep 24, 2014 at Waverly, Iowa (Wartburg Tennis Courts)

Singles competition

1. Haley Resnick (COE) def. Katherine Ross (WAR) 6-1, 6-0

2. Amy Sebastian (COE) def. Kayla Kuethe (WAR) 6-2, 6-2

3. Jordan Ferree (COE) def. Melissa Davis (WAR) 6-0, 6-1

4. Laura Birky (COE) def. Liz Rucker (WAR) 6-1, 6-3

5. Sarah Lasecki (COE) def. Marissa Buresh (WAR) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-4)

6. Diannah Watson (COE) def. Emily Rasmussen (WAR) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles competition

1. Kayla Kuethe/Melissa Davis (WAR) def. Jordan Ferree/Laura Birky (COE) 8-3

2. Haley Resnick/Sarah Lasecki (COE) def. Katherine Ross/Marissa Buresh (WAR) 8-1

3. Diannah Watson/Tamara Washington (COE) def. Liz Rucker/Emma Friedly (WAR) 8-5

Match Notes

Coe College 9-0, 5-0 IIAC

Wartburg College 5-3, 3-2 IIAC

Women's ITA Recap

The Women's Team departed last Thursday for the annual ITA competition held in St. Peter, MN (at Gustavus).  The van ride proved comical, "Why can Haley bring a man, a can, and a plan, but not an oar?"

Friday turned into a 15 hour day.....13 of those hours spent at/near the tennis courts.  All 10 Kohawk players had multiple matches throughout the day (2-3 singles matches + the start of doubles draws).  Without opening the 26 completed draws (results) that were emailed to me following the tournament, I am guessing the Kohawks played approximately 30 matches on Friday.  In other words, my role quickly became transportation and food.  Jordan's play earned her Player of the Week (see below); she knocked off two opponents in the ITA Singles draw.  The highlight of the day was a quality fundamental doubles night match in the bubble in which Jordan & Laura defeated Grinnell's top duo 8-6, whilst all other Kohawks and our few traveling fans cheered them on.  This was followed up with a late night adventure to Pieology; a new pizza joint in Mankato based on the Panchero's concept (build your own).  

Saturday made for another long day.  I took a time-out in the morning, and enjoyed coffee with Mrs. Birky and Sarah (Laura's sister) at Rock River Coffee in St. Peter while the women warmed up.  In my 5 years at Coe, this was the first and only year in which all Kohawks remained in action/play on Saturday.   Virginia advanced to the final of her consolation draw before falling to a high school teammate.  Diannah & Tam knocked off Wartburg's #2 pair 8-0, defeated a quality Whitewater pair in the  semi-finals of their draw, and won the finals by default (notching 5 total wins).  Jordan & Laura rallied from 2-5 to win another round (9-8) in the ITA main draw before falling in the 3rd round 8-6.  Sarah & Haley defeated Cornell's #2 pair 8-3 for the second time this season, before falling to Whitewater.  Kaitlin & Amy beat Edgewood and St. Olaf before falling to Whitewater.  Jamie & Virginia won a match in their main draw before falling to St. Mary's.  Complete results here; all 10 Kohawks won at least one Singles match, and a Doubles match.

Returned to campus near 10:30 PM on Saturday, and sent them off to enjoy the remainder of Homecoming weekend at Coe!

IIAC-POWs

....from the Iowa Conference website.....

Women's Tennis — Jordan Ferree, Coe College, Pekin, Ill. / Pekin
Ferree, a senior, advanced to the third round in both the singles and doubles draws of the ITA Midwest Region Championships at Gustavus Adolphus College. She defeated Grinnell's Hannah Cook and Angie Lorenzen of St. Catherine (Minn.) by identical 6-1, 6-2 scores before falling to fourth-seeded Shelby Henderson of St. Thomas (Minn.) 6-3, 6-3 in the third round. Paired with Laura Birky for doubles, the pair defeated Grinnell's Shirlene Luk and Virginia Pursell, 8-6, and survived a tiebreaker to defeat Alicia Knoll and Emily Mone of St. Catherine, 9-8 (5), before falling 8-6 to the fourth-seeded tandem of Bridget Bellissimo and Kimmy Mrozek of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Men's Tennis — Brady Anderson, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Linn-Mar
Anderson, a freshman, won the Flight A singles draw and paired with Riley Galbraith to capture the Flight A doubles draw at the 2014 Iowa Conference Men's Tennis Individual Tournament. Seeded fourth in singles, he defeated Luther's Matt Knutson (6-1, 6-1) and Trent Schneider (6-2, 6-1) before upending doubles partner Galbraith 6-3, 6-7 (3), 1-0 (9), in the semifinals. In the final, he posted a 6-3, 6-0 win over teammate Alex Bernt. Seeded first with Galbraith in doubles, the pair topped teammates Ryan Hickman and Mark Kroll, 8-5, in the final after not dropping more than one game in three previous matches.

MT IIAC Individuals

Coe Athletics Recap

Men's Tennis - Sun, Sep. 21, 2014 at 12:05 AMCoe takes home IIAC Flight A Singles and Doubles Titles

Box Score

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Coe College men's tennis team took home the top two titles at the Iowa Conference Singles and Doubles Championships, winning Flight A Singles and Doubles.

In Flight A Doubles, fourth-seeded Brady Anderson beat top-seeded Riley Galbraith (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy) 6-3, 6-7 (3), 1-0 (9) to advance to the championship match. In the other semifinal, fifth-seeded sophomore Alex Bernt (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Columbus) beat second-seeded Kyle Appel of Luther 7-6 (5), 7-5 to advance to the championship match against his teammate. In the finals, Anderson beat Bernt 6-3, 6-0. In the third place match, Galbraith beat Appel 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (5).

It was all Kohawks in the Flight A Doubles Championship match. In the first semifinal, Galbraith and Anderson, the top-seeded pair, beat Luther's third-seeded Foley and Schneider 8-1. On the bottom half of the bracket, fourth-seededRyan Hickman (Hutchinson, Kan./Hutchinson) and Mark Kroll (Castle Rock, Colo./Castle View) beat second-seeded Appel and Jensen of Luther 8-3. In the finals, Galbraith and Anderson won 8-5.

Coe also had a finalist in the Flight B Singles bracket, as Chad Moklestad (Boone, Iowa/Boone) knocked off top-seeded Sam Cychosz of Luther 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (7) in the semifinals. In the championship match, Moklestad dropped a 6-3, 7-5 decision to third-seeded Anders Jensen of Luther. In Flight C Singles, Chris Schirm dropped a 6-2, 6-0 match in the semifinals, but bounced back for a 6-2, 6-2 win over Simpson's Geoff Converse in the third-place match.

The Kohawks continue their fall season next weekend, as they travel to St. Peter, Minn. for the ITA Midwest Regional.

Individual Tournament Time

One Weekend, Two Tournaments!

The Women leave today for the North(Minnesota) where Coach Kris will have 10 team members competing in the various segments of the ITA Regional(One of 9 regional tournaments across D3). Jordan Ferree, Laura Birky, Amy Sebastian and Haley Resnick will compete at the ITA level where Haley, based on her undefeated status during the season thus far, will be a #9-16 seed.

Kohawk Men are allowed to stay at home this year for the Iowa Conference Individual Tournament as Coe is hosting at both the Clark Racquet Center and Vet's Memorial Tennis Center. Assorted Kohawks are playing in each of the three contested flights. Riley Galbraith is the top seed in both singles and doubles in the A flight. Other seeded players include Ryan Hickman, Mark Kroll, Alex Bernt, Chad Moklestad, and Brady Anderson.

IIAC Honors

Freshman Haley Resnick was named the Iowa Conference Player of the Week.

Haley Resnick named Iowa Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week

Women's Tennis - Tue, Sep. 16, 2014 at 4:35 PM

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Freshman Haley Resnick (Bettendorf, Iowa/Assumption) has been named the Iowa Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week for her performance in Coe's four victories last week.
Resnick improved to 7-0 in singles and 6-0 in doubles this season with three singles wins and four doubles wins last week. She recorded straight-set wins at number one singles over Cornell's Ariana Hudson (6-4, 6-1), Central's Angie Allgood (6-2, 6-4) and Luther's Maggie Helms (6-4, 6-2).
Resnick posted wins at number two doubles over Cornell, Luther (both with Sarah Lasecki (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy)) and Central (with Diannah Watson (Frisco, Texas/Lone Star)) and a win at No. 3 doubles against Simpson (with Jamie White (Davenport, Iowa/Assumption)). The Kohawks improved to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the Iowa Conference. With wins over Central, Simpson and Luther this week, Coe has now won 27-straight Iowa Conference regular season matches.
The Kohawks return to action this week, as they take part in the ITA Midwest Regional in St. Peter, Minn.

The 6-3 Luther Boxscore

With this victory, Coe moves to 4-0 in the Iowa Conference, with matches remaining against top contender Wartburg College in Waverly(9/24), and home matches with Loras College and the University of Dubuque(9/25)

Position	Coe College	Luther College	Winner	Score
#1 Singles	Haley Resnick	Maggie Helms	Coe College	64 62
#2 Singles	Amy Sebastian	Adriana DePaolis	Coe College	63 60
#3 Singles	Jordan Ferree	Lauren Welch	Coe College	60 61
#4 Singles	Laura Birky	Olivia Heitz	Coe College	64 60
#5 Singles	Sarah Lasecki	Jenna Myers	Luther College	63 64
#6 Singles	Tamara Washington	Jackie Cychosz	Luther College	61 63
#1 Doubles	Jordan Ferree  Laura Birky	Maggie Helms  Lauren Welch	Coe College	85
#2 Doubles	Haley Resnick  Sarah Lasecki	Jenna Myers  Olivia Heitz	Coe College	85
#3 Doubles	Diannah Watson  Tamara Washington	Hailey Johnson  Jackie Cychosz	Luther College	84

The 9-0 Simpson Box

Position	Coe College	Simpson College	Winner	Score
#1 Singles	Amy Sebastian	Michelle Hartman	Coe College	6-0, 6-0
#2 Singles	Jordan Ferree	Kelli Ehrhardt	Coe College	6-1, 6-0
#3 Singles	Laura Birky	Kelli Greiner	Coe College	6-0, 6-1
#4 Singles	Sarah Lasecki	Megan Bradley	Coe College	6-0, 6-4
#5 Singles	Tamara Washington	Jill Arduser	Coe College	6-0, 6-0
#6 Singles	Kaitlin Fosler	Cassidy Bierbrodt	Coe College	6-1, 6-3
#1 Doubles	Amy Sebastian  Diannah Watson	Michelle Hartman  Kelli Greiner	Coe College	8-1
#2 Doubles	Jordan Ferree  Kaitlin Fosler	Kelli Ehrhardt  Jill Arduser	Coe College	8-4
#3 Doubles	Haley Resnick  Jamie White	Megan Bradley  Cassidy Bierbrodt	Coe College	8-0

Pella, IA

The Kohawks notched match #2, (now 6-0) of a four match week in defeating the always tough Dutch of Central College indoors Friday evening in Pella, Iowa.

Position	Coe College	Central College (Iowa)	Winner	Score
#1 Singles	Haley Resnick	Angie Allgood	Coe College	6-2, 6-4
#2 Singles	Amy Sebastian	Megan Davis	Coe College	6-4, 6-3
#3 Singles	Jordan Ferree	Sarah Montgomery	Coe College	6-0, 6-0
#4 Singles	Diannah Watson	Katie Todd	Coe College	6-4, 7-6(0)
#5 Singles	Sarah Lasecki	Jesse Ryals	Coe College	6-1, 6-1
#6 Singles	Tamara Washington	Morgan Ernst	Coe College	6-0, 6-0
#1 Doubles	Jordan Ferree  Laura Birky	Angie Allgood  Megan Davis	Coe College	8-5
#2 Doubles	Diannah Watson  Haley Resnick	Ashlyn Huegel  Morgan Ernst	Coe College	8-2
#3 Doubles	Amy Sebastian  Tamara Washington	Jesse Ryals  Jordan Langer	Coe College	8-2

Week III update

Wednesday evening, amidst rapidly changing weather conditions, Coe College defeated Cornell College in a Bremner Cup matchup by a 7-2 count, giving Coe an early 2-1 lead in Cup play.

Excellent doubles play led to a 3-0 lead which proved insurmountable as Haley Resnick and Sarah Lasecki quickly gave the Kohawks the 5-0 clinch. The remaining singles matches were very competitive with the two teams splitting the final four positions, Kaitlin & Amy proving victorious.

Friday the crowded Week III schedule continues with a trip to Central Iowa to play against IIAC title contender, Central College. Saturday morning, the Team is in Indianola for their Simpson match before returning to the home courts for Sunday afternoon's(2pm) contest with Luther College.

Week II Concludes

.....with twin 8-1 home victories over Buena Vista University and the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh.

.....and now it is off to Week III where things really get interesting for the Kohawks. On Wednesday, Coach Kris' squad will host a vastly improved Cornell College team in the 3rd event of the Bremner Cup*
 (Coe/Cornell contests each year. Winner keeps a trophy named in honor of former Coe/Cornell legend Barron Bremner)

On Friday the Women travel to Central College to face the Dutch, one of the Iowa Conference's top teams, and they will stay over and play Simpson College, coached by former Coe standout Lindsay Chase, Saturday morning. Finally, the Norse of Luther College, winners of 25 IIAC titles, invade the Clark Racquet Center Sunday at 2pm.

Coe currently sits in 3rd place in the Conference standings, but with the seven conference matchups on the conference schedule this week much change in the standings is expected. 

At the RC

So....week III of the Women's Tennis season is underway, and Week I of the Men's Fall has begun!

Recap: Coach Kris' Team boosted her career W/L mark to an unblemished 2-0 with resounding victories over Lake Forest College(8-1) & Edgewood College(9-0). LFC finished 2nd in the Midwest Conference in 2013 and Edgewood, like Coe, was an NCAA participant in May of 2014.

Coe welcomed Haley Resnick and Jamie White to their first varsity competitions. All in all, Coe was able to get matches for all nine players who traveled. This Saturday marks the opening of the Fall home match slate, with a 9am Iowa Conference opponent in Buena Vista. At 2pm, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh arrives at the Clark Racquet Center. Though the Fall is typically dedicated to Iowa Conference play the out of conference opponents are wonderful playing opportunities for the entire 14 person squad.

The Kohawk Men kicked off their short September season Tuesday, with three hours of practice and conditioning. Brady Anderson, Josh Schlafer and Chris Schirm took part in their first practices as Kohawks. The Men will play in two individual tournaments this Fall, the first of which is Friday/Saturday 9/19-20 here in Cedar Rapids as the Iowa Conference will determine its Individual Champions in five different flights of play. The following weekend(9/26-28) the top players will journey to St Peter, Minnesota for competition in the ITA Regional. The ITA Regional, one of nine across the country, is the onset of the road to the Fall Nationals, hosted by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.