IIAC Report

IIAC Men's Tennis Standings 4/28/2012

Coe 5-0 18-7
Luther 6-1 16-6
Cornell 4-2 11-10
Dubuque 4-2 9-14
Central 5-3 9-12
Wartburg 3-4 6-12
Buena Vista 2-6 3-9
Simpson 1-4 4-17
Loras 0-7 1-12

This weekend's play will conclude the regular season IIAC round robin play. Monday pairings for the May 6-7th Team Championships will be released. Play will occur at the Hawkeye Tennis Complex in Iowa City, Iowa.

Your Kohawks play their final three regular season matches tomorrow against Simpson, Dubuque and Loras. Other matches include:

4/28

Cornell at Simpson

4/29

Luther at Wartburg

4/30

Dubuque at Cornell


IIAC Womens AQ Event

Also scheduled for this Saturday is the IIAC Women's AQ Event hosted by Luther College.

10am Luther vs Cornell
Coe vs Wartburg

2pm Winning Teams meet for the right to represent the Iowa Conference in the NCAA Tournament.

The weather forecast for Saturday in Decorah is not positive. Play may be bumped to Sunday.

d3 Women's National rankings 4/26

1 Amherst
2 Emory
3 Williams
4 Chicago
5 Tufts
6 Denison
7 W & L
8 Middlebury
9 JHU
10 Bowdoin
11 PP
12 WashU
13 Claremont
14 Carnegie
15 Gustavus
16 Chapman
17 MIT
18 Carleton
19 Depauw
20 South
21 TCNJ
22 UCSC
23 Vassar
24 Mary Wash
25 Wellesley
26 Brandeis
27 Skidmore
28 Trinity(TX)
29 Trinity(C)
30 UT Tyler
31 Rochester
32 Wheaton(IL)
33 Redlands
34 Whitewater
35 Luther
36 Wheaton(MA)
37 Whitworth
38 LaCrosse
39 Wash College
40 St Olaf
41 Swarthmore
42 Linfield
43 Coe
44 Centre
45 Whitman
46 Rhodes
47 Kenyon
48 Methodist
49 Albion
50 Will Smith
51 Hope
52 Willamette
53 Salisbury
54 Calvin
55 Muhlenburg
56 St Lawrence
57 Wartburg
58 Haverford
59 Ithaca
60 Augustana(IL)
61 Cal Lu
62 St Benedicts
63 Hollins
64 Grinnell
65 SUNY Geneseo
66 Mary Hardin-Baylor
67 Kalamazoo
68 St Mary's(IN)
69 Hardin Simmons
70 St Thomas(MN)

Knox College Boxscore

Saturday, 4/23 @Knox College, Galesburg, IL

Coe College 6 Knox College 3

Stokstad/Janssen 1d Hane/Mulani K 98
Klaas/Land 2d Ham/Tilford C 82
Haralalka/Leovic 3d Gatyas/Thompson C 82

Alex Klaas 1s Eric Hane K 60 60
Sean Stokstad 2s Shaun Mulani C 60 62
Mike Janssen 3s David Ham K 26 76 default
Doug Land 4s Kenton Tilford C 75 63
Prateek Haralalka 5s Max Gatyas C 64 67 63
Tyler Wilson 6s Andrei Papancea C 46 64 63

d3 Men's National Rankings 4/25

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

Kalamazoo College Boxscores WT/MT

Kalamazoo College vs Coe College

Date:	4/23/2011
Location:	Kalamazoo College
Winner:	Coe College
Score:	6-3

Position	Kalamazoo College	Coe College	Winner	Score
#1 Singles	Kelsey Hassevoort	Hannah Jensen	Coe College	6-2, 6-2
#2 Singles	Kari Larson	Michelle Schupbach	Coe College	6-2, 7-6
#3 Singles	Kelsey Moran	Tai Lucero	Coe College	6-0, 6-0
#4 Singles	Kate Farwell	Sara Ohlman	Kalamazoo College	6-3. 6-0
#5 Singles	Jenna Riehl	Natalie Bordignon	Kalamazoo College	2-6, 6-2, (10-7)
#6 Singles	Paula Silverman	Elizabeth Hoffmann	Kalamazoo College	6-4, 6-2
#1 Doubles	Kari Larson Kelsey Moran	Michelle Schupbach Tai Lucero	Coe College	8-2
#2 Doubles	Kate Farwell Kelsey Hassevoort	Hannah Jensen Sara Ohlman	Coe College	8-5
#3 Doubles	Paula Silverman Jenna Riehl	Elizabeth Hoffmann Natalie Bordignon	Coe College	8-6

Kalamazoo College vs Coe College

Date:	4/23/2011
Location:	Kalamazoo College
Winner:	Kalamazoo College
Score:	9-0

Position	Kalamazoo College	Coe College	Winner	Score
#1 Singles	Nate Eddy	Victor Khristenko	Kalamazoo College	6-4, 6-2
#2 Singles	Mark Denenfeld	Elliot Rausa	Kalamazoo College	6-3, 6-0
#3 Singles	Alex Dombos	Scott Stegemann	Kalamazoo College	6-2, 6-3
#4 Singles	Tom Cafmeyer	Jonathon Roger	Kalamazoo College	6-3, 6-2
#5 Singles	Steve Hanselman	Curtis Newman	Kalamazoo College	6-2, 7-5
#6 Singles	Mike Korn	Jeff Damisch	Kalamazoo College	7-6(6), 6-0
#1 Doubles	Mark Denenfeld Nate Eddy	Elliot Rausa Scott Stegemann	Kalamazoo College	9-8(8)
#2 Doubles	Clay Bartelt Steve Hanselman	Curtis Newman Kyle Tucker	Kalamazoo College	9-8(5)
#3 Doubles	Tom Cafmeyer Alex Dombos	Victor Khristenko Jeff Damisch	Kalamazoo College	8-2

Grand Valley Boxscores Wt/MT

Grand Valley State University vs Coe College

Date:	4/22/2011
Location:	Grand Valley State University
Winner:	Grand Valley State University
Score:	8-1

Position	Grand Valley State University	Coe College	Winner	Score
#1 Singles	Tara Hayes	Hannah Jensen	Coe College	7-5, 6-4
#2 Singles	Niki Shipman	Michelle Schupbach	Grand Valley State University	6-4, 6-4
#3 Singles	Chelsea Johnston	Tai Lucero	Grand Valley State University	7-5, 6-1
#4 Singles	Lexi Rice	Sara Ohlman	Grand Valley State University	6-0, 6-0
#5 Singles	Darylann Trout	Natalie Bordignon	Grand Valley State University	6-1, 6-1
#6 Singles	Anne Marie Morin	Elizabeth Hoffmann	Grand Valley State University	6-0, 6-0
#1 Doubles	Chelsea Johnston Darylann Trout	Michelle Schupbach Tai Lucero	Grand Valley State University	8-1
#2 Doubles	Alyssa Lucas Katelyn Schaffer	Hannah Jensen Sara Ohlman	Grand Valley State University	9-7
#3 Doubles	Lexi Rice Niki Shipman	Elizabeth Hoffmann Natalie Bordignon	Grand Valley State University	8-0

Grand Valley State University vs Coe College

Date:	4/22/2011
Location:	Grand Valley State University
Winner:	Grand Valley State University
Score:	7-2

Position	Grand Valley State University	Coe College	Winner	Score
#1 Singles	Marc Roesslein	Victor Khristenko	Grand Valley State University	6-2, 6-7(3), 10-4
#2 Singles	Philipp Claus	Elliot Rausa	Grand Valley State University	6-0, 2-6, 6-2
#3 Singles	Andrew Darrell	Scott Stegemann	Grand Valley State University	6-2, 6-4
#4 Singles	Benny Delgado-Rochas	Curtis Newman	Grand Valley State University	7-5, 6-4
#5 Singles	Bryan Hodges	Jeff Damisch	Grand Valley State University	6-2, 6-1
#6 Singles	Josh Kazdan	Kyle Tucker	Coe College	6-4, 3-6, 6-3
#1 Doubles	Marc Roesslein Trey Keating	Elliot Rausa Scott Stegemann	Coe College	8-5
#2 Doubles	Andrew Darrell Philipp Claus	Curtis Newman Kyle Tucker	Grand Valley State University	8-5
#3 Doubles	Josh Kazdan Benny Delgado-Rochas	Victor Khristenko Jeff Damisch	Grand Valley State University	8-3

Happy Birthday!

A very Happy Birthday to Coach Rodgers! A great day ahead for he, and the Kohawks, as our men and women compete against his alma mater Kalamazoo and Coach Murph!

Preview-Michigan Trip

The Men's and Women's Teams will depart after classes today en route to the State of Michigan where Friday they will play Grand Valley State and Saturday Kalamazoo College.

The GVSU Lakers are 14-12 on the Men's side and 29-0 and ranked 16th in the country on the Women's side. Match times are set at 1130am for the Women and 3pm for the Men. Play will be at Ramblewood Tennis Club in nearby Grand Rapids.

The Kalamazoo College Hornets are 8-7 and ranked 28th in the country. They have won an astounding 72 consecutive conference championships and 7 NCAA Men's D3 Championships. The Women's Team is coached by Coe alum and longtime Coe Assistant Tennis Coach, Mark Murphy(98). Coach Murph's team is currently 7-10 and ranked 70th in the country. Match times for Saturday will be 10am if inside leading off with the Women's contest, and 11am outside for both matches.

Also on Saturday, a second Men's match is scheduled in Galesburg, Illinois against Knox College. The Prairie Fire are 2-15 on the season.

The Kohawks are ranked 44th(Women) and 46th(Men) respectively and both Teams are coming off of upset wins over Grinnell College last Sunday. The Women had a 7-2 triumph, winning 5 of 6 singles matches and 2 of the 3 doubles. The Men rallied from a 2-4 deficit winning the final three singles matches, all in three sets. For the 2nd Sunday in a row, first-year Jeff Damisch clinched the match at the #6 singles slot.

Kohawk Conditioning Program

Below is a preview video of the Kohawk Tennis Conditioning Program - COmpletE T.W.O. The complete program will be released in December of 2011. Players (and coaches!) have been engaged in the program for 4+ months now and the results are very apparent. Victor Khristenko's improved fitness level, and court coverage, has been noted by many! Enjoy the video.....

COmpletE T.W.O.

Flunk Day Practice

Today is Flunk Day on the campus of Coe College which means classes are canceled. Instead of the regularly scheduled practice times, the teams are on court bright and early this morning....


Activities on campus include:

11:00am - Flunk Day begins on the PUB Quad with music, carnival rides, balloon animals, and face painting
11:00am - Beach Volleyball on the outdoor court, Wii games in A/D Lobby
11:00am - Cookout on the PUB Quad
11:00am & 1:00pm Movie: Sixteen Candles in PUB
4:00pm - Flunk Day ends
5:00pm-7:00pm - Dinner and live music in the U

d3 Women's National rankings 4/19

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

d3 Men's National Rankings 4/18

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

Sunday Scores!

WOMEN's TENNIS

Coe College vs Grinnell College

Date:	4/17/2011
Location:	Coe College
Winner:	Coe College
Score:	7-2

Position	Coe College	Grinnell College	Winner	Score
#1 Singles	Hannah Jensen	Laura Krull	Coe College	76 62
#2 Singles	Michelle Schupbach	Constanza Alarcon	Coe College	60 60
#3 Singles	Tai Lucero	Clothilde Thirouin	Coe College	61 60
#4 Singles	Sara Ohlman	Sadhana Athreya	Coe College	62 26 10-7
#5 Singles	Natalie Bordignon	Catherine Fitch	Coe College	75 36 10-7
#6 Singles	Elizabeth Hoffmann	Tatyana Sukharnikova	Grinnell College	76 63
#1 Doubles	Michelle Schupbach Tai Lucero	Laura Krull Sadhana Athreya	Coe College	84
#2 Doubles	Hannah Jensen Sara Ohlman	Constanza Alarcon Catherine Fitch	Coe College	83
#3 Doubles	Elizabeth Hoffmann Natalie Bordignon	Clothilde Thirouin Tatyana Sukharnikova	Grinnell College	85

Men's Tennis

Coe College vs Grinnell College

Date:	4/17/2011
Location:	Coe College
Winner:	Coe College
Score:	5-4

Position	Coe College	Grinnell College	Winner	Score
#1 Singles	Victor Khristenko	#21 Juan Carlos Perez Borja	Grinnell College	60 61
#2 Singles	Elliot Rausa	Dmitriy Glumov	Grinnell College	26 64 60
#3 Singles	Scott Stegemann	Martin Dluhos	Coe College	63 76
#4 Singles	Jonathon Roger	Colin Johnson	Coe College	67 61 63
#5 Singles	Curtis Newman	Ishan Bhadkamkar	Coe College	63 46 64
#6 Singles	Jeff Damisch	Daniel Nellis	Coe College	60 57 64
#1 Doubles	Elliot Rausa Scott Stegemann	Juan Carlos Perez Borja Dmitriy Glumov	Grinnell College	84
#2 Doubles	Curtis Newman Kyle Tucker	Colin Johnson Michael Cole	Grinnell College	98
#3 Doubles	Sean Stokstad Victor Khristenko	Ishan Bhadkamkar Martin Dluhos	Coe College	98

What I learned yesterday...

Once again I observed how important it is to establish and maintain emotional control during a competitive tennis match. Yesterday evening, the Kohawks played on the Road in an indoor environment that made many of the players "uncomfortable".

Some players adjusted to the strangeness of the surroundings, some did not. Those that struggled to adapt found themselves physically tightening up in competitive play, which as we all know in Today's game of Tennis is not a good thing. At all!

As always my advice to our players is to identify that which is causing the discomfort, accept it as current reality, and take positive steps to play through in a more relaxed, understanding state of mind. Things are seldom perfect in a competitive tennis match. Success is determined by how well we deal with the anxiety of unease.

We will try again tomorrow at 11am!

Schedule Adjustments

4/29 Coe Men's Tennis

@Simpson
@Dubuque
@Loras

Explanation: On 4/16 these three matches were postponed due to weather concerns(it is snowing)Our first attempt at re-scheduling these mandatory Iowa Conference round-robin matches used two additional dates of competition forcing some of the schools involved to exceed the NCAA maximum of 20 playing dates. Since no indoor backup was available at any of the sites, the Commissioner's Office decreed that matches be played on 4/29.

Wartburg MT Results

Coe College vs Wartburg College
4/15/11 @Waverly, IA Indoors, Multi-purpose courts

Newman/Tucker 1d Buckingham/Trueblood W 86
Stegemann/Damisch 2d Rasmussen/Stevens C 84
Khristenko/Klaas 3d Greco/Willadsen C 82

Khristenko 1s Buckingham C 64 76
Stegemann 2s Rasmussen C 63 46 63
Newman 3s Stevens C 60 61
Damisch 4s Masterson C 61 60
Tucker 5s Greco C 61 76
Janssen 6s Willadsen W 62 46 10-5

Adjusted Weekend Schedule

Due to the expected(and actual) non-cooperative weather the weekend slate of matches for Kohawk Tennis has been adjusted.

Friday, April 15th

Coe Men at Wartburg, Waverly, IA, inside at 4pm

Saturday, April 16th

Coe Men vs Loras at Clark Racquet Center 10am

Sunday, April 17th

Coe vs Grinnell, Men & Women, at Clark Racquet Center

If Nice: 11am outside both Teams

If Wet: Men at 11am
Women at 3pm

Thursday, April 28th

Coe at Dubuque 4pm

Friday, April 29th

Coe at Simpson, TBA

d3 Women's National rankings 4/12

1 Amherst
2 Emory
3 Williams
4 Chicago
5 Tufts
6 Pomona
7 Denison
8 Wash & Lee
9 Middlebury
10 Carnegie
11 JHU
12 Bowdoin
13 Claremont
14 WashU
15 Gustavus
16 Vassar
17 Chapman
18 Mary Wash
19 Skidmore
20 Carleton
21 Depauw
22 UCSC
23 Wellesley
24 Rochester
25 TCNJ
26 South
27 Wheaton(IL)
28 Trinity(TX)
29 UT Tyler
30 Redlands
31 Rhodes
32 Whitewater
33 MIT
34 Trinity(CT)
35 Brandeis
36 Luther
37 Whitworth
38 Methodist
39 Wheaton(MA)
40 LaCrosse
41 Linfield
42 Whitman
43 Swarthmore
44 Salisbury
45 St Olaf
46 Hardin-Simmons
47 Coe
48 Huntingdon
49 William Smith
50 Kenyon

An early start....

d3 Men's National Rankings 4/11

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

What I learned Yesterday....

I didn't really learn anything yesterday......but I think the Team did! They learned that if the entire Team makes a commitment to play with passion, energy and purpose, they can accomplish results that may not seem possible, or probable. It was truly a great day for small college tennis as we were blessed with a great, enthusiastic crowd. Combined with a talented and favored opponent it made for a fun day of passionate tennis by both teams.

And now both teams move on to play other conference foes, with a potential re-match lurking on May 7th. A lot of opportunity to continue to improve as individuals, pairs, and as a Team.

Live Scoring - Coe vs Luther

Coe:5 Luther:4

Doubles: 2-1

#1 Rausa/Stegemann vs. Sundstrom/Karki 5-8

#2 Newman/Tucker vs. Whitely/Gendron 8-5

#3 Stokstad/Khristenko vs. Piepkorn/ Zinneker 8-3

#4 (Exhibition) Janssen/ Klass vs. Ayers/VanHeest 2-8

Sinlges: 3-3

#1 Khristenko vs. Sundstrom 1-6, 2-6

#2 Rausa vs. Whitely 6-3, 6-4

#3 Stegemann vs. Karki 2-6, 5-7

#4 Roger vs. Mozena 2-6, 1-6

#5 Newman vs. Gendron 6-2, 6-1

#6 Damisch vs. Burman 6-2, 2-6, 7-5

Whitewater vs Coe Boxscore

Coe Crimson 1 Whitewater 8

Rausa/Stegemann 1d Osborne/Balkin W 85
Tucker/Newman 2d Niquet/Bayliss C 85
VK/Stokstad 3d Miller/Scanlan W 84

Khristenko 1 Bayliss W 64 61
Rausa 2 McGlashen W 75 62
Stegemann 3 Osborne W 64 62
Roger 4 Balkin W 61 64
Newman 5 Niquet W 57 64 10-5
Damisch 6 Scanlan W 62 75

Coe Gold 5 Whitewater Purple 4

Janssen/Klaas 1d Klein/Friend W 81
Land/Roger 2d Porter/Redemacher W 82
Leovic/Damisch 3d Anderson/Noonan C 97

Tucker 1 Porter C 46 64 14-12
Stokstad 2 Klein C 62 46 12-10
Janssen 3 Rademacher C 63 63
Klaas 4 Friend W 63 63
Land 5 Noonan C 67 64 10-8
Wilson 6 Anderson W 60 61

What I learned Yesterday....

In writing these weekly notes the words come extremely easy when we perform well and have success. On days like yesterday? Not that simple!

In plain, straightforward, honest terms.....we got beat. And beat bad. Credit to Whitewater. They survived a real threat in doubles to take the 2-1 lead into singles, and then dropped the proverbial hammer on the Kohawks. We won a set. One set.

That happens. Good news? Behavior was upbeat. Effort excellent, attitudes fairly positive during play(considering the score). Oh, and the Gold Team won 54 highlighted by three Superbreaker triumphs. More good news....we play again. Today. At home, vs defending conference champion Luther College.

This Team is poised for a breakout match. I am patiently waiting. (Those of you who know me, know that patience is not synonymous with my character, but nonetheless, I am patiently waiting)

Eastern vs. Western....

Followers of our blog are presumed tennis folk, and thus, would read the above title expecting an article on the differences between the two grips. My apologies if disappointed, but the below article is actually in reference to eastern vs. western parenting and its relation to coaching.

I recently finished reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, written by Amy Chua. As a mother to an “almost 3” (in Emmie speak) year old, the book peaked my interest. Chinese children do tend to excel in the classroom, as well as various other activities they commit to…..or rather, the activities that their parents commit them to (as referenced in the book). And success inevitably leads to self-confidence, which is a core belief that I strive to instill in Emmie.

As shown below, believe I may have gone overboard this past Winter when expecting a 2 1/2 year old to ice skate.....the experience certainly did not instill self-confidence.

Honestly, I expected to be stunned by the extreme parenting techniques of the Chinese parent based on my limited knowledge of, and admittedly biased “through the grapevine” opinion. However, just a few short pages into the book, I quickly related to the author. We share a similar educational background (minus the Ivy League status on my behalf), many personality traits, and the strife for success/perfection in self and those lives around us that we are assisting to shape (children, students, athletes). Although a pared down, less intense version of (especially on the parenting side), I also related to her work ethic to attain success!

After completing the book, I actually believe my parenting style tips the scale in favor of Eastern parenting. In other words, I fall near the 3^rd bevel to relate back to tennis terminology. Ballpark figures of course, but I would guess that I am a 66% Tiger Mom and 79% Tiger Coach. Ballpark figures you may question? Yes, I am a numbers person and both 66 and 79 have meaning to me so those are the numbers I chose within the range believed to be.

Quotes from the book that caught my attention / lead me to believe I have the “tiger” within me:

“Never complain or make excuses. If something seems unfair at school, just prove yourself by working twice as hard and being twice as good.”

“Everything valuable and worthwhile is difficult.”

“There is nothing better for building confidence than learning you can do something you thought you couldn’t.”

“The Chinese believe that the best way to protect their children is by preparing them for the future, letting them see what they are capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits, and inner confidence that no one can ever take away.”

“A fundamental tenet of being Chinese is that you always do all of the extra credit all of the time.”

“Never not try something out of fear. Everything I’ve ever done that’s valuable is something I was terrified to try.”

“By squeezing out so much from every moment of every day, perhaps I imagined that I was buying myself more time. As a purely mathematical fact, people who sleep less live more.”

“But just because you love something, doesn’t mean you’ll ever be great. Not if you don’t work. Most people stink at the things they love.”

Where I differ with regard to eastern parenting/coaching is rooted in the concept of happiness. As Chua stated, “Happiness is not a concept I tend to dwell on. Chinese parenting does not address happiness. This has always worried me. When I see the piano and violin induced calluses on my daughters’ fingertips, or the teeth marks on the piano, I’m sometimes seized with doubt.”

Unlike the pure tiger parent, happiness and the enjoyment of the experience is a core tenet of mine, and Kohawk Tennis. It is one of the many reasons I coach at Coe!

Warning –

Don’t read the following paragraphs if you intend on reading the book, and would prefer that the ending be left in tact.

Ironically, as the author attempts to summarize her thoughts and wrap up the book, her daughter Sophia points out the core principles of Chinese parenting and their relation to western history:

“Ben Franklin said, ‘If thou loveth life, never ever EVER wasteth time.’ Thomas Jefferson said, ‘I’m a huge believer in luck, and the harder I work the more I have of it.’ And Alexander Hamilton said, ‘Don’t be a whiner.”

“Mommy, if the Founding Fathers thought that way, then it’s an American way of thinking.”

Regardless of where rooted, or applied, I personally will continue to parent and coach in an attempt to instill core values, build character, and confidence. I hope to limit the extremely harsh words/actions that Chua referenced at times, and embrace the process and experience of improvement as being enjoyable (happiness!).

Live Scoring Update

12 men, and 2 coaches traveled to Wisconsin today to play Whitewater.

With both squads being so deep, all 12 players competed:

Doubles Scores:

#1 5-8

#2 8-5

#3 4-8

#4 1-8 (Exhibition)

#5 2-8 (Exhibition)

#6 9-7 (Exhibition)

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IIAC Mid-Season Report

2010-11 Men's Tennis

School	IIAC	All
Coe	3-0	14-4
Luther	3-0	11-4
Dubuque	2-0	7-10
Cornell	4-1	10-8
Buena Vista	2-4	3-7
Wartburg	1-2	4-10
Central	1-3	5-12
Simpson	0-2	3-14
Loras	0-4	1-9

At approximately the mid-season, the Iowa Conference Men's Tennis race is beginning to heat up and take shape. The IIAC has round-robin play so each school will end up with eight conference matches, and the top six teams will be selected to play in the Team Championship which will be held at the Hawkeye Tennis Complex in Iowa City, Iowa on May 6th and 7th.

Three schools remain undefeated in Conference play including heavily favored Luther College. The Norse do play both Cornell and Coe this weekend in match ups involving three of the current top four teams. Both Luther(#36) and Coe(#50) hold national rankings.

Saturday April 9th

Simpson vs Dubuque
Simpson vs Loras
Central vs Loras
Central vs Dubuque
Buena Vista vs Wartburg
Cornell vs Luther

Sunday April 10th

Luther vs Coe

Some top IIAC individual performers to keep on eye on include #4 Scott Sundstrom(Luther), #6 Nick Garcia(Dubuque), and #25 Harrison Whitely(Luther). Doubles pairs to watch #9 Sundstrom/Karki(Luther), #14 Rausa/Stegemann(Coe) and #22 Garcia/Iben(Dubuque). All rankings are Central Region rankings. There are four regions in NCAA d3 Men's Tennis. The top eight singles players and top four doubles pairs are selected at season's end to compete in the d3 Individual Championships. This year's Championship will be jointly hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges May 27th-29th.