Top Ten of 2011-12 - Schupbach & Sprinkel

Tue, Jun. 26, 2012 at 5:25 PM - [General]

Junior Michelle Schupbach and freshman Noah Sprinkel took home the top spots in the IIAC Championships.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Throughout the summer, CoeAthletics.com will look back at the top 10 individual and team performances of the year. Today we take at look at Michelle Schupbach (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Columbus) and Noah Sprinkel (Minneapolis, Minn./South) in Tennis.
Schupbach won the Iowa Conference women's tennis singles and doubles titles. Schupbach, the top-seed in Flight A Singles, advanced to the championship match with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Luther's Cassandra Chalhoub.  In the finals, she defeated second-seeded Cami Czech of Luther 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (4).  Schupbach ended the year with a 29-6 singles record.
In Flight A Doubles, Schupbach won the title for the third-straight year.  After winning it with her older sister Andrea in 2009, she won it with sophomore Tai Lucero (Odessa, Texas/Permian) last year and this year.  In the semifinals, Lucero and Schupbach beat Luther's Elise Allen and Chalhoub 8-4.  They then faced second-seeded Czech and Katy Lindstrom of Luther, coming away with an 8-1 victory.  Schupbach would go on to be named the league's MVP.  Schupbach and Lucero finished the year 29-3 in doubles.
Not to be outdone, Sprinkel won the Iowa Conference men's tennis singles and doubles titles. In the Flight A Singles semifinals, Sprinkel beat top-seeded Nick Garcia of Dubuque 3-6, 7-6 (4), 1-0 (8) to advance to the finals.  Sprinkel earned a straight-set win over third-seeded Ramesh Karki of Luther, winning 7-6 (4), 7-5 in the championship match.  Sprinkel finished his freshman campaign 23-6 in singles play.
In Flight A Doubles, Sprinkel and junior Curtis Newman (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny) earned an 8-6 win over second-seeded Garcia and Johnson of Dubuque in the semifinals.  In the finals, they knocked off top-seeded Karki and Foley of Luther.  Sprinkel and Newman finished the year 21-8 in doubles.
Both Schupbach and Sprinkel helped their teams to Iowa Conference Team Championships and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Monday morning thoughts.....

Happy Monday!

Picked up a headset (per Coach Rodgers' request) on my way to work this morning.  When making recruit calls, safety first......my tribute to Bob!  The gentleman informed me that the headset had a noise canceling feature, which has served him well when working out or mowing the lawn.  I asked if that would also work for a 4 year old in the backseat?  His response, "maybe not."

Camped with my Dad and Emmie this past weekend at the Palisades.  The fine for utilization of the water pump as a non-camper is $116.  Arbitrary, right?  As if $115, $110 or even $100 wasn't de-incentivizing enough....

Quiet here without the overnight campers running around.

Painted Emmie's room over the weekend.  Pink.

Rob just walked in the door.  EARLY?

Got a Coke for myself and Starbucks for Coach on my way in.  I still don't understand the sizing system at Starbucks.  Apparently, the small, medium and large system fell short of their standards.  Then again, simply trying to differentiate themselves.  We, at Kohawk Tennis, are continually trying to do the same thing!!

Overnight Camp Ends with a Splash!!

A big Thanks to Rob, Laura and the campers for a great week. Noah in mid air. Jacob photographed "nudging" Coach Rob out of the way to attain the team victory.

from the Odessa(TX) American

WOMEN'S COLLEGE TENNIS: Permian graduate Lucero enjoying success at Coe College

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BY CHRIS GOVE

Tai Lucero took a major plunge two years ago when she decided to attend Coe College, a private NCAA Division III school located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The Permian High School graduate has been swimming in the deep end with ease, even on a campus located more than 1,000 miles from home.
Lucero recently completed her sophomore season for the Kohawks women’s tennis program, helping lead it to the NCAA Division III Championships for only the third time.
As thankful as Coe tennis coach Eric Rodgers is for what Lucero has done for his team, he said that’s just a portion of her story.
“I think her contributions to Coe College go far, far beyond the classroom and tennis courts,” Rodgers said. “She gets 30 hours a day out of a 24-hour period. She’s just real, real active in many ways and an asset to the entire college. She’s really getting a lot out of the college experience.”
Rodgers said Lucero is a Zumba instructor at Coe and is active in her sorority and a number of student activities.
Sounds a lot like the Tai Lucero who was a four-year standout for Permian’s tennis program and reached the Class 5A state tournament in girls doubles along with Charlotte Dawson in 2009 — all while graduating in 2010 as Permian’s salutatorian.
Tennis certainly is part of Lucero’s balancing act at Coe College, too. The biology major recently was named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 First Team for carrying a 3.90 grade point average.
She’s also managing to play some pretty good tennis as the No. 2 singles player and as part of a record-breaking No. 1 doubles team along with junior Michelle Schupbach.
“I knew I wanted to play in college because I wanted to see if I could improve even more,” Lucero said. “The coaches along with the staff definitely have molded me into a better player. I’ve definitely been more dedicated on the court and more dedicated to fitness. I wanted to further expose my game to see how much better it could get.”
Lucero and Coe College found each other through an online recruiting service.
Rodgers, who recently completed his 23rd season as the program’s head coach, made contact with Lucero and she said she “fell in love” with the school during a recruiting visit her senior year at Permian.
She made an impact as a freshman and then continued to build as a sophomore, going 26-2 in singles and 29-3 with Schupbach in doubles. Their victory total set a single-season women’s doubles record for Coe.
Lucero said playing at a high level for Permian against statewide Class 5A powers helped prepare her for competing at the college level, and she came through during a memorable season for the Kohawks.
They beat Luther College (Iowa) 5-1 on April 28 to win the Iowa Conference Automatic Qualifier and earn the NCAA berth.
“We wanted so badly to get to that NCAA round because none of us had ever gone,” Lucero said. “We just put our entire season into that.”
Coe College opened the NCAAs with a 5-4 victory against Hope (Mich.), with Lucero winning both of her matches, before falling 5-0 to Carnegie-Mellon (Pa.) in the second round. Carnegie-Mellon went on to win two more matches and reach the national quarterfinals.
Rodgers said Lucero has become a more assertive player during her time in the program and that he thinks she’ll continue to help lead during her final two seasons with the Kohawks.
“I’ve found over the years that kids that will travel far away for school, they’re usually very independent and self-confident, and that easily describes Tai,” Rodgers said. “At first she was a little homesick, of course, but she settled right into the college and I can’t imagine her not being here.”
>> Follow Chris Gove on Twitter at @OAChrisGove

Overnight Tennis Camp!

The week has begun!  The campers were on court for over 6 hours today.....many water breaks within given the heat.  Other highlights to the day included a small dose of Kohawk Conditioning, a 45 minute classroom session with Coach Rodgers (personality typing and its relevance on court). water balloon toss, DodgeBalloon, soccer, ultimate frisbee, a grill out and a surprise water balloon attack on Coach Rob and Coach Laura (pictured below). 

Combination Weekend

So my weekend was a combination of work(?) and relaxation. On Friday, I spent the day on the campus of the University of Illinois, watching tennis. Illinois hosted the Baird Cup, a team competition for junior girls. Each tennis district within the Midwest Tennis Association fields a team, and they meet for three days of play. 14 Districts were represented! The U of Illinois will also be hosting the 2013 Men's and Women's NCAA D1 Tennis Championships next May.
On Friday night and Saturday night I camped in Shades State Park across the stateline in Indiana. Although hot, it was not humid, so good conditions to enjoy four hours of hiking and three hours of biking. Completely off-grid as well, so no cell phone!

The road into the park led to trails and views such as these:

 And even a covered bridge sighting!

Paleo Compatible Trail Mix - Thanks Doc!

Put 1 cup of almonds, 1/2 cup of walnut pieces, 1/2 cup of pecan pieces, and 1+ cup of sunflower kernels in a bowl and mix with 2 Tablespoons of gently warmed (to the point of being runny) honey.

Place in a roasting pan (or 9x13 cake pan) lined with parchment and heat in a 250 oven for an hour.

Remove pan from oven and stir nut/seed mixture as it cools so that it doesn't clump excessively (seeds will clump some, of course).  When mixture has cooled to the point of being warm to the touch, add a cup of dried cranberries/cherries/blueberries and mix.

Continue to stir occasionally till mixture is cool.

More nutrition info coming soon!

Weekend Recap

A Coe contingent crashed the Peoria Clay Tournament this past weekend.  

Joey White (member of the Iowa Hawkeye squad and son of Mike White, Coe Vice President - Administrative Services) won the Men's Open Singles draw.  Jeff Damisch '14 made the semi-finals.

The Men's Open Doubles was an all Coe final - Tom Jennings '08 (Conference MVP, Singles and Doubles Champion) and Curtis Newman '13 defeated Mike and Joey White.  The White's defeated Jeff Damisch '14 and Mike Woolf '14 in a heated semi-final match, 3-6, 7-6 (8), 1-0.

Mike White won a round in Men's 35 Singles, before losing to the eventual Champion in the semi-finals.

Coach Rodgers had an eerily similar match to the weekend prior.  Same opponent.  3 sets.  Lead in the 3rd set.  Match points.  Lost.  To his credit, Coach did execute the game plan referenced in his recap post last week.  His opponent returned two very quality first serves to save match points.  I am also of the opinion that Coach gave his opponent a baseline call on one of the match points, but in the end, the high road more respectable than a given win in a given tournament.  Lastly, I honestly think Coach should be playing the 45 Division instead as it is a better suits his game......more pace on the ball and would be fine with the potential discrepancy in speed/legs due to his ability to anticipate (a constant frustration on my side of the net when play against him).

I managed to squeak by Molly Fiala '09 (All-American and too many Titles/Awards to list!!) in the Women's Open Final.  Molly and I also picked up the Women's Open Doubles Title.

Results aside, the weekend was made by the experience.  Really enjoyed spending time with everyone on and off the court throughout.  We came across and frequented an awesome outdoor pub (Kouri's) three times.  I also exposed Coach and Molly to a Fresh Market.  Molly had her first Subway breakfast (the gentleman checking us out didn't appreciate my morning humor).  Jeff was overly excited by the tournament giveaway, "Towels, LET'S GO!"  No surprise, but Coach actually spent more time on court than the rest of us (combined?).....voluntarily swept court after court as matches wrapped up.  The boys found public clay courts Friday evening and enjoyed their time there.  Sara Ohlman '13 and her Dad, Scott, showed up to watch play on Saturday.  Likely leaving many details out, but all in all, a FUN weekend!

I received an indication from Emmie this morning that I possibly need to slow down.  Upon making her breakfast and giving it to her, "We're supposed to eat this in the car, Mommy."  She was also inclined to stay in bed this morning, asking me if I'd serve as her pillow.

Trophy photos will be published by the tournament itself at some point on the Peoria Tennis Association Website.  A big thanks to the tournament director and staff for hosting, and putting on a great tournament.  We hope to return next year!

Final ITA Rankings - Men

Division III Men's Rankings - CentralAdministered by the ITAJune 7, 2012

Team
Rank	School
1	Kenyon College
2	Washington University
3	Case Western Reserve University
4	Gustavus Adolphus College
5	Denison University
5	DePauw University
7	University of Chicago
8	Kalamazoo College
9	Univeristy of Wisconsin-Whitewater
10	Carleton College
11	Coe College
12	Luther College
13	Wheaton
14	Grinnell College
15	Elmhurst College
16	St Olaf College
17	Carthage College
18	St Thomas University
Singles
Rank	Player	School
1	Adam Putterman	Washington University
2	Michael Razumovsky	Kenyon College
3	Paul Burgin	Kenyon College
4	Amrik Donkena	Gustavus Adolphus
5	Tom Cawood	Denison University
6	Will Drougas	Case Western Reserve
7	Mya Smith-Dennis	Gustavus Adolphus University
8	Sam Miles	DePauw University
8	Scott Sundstrom	Luther College
10	Nate Eddy	Kalamazoo College
11	Fabrico Moncada	St John's University
12	Noah Sprinkel	Coe
13	Ryan Kreis	Lake Forest College
14	CJ Williams	Kenyon College
15	Mark Denenfeld	Kalamazoo College
16	Byron Balkin	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
17	Alex Harbert	Elmhurst College
18	Jeff Lotz	Carthage College
19	Taylor Johnson	Wheaton College
20	Nick Garcia	Dubuque University
21	Patrick Cole	Allegheny College
22	Troy Brinker	University of Chicago
23	Nick Piotrowski	University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
24	Gary Parizher	Washington University
25	Sean Carr	Case Western Reserve
26	Victor Khristenko	Coe College