IIAC Player of the Week

Senior Jordan Ferree earned Iowa Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week honors.

Ferree named Iowa Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week

Women's Tennis - Wed, Apr. 29, 2015 at 11:20 AM

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - For the second time this season, senior Jordan Ferree (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) has been named the Iowa Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week.
Ferree helped the Kohawks with a pair of doubles wins at the IIAC AQ Tournament. Pairing with junior Laura Birky (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) at number one, she captured wins over Central's Angie Allgood and Ashlyn Huegel (8-3) and Luther's Jenna Myers and Maggie Helms (8-2). She also defeated Central's Ashley Maley (6-0, 6-2) at number three singles and was leading Myers 7-5, 5-3 in the tournament championship dual when the match was abandoned after Coe scored the championship-clinching point.

The pairings and locations for the 2015 NCAA Championships will be announced by the NCAA at 11 a.m. on May 4.

Men's IIAC Champions - 4th Consecutive

Senior Awards Dinner

Athletics / SAAC hosted a very nice Senior Dinner this evening!  The steak was a hit!

Erik Albinson (VP for Student Affairs), John Chandler (Athletic Director), Guy Simons ('94 Alumni) and Mark Kroll '16 (tennis player and SAAC President to be) did a stand up job speaking at the event.  Chad Moklestad '17 (tennis player and SAAC member) assisted with the awards presentation also.

Congratulations to all of the Seniors honored; including our very own Noah Sprinkel '15, Jordan Ferree '15 and Rachel Schaefer '15.

Chad presenting Noah with his award.  Mark at the podium.

Jordan

Jordan, Noah and Rachel

Chad, Jordan, Noah, Rachel and Mark

WHAT ARE THEY DOING NOW?

In weeks, months, years to come, we will be reaching out to alumni to learn "WHAT ARE THEY DOING NOW?"  We will be sharing their update with all of you.  We have also asked that they pass along some advice to the current generation of Kohawk Tennis players.

An update below from TAI LUCERO '14:

Hola amigos y amigas,

Since graduating from Coe, I’ve had an eclectic year "off." I started my break by jumping out of my comfort zone by being a contestant in the Ms. Texas Pageant. Representing Odessa in a positive light was fun and I met a great crop of girls that were incredibly close to their mirrors. On the more educational side, I have taken a few graduate level courses. I was also able to participate in a research project that allowed me to explore bacteria’s role as a potential blood substitute. Enough about school though. I have the next seven years in and out of the classroom. I was gratefully accepted to medical school at UTHSCSA in San Antonio, Texas, so I have been preparing for another move, but this time only a short 4 hours away from home. I have also been exploring the job market.  I worked at Spirit Halloween last October. I saw about 40 Elsa costumes from Frozen.  I currently work as a Standardized Patient and volunteer at Medical Center Hospital and as a Substitute Teacher for elementary schools. When I have time, I find myself reflecting on my experience at Coe. It was filled with so many memorable occasions that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I have a solid piece of life advice for all the new Kohawks. This has been my mantra and one of the reasons why I have been successful. You can’t be afraid to dream big. Your dreams aren’t big enough if you’re not a little scared of them. However, to reach those dreams, you have to know that they will not just fall in your lap. You have to work harder than you thought you ever could and make sacrifices. Know that’s its okay to stay in on a Friday night and study for a hard test coming up, but also take the time to enjoy the wonderful personalities, adventures and environment that Coe embodies. I miss y’all and wish the best for everyone.

At Comic Con!

At the Ms. Texas Pageant!

Senior Video - Noah Sprinkel

A Word with Noah.....
http://youtu.be/cmwJxCS1ZvQ
(a film by D-Dub)

On Nadal & Nerves

Over the weekend Rafael Nadal lost early again in Miami, the 2nd straight tournament he has lost early. He admits to suffering from nerves. Every player suffers from nerves to some degree or another. I know in my long ago playing career, I had bouts with nerves that I had to address. Below is what one of the greatest competitors I have ever seen has to say about tennis & nerves. Hope his struggles can help you out when you run into a patch of competitive anxiety.




“It’s a tough issue to fix, but I’m going to keep trying,” said Nadal. “I am trying my best. I am practicing with the right attitude.”
The World No. 3 said the “anxious” feelings he has on court started at the beginning of this season.
“It's not the question of tennis, [It’s] the question of being relaxed enough to play well on court,” the 28 year old said. “Today my game in general improved since a month and a half [ago]. But at the same time, [I’m] still playing with too many nerves for a lot of moments, in important moments.”
A four-time runner-up at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Miami, Nadal exited the BNP Paribas Open early last week as well, losing to Canadian Milos Raonic for the first time in the quarter-finals after holding three match points.
“I have been able to control my emotions during 90 per cent, 95 per cent of my matches of my career… But I’m going to fix it,” he said. “I don't know if [it’ll be] in one week, in six months, or in one year, but I’m going to do it.
"It’s something that I need to fix for myself and with my team. I need the help of my team, but especially I need the help of myself. That's what I am trying to do. Nobody’s going to change the situation for you."
“At this point in my career, I’ve won enough things to say I don't need to win more, but I want to do it,” said Nadal. “I want to keep competing well. I want to keep having the feeling that I can be competing for every tournament I’m going to play, and I have the motivation to do it. Obviously clay is [a] surface that I’ve had some success, and I hope to be ready for it again.”
It is now clay court season and that just might be what Nadal needs to regain his competitive edge.

All the best

~Coach Rodgers

Alums & Emmie

Sush flew to FL as a Spring Break surprise, and then trekked back to CR with everyone.  Noah on the right.

As an Asst Coach at Augustana, we see Scott annually.  He, Jess and daughter are doing well!

VK was waiting for us on the Saturday of our return from FL.

Top Ten List

Men's Career Wins

1 Nick Barnes(04)     200
2 Johnny Watson(01) 198
3 Nick Frank(03)       187
4 Curtis Newman(13) 181
5 Ryan Yao(07)          177
6 Jon Turbett(96)        166
7 Scott Stegemann(11)157
7 Greg Janssen(10)      157
9 Phil Williams(04)       156
9 Noah Sprinkel(15)   156*

Women's Career Wins

1 Tai Lucero(14)               187
2 Michelle Schupbach(13) 182
3 Molly Fiala(09)               175
4 Andrea Schupbach(10)   159
5 Hannah Jensen(11)          152
6 Jordan Ferree(15)         138*
7 Elizabeth Hoffmann(14)   122
8 Hillary Allen(10)              120
9 Jennifer Temps(96)            96
10 Laura Birky(16)            94*

 * player still active
Stats current as of 3/24/15

Mid-Season Update

Time flies when tennis season is in full flight! Apologies for the scarcity of posts.

This weekend will close out the second month of regular season play, leaving just April remaining in to prepare for the post season events in the month of May. (Technically the Women's post season commences on April 25th when they host the IIAC AQ tournament)

The month of March began with the 13 match Spring Break trip to the Orlando, Florida area. Best weather we have had in 12 years! Excellent progress was made by both Teams as each team embraced very challenging schedules.

Once back in the Midwest, the Men's Team made the trek north to play #17 Gustavus-Adolphus this past Saturday and despite excellent straight sets wins by Noah and Brady, the #37 Kohawks fell 7-2. The Men return to action this Saturday hosting Luther College in the annual Iowa conference showdown which has decided the Conference Championship for the past decade.

The Women were a bit more successful in their return to indoor tennis, winning two matches in the Clark Racquet Center yesterday. An exceptional win over a very skilled Augustana(IL) College squad, highlighted by a doubles sweep and two hard fought singles wins by Jordan and Diannah. Later in the day, Coe swept past St Ambrose Univeristy by a 9-0 count. 

Spring Break

Spring Break thus far.....

13 Men.  11 Women.  3 Coaches.  Altamonte Springs, FL.  8 Days.  13 Matches.

TENNIS:  

Since this is a TENNIS trip, I figured we should cover the on-court happenings first.  

The Men played twice on Saturday, and had one match per day since.  The 38th ranked Kohawks stand at 3-2 on Spring Break; with competitive losses to D1 Valparaiso and #20 Texas-Tyler, and a quality win over McMurry.  Ryan "Frosted Flakes" Hickman earned some respect in the D3 Tennis world (Player of the Week article).  Complete schedule and box scores here.

The Women played twice on Sunday, and twice Tuesday.  They stand at 2-2 with wins over Oglethorpe and College of Wooster, but losses to #40 Texas-Tyler and St. Marys (of Notre Dame).  In both of the losses, we had some tight Doubles, and 3 set Singles battles within that tested us on multiple levels.  The Women have shown noticeable growth as competitors, and most importantly, as a TEAM, because of it.  Complete schedule and box scores here.

As for competition ahead, the Women play rival Wheaton and PSU-Berks on Thursday.  The Men play 13th ranked NAIA Aquinas College and possibly, PSU-Berks, on Thursday.

OFF-COURT:

The Alumni Association at Coe hosted a luncheon for the Men and Women following play vs Texas-Tyler on Tuesday.  This was especially appreciated by the Women given needed food, and a quick-turnaround / travel between matches.  Thank you!

Our SID at Coe made an appearance at the Texas-Tyler match also, and captured some great action photos.

The following alums came to see us:

Malcolm Gilreath '90 - Former Head Coach of USD Women's Tennis)

Daken Starkenburg '14 - Physics genius now studying at the Univ of Florida.

Yasushi Inoue - Recent one-year International Student.  Noah was in on the surprise; Sushi will be spending the next 12 days with us in FL, and back at Coe.  Here is a video that we had put together for Sushi during his time with us.

With a day off today, we already have players at Universal.  Others are headed to a large Outlet Mall later today.  Friday is typically a "Beach Day" for the entire crew.

All in all, many positive memories thus far, and more to come!

#kohawksflyinghigh