April 26, 2003

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) crowned champions in five individual flights (three singles and two doubles) on Saturday at the Conference’s men’s tennis Individual Flighted Tournament. The Conference also announced the 2003 IIAC men’s tennis All-Conference Team, Most Valuable Player and Coach of the Year.

In Flight A singles, Coe’s Nick Barnes and Nick Frank met in the finals for the third straight year with the second-seeded Frank upsetting the top-seeded Barnes for the second time in that span (6-4, 3-6, 6-3). Frank defeated teammate Phil Williams in the semifinals (7-5, 6-1) and Barnes defeated Simpson’s Luc Mbenoun in the semifinals (6-1, 6-3). Third-seeded Williams defeated fourth-seeded Mbenoun in the third place match (4-6, 6-4, 6-3). Williams’ also placed third in last season’s Conference’s Individual Tournament.

In Flight B singles, Central’s Adam Ruggle defeated teammate Kris Walters in straight sets (6-4, 6-3) to win the flight. Last season, Ruggle was the Conference Champion in Flight C. Central’s Tim Vaske defeated Simpson’s Cory Veen in the third place match (6-1, 6-1). In the semifinals, Ruggle defeated Veen (6-0, 6-3) and Walters defeated Vaske (3-6, 6-1, 6-2).

In Flight C singles, Cornell’s Jim Thompson defeated Simpson’s Brett Martin (6-1, 6-1) in the Championship match after defeating Loras’ Mark Goedken in the semifinals (6-0, 6-0). Martin defeated Wartburg’s Ryan Kuhl in the semifinals (6-7, 6-4, 6-3). In the third place match, Goedken defeated Kuhl (6-1, 6-0).

In Flight A doubles Coe’s Nick Barnes and Nick Frank won their third straight Flight A doubles title with an 8-6 victory over teammates Phil Williams and Lucas Elliott. For Frank, it is his fourth straight Conference doubles title. Barnes and Frank defeated Central’s Nick Cochrane and Aaron Enderlin (8-0) and Williams and Elliott defeated Coe’s Chris Paasch and Ryan Krabbe (8-4) in the semifinals. In the third place match, Paasch and Krabbe defeated Cochrane and Enderlin (8-4).

In Flight B doubles, a battle between a pair of Luther teams ended with Marcin Niewiadomski and Travis Strickler defeating Jake Graff and Bret Powell (9-8 (11-9)). In the third place match, Loras’ Mark Goedken and David Fautsch defeated Wartburg’s Matt Connell and Vedran Solaja (8-1). Niewiadomski and Strickler defeated Connell and Solaja in the semifinals (8-5) while Graff and Powell defeated Goedken and Fautsch in the other semifinal (8-1).

BARNES NAMED MVP: For the second straight season, Barnes was selected Most Valuable Player by the Conference coaches. Barnes now has an overall record of 42-4 including a 22-3 record in singles and 20-1 in doubles play. This marks the fifth straight season that the IIAC men’s tennis MVP has come from Coe. Johnny Watson was a three-time IIAC MVP from 1999-2001.

RODGERS NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR: Coe’s Eric Rodgers was named Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Kohawks to their third straight Conference Championship. This season, Coe finished with a 23-2 overall record and an unbeaten record in 23 matches against Division III opponents. Under his direction, the team placed 10 singles players and five doubles teams in Flight A of the Conference Individual Tournament.

ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM: The quarterfinalists in Flight A and B singles, and the semifinalists in Flight A and Flight B doubles earn All-Conference honors.

Complete men's tennis Championship results are here.

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