October 23, 2007

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Coe College junior Molly Fiala (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson) has been selected IIAC women’s tennis Most Valuable Player and Coe head coach Eric Rodgers has been selected IIAC women’s tennis Coach of the Year. Both awards were voted by the Conference coaches following the Conference Championship.

Fiala, who was also named Conference MVP in both 2005 and 2006, led the Kohawks to their second straight IIAC women’s tennis Championship. She won the Flight A singles and Flight A doubles (with Andrea Schupbach) titles at the Iowa Conference Individual Championships and reached the semifinals in both the singles and doubles draws at the ITA Midwest Region Championship. She posted a 16-1 overall singles record with her lone loss coming in the semifinals of the ITA Regional. Fiala led the Conference with a .941 winning percentage (among those with at least three decisions) while her 9-0 singles record at No. 1 singles was also tops in the Conference. Fiala also posted a league-best 5-0 record at No. 1 singles during Conference play. She posted a 16-2 record in doubles, competing at the No. 1 position with Schupbach. Fiala becomes the first three-time Most Valuable Player in Iowa Conference women's tennis history.

Rodgers guided Coe to a 12-0 record including an 8-0 mark against Conference opponents and the school’s second women’s tennis Championship since joining the IIAC in 1997. The Kohawks posted a 5-1 semifinal win over Wartburg before edging No. 2-seed Luther 5-4 in the Championship final. This marks the second time Rodgers has been selected IIAC women’s tennis Coach of the Year but he has previously been named IIAC men’s tennis Coach of the Year three times (2003-05).

The Conference previously announced the women’s tennis All-Conference Team in conjunction with the Individual Tournament. The quarterfinalists at Flight A singles and semifinalists at Flight A doubles are recognized as All-Conference. The complete 2007 IIAC women’s tennis All-Conference Team is here.

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