October 21, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Coe College senior Molly Fiala (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson) has been selected IIAC Women’s Tennis Most Valuable Player for the fourth consecutive year. Coe head coach Eric Rodgers and Central head coach Bryan Mours have been selected as co-recipients of the 2008 IIAC Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year Award. Both awards were voted by the Conference coaches following the Conference Championship.

Fiala, who was also named Conference MVP each of the last three years, led the Kohawks to their third straight IIAC Women’s Tennis Championship. A two-time champion at both Flight A singles and Flight A doubles, she missed the Individual Championships this season due to her participation in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Small College Championships, where she and doubles partner Andrea Schupbach placed fourth in the Division III doubles draw. She is the first four-time MVP in Iowa Conference women’s tennis history and only the fourth all-time across the league’s 21 sports.

She posted a 12-3 overall singles record with her only losses coming to UW-Whitewater’s Annie Smith in the quarterfinals of the ITA Midwest Region Championships and in dual matches against Cornell’s Pavla Brachova and Washington (Mo.)’s Karina Kocemba. Her 10-2 overall record at No. 1 singles ranked third in the league, while her 5-1 IIAC record at No. 1 singles ranked only behind Brachova’s 7-1 record. She posted a 16-4 record in doubles, competing at the No. 1 position with Schupbach. Two losses came at the ITA National Small College Championships, while the others came in duals against Cornell and Washington (Mo.). The pair were 10-2 at No. 1 doubles, including 5-1 in IIAC play.

Rodgers guided Coe to a 13-1 record including an 8-0 mark against Conference opponents and the school’s third IIAC Women’s Tennis Championship since joining the Conference in 1997. The Kohawks posted a 5-0 semifinal win over Central before edging No. 2-seed Luther 5-2 in the Championship final. This marks the third consecutive year Rodgers has been selected IIAC Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year. He has previously been honored as IIAC Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year on three occasions (2003-05).

Mours led Central to a 10-8-1 record this fall, including a 5-3 mark against IIAC opponents. At the Iowa Conference Championships, the No. 4-seeded Dutch upset No. 3-seed Cornell 5-3 to take third place. Cornell had taken a 5-4 decision earlier in the season. In the Individual Tournament, the Dutch had at least one semifinalist in each of the five brackets, placing first at B doubles, second at A doubles and B singles, third at A singles, and fourth at C singles and with a second team at A doubles.

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. Molly Fiala and Andrea Schupbach have since been added to the list due to their participation in the ITA National Small College Championships.

Note: The other three individuals to be named Iowa Conference MVP four times are as follows: Sujay Lama (Luther, Men's Tennis, 1989-92), Robyn Olson (Wartburg, Women's Cross Country, 1991-94), and Marcus Murphy (Loras, Men's Cross Country, 2000-03).

The complete 2008 IIAC Women’s Tennis All-Conference Team can be found here.

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