Coe Men's Tennis

Coe's Sprinkel picked for NCAA tennis

INDIANAPOLIS - Coe junior Noah Sprinkel has been selected to play in the NCAA National Singles Championships later this month in California for the second straight year.

Of the 32 players in the singles field, Sprinkel will be one of eight returners from last year's event. He was defeated 6-4, 7-5 by Andrew Yaraghi of Amherst in the first round in 2013.

This marks the 12th time in school history a male will play in the NCAA National Singles Championships. Sprinkel becomes the fourth Kohawk to earn two bids to the championships. Jon Turbett, Johnny Watson and Nick Barnes all qualified three times during their careers.

The NCAA National Singles Championships will take place May 22-24 at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont, Calif. The pairings for the tournament will be announced on May 21.

Coe tennis teams hit road for NCAAs

The Coe College men's and women's tennis teams will be heading to St. Louis this week for the NCAA Tournament.

It is the second straight year both programs will be in St. Louis for the tournament. Both teams advanced to the national tournament after winning Iowa Conference titles.

The Coe women (19-5) will face Grinnell (16-7) on Thursday. The Coe men (24-7) will meet Earlham (16-6) in the first round Friday.

The women earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals by defeating Luther two weeks ago in the IIAC Automatic Qualifier Tournament. This is the fifth appearance in the NCAA's for the Kohawks as they also qualified in 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013. Coe is 4-4 all-time in the tournament and has never lost a first-round match.

The Coe women defeated Grinnell, 5-4, April 19 in the regular-season finale. The Pioneers earned an automatic bid to the tournament by winning the Midwest Conference Championship. Coe is ranked 14th in the ITA Central Region, while Grinnell is ranked 15th.

Washington University in St. Louis (17-5), ranked ninth in the country and first in the region, will await the winner on Friday in the winner's tournament. On the other side of the women's bracket, Edgewood (19-8) will face 25th-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater (20-5). The winner will advance to take on 11th-ranked DePauw (18-4). The regional final is set for Saturday.

The Coe men's tennis team faced Earlham in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament as well. Coe is ranked eighth in the ITA Central Region, while Earlham is 10th.

The winner of Friday's match will face second-ranked Washington University of St. Louis (19-2) in the second round. Coe defeated Earlham, 5-3, last year before falling, 5-1, to Washington University in the second round.

On the other half of the bracket, Sewanee (14-6) will face Elmhurst (16-4) Friday, with the winner taking on 13th-ranked Whitman (19-4) Saturday. The men's regional final is scheduled for Sunday.

This will be the 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the Kohawks (1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2012 and 2013). Coe is 4-9 all-time (.308) in the NCAA Tournament. Coe owns a 2-1 record this year against teams in the NCAA Tournament, as they defeated Grinnell 8-1 and Elmhurst 9-0.

Whitewater snaps Coe's winning streak

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's tennis team defeated Coe, 6-3, at the Clark Racquet Center Sunday.

The Kohawks had won 28 straight matches at home before the setback in a tight match.

Riley Galbraith of Coe won his match at No.2 singles, 6-2, 6-1.

UW-Whitewater 6, Coe 3

Singles

1. Jake Humphreys (W) def. Noah Sprinkel, 7-5, 6-0

2. Riley Galbraith (C) def. Ben Shklyar, 6-2, 6-1

3. Byron Balkin (W) def. Ryan Hickman, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5

4. Sean Stokstad (C) def. R.Rajshekhar Raman, 6-3, 7-5

5. Brian Klein (W) def. Alex Bernt, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8

6. Michael Janssen (C) def. Cam Laktash, 6-4, 4-6, 11-9

Doubles

1. Balkin/Humphreys (W) def. Sprinkel/Galbraith, 8-6

2. Shklyar/Martin Beck (W) def. Hickman/Janssen, 8-4

3. Kevin Friend/Laktash (W) def. Stokstad/Decker, 9-8

Coe netters take care of Grinnell

GRINNELL - The Coe Kohawks won both of their meets against Grinnell Saturday in college tennis.

The Coe men's team collected an 8-1 victory and the women's team posted a 5-4 triumph.

Noah Sprinkel defeated Elliott Czarnecki, 6-0, 6-2, at No.1 singles in the men's meet. Tai Lucero topped Shirlene Luk, 6-0, 6-3, on the women's side.

The Coe men's team raised its record to 22-6. The Coe women are 17-5.

Coe 8, Grinnell 1

Singles

1. Noah Sprinkel (C) def. Elliott Czarnecki, 6-0, 6-2

2. Riley Galbraith (C) def. Emilio Gomez, 7-5, 6-3

3. Ryan Hickman (C) def. Cole Miller, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4

4. Sean Stokstad (C) def. Tommy Pitcher, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1

5. Tracy Johnson (G) def. Alex Bernt, 7-6, 4-6, 12-10

6. Michael Janssen (C) def. C.J. Ray, 4-6, 6-4, 10-2

Doubles

1. Sprinkel/Galbraith (C) def. Czarnecki/Pitcher, 8-0

2. Hickman/Janssen (C) def. Gomez/Johnson, 8-6

3. Stokstad/Zack Decker (C) def. Miller/Ray, 8-6

Coe 5, Grinnell 4

Singles

1. Tai Lucero (C) def. Shirlene Luk, 6-0, 6-3

2. Sadhana Athreya (G) def. Jordan Ferree, 6-3, 6-3

3. Clothilde Thirouin (G) def. Amy Sebastian, 7-5, 6-4

4. Laura Birky (C) def. Hanna Feldman, 7-5, 7-6

5. Diannah Watson (C) def. Virginia Purcell, 6-3, 7-6

6. Emma MacDonald (G) def. Sarah Lasecki, 6-3, 6-1

Doubles

1. Luk/Thirouin (G) def. Ferree/Birky, 9-8

2. Lucero/Watson (C) def. Athreya/MacDonald, 9-8

3. Elizabeth Hoffmann/Tamara Washington (C) def. Feldman/Shanaz

Daneshdoost, 8-4