2011 All-Iowa Conference Men's Tennis Team
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today its All-Conference Team and major awards for the 2011 men’s tennis season. Luther College junior Scott Sundstrom (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) has been named the 2011 IIAC Men’s Tennis Player of the Year and Luther College head coach Brian Huinker has been named 2011 IIAC Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year.
Sundstrom was voted all-conference in both singles and doubles this season and captured Most Valuable Player honors for the second time in his career after posting a 38-12 overall record, including a 20-5 mark in singles. In the fall, he won the Flight A singles title at the Iowa Conference Individual Championships with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Dubuque’s Nick Garcia, then followed that up by pairing with freshman Ramesh Karki to top teammates Harrison Whiteley and Aaron Gendron, 8-3, for the Flight A doubles title. Sundstrom also advanced to the quarterfinal round of the singles draw at the ITA Midwest Region Championship.
Sundstrom is the first player to earn multiple MVP honors since Coe’s Nick Barnes won three from 2002 to 2004 and the fourth Luther player to do so, joining Bob Frost (1971, 1973-74), Jeff Renken (1975-76), Sujay Lama (1989-90-91-92), and Chris Rovn (1993, 1995).
Huinker received IIAC Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year honors for the sixth time overall and for the fifth time in six years. He led Luther to a 20-8 record overall and a 7-1 mark in the league. Under his direction, the second-seeded Norse beat top-seeded Coe, 5-1, at the Iowa Conference Team Tournament to capture the school’s 31 IIAC men’s tennis title. The Norse advanced to the NCAA Championships, toppling Earlham, 5-0, in the first round before bowing out to host Washington University in St. Louis, 5-0, in a second round match-up at St. Louis.
Huinker was also a two-time IIAC Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year (2009, 2010).
The IIAC also announced today the 2011 Men’s Tennis All-Conference Team. Twelve individuals were selected to fill the 12 singles and six doubles positions with Sundstrom, Karki, Garcia, Central senior Dan Bowser, and Coe seniors Elliot Rausa and Scott Stegemann receiving honors for their play in both singles and doubles.
Luther senior Harrison Whiteley was selected All-Iowa Conference in singles for the fourth time. Sundstrom was tabbed in singles for the third straight season. Rausa and Garcia both received all-conference honors in singles last season, while Bowser earned all-league honors in singles in 2009.
In doubles, Rausa is a four-time all-IIAC pick, while Stegemann earns all-IIAC honors for the second time (2008).
Iowa Conference champion Luther led all schools with six all-conference selections between four players. Coe received five honors spread among three players, while Central and Dubuque each had one individual receive honors in both singles and doubles. Cornell, Loras, and Wartburg each had one player receive all-league honors in singles alone.