CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa --- The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that former Central College tennis player Kyle Freischlag (Downers Grove, Ill. / South) has been named the Duane Schroeder IIAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year for the 2013-2014 academic year.
 
"It is truly inspiring to follow this process through to the announcement,” said Iowa Conference Commissioner Chuck Yrigoyen. “Our Scholar-Athlete vote, conducted among our Faculty Athletics Representatives, was as close as ever this year. I was particularly struck by the student's statements that accompanied their nominations. It's clear from their own words that Kyle and women’s recipient Ramey Sieck of Wartburg had the kind of well-rounded experience that is the foundation of the Iowa Conference and Division III."
 
Freischlag graduated Magna Cum Laude with honors in May 2014 with a 3.86 grade point average as a history and biology double major with a Spanish minor. He was a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2011, 2012) and a three-time member of the Iowa Conference All-Academic Team. Freischlag also spent Summer 2013 as an intern at the Institute of Bionanotechnology in Medicine at Northwestern University as a medical researcher. The research resulted in a pair of published abstracts. He is currently enrolled at the Duke University School of Medicine.
 
“Through his time at Central, Kyle demonstrated to be a very smart and hardworking student, extremely serious about academics and his future,” Central College Assistant Professor of Biology Paulina Mena said. “But his interests weren’t confined to the classroom. He participated in many activities like tennis, leading student groups and study abroad.”
 
“Kyle truly embodies the spirit of the liberal arts,” Mena added. “What I think makes Kyle more unique academically are his broad interests…He is a cultured person that obviously follows the news and reads avidly. He is the kind of student that is able to apply the knowledge he has gained in classes of diverse disciplines to formulate refined arguments.”
 
“He embodies all that we hope for our students,” Central College Associate Professor of History and History Department Chair Lori Witt said. “We want them to explore numerous ways of thinking and have experiences outside the country and outside their comfort zones…In the end, we want our students to become well-rounded, knowledgeable, thoughtful, global citizens ready to participate and contribute to the world outside of the college campus. Kyle has taken advantage of every opportunity he could to become this person.”
 
Freischlag achieved membership in the Beta Beta Beta (biology), Phi Alpha Theta (history) and Alpha Zeta Mu (based on grade point average) honor societies. He also received the Dr. Herman Vander Muelen Award in 2014, given to an outstanding pre-health student who has been accepted to medical school. As a senior, he served as a student representative to the Central College Board of Trustees and was the Chief Sustainability Officer in Central’s student government structure.
 
During Freischlag’s senior year alone, he logged more than 300 hours of community service as a member of the Iowa College AmeriCorps Program. He volunteered as a hospice caregiver at the Comfort House in Pella for four years. He took a service-learning trip to Peru with his senior seminar class last spring and also volunteered as a youth tennis coach throughout his time at Central.
 
“Kyle was a joy to coach,” said former Central College Tennis Coach Steve Tyler. “His work ethic, determination, communication skills, love of tennis and love of his team set him apart from every other player.”
 
“He was generous with his time as he met with me (as a team captain),” Tyler added. “I was always happy with his contributions and concerns he had for our team…I gave him extra assignments and he always accepted these with enthusiasm.”
 
Freischlag was a four-time letterwinner for the Dutch men’s tennis program. He worked his way through the lineup from No. 4 singles and No. 3 doubles as a freshman to No. 1 singles and doubles as a junior. A two-year team captain, he would have continued playing both No. 1 positions if not for a torn ACL that cost Freischlag the fall portion of his senior season. He responded to rehabilitation well enough to participate at No. 3 doubles the following spring. Freischlag compiled a 67-91 record during his collegiate career, including a 42-43 mark in doubles play.
 
As a sophomore in 2011, he advanced to the Round of 16 in Flight A singles at the conference individual tournament. In 2012, he paired with West Adelman to make it to the quarterfinals of Flight A Doubles at the conference tournament.
 
Also nominated for the 2013-2014 Duane Schroeder IIAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year were former Loras College soccer player Tim van den Bergh (Nijmegan, Netherlands / West Des Moines [Iowa] Valley), former Luther College soccer player James Garcia-Prats (Houston, Texas / Strake Jesuit) and former Wartburg College soccer player Bob Brown (Solon, Iowa / Iowa City West).
 
Freischlag and this year’s women’s winner – former Wartburg College volleyball player Ramey Sieck – will be honored at the Conference’s annual awards banquet in May.

About the IIAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards
The IIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards were first presented in December 2001 for the 2000-01 academic year. To be eligible for nomination, a student-athlete shall have graduated or exhausted their athletic eligibility during the academic year for which the award is given. He must have demonstrated a high level of accomplishment and achievement in a varsity sport, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale), and show evidence of scholarly achievements, community service involvement and leadership.
 
Previous recipients of the Duane Schroeder IIAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year include Tim Vinyard (2000-01, Coe College football and baseball), Dale Biser (2001-02, Cornell College football and track & field), Jesse Harris (2002-03, Simpson College basketball), Brent Showalter (2003-04, Wartburg College track & field), Garrett South (2004-05, Luther College wrestling), Adam Duerfeldt (2005-06, Central College baseball), Adam Bohach (2006-07, Luther College cross country and track & field), Kyle Duchman (2007-08, Wartburg College football), Alec Bonander (2008-09, Luther College wrestling), Tyler Burkle (2009-10, Coe College wrestling), Ryan Schisler (2010-11, Coe College baseball), Michael Zweifel (2011-12, University of Dubuque football) and Wyatt Hanus (2012-13, University of Dubuque football).
 
About Duane Schroeder
The IIAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is named in honor of the late Duane Schroeder, the former Wartburg College sports information director. Schroeder served as Wartburg’s SID for 43 years until his retirement in 2000. Upon his retirement from his sports information duties, he was named SID Emeritus and served as Wartburg’s News Director until 2001. During much of his four decades at Wartburg, Schroeder served as the IIAC’s secretary and treasurer.