December 14, 2005

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that former Coe College softball player Amy Ernst (Monona, Iowa/MFL Mar Mac) has been named the Duane Schroeder IIAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year for the 2004-05 academic year.

“Outstanding young people like Amy Ernst and [IIAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year] Garrett South are far too often unappreciated and overlooked by the general public. These two individuals epitomize what the Iowa Conference and intercollegiate athletics was intended to represent; athletic achievement, athletic excellence, character development, and a commitment to community service for the unselfish betterment of others,” IIAC Commissioner John Cochrane said. “The willingness and sacrifice necessary to become a First Team All-American and a national champion, while never losing one’s perspective or sense of priority as to what’s really important in life, is something to be trumpeted and held up for all who are concerned with the continuing development and improvement of our society. Amy and Garrett, quite simply, stand as examples for all of us of everything that is good, related to the quest for human achievement.”

Ernst graduated Cum Laude in May 2005 with a 3.957 grade point average as a public accounting and business administration major earning Dean’s List honors throughout her collegiate career. She was named Outstanding Accounting Senior and Outstanding Accounting Junior during her final two academic years. She was a Phi Kappa Phi, having a GPA in the top-10 percent of the graduating class, was a member of Mortar Board’s National Honor Society and a member of Sigma Beta Delta, an International Honor Society in business, management and administration. Ernst also received the Courtney Award, presented to the female senior student-athlete with the highest grade point average. She is currently an accountant with Ernst & Young in Denver, Colo.

“Amy was one of the best students that I have had graduate from Coe College in the 24 years I have been teaching at the college. She was a very dedicated student who worked diligently in completing the degree requirements for one of the most difficult majors that the college offers,” Business Administration and Economics professor Dr. Barbara J. Larew said. “Additionally, she completed the requirements for the Public Accounting degree, a degree that requires the equivalent of 150 semester hours of education, in four years at Coe. She was selected by the department accounting faculty as the recipient of both the Iowa Society of Certified Public Accountants’ outstanding junior and outstanding senior accounting major awards in 2004 and 2005, respectively.”

Ernst was president of the Accounting Club at Coe, a member of the student senate and C-Club (Coe’s varsity letterman’s club) and completed Coe’s Crimson and Gold Leadership Program. She served as a tutor through Coe’s AAP program for four years and was an Assistant Resident Director, the highest position residence life can offer a student, after serving two-years as a Resident Assistant. Ernst was also a youth softball volunteer, assisting with camps at Coe and with youth groups in Cedar Rapids as well as serving as a volunteer for the Special Olympics.

“Amy is a respectful and confident young woman who gets along with a wide variety of individuals. She has displayed outstanding leadership both on and off the field,” Coe softball coach Bob Timmons said. “Her work ethic is second to none and she is always striving to improve her game and making the team better. She was a four-year starting pitcher and a captain for two years. When the game is on the line, Amy is the person you know will make the big play or get the big strike out. She has an enormous heart and has displayed that in her hustle, enthusiasm, attitude, respect and teamwork.”

Athletically, Ernst became the first Coe softball player to earn All-America and Academic All-America honors in the same year receiving both honors as a senior. She was a three-time All-Conference performer, a three-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Scholar Athlete, a three-time Academic All-Conference performer, a three-time NFCA All-Region selection and was the 2005 IIAC Most Valuable Player. She graduated as Coe’s career leader in victories (65), innings pitched (559) and saves (8). She is second on the school’s all-time list with a .783 career win percentage (65-18), is third in career strikeouts (505) and fourth in career earned run average (1.19). Ernst was awarded the 2005 Bremner Award, presented annually to Coe’s Female Athlete of the Year.

During her senior year, Ernst led the Kohawks to their first Iowa Conference Championship since 2000. During the season, she averaged 10.8 strikeouts per seven innings, which ranked sixth in the nation in 2005 and is the 19th-best in Division III history. She also ranked among national leaders in saves (6th with 4), wins (8th with 24) and ERA (13th at 0.69). She threw 21 complete games including 14 shutouts and had two streaks of over 50 innings without allowing a run.

The Duane Schroeder IIAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year Award was 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. She 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.

The Duane Schroeder IIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards are 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.

Also nominated for the Duane Schroeder IIAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year were former Buena Vista University softball player Katie Onken, former Central College volleyball player Jamie Stark, former Cornell College volleyball and basketball player Melanie Manz, and former Wartburg College volleyball player Sarah Olsen.

Previous recipients of the Duane Schroeder IIAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year include Johanna Olson (2000-01, Luther College track and cross country), Brianne Schoonover (2001-02, Wartburg College basketball and track) Jessica Jensen (2002-03, Buena Vista University basketball and track) and Raegan (Schultz) Wagner (2003-04, Central College volleyball and track).

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