2014 Coach of the Year: Tim Fader

The 2014 d3wrestle.com Coach of they Year is Tim Fader of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Fader led the Warhawks to their highest ever finish in the NCAA Championships for the second straight year, topping last year’s third place finish with a runner-up award this season. Whitewater had five All-Americans and put two wrestlers into the finals. Sophomores Matt Adcock (141) and Shane Siefert (197) each finished second in their weight class to lead Whitewater at the Championships. Jimmy Nehls, Elroy Perkin, and Cedric Gibson all finished in 5th place, while Anthony Edgren also competed, giving the Warhawks six total qualifiers.

Whitewater compiled a 20-3 record that included a third place finish at the NWCA National Duals where they lost only to NCAA Champion Wartburg. They were team champions at the Pete Willson Wheaton Invitational and won their third consecutive WIAC Championship. In the postseason, they won a second straight Midwest Regional title, sending six to the NCAA Championships.

Fader began at Whitewater in 2004 after six seasons as the head coach at rival La Crosse. He has coached 21 All-Americans at Whitewater, including four NCAA finalists. He has led Whitewater to a 117-67-3 record since 2004, and has twice been named the NWCA Coach of the Year, once at La Crosse in 2001 and once at Whitewater in 2012. He is also a team leader for the Division III Cultural Exchange. Congratulations to Coach Fader on being named the 2o14 d3wrestle.com Coach of the Year.