Sonja Molnar is not satisfied.

The Iowa women’s tennis sophomore sensation wasn’t exactly tickled when the season came to an end last spring.

Despite being the 2009 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, an All-Big Ten honoree, and International Tennis Association Midwest Regional Rookie of the Year — all while ranking in the collegiate top 75 — she felt as though she had more to accomplish.

Few athletes would be dissatisfied with having a good year, especially one that yielded numerous awards.

“I am obviously happy about this recognition, but I still believe that I could have won a few more matches that I didn’t,” Molnar said. “But all in all, I am honored to be given this recognition.”

Perhaps the most astonishing part of her first year is she only played half a season.

Iowa head coach Daryl Greenan also pointed out how unusual it is for someone to come in the middle of a season and have such ample success.

“She was a huge addition to our team and had a great year,” he said.

Along with adjusting to the college game, the first year of student life can be a bit difficult for anyone — especially for an athlete coming in mid-season. However, Molnar thinks it went rather smoothly.

“I felt like I had a good first season,” she said. “I made a good transition from not being in school to taking classes, as well as traveling almost every weekend.”

When asked if there was a big adjustment to the college game, she said both yes and no.

“Yes, because my days were a lot more busy with tennis, conditioning, and school,” she said. “No, because I was already used to training a lot, and I feel like a pretty independent person, so the transition was smoother because of that as well.”

After a successful first year by most standards, Molnar’s summer was a time to unwind.

She spent the summer in her hometown of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. While at home, she found time to relax while training for the upcoming season and teaching the game to others.

This season, if Molnar meets her goals, she knows there won’t be much time to take it easy. Her play last year already qualified her for the Inter-collegiate Tennis Association All-American Championships in October.

She intends to be ranked in the top 50 — at the very least — and to make the NCAA Tournament. But her work ethic and determination are what stand out the most.

“First of all, you can never stop improving, so I feel like every aspect of my game can be improved upon,” she said. “I would really like improve the mental aspect of my game, as well as the conditioning side.”

This season, Greenan said Molnar will lead the team onto the court in the No. 1 position, and he seemed pretty confident with her at the top.

“She’s proved she can play at the No. 1 position and play with anybody in the country,” Greenan said.

He referred to Molnar as a “highlight” of last year. He was happy to have her in Iowa even if it was only for half the season.

“I’m excited to see if she can finish what she started last year and take it to the next level,” Greenan said. “We’ll see this year, but she’s in a position to be one of the best players we’ve had here.”