April 12, 2004

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Wartburg College track and field performer Brent Showalter (Wellman, Iowa/Mid-Prairie HS) and Simpson College softball player Bradi Smith (Lacona, Iowa/Southeast Warren HS) were named IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 11.

Showalter, a senior, won two events and finished a close second in a third event at the Wartburg Select Meet. He provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 200-meter dash with a winning time of 21.78 seconds. He was also a member of the winning 4x400 relay team that ran a time of 3:19.78. Showalter finished 4/100ths of a second behind the winner of the 100-meter dash, finishing in 11.0 seconds.

Smith, a sophomore pitcher, went 4-0 during the week, striking out 36 batters and allowing just eight hits and one earned run in 27 innings pitched. She threw a complete game six-hitter and struck out seven in Simpson’s 4-1 victory over Upper Iowa and a complete game two-hitter and struck out 14 batters in the Storm’s 8-0 victory over Dubuque. At the Grinnell Hy-Vee Invitational, Smith allowed one unearned run in 13 innings and posted a 2-0 record to earn All-Tournament Team honors. She started and pitched five innings of three-hit ball in Simpson’s 6-0 victory over William Penn, striking out six batters. In a 4-1, 11-inning victory over Grinnell, Smith pitched eight innings of relief, striking out nine batters, allowing just three hits and one unearned run.

The IIAC also announced on Monday its Players of the Week in the Conference’s six sports in competition during the week. Showalter and Smith received the weekly honors for men’s track and softball, respectively, while the following individuals were recognized for their athletic performances.

Baseball: Simpson College senior catcher/first baseman Brett Murphy (Des Moines, Iowa/Roosevelt HS) hit .588 (10-for-17) and scored six runs in six games during the week. He hit safely in all six contests and finished the week with four straight two-hit games. He went 2-for-5 with one double and two runs scored in a doubleheader split with Gustavus Adolphus. Murphy went 4-for-6 in a doubleheader sweep of Upper Iowa and a doubleheader split with Coe. Against Upper Iowa, he drove in one run and scored a run. Against Coe, he hit two doubles, scored three times and drove in one run.

Men’s Golf: Simpson College senior Mike Martin (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf HS) finished third in two tournaments during the week. At the Simpson Invitational, he shot a 75 to finish three strokes back in the 31-golfer field. Martin won a card-back tiebreaker at the Wartburg Invitational and finished with a two-round score of 144 (69-75). His two-over-par score was three strokes behind the winner of the 110-golfer event.

Men’s Tennis: Coe College senior Phil Williams (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson HS) went 4-0 during the week with two victories at #1 singles and one victory at #1 and #2 doubles. In singles play, he defeated Lawrence’s Jai Arora (7-5, 6-1) and Ripon’s Paul Vanden Boogard (6-0, 6-3) as the Kohawks defeated both teams 7-0. In doubles action, he teamed with Ryan Yao to post an 8-0 victory over Lawrence’s Dan Putterman/Bryan Hilgeman at #2 doubles and an 8-6 victory over Ripon’s Vanden Boogard/Adam Bruno at #1 doubles.

Women’s Track & Field: Wartburg College freshman Bridget Burns (Monroe, Iowa/Prairie City-Monroe HS) won two individual events and was a member of two winning relay teams at the Wartburg Select Meet. She won the 200-meter dash in 25.99 seconds and the 400-meter dash in 58.60 seconds. The 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams of which Burns was a part of, both provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships, running in times of 49.07 and 3:55.51, respectively. The 4x400 relay team set a Walston-Hoover Stadium and a Select Meet record.

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