January 31, 2005

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Luther College wrestler Danny Adams (Riceville, Iowa/Riceville) and Wartburg College basketball player Amanda Berner (Calamus, Iowa/Calamus-Wheatland) were named IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 30.

Adams, a senior, went 4-0 at 184-pounds at the Iowa Conference Duals with three pins. He pinned Coe’s Marcus Schneider (0:20), Buena Vista’s Michael Irvin (3:29) and Loras’ Tom Andrews (1:49). Adams won a decision over Simpson’s Cody Downing (6-3). With his three falls during the week, Adams upped his career total to 49, second-most in Luther history.

Berner, a senior center, averaged 17.7 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game in three contests during the week. She shot 67.6 percent (25-of-37) from the floor and 60 percent (3-of-5) from the free throw line in victories over Loras (60-59) and Central (81-59), and a loss to Simpson (63-50). She scored 16 points (on 7-of-9 shooting), grabbed 13 rebounds, and had a steal and block in a losing effort against Simpson. Against Loras, Berner scored 18 points (on 9-of-11 shooting), grabbed 10 rebounds and had two blocks. She had her best overall game in the week’s finale against Central, scoring 19 points (on 9-of-17 shooting), grabbing 14 rebounds, and having six blocks and three assists.

The IIAC also announced on Monday its Performers of the Week in the eight Conference sports in competition. Adams and Berner received the weekly honor in their respective sports, while the following individuals were recognized for their weekly performances.

Men’s Basketball: Wartburg College senior guard Jason Steege (Fredericksburg, Iowa/Fredericksburg) averaged 19.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in three contests during the week. He shot 53.1 percent (17-of-32) from the floor including 50 percent (7-of-14) from behind the three point arc, and shot 81.8 percent from the free throw line (18-of-22) in victories over Simpson (71-63), Loras (71-59) and Central (59-54). Steege scored 15 points (on 4-of-7 shooting), grabbed two rebounds, and had two assists and one steal against Simpson. In a battle of Conference unbeaten against Loras, he scored 31 points (on 9-of-15 shooting), had two steals, one rebound and one assist. He finished the week with 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal against Central.

Men’s Swimming & Diving: Loras College sophomore Brian Johns (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) won two individual events and swam the anchor leg of the winning 200-yard medley relay in the Duhawks’ dual victory over Morningside. He won the 100-yard butterfly in 56.86, besting his previous top time by almost a second. He also won the 100-yard breaststroke (1:05.51) and swam a 23.07 freestyle split in the relay.

Women’s Swimming & Diving: Loras College sophomore Molly Tomlonovic (Colfax, Iowa/Colfax-Mingo) won the 100-yard freestyle and swam the anchor leg of two winning relays in the Duhawks’ dual victory over Morningside. She won the 100 freestyle by over three seconds with a personal season-best time of 56.48. She swam a 25.42 freestyle split in the 200-yard medley relay and a 25.73 split in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Men’s Tennis: Coe College senior Jeff White (Loveland, Colo./Thompson Valley) went 4-0 during the week in season-opening dual victories over Nebraska Wesleyan (6-1) and Wartburg (7-0). At #2 singles, he defeated Nebraska Wesleyan’s Jeff Salem (6-3, 6-0) and Wartburg’s Greg Koenen (6-0, 6-1). At #2 doubles, White and partner Ryan Krabbe, posted an 8-1 win over Nebraska Wesleyan and an 8-2 win over Wartburg.

Men’s Track & Field: Simpson College senior Matt Albert (Logan, Ohio/Logan) placed in the top-5 of six events at the Cornell Quadrangular and accounted for 42.5 of Simpson’s 169 points in the meet. He won the long jump (20-4.25), 55-meter hurdles (8.02) and the 400-meter dash (51.33). Albert placed second in the triple jump (39-10.75), third in the 200-meter dash (23.63) and tied for fourth in the pole vault (8-6).

Women’s Track & Field: Wartburg College senior Missy Buttry (Shenandoah, Iowa/Shenandoah) won the 3000-meter run at the Iowa State Open in a time of 9:13.02. Her time was 30 seconds better than her closest competitor, broke her own school record by nearly eight seconds and broke the venue record by 11/100ths of a second.

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