April 18, 2005

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today the Coe College softball player Amy Ernst (Monona, Iowa/MFL Mar Mac) and Central College baseball player Steve Gebhart (Des Moines, Iowa/Saydel) were named IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 17.

Ernst, a senior pitcher, went 3-0 with two saves and a 0.00 ERA during the week, allowing just 12 hits and striking out 41 batters in 26 innings. She extended her scoreless innings streak to 43 straight and tied the school record with 57 career victories. Ernst recorded a victory and save in a doubleheader sweep of Wartburg. In seven innings of the opener, she allowed four hits and struck out 10 en route to a 7-0 win. She pitched two innings of on-hit relief and struck out three in notching the save in the 5-1 win. She pitched a pair of complete games at the Illinois Wesleyan Tournament, picking up victories in a 3-0 win over Fontbonne and a 5-0 win over Maryville (Mo.). She allowed three hits in both contests, striking out 11 vs. Fontbonne and 14 vs. Maryville. Ernst also recorded the save in a 4-2 win over Illinois Wesleyan, striking out three and surrendering just one hit in three innings.

Gebhart, a senior shortstop, hit .600 (9-for-15) with five home runs, a double, 12 RBI and nine runs scored in four games during the week. He hit four home runs, drove in nine runs and scored seven times in a doubleheader sweep of Coe. In the 15-10 opener, he went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and three doubles. He tied a school record with three home runs in his 5-for-5 performance in the nightcap, a 16-5 victory. He drove in six runs and scored four times. Gebhart went 1-for-3 and scored once in both games of a doubleheader sweep of Simpson. In the first game, a 4-3 Dutch win, he hit a home run and drove in three.

The IIAC also announced on Monday the Performers of the Week for the six Conference sports in competition during the week. Ernst and Gebhart were recognized in their respective sports, while the following individuals were recognized for their athletic performances.

Men’s Golf: Luther College senior Mike Eisele (Rosemount, Minn./Apple Valley) finished second at the Buena Vista University Invitational with a two-under-par 142 (71-71). He was the only golfer in the 97 golfer field to shoot two sub-par rounds.

Men’s Tennis: Luther College freshman Matt Olson (St. Paul, Minn./Como Park) went 3-0 during the week with two victories at #1 singles and a victory at #2 doubles as Luther improved to 23-7 on the season to set a school record for wins in a season. Olson posted identical 6-1, 6-1 singles victories over Buena Vista’s Greg Hamman and Loras’ Tim Muller. In doubles with Christian Klein, Olson registered an 8-2 win over Lawrence.

Women’s Outdoor Track & Field: Coe College freshman Jasmine Jones-Green (Sierra Vista, Ariz./Buena) won the 100-meter hurdles at the Norse Relays with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 14.81 seconds. She was also a member of the fourth-place 4x100 relay and sprint medley relay teams, and the fifth-place 4x40 relay team. She ran a 12.15 second split in the 4x100 relay (team ran 50.87 seconds), a 58.02 second split in the sprint medley relay (team ran 4:17.98) and a 59.07 second split in the 4x400 relay (team ran 4:09.82).

Men’s Outdoor Track & Field: Central College senior Cale Van Genderen (Lynnville, Iowa/Lynnville-Sully) won the high jump at Drake’s Jim Duncan Invitational with an NCAA Championship provisional qualifying jump of 6-10.75. He was a quarter inch shy of the automatic qualifying height in winning the event by two inches in a field that included Division I and II athletes.

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