February 6, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Coe College swimmer Megan Verbrugge (Sioux Falls, S.D./Lincoln) and Luther College swimmer Andrew Bross (Omaha, Neb./Northwest) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, February 5. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s eight sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Swimming & Diving – Megan Verbrugge, Coe College, Sioux Falls, S.D./Lincoln
Verbrugge, a senior, was named Iowa Conference Female Swimmer of the Year at the Conference Championship after winning five events and placing in the top-three of seven total events. She won and set the meet, school and Conference record in the 400-yard individual medley (4:37.95) and the 1650-yard freestyle (18:07.17). Her 400 IM time met NCAA B cut qualifying standards. She also won the 200-yard IM (2:14.95, meet and school record) and was a member of the winning 200- and 400-yard medley relays (1:55.12 and 4:13.16, respectively). Verbrugge was also a member of the second-place 800-yard freestyle relay (8:16.78) and third-place 400-yard freestyle relay (3:50.27).

Men’s Swimming & Diving – Andrew Bross, Luther College, Omaha, Neb./Northwest
Bross, a sophomore, was named Iowa Conference Male Swimmer of the Year at the Conference Championship after winning six events and finishing second in another. He won and set Conference records in the 100-yard butterfly (52.82), 200-yard butterfly (1:59.18), 400-yard freestyle relay (3:15.26) and 800-yard freestyle relay (7:14.53). Bross also won the 400-yard individual medley (4:31.66) and the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:28.59), and was a member of the runner-up 400-yard medley relay (3:41.78).

Women’s Basketball – Natalie Pucci, Loras College, West Dundee, Ill./Jacobs
Pucci, a sophomore guard, averaged 22.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists while playing all 80 minutes in two games during the week. She shot 40.5 percent (15-of-37) from the floor, including 45.0 percent (9-of-20) from behind the 3-point arc, and 75.0 percent (6-of-8) from the free throw line in victories over Dubuque (67-65) and Buena Vista (75-71). Against Dubuque, she scored 21 points (on 7-of-19 shooting), grabbed seven rebounds, and had four assists. Pucci scored a career-high 24 points (on 8-of-18 shooting), had five rebounds, two assists and two steals as Loras won at Buena Vista for the first time since the 2000-01 season and moved the Duhawks into a third-place tie in the Conference.

Men’s Basketball – Kyle Kuenstling, Coe College, Dunkerton, Iowa/Dunkerton
Kuenstling, a sophomore forward, averaged 23.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in two games during the week. He shot 64.0 percent (16-of-25) from the floor and 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the free throw line in victories over Cornell (83-65) and #11-Wartburg (75-65). He scored 32 points (on 11-of-15 shooting) and had seven rebounds against Cornell, giving him 70 points in two games this season against the Rams. Kuenstling helped Coe end an eight-game losing streak to Wartburg with a 14-point, six-rebound, two-assist performance.

Men’s Tennis – Chris Paasch, Coe College, Atlantic, Iowa/Atlantic
Paasch, a senior, opened the season 6-0 with four victories at #1 doubles and two victories at #3 singles. His singles victories came against Nebraska Wesleyan’s Grant Johnson (6-1, 6-0) and #6-regional ranked University of Chicago’s Vivek Venkataraman (3-6, 6-3, 6-1). He teamed with doubles partner Sam Zerbib to post victories over Nebraska Wesleyan (8-3), Wartburg (8-0), Chicago (8-5) and Cornell (8-5).

Women’s Track & Field – Caroline Capper, Simpson College, Washington, Iowa/Washington
Capper, a senior, won the weight throw and shot put at the Cornell Hilltop Invitational. For the third straight week she broke her own school record and bettered her previous NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the weight throw with a mark of 15.46 meters, winning the event by nearly two meters. She also set the school record and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships with a 12.93 meter throw of the shot put.

Men’s Track & Field – Keith Solverson, Wartburg College, Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmond’s
Solverson, a senior, provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the mile with a fourth-place finish at the Minnesota State Mankato Maverick Open. His time of 4:15.76 was tops among Division III runners and was 64/100ths behind the second-place finisher.

Wrestling – Cole Williams, Univ. of Dubuque, Delavan, Wis./Delavan Darien
Williams, a senior, placed third at 165-pounds at Dubuque’s “Moco” Mercer Open posting a 4-1 record with two falls and a technical fall. He pinned William Penn’s T.J. Stuart (3:38) and unattached wrestler Luis Coronel (4:12). Williams won by technical fall over Marquette’s Adam Crozier (19-4, 5:50) and by decision over unattached wrestler Braden McLoughlin (4-2). His lone loss was a 7-5 decision to Seth Garvin of Division I Wisconsin.

Other Outstanding Weekly Performers
The IIAC also recognized the following outstanding athletic performances from the past week.

• Buena Vista University senior guard Katie Maguire (Treynor, Iowa/Treynor) averaged 26.5 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 44.7 percent (17-of-38) from the floor and connecting on all 12 free throw attempts in two games during the week.

• University of Dubuque sophomore guard Tyler Daugherty (Bellevue, Iowa./Bellevue) averaged 19.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.7 steals while shooting 67.9 percent (19-of-28) from the floor, including 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from behind the 3-point arc in three games during the week.

• Loras College junior Dana Klemm (Gurnee, Ill./Warren) bettered her provisional qualifying marks in the shot put and weight throw at the University of Chicago Duals. She posted a mark of 13.59 meters in the shot put and 15.76 meters in the weight throw.

• Loras College senior Andy Stoecken (Bellevue, Iowa/Bellevue) provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the high jump with a mark of 2.01 meters at the University of Chicago Duals.

• Wartburg College senior heavyweight Blake Gillis (Spencer, Iowa/Spencer) went 2-0 during the week with a major decision and a fall. He won by major decision over Augsburg’s Dylan Soberg (10-0) and pinned Coe’s Ted Drees (1:58).

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