March 13, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Wartburg College baseball player Brian Greiner (Des Moines, Iowa/Lincoln) and Simpson College softball player Bradi Smith (Lacona, Iowa/Southeast Warren) have been named the IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 12. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s three sports in competition during the week.

Baseball – Brian Greiner, Wartburg College, Des Moines, Iowa/Lincoln
Greiner, a senior catcher, hit .477 (21-for-44) with three doubles, three triples, 12 RBI, 11 runs scored and nine walks in 13 games. He had at least one hit in 12 of the 13 games, including five multi-hit games – 4-for-4 vs. Wabash, 3-for-5 vs. Monmouth (Ill.) and Wisconsin Lutheran, 2-for-4 vs. Haverford and 2-for-3 vs. Hamline. In the Wabash game (an 18-6 win), he drove in four runs and scored twice.

Softball – Bradi Smith, Simpson College, Lacona, Iowa/Southeast Warren
Smith, a senior pitcher, has appeared in five games and has yet to surrender an earned run in 23 innings. She has a 2-1 record with two saves, 33 strikeouts, and has allowed just five hits and four walks in five games. She threw her second career no-hitter against Westminster (Mo.), striking out six and walking two in a 10-0, five-inning win. Smith also had a complete game victory (1-0) over Bridgewater State, striking out 12, walking one and surrendering two hits. Her lone loss came at the hands of #6-ranked William Paterson in which she struck out 12 batters, allowed one hit and walked one while surrendering two unearned runs in a 2-0 loss. She recorded saves in each of her relief appearances – one inning vs. St. Francis (Ill.) and three innings vs. Rhode Island College.

Men’s Tennis – Chad Evans, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy
Evans, a junior, went 12-1 during the week including a 7-0 singles mark and a 5-1 doubles mark. He defeated Jake Baranowski of Division I St. Peter’s (6-1, 6-2) at #2 singles and Scott Gregory of Division II Grand Valley State (6-1, 7-5) at #3 singles. Evans had a win at #1 singles against Waynesburg’s Matthew Otis (6-1, 7-5), at #2 singles against St. Francis (Ill.)’s Weston Streitz (6-0, 6-3) and at #3 singles against Wittenberg’s Brad Seymour (6-1, 6-0), Averett’s Niklas Karvonen (6-4, 6-0) and Christopher Newport’s Steven Inge (6-2, 6-2). In doubles, Evans and partner T.J. Leicht won at #2 against St. Francis (8-5), Averett (8-6) and St. Peter’s (8-4). They won at #3 doubles against Wittenberg (8-5) and Grand Valley State (8-1), and suffered their lone loss at #3 against Christopher Newport (8-2).

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

• Coe College senior pitcher Brandon Hunt (Oakland City, Ind./Wood Memorial) opened the season 2-0 with eight strikeouts, three walks and nine hits in 13.1 innings. He allowed one unearned run in two games, wins over Lebanon Valley and Wabash.

• University of Dubuque sophomore catcher Kyle Harris (Cicero, Ill./St. Joseph) hit .500 (18-for-36) with three doubles, nine RBI and eight runs scored in 12 games. He had at least one hit in all 12 contests, including six two-hit performances.

• Wartburg College freshman pitcher Angela Hartwig (Long Grove, Iowa/North Scott) went 6-0 with a 1.08 ERA in six games. She struck out 41 batters, allowed just five walks, four earned runs and 14 hits in 26 innings. She threw a no-hitter in Wartburg’s 9-0, five-inning win over Bethany (W. Va.) and was part of a combined no-hitter against Waynesburg (12-0, 5-innings)

-30-