March 27, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Coe College tennis player Ryan Yao (Naperville, Ill./Nequa Valley) and Coe College softball player Shelby Kent (Lucas, Iowa/Chariton) have been named the IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 26. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s six sports in competition during the week.

Men’s Tennis – Ryan Yao, Coe College, Naperville, Ill./Nequa Valley
Yao, a junior, went 4-0 during the week including victories at #1 singles over Division I and regionally ranked opponents. He defeated Creighton’s Jose Guerra (7-5, 7-6) and Wabash’s Jay Horrey (6-0, 6-1), the 24th-ranked player in the Central Region. At #2 doubles with partner Jake Michael, Yao recorded an 8-4 win over Creighton and an 8-1 win over Wabash.

Softball – Shelby Kent, Coe College, Lucas, Iowa/Chariton
Kent, a sophomore outfielder, hit .636 (7-for-11) with two home runs, a triple, seven RBI and four runs scored in five games during the week. In a 2-0 win over Augustana (Ill.), she had a solo home run in two at-bats. She went 3-for-3 with a triple, home run, two runs scored and four RBI in Coe’s 14-2 win over Monmouth (Ill.). Kent went 2-for-2 with two RBI and a run scored in an 8-0 victory over Wisconsin-Stout. After being held hitless in a 1-0 victory over #13-ranked St. Mary’s (Minn.), she finished her week with a hit in her only at-bat in a 10-2 win over Mount Mercy.

Baseball – Lee Boyse, Coe College, Alburnett, Iowa/Alburnett
Boyse, a sophomore pitcher, threw his first career shutout, a four-hitter against #13-ranked Illinois Wesleyan. He struck out two batters and walked one in a 5-0 Coe victory.

Men’s Golf – Alvaro DeCosio, Central College, Pueblo, Mexico/Loyola
DeCosio, a junior, finished second at the Central Dutch Classic with a two-over-par 74 in the 80-golfer field. He finished first among competitors from four-year colleges, finishing two strokes behind the winner, Cedrick Bertin of Kirkwood Community College.

Men’s Track & Field – Jeanriles Metezier, Univ. of Dubuque, Pompano Beach, Fla./Coconut Creek
Metezier, a freshman, won three events and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in two events at the Wartburg Open. He finished first in the 100-meter dash in a time of 10.82 and was a member of the winning 4x100 relay team that ran a time of 41.78, provisionally qualifying in both events. Those were the only two male qualifying times in running events at the Open. He also won the 200-meter dash in a time of 22.16.

Women’s Track & Field – Caroline Capper, Simpson College, Washington, Iowa/Washington
Capper, a senior, won two events and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in another at the Wartburg Open. She won the shot put (42-0.75) and the javelin (131-10), and placed second in the weight throw with a provisional qualifying throw of 155-11.

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

• Central College sophomore pitcher Brett Mahan (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) threw a two-hit shutout against Bethany Lutheran. He struck out 12 and walked two in an 8-0 Dutch victory.

• Cornell College senior pitcher Ryan Rosenberg (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) threw a two-hit shutout against Knox. He struck out five and walked two in a 4-0 Rams victory.

• Wartburg College senior pitcher Matt Petersen (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) threw a four-hit shutout against Viterbo. He struck out one in a 1-0 Knights victory.

• Central College freshman center fielder Alysha Overturf (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) hit .533 (8-for-15) with four RBI in five games during the week. She scored eight runs after reaching base 10 times (8 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch) in the five contests.

• Simpson College senior pitcher Bradi Smith (Lacona, Iowa/Southeast Warren) went 3-0 with a 0.38 ERA and 15 strikeouts in three games. She pitched complete games against St. Mary’s (Minn.) and Augustana (Ill.) on the same day, striking out eight and six batters in the respective games. She also threw 4.1 innings of hitless relief and picked up the win against Mount Mercy.

• Central College junior Alicia Whisner (DeSoto, Iowa/ADM) had four top-15 finishes at the Truman State Open including a first-place finish in the javelin with an NCAA provisional qualifying throw of 134-4. She also placed eighth in the discus (115-9), ninth in the hammer (126-0) and 13th in the shot put (34-8.5).

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