April 24, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Loras College baseball player Tim Andrews (Cascade, Iowa/Cascade) and Simpson College track and field performer Caroline Capper (Washington, Iowa/Washington) have been named the IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 24. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s six sports in competition during the week.

Baseball – Tim Andrews, Loras College, Cascade, Iowa/Cascade
Andrews, a junior outfielder, hit .467 (7-for-15) with three doubles, a triple, six RBI and five runs scored in four games during the week. He went 1-for-5 with an RBI in a 4-3 Duhawk victory over 2005 World Series participant Edgewood and then went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored, including the game-winner, in a 4-3 win over Clarke. In a 6-2 win over Cornell, Andrews went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI. Then in the nightcap, he went 2-for-4 with a double, triple and five RBI, all coming with two outs, as Loras defeated Cornell, 9-3.

Women’s Track & Field – Caroline Capper, Simpson College, Washington, Iowa/Washington
Capper, a senior, automatically qualified for the NCAA Championship in hammer throw at Grinnell’s Dick Young Classic with a winning throw of 173-2. It is currently tied for the fourth-best throw in the nation. She also won the shot (44-0) and placed fourth in the javelin (126-0).

Men’s Golf – Ben Hanson, Luther College, Richfield, Minn./Richfield
Hanson, a junior, posted two sub-par rounds during the week and is the leader halfway through the Iowa Conference Championship. He shot a 70 in the second round of the Conference meet and has an even-par 144 through 36-holes to lead by one stroke. Hanson also went under par with a 67 in the first round of the 54-hole Gustavus Adolphus Invitational. He finished t-15th with a 230 (67-82-81).

Softball – Ashley Leonard, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy
Leonard, a freshman short stop, hit .692 (9-for-13) with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored in four games during the week. She went 3-for-7 in a doubleheader split with #19 Central including 2-for-3 in the first game (a 3-1 Coe win) and 1-for-4 in game two (a 7-3 Coe loss). She was a perfect 6-for-6 in a doubleheader sweep of Luther, going 3-for-3 with an RBI in both contests. She had a solo home run in the first game, a 9-1 victory. In the second game, a 4-1 win, she drove in the tying run and scored the go-ahead run.

Men’s Tennis – Christian Klein, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa/Minnetonka (Minn.)
Klein, a junior, went 4-0 during the week with a pair of victories at #1 singles and #2 doubles. In singles, he defeated Central’s Nick Cochrane (7-5, 6-0) and St. Ambrose’s Brent Hargrave (6-3, 6-3). Klein teamed with Reid Mason for an 8-2 doubles victory over Central and an 8-1 victory over St. Ambrose.

Men’s Track & Field – Patrick Johnson, Wartburg College, Story City, Iowa/Roland-Story
Johnson, a junior, won the 3000-meter steeplechase at the UW-LaCrosse Phil Esten Challenge with in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 9:11.19. He outdistanced the 13-runner field by nearly seven seconds, as the runner-up finished in 9:18.18.

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

• Central College sophomore first baseman Jeremy Kippley (Denison, Iowa/Denison) hit .450 (9-for-20) with three doubles, four RBI and eight runs scored in five games during the week. He also pitched one inning of one-hit relief.

• Central College freshman centerfielder Alysha Overturf (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) hit .600 (12-for-20) with a double, home run, six RBI and five runs scored in six games during the week.

• Loras College junior Dana Klemm (Gurnee, Ill./Warren) won the hammer (162-7) and shot put (44-0) at the Benedictine (Ill.) Invitational, posting NCAA provisional qualifying marks in both events.

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