May 1, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Luther College tennis player Christian Klein (Decorah, Iowa/Minnetonka (Minn.)) and softball player Lisa Huinker (Decorah, Iowa/Decorah) have been named the IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 30. 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 – Christian Klein, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa/Minnetonka (Minn.)
Klein, a junior, won the Flight A singles title, finished third in Flight A doubles at the Conference Individual Tournament and led Luther to a second-place finish in the Team Tournament. As the #2-seed in the Individual Tournament, he defeated teammate Isaac White (7-6, 6-2) and a trio of Coe players, Jake Michael (6-0, 6-2), #4 Chris Paasch (6-3, 6-1) and defending Champion, #1 Ryan Yao (4-6, 7-5, 10-6) in the Championship match. He also defeated Yao (6-3, 6-2) at #1 singles in the Championship match of the Team Tournament. In doubles, Klein and partner Reid Mason, unseeded, defeated Central’s David Brondyke/Jared Feddersen (8-5), #3-seed Nick Cochrane/Ryan Dierks of Central (8-6) and #1-seed Paasch/Sam Zerbib (9-8) in the third-place match. Klein/Mason lost to eventual Champion Yao/Michael in the semifinals (8-1).

Softball – Lisa Huinker, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa/Decorah
Huinker, a junior second baseman, hit .556 (5-for-9) with four home runs, nine RBI, six runs scored and a 1.889 slugging percentage in four games during the week. She had nearly identical lines in a doubleheader split with Conference-leader Wartburg. She went 1-for-2 with a home run, run scored and walk in both games. In the first game, an 8-0 five-inning Luther win, she drove in three runs. In the second game, an 11-3 five-inning Wartburg win, she drove in one. Huinker went 2-for-3 with two home runs, five RBI and two runs scored in a 6-2 victory over St. Olaf, setting the school record for RBI in a season (now with 43). In the nightcap, she went 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored.

Baseball – Kyle Jones, Wartburg College, West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley
Jones, a freshman outfielder, hit .615 (8-for-13) with a double, two home runs, eight RBI and four runs scored in four games during the week. He began the week with a pair of three-hit performances, 3-for-4 in a 12-1 win over Carleton and 3-for-3 in a 6-2 win over Loras. He had a double, two RBI and scored a run against Carleton. He had a home run, three RBI and scored two runs in the opener against Loras. In the nightcap against the Loras, Jones went 1-for-3 with an RBI. He finished the week with a 1-for-3 performance in a 16-2 win over Mount Mercy with a home run and two RBI.

Men’s Golf – Ryan Kinseth, Wartburg College, Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge
Kinseth, a senior, shot a 148 (71-77) in the final two rounds of the Iowa Conference men’s golf Championship to earn individual medalist honors. He finished the 72-hole Championship at 5-over-par 293 (71-74-71-77) using his third round 71 to move from one stroke behind the leader to a two stoke lead. Kinseth’s final round 77 was enough to hold the two stroke advantage and lead the Knights to their second Championship in three years behind the top-four individual finishers.

Men’s Track & Field – Guy Dierikx, Central College, Port Byron, Ill./Riverdale
Dierikx, a sophomore, was a member of three relay teams at the Drake Relays, two of which provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships. He ran anchor on the 4x400 relay team that finished tops among Iowa colleges (fifth overall) in a PQ time of 3:13.65 after running the top time in the prelims (3:13.85). He ran the second leg of the 4x100 relay team that ran an NCAA PQ time of 41.41 in the prelims then ran 41.92 to finish fifth overall, tops among Iowa colleges. Dierikx also ran the second leg of the sixth-place distance medley relay team (10:15.73).

Women’s Track & Field – Kelsey Steffens, Wartburg College, DeWitt, Iowa/Central
Steffens, a freshman, was a member of four top-seven finishing relay teams at the Drake Relays including one that provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships. She was a member of the 4x100 relay team that ran a PQ time of 48.11 in the prelims then ran 48.83 in the finals to finish seventh. She led the 4x200 (1:42.79) and sprint medley (4:01.57) relay teams to fourth-place finishes, and the shuttle hurdles relay team to a sixth-place finish (64.16). Steffens also finished eighth (tops among Division III competitors) in the 400-meter hurdles at Simpson’s Kip Janvrin Open (66.34).

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