September 12, 2005

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that University of Dubuque football player Jermar Jackson (Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon) and Dubuque volleyball player Jodi Thomas (Durand, Ill./Durand) have been named the IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, September 11. The Conference also announced the Players of the Week for each of the Conference’s eight sports in competition during the week.

Football – Jermar Jackson, Dubuque, Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon
Jackson, a junior quarterback, amassed 398 yards of total offense and accounted for seven touchdowns in Dubuque’s 49-6 victory over Blackburn. He completed 27-of-43 passes for 358 yards and five touchdowns for a pass efficiency rating of 171.10. Jackson also rushed for 40 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.

Volleyball – Jodi Thomas, Dubuque, Durand, Ill./Durand
Thomas, a senior middle blocker/outside hitter, averaged 4.35 kills and 2.00 blocks, and hit .459 in 17 games during the week. In Dubuque’s Conference opener, a 3-1 victory over Loras, she hit .371 with 18 kills and five blocks. Thomas was named to the Wisconsin-Platteville All-Tournament Team as the Spartans went 2-2 with their two losses at the hands of nationally ranked Platteville (#16) and Wisconsin-LaCrosse (#14). In wins over Ripon (3-0) and Monmouth (3-1), Thomas hit .611 and .469, respectively with 14 and 20 kills, and six and 10 blocks. She hit .412 with 10 kills and six blocks against Platteville and hit .500 with 12 kills and seven blocks against LaCrosse.

Men’s Cross Country – Keith Solverson, Wartburg, Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmond
Solverson, a senior, won 148-runner St. John’s (Minn.) Invitational in a time of 26:47, besting the second-place finisher by three seconds to lead the Knights to a third-place finish in the eight team meet. The victory was Solverson’s second in as many races this year.

Women’s Cross Country – Nicole Calabrese, Wartburg, Spring Valley, Minn./Kingsland
Calabrese, a freshman, finished third of 116-runners at the St. John’s (Minn.) Invitational in a time of 23:28 to lead the Knights to the team title at the eight team meet. Calabrese finished 1:21 behind the race’s winner, Leah Wurm of St. Benedict’s, a 2004 national qualifier.

Women’s Golf – Steph Schenfeld, Simpson, Indianola, Iowa/Indianola
Schenfeld, a senior, won the 89-golfer Wartburg Invitational with a 36-hole score of 157, to finish three strokes ahead of the runner-up. She posted a tournament-best 76 on the final day to move from a sixth-place tie after round one to the medalist position.

Men’s Soccer – William Alt, Coe, Madison, Wis./West
Alt, a freshman forward, scored three goals and added an assist for seven points in two games during the week. He scored two goals, including the game winner, and assisted on another in Coe’s 7-0 victory over Faith Baptist. Alt also netted a goal in the Kohawks’ 3-1 victory over Clarke.

Women’s Soccer – Jackie Gielau, Luther, Denver, Iowa/Denver
Gielau, a sophomore forward, scored eight goals and added three assists for 19 points in three games during the week. She scored Luther’s lone goal in a 1-1 tie with Carleton then scored seven times at The Classic Soccer Tournament hosted by Luther, earning All-Tournament Team honors. Gielau had four goals in the Norse’s 6-5 loss to St. Ambrose, then scored three goals and added three assists in a 12-0 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran.

Women’s Tennis– Pavla Brachova, Cornell, Ames, Iowa/Ames
Brachova, a freshman, went 4-0 during the week with two victories at #2 singles and two victories at #1 doubles. In singles action, she posted a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Grinnell’s Camila Alarcon, the defending #2 singles Champion in the Midwest Conference, and a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Loras’ Jen Phelan. Brachova teamed with Marie Schutte to post an 8-1 victory over Grinnell and an 8-4 victory over Loras.

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

• Loras junior defensive back Adam Laffey (Runnells, Iowa/Valley) tied the school record with three interceptions in a losing effort against St. Ambrose (29-28). The three picks equaled the total of entire secondary from a season ago and matched the team’s 2004 season leader.

• Wartburg sophomore wide receiver Kyle Duchman (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls) had 138 yards receiving and two touchdowns on nine receptions in the Knights’ 29-26 victory over Augsburg.

• Coe freshman tennis player Rachel Lenoch (Burr Ridge, Ill./Lyons Township) went 5-0 during the week with two victories at #2 singles and three victories at #1 doubles. Her three-set singles victory against Illinois Wesleyan was the deciding point of the match.

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