September 19, 2005

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Buena Vista University football player Chad Hinrichs (Victor, Iowa/HLV) and Simpson College cross country runner Jen Wendt (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) have been named the IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, September 18. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s eight sports in competition during the week.

Football – Chad Hinrichs, Buena Vista, Victor, Iowa/HLV
Hinrichs, a senior corner back, tied a school record with three interceptions, including a fourth quarter pick that he returned 55-yards for a touchdown to seal Buena Vista’s 14-0 victory over Loras. He also recorded five tackles, four solo.

Women’s Cross Country – Jen Wendt, Simpson, Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley
Wendt, a senior, finished fifth (of 264 runners) at the UMASS-Dartmouth Invitational in a time of 18:49, finishing 23 seconds behind the race’s winner. Her time is the ninth fastest 5,000-meter time in school history.

Men’s Cross Country – Ben Grant, Loras, Peosta, Iowa/Western Dubuque
Grant, a sophomore, finished 43rd overall (of 265 runners) and 14th (of 162) among non-Division I runners at the National Catholic Invitational hosted by the University of Notre Dame. He ran the 8,000-meter course in 26:37 to lead Loras to a third-place finish in the college division, the highest finish among Division III schools.

Women’s Golf – Amanda Nigg, Coe, Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert
Nigg, a sophomore, placed second of 85 golfers at the Loras Invitational with an 82, finishing three strokes behind the Medalist.

Men’s Soccer – Harrison Kibombo-Lugujjo, Wartburg, Uganda
Kibombo-Lugujjo, a junior forward, scored four goals and added two assists for 10 points in three games. He began the week with an assist in Wartburg’s 3-0 win over Iowa Wesleyan then finished the week with back-to-back two goal performances, in an 8-1 victory over Benedictine in which he scored the game winning goal and added an assist, and in a 3-1 win over St. Olaf.

Women’s Soccer – Tori Rittman, Central, Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny
Rittman, a sophomore forward, scored four goals and added two assists for 10 points in three games. She scored twice, including once on a penalty kick in a 3-0 victory over Crown. After being held scoreless in a 1-0 loss to Carthage, she recorded six points (2g-2a) and netted the game winning goal in a 10-0 victory over Knox.

Women’s Tennis – Kristin Kovar, Central, Clarinda, Iowa/Clarinda
Kovar, a junior, went 5-1 during the week including a 3-0 record at #1 singles and a 2-1 record at #1 doubles. She recorded singles victories over Simpson’s Martha Davis (6-1, 6-2), St. Ambrose’s Anne Cox (6-3, 6-2) and Quincy’s Kerry Romani (6-2, 6-3). In doubles, with three different partners, she posted an 8-1 victory over Simpson, an 8-4 win over St. Ambrose and suffered an 8-5 loss to Quincy.

Volleyball – Jena Goedken, Dubuque, Lamont, Iowa/Starmont
Goedken, a sophomore outside hitter/middle blocker, averaged 4.71 kills, 4.29 digs, and 0.57 blocks while hitting .435 in two matches during the week. In a 3-1 victory over Luther, she hit .286, had 15 kills, 24 digs and three blocks. Goedken hit .630 with 18 kills, six digs and a block in a 3-0 victory over Grinnell.

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

• Coe senior linebacker Ross Weymiller (Waukon, Iowa/Waukon) had a career-high 18 tackles in the Kohawks’ 17-14 victory over Central. Weymiller also had 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and an interception which set-up the third quarter field goal that proved to be the difference in the game.

• Wartburg freshman cross country runner Annie Ripslinger (Davenport, Iowa/North) finished second (of 74 runners) at the Les Duke Invitational in a time of 23:28, 15 seconds behind the winner. The second-place finish is her best career finish to date.

-30-