October 31, 2005

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Wartburg College cross country runner Keith Solverson (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmonds) 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, October 29. The Conference also announced the Players of the Week for each of the Conference’s six sports in competition during the week.

Men’s Cross Country – Keith Solverson, Wartburg College, Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmonds
Solverson, a senior, set the Iowa Conference 8,000-meter record with a 24:59 finish, knocking three seconds off the old mark set last year by Wartburg’s Josh Moen. He won the meet by 34-seconds and was named Conference Most Valuable Runner.

Women’s Cross Country – Jen Wendt, Simpson College, Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley
Wendt, a senior, became the first Simpson runner since Sarah Cross in 1990 to win the Iowa Conference Championship. She finished the 6,000-meter race in 22:28 to win by four seconds and was named Conference Most Valuable Runner.

Football – Andy TeKippe, Coe College, West Union, Iowa/North Fayette
TeKippe, a sophomore quarterback, threw for 323 yards and a school record six touchdowns on 20-of-27 passing in Coe’s 56-21 victory over Cornell. All six of his touchdown passes and 293 of his passing yards came in the first half as the Kohawks found the end zone on all seven first half possessions in the 115th meeting between the two schools (the oldest college football rivalry west of the Mississippi).

Men’s Soccer – Cody Stoermer, Central College, Coralville, Iowa/Iowa City West
Stoermer, a sophomore midfielder, scored four goals during the week including the once in Central’s 3-2 win over Wartburg which was the school’s first-ever win over a nationally ranked opponent. The Knights are ranked 17th in the latest Coaches’ Poll. Stoermer also scored three goals, including the game winner, in a 4-2 victory over Colorado College.

Women’s Soccer – Katee Whitney, Loras College, Aloha, Ore./Valley Catholic
Whitney, a sophomore midfielder, scored three goals in two Conference matches to lead Loras to its fourth Conference title in five years. She scored twice in a 5-0 victory over Cornell and once in a 3-0 win over Luther.

Volleyball – Ashley Rogers, Wartburg College, Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert
Rogers, a sophomore outside hitter, averaged 5.31 kills, 3.38 digs and 1.44 blocks in 16 games while hitting .298 in four matches. She had a triple-double in a 3-1 win over Augustana (Ill.) with 21 kills, 19 digs and 11 blocks. She had double-doubles in a 3-1 win over Illinois-Springfield (22 kills-15 digs) and in a 3-2 win over Cornell (25 kills-13 digs. In a sweep of Missouri Valley, Rogers hit .412 (17-3-34). Her 23 block assists gave her a school record 167 total blocks and 133 block assists on the season.

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

• Dubuque junior quarterback Jermar Jackson (Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon) passed for 363 yards and three touchdowns on 33-of-61 passing in the Spartans 45-28 loss to #21-Central, a match-up of the Conference’s top passing offense and top passing defense.

• Simpson senior defensive end Jason Ripke (Newell, Iowa/Newell-Fonda) had 14 tackles, five tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in the Storm’s 31-23 victory over Buena Vista. He was a half sack and one tackle for loss shy of tying his own school records.

• Dubuque sophomore midfielder Caitlin Tero (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia) had a goal and three assists in the Spartans’ 4-1 victory over Coe that helped the team clinch the #3-seed in the upcoming Conference Tournament.

• Dubuque senior middle blocker Jodi Thomas (Durand, Ill./Durand) averaged 4.6 kills and 2.07 blocks in 15 games while hitting .463 in the five matches. She set the school record with 13 blocks and 11 block assists in a 3-0 win over Texas Lutheran. She hit .476 or better in four of five matches.

• Simpson junior middle hitter Jessica Martin (Toledo, Iowa/South Tama) averaged 4.07 kills, 4.13 digs and 0.93 blocks in 15 games during the week. She recorded double-doubles in victories over Buena Vista (13 kills-11 digs) and St. Mary’s (19 kills-13 digs).

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