November 21, 2005

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Wartburg College basketball player Casey Huber (Denver, Iowa/Denver) and Wartburg wrestler Blake Gillis (Spencer, Iowa/Spencer) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, November 20. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s five sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Basketball – Casey Huber, Wartburg College, Denver, Iowa/Denver
Huber, a sophomore guard, averaged 17.5 points, 4.0 steals, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in two games at the Wartburg Tip-Off Classic. She shot 57.9 percent from the floor (11-for-19), 50.0 percent on 3-pointers (7-for-14) and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. In a 79-62 win over Bethany Lutheran, she scored a game-high 18 points (in 6-for-10 shooting), grabbed four rebounds (0-4), and had three steals and two assists. Huber scored a team-high 17 points (5-for-9), with five steals, an assist and a rebound in a 71-66 victory over St. Olaf.

Wrestling – Blake Gillis, Wartburg College, Spencer, Iowa/Spencer
Gillis, a junior heavyweight, finished third at the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Kauffman-Brand Open. He went 4-1 at the Open with a pin and a major decision. His only loss, in the semifinals, came against three-time defending NCAA Division II national champion Les Sigman of UNO (7-0). For the second week in a row, Gillis defeated two-time defending Division III national champion Ryan Allen of Wisconsin-LaCrosse (3-1). Gillis other wins were by pin of Dana’s Pablo Montoya (at 3:18), by major decision over Division II Minnesota State-Mankato’s Tim Kraemer (10-1), and by decision over Division II Nebraska Kearney’s Tervel Dlagney (5-4).

Men’s Basketball – Jason Soppe, Simpson College, Dyersville, Iowa/Beckman
Soppe, a junior center, was named to the Wisconsin-Platteville All-Tournament Team after averaging 18.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting 59.3 percent from the floor (16-for-27) in two contests. In a 73-43 loss to host Platteville, he scored nine points on 4-for-9 shooting, had six rebounds (1-5), two steals and an assist. Soppe followed that performance with a career-high 27 points (12-for-18, .667) in a 96-84 victory over Washington (Mo.). He also registered 13 rebounds (6-7), two assists, a steal and a blocked shot.

Women’s Swimming – Chelsea Croson, Simpson College, Newton, Iowa/Newton
Croson, a freshman, won two events and placed second in another in each of two dual meets during the week. In an 88-68 loss to Coe, she won the 100-yard butterfly (1:09.89) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:20.60), and was a member of the second-place 200-yard medley relay team (2:19.28). In a 126-56 loss to Loras, Croson won the 100-meter butterfly (1:18.19) and the 100-meter breaststroke (1:30.68), and was a member of the second-place 200-meter relay team (2:27.83).

Men’s Swimming – Cameron Webb, Luther College, Carroll, Iowa/Carroll
Webb, a freshman, set the pool record in the 200-yard freestyle in Luther’s 192-40 win over Coe with a time of 1:46.9. He also won the 100-yard freestyle by nearly three seconds in a time of 48.78.

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

• Cornell College junior forward Anna Skaggs (Baldwin City, Kan./Baldwin) averaged 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks in two games during the week, including a 63-61 victory over Lakeland to help the Rams end a 26-game losing streak.

• University of Dubuque sophomore guard Courtney Musser (Pearl City, Ill./Pearl City) had a triple-double and double-double in two games during the week. She averaged 13.0 points, 13.0 assists and 10.0 rebounds to earn All-Tournament Team honors at the Anderson (Ind.) Tip-Off Tournament.

• Central College junior center Clint Driftmier (Clarinda, Iowa/South Page) averaged 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game, and shot 60.7 percent (17-for-28) in two contests.

• Loras College sophomore forward Kyle White (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) was named to the North Central (Ill.) All-Tournament Team after averaging 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. In an upset victory over #13 Wisconsin-Whitewater, he scored 16 points, had six rebounds (1-5) and three steals.

• University of Dubuque sophomore Darrin Kaisand (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) won the 174-lb. Silver Division at the Augsburg Brute-Adidas Open. He went 4-0 at the tournament with three falls and a technical fall.

• Loras College senior Terry Morgan (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce) won the 125-lb. Gold Division at the Augsburg Brute-Adidas Open. He went 4-0 at the tournament with a fall, a technical fall and a major decision.

• Simpson College senior Brett Christensen (Lenox, Iowa/Lenox) won the heavyweight title at the Concordia (Wis.) Open. He went 6-0 at the tournament with three falls.

 

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