January 2, 2007

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Wartburg College wrestler Blake Gillis (Spencer, Iowa/Spencer) and Simpson College basketball player Ashley Katch (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) have been named the IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period between December 18-31. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s three sports in competition during the week.

Wrestling – Blake Gillis, Wartburg College, Spencer, Iowa/Spencer
Gillis, a senior heavyweight, posted a 9-1 record with three technical falls, a major decision, a fall and five victories over Division I opponents. He posted a 3-0 record at the Desert Duals including a major decision over Menlo’s Jacob Hallmark (10-2), a pin of King’s Jim Bishop (1:08) and a technical fall over Ohio Northern’s Adam Kosch (2:22).

Gillis placed third at the Midlands Championship hosted by Northwestern University, defeating two Division I ranked wrestlers among the six Division I competitors he faced in seven matches at the Tournament. He opened with back-to-back 15-0 technical falls over UW-LaCrosse’s Dan Laurent (4:11) and Northern Illinois’ Jeff Burdorf (2:57). After suffering his lone defeat, a 2-1 decision to Northwestern’s Dustin Fox, Gillis rebounded to defeat Indiana’s Josh Buuck (6-3), Michigan State’s Alan O’Donnell (3-0), Iowa’s Matt Fields (4-3) and Central Michigan’s Bubba Gritter (7-3). Fields and Gritter are ranked fourth and sixth, respectively in Division I. Laurent was Gillis lone non-Division I opponent at the Midlands.

Women’s Basketball – Ashley Katch, Simpson College, Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale
Katch, a junior center, was named to the Surf-N-Slam All-Tournament Team after leading Simpson to a third-place finish averaging 13.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 5.3 blocks per game, and shooting 56.0 percent from the floor (14-of-25) in three games. In the Tournament opener, a 67-53 win over Suffolk, she narrowly missed a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks. Katch scored 10 points, had 13 rebounds, five blocks and two assists in a loss to host Point Loma Nazarene (73-72), the 15th-ranked team in NAIA Division I. In the third-place game, she narrowly missed her third double-double of the Tournament, scoring 13 points (on 5-of-6 shooting), having nine rebounds, two blocks and an assist in Simpson’s 85-82 win over Medaille.

Men’s Basketball – Ryan Hittenmiller, Simpson College, Dyersville, Iowa/Beckman
Hittenmiller, a senior forward, was named Most Valuable Player of the Cactus Jam after leading Simpson to the Tournament title averaging 22.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and shooting 59.5 percent from the floor (25-of-42) in victories over Mount Union (80-76), Ramapo (86-71) and Edgewood (69-50). In the Tournament opener against Mount Union, Hittenmiller scored 24 points (on 7-of-12 shooting), had four rebounds, three steals and two assists. He netted 20 points (on 7-of-13 shooting), had six rebounds, four assists and a steal in the semifinal win over Ramapo. In the Championship game he scored 23 points (on 11-of-17 shooting), had four rebounds and a steal to give the Storm its first in-season Tournament title since 1999.

Other Outstanding Performers
The IIAC also recognized the following outstanding athletic performances from the past two weeks.

• Coe College senior forward/center Mike Kilburg (Bellevue, Iowa/Marquette) averaged 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, and shot 62.5 percent from the floor (25-of-40) in four contests. He had double-doubles in wins over Dominican (19 points, 10 rebounds) and North Park (15 points, 11 rebounds), and scored 20 points in a win over 20th-ranked University of Chicago.

• Luther College sophomore forward Blair Ernst (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) was named to the Surf-N-Slam All-Tournament Team averaging 15.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game in three contests. She shot 58.6 percent from the floor (11-of-18) leading the Norse to wins over Suffolk and Kenyon after losing the opener to host Point Loma Nazarene, the 15th-ranked team in NAIA Division I.

• Buena Vista University senior Ben Strandberg (Emmetsburg, Iowa/Emmetsburg) posted a 5-0 record with four falls at 197-pounds. He went 4-0 with three falls at the Desert Duals and defeated Northwestern (Iowa)’s Andrew Lundgren, the fifth-ranked wrestler in the NAIA, at the NWCA Collegiate All-Star Challenge.

• Coe College freshman Rob Kramer (Swisher, Iowa/Prairie) went 4-0 at the Desert Duals including three falls at 197-pounds.

• Cornell College junior Pat McAuley (Austin, Texas/Lanier) went 7-0 during the week with two falls and two major decisions. He won the 157-pound weight class at the Citrus Invitational, posting a 4-0 record with two majors and a fall.

• Loras College senior Jay Figgins (Clinton, Iowa/Clinton) went 4-0 at the Desert Duals including three falls at 184-pounds.

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