February 5, 2007

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Loras College basketball player Kyle White (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) and Wartburg College track performer Hannah Baker (Keota, Iowa/Keota) have been named the IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, February 4. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s eight sports in competition during the week.

Men’s Basketball – Kyle White, Loras College, Antioch, Ill./Antioch
White, a junior forward, helped Loras improve to its best start ever in Conference-play (11-0), averaging 18.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He shot 50.0 percent from the floor (12-of-24) and 69.2 percent from the free throw line (9-of-13) in victories over Simpson (70-58) and Central (76-65). He scored 20 points, including 18 in the second half against Simpson. He also had nine rebounds, two steals and an assist against the Storm. White recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists and two steals against Central.

Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Hannah Baker, Wartburg College, Keota, Iowa/Keota
Baker, a freshman, recorded NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the 400-meter dash and as a member of the 4x400 relay team at the Minnesota State-Mankato Open. She finished second in the 400-meters in a time of 57.87, just 51-hundredths of a second behind the winner from the Division II hosts. Baker also ran the lead leg of the winning 4x400 team whose time (3:55.59) was just 59-hundredths off an automatic qualifying time.

Women’s Basketball – Natalie Pucci, Loras College, West Dundee, Ill./Jacobs
Pucci, a junior guard, averaged 21.0 points, 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, and shot 55.6 percent from the floor (15-of-27) in victories over Simpson (73-70) and Central (64-50). She scored 20 points (on 7-of-15 shooting), had five rebounds, four assists and two steals against Simpson as Loras pulled even with the Storm in the loss column for second-place in the IIAC. Against Central, Pucci scored 22 points including a season-high six three-pointers to go along with five assists, three rebounds and a steal.

Men’s Swimming & Diving – Cameron Webb, Luther College, Carroll, Iowa/Carroll
Webb, a sophomore, was named Iowa Conference Swimmer of the Year after winning seven events at the Conference Championship leading Luther to its fourth title in the five-year history of the meet. He won three individual titles and was a member of four winning relay teams including two record-setters. Webb won the 200 freestyle (1:45.16), 500 freestyle (4:53.41) and the 400 individual medley (4:24.73). He also swam on the record-setting 400 freestyle relay (3:13.04, 48.24 lead leg) and the 400 medley relay (3:36.30, 48.17 anchor leg), and was a member of the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:28.02, 22.11 lead leg) and the 800 freestyle relay (7:16.65, 1:46.98 lead leg).

Women’s Swimming & Diving – Elissa Schmidt, Luther College, Claremont, Minn./Owatonna
Schmidt, a junior, was named Iowa Conference Swimmer of the Year after winning five events and finishing second in two others at the Conference Championship leading Luther to its third-straight title. She set Conference records in winning the 50 freestyle (24.61) and the 200 freestyle (1:58.58) while also winning the 100 freestyle (55.61). Schmidt also took home titles as part of the 800 freestyle relay (8:13.0, 2:00.55 lead leg) and the 200 medley relay (1:55.54, 24.70 anchor leg). She also swam the lead leg of the second-place finishing 200 free relay (1:44.08, 25.81 split) and the 400 free relay (3:44.09, 55.12 split).

Men’s Tennis – Chad Evans, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy
Evans, a senior, went 4-0 during the week with two wins at #1 singles and #1 doubles. He did not lose a game in three of four singles sets, defeating Nebraska Wesleyan’s Zac Kerr (6-0, 7-5) and Augustana (Ill.)’s Dave Gapp (6-0, 6-0). Evans also teamed with Sam Zerbib for doubles victories over Nebraska Wesleyan’s Kerr/Grant Johnson (8-1) and Augustana’s Gapp/Greg Ruth (9-7).

Men’s Indoor Track & Field – Eric Bertelsen, Buena Vista Univ. Polk City, Iowa/North Polk
Bertelsen, a sophomore, finished in the top-five of four events at Cornell’s Hilltop Open with personal bests in three of the four events. He won the 200-meter dash and the long jump with marks of 22.68 seconds and 6.85 meters, respectively. In his first time competing in the 55-meter dash, he finished fifth with a time of 6.60 seconds. Bertelsen was a also a member of the 4x400 relay team that finished second with a time of 3:29.72 including his split of 52.1 seconds.

Wrestling – Aaron Wernimont, Wartburg College, Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas
Wernimont, a sophomore, went 2-0 at 157-pounds with a pair of victories over nationally ranked opponents. The fourth-ranked wrestler in the nation, Wernimont won by technical fall over Cornell’s Pat McAuley (18-3; 7:00), who is ranked fifth nationally. Wernimont used a reversal in the final 45-seconds of his match against top-ranked Jeremy Anderson of Augsburg to secure a 4-2 decision and lead the #2 Knights to a win over top ranked Augsburg (19-13).

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

• Coe College junior guard Amber Karkosh (Toledo, Iowa/South Tama) averaged 16.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 5.5 steals per game against Wartburg (71-65 win) and Buena Vista (83-78 loss). She had back-to-back double-doubles - 18 points, 12 rebounds vs. Wartburg and 15 points, 13 rebounds vs. Buena Vista, to go along with seven assists in each contest.

• Wartburg College junior forward Elizabeth Campbell (Rockford, Iowa/RR-MR) averaged 22.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game against Coe (71-65 loss) and Dubuque (83-66 win). She posted a double-double against Coe (18 points, 11 rebounds) and scored 26 points, second most in a single game in her career, against Dubuque.

• Loras College junior thrower Ellen Thys (Victor, Iowa/HLV) provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in both the weight throw and shot put with her second-place finishes at the Illinois Wesleyan Titan Open. She posted marks of 12.57 meters and 15.55 meters, respectively.

• Coe College sophomore diver Colleen Fowler (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) was named Iowa Conference Diver of the Year after winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter events at the Conference Championship. She set the Conference record in both events (372.70 and 404.70, respectively) and met the NCAA Consideration Mark for the second time this season.

• Coe College junior 133-pounder Gannon Hjerleid (Wapello, Iowa/Wapello) won his second straight match over a top-five ranked opponent with a 4-2 overtime decision over Cornell’s Nick Northern, ranked fourth in the nation.

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