February 19, 2007

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Luther College wrestler Matt Pyle (Merrill, Kan./Sabetha) and Coe College basketball player Amber Karkosh (Toledo, Iowa/South Tama) have been named the IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, February 18. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s six sports in competition during the week.

Wrestling – Matt Pyle, Luther College, Merrill, Kan./Sabetha
Pyle, a senior, was named Dick Walker Outstanding Wrestler of the Iowa Conference Championship after winning his second IIAC title at 149-pounds. The top-seed won all three of his matches by fall, including a pin of Central’s Nick Wordes at 0:35 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals he pinned Simpson’s Curtis Barber, the #4-seed, at 4:08 and then pinned the #3-seed Adam Weber of Wartburg at 1:55 of the Championship match.

Women’s Basketball – Amber Karkosh, Coe College, Toledo, Iowa/South Tama
Karkosh, a junior guard, averaged 19.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.5 assists per game, and shot 50.0 percent (15-of-30) from the floor against Simpson (74-52 loss) and Central (66-61 overtime win). During the week, she became Coe’s single season leader in points, rebounds and steals. Against Simpson, she scored 12 points (on 6-of-12 shooting), had nine rebounds, three assists and two steals, to become the school’s single season leader. Karkosh posted her Conference-best 11th double-double of the year in the win over Central which clinched the final IIAC Tournament spot for the Kohawks. She scored 26 points (on 9-of-18 shooting) and had 17 rebounds, becoming the school’s single season leader in both categories. She also had five steals and two assists.

Men’s Basketball – Kyle White, Loras College, Antioch, Ill./Antioch
White, a junior forward, averaged 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game and shot 63.0 percent (17-of-27) from the floor in victories over Cornell (63-44) and Buena Vista (68-56) to lead the Duhawks to a 15-1 Conference record. He scored 13 points (on 6-of-13 shooting), had nine rebounds and three assists against Cornell. In the regular season finale against Buena Vista, White scored 27 points (on 11-of-14 shooting), had 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.

Men’s Tennis – Ustab Rijal, Luther College, Kathmandu, Nepal/New Summit
Rijal, a freshman, went 4-0 during the week with a pair of wins at #2 singles, a win at #1 doubles and a win at #2 doubles. In singles play, he defeated Augustana (Ill.)’s Rafael Romero (6-0, 6-0) and UW-Eau Claire’s Steve Lantz (6-0, 6-2), and had won 30 straight games at one point dating back to Feb. 10. In doubles-play, Rijal teamed with Brad Nelson to post an 8-3 win over Augustana’s Romero/Tom Goebel at #1 and a 9-8 win over Eau Claire’s Phil Loprinzi/Aaron Nordenskjold at #2.

Men’s Indoor Track & Field – Russell Harris, Wartburg College, Chicago, Ill./Lyons Township
Harris, a freshman, narrowly missed NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the 60-meter hurdles and the 55-meter hurdles. At the University of Iowa Invitational, Harris won the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.48 seconds, 19/100ths of a second shy of the NCAA qualifying standard. The following day, he placed second in the 55-meter hurdles at the UW-Platteville Open in a time of 7.82 seconds, 7/100ths of a second off a qualifying time.

Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Jessica Bates, Wartburg College, Indianola, Iowa/Indianola
Bates, a junior, won both the weight throw and shot put at the University of Iowa Invitational. She provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the weight throw with a mark of 55-feet 8.25-inches, setting a Wartburg school record and defeating among others, Iowa’s Becca Franklin, a former top-15 finisher in the Big Ten. Bates’ posted a mark of 41-feet 4.5-inches in the shot put.

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

• Central College senior center Clint Driftmier (Clarinda, Iowa/South Page) had back-to-back double-doubles with 23 points, 11 rebounds in a victory over Luther (60-57) and 23 points, 10 rebounds in a losing effort to Coe (71-68). He connected on 67.7 percent (21-of-31) of his field goal attempts in the two contests.

• Coe College junior forward Kyle Kuenstling (Dunkerton, Iowa/Dunkerton) had back-to-back 11-assist performances in a loss to Simpson (78-73) and victory over Central (71-68). He scored 21 points and had six rebounds against Simpson. Against Central he had 14 points and eight rebounds.

• Simpson College junior forward Katelyn Whiton (Panora, Iowa/Perry) averaged 21.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and shot 61.8 percent (21-of-34) from the floor in victories over Coe (74-52) and Dubuque (77-56).

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