April 10, 2007

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Central College softball player Laura Anderson (Fairfield, Iowa/Fairfield) and Luther College tennis player Max Busch (Duluth, Minn./Marshall) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 8. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s six sports in competition during the week.

Softball – Laura Anderson, Central College, Fairfield, Iowa/Fairfield
Anderson, a senior left fielder, hit .778 (7-for-9) with two doubles, a triple, a home run, seven RBI and six runs scored in four games during the week. In the opener of a doubleheader with Buena Vista, a 12-1 five-inning Central win, Anderson went 2-for-2 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored. She went 1-for-2 with a triple, two RBI and two runs scored in the nightcap, a 14-3 five-inning win. In a pair of 10-0 wins over Dubuque, Anderson was a combined 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored, including a 3-for-3 performance with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in the nightcap.

Men’s Tennis – Max Busch, Luther College, Duluth, Minn./Marshall
Busch, a freshman, won a pair of singles matches against regionally ranked opponents. He defeated 15th-ranked Winston Park of Carleton (6-2, 6-4) and 9th-ranked Ryan Yao of Coe (6-7(3), 6-3, 6-0). Busch’s win over Yao led Luther to a 7-2 win over Coe, ending the Kohawks’ 46-match Iowa Conference win streak. In doubles, Busch teamed with Jono Martin to post a 2-2 record at #1 doubles, including victories over UW-LaCrosse (8-3) and Coe (8-5).

Baseball – Brett Mahan, Central College, West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley
Mahan, a junior pitcher, threw his first complete game of the season in Central’s 2-0 win over Simpson in game one of a doubleheader. He allowed struck out nine batters while allowing just two hits and one walk in seven innings.

Men’s Golf – Andy Petersen, Central College, Davenport, Iowa/West
Petersen, a sophomore, won the 110-golfer Duhawk Spring Invitational hosted by Loras College with a 4-under-par 68 and led the Dutch to the team title. Petersen’s 68 is the Conference’s low round to date and was three strokes better than a pair of golfers that finished 1-under-par 71.

Women’s Outdoor Track & Field – Dana Klemm, Loras College, Gurnee, Ill./Warren
Klemm, a senior, provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in two events with her performance at the Loras Mid-Week Open. She set the Loras school record in winning the hammer throw with a qualifying mark of 52.16 meters. She also won the shot put with a qualify throw of 13.78 meters. Klemm also placed third in the discus with a throw of 38.03 meters.

Men’s Outdoor Track & Field – Jason Fisher, Central College, Montezuma, Iowa/Montezuma
Fisher, a junior, provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the hammer throw with a mark of 53.49 meters at the Central Invitational. He finished third in the event behind a pair of throwers from the University of Iowa.

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

• Cornell College sophomore short stop Casey Korn (High Ridge, Mo./Northwest) hit .700 (7-for-10) in three games during the week with three doubles, four RBI and five runs scored including a 4-for-5, three double, three RBI performance in a 22-9 loss to Luther.

• Wartburg College junior pitcher/infielder Aaron Sauegling (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert) went 2-for-3 with three RBI including the game-winning two-run triple in the bottom of the eighth of a 7-4 win over Simpson then came on to pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his second save of the season.

• Luther College junior Jess Jewell (Decorah, Iowa/Decorah) provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the shot put with a second-place finish at the Loras Mid-Week Open with a mark of 12.80 meters. She also won the discus with a mark of 40.94 meters.

• Loras College sophomore Kyle Calvert (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the pole vault with a winning vault of 4.93 meters at the Loras Mid-Week Open.

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