September 11, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Simpson College volleyball player Tiffany Everding (Tripoli, Iowa/Tripoli) and Central College football player Tim Connell (Eldora, Iowa/Eldora-New Providence) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, September 10. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s eight sports in competition during the week.

Volleyball – Tiffany Everding, Simpson College, Tripoli, Iowa/Tripoli
Everding, a senior outside hitter, hit .404, and averaged 4.65 kills and 3.00 digs per game during the week. She led the Storm to a 3-0 victory over #17-ranked Central, ending the Dutch’s 37-match Iowa Conference win streak. She hit .633 with 21 kills and just two errors on 30 total attacks, and had nine digs in the match. Everding also hit over .400 in three of four matches at the UW-Platteville Invitational to earn All-Tournament Team honors. In a 3-1 win over Augustana (Ill.), she had 18 kills, a .444 hitting percentage, 17 digs and four aces. In sweeps of Lawrence and Edgewood, she hit .538 and .417, respectively. She had nine kills and six digs against Lawrence, and 10 kills (no errors), seven digs and three aces against Edgewood. In a losing effort against Monmouth (Ill.), Everding had 21 kills, 12 digs and hit .224.

Football – Tim Connell, Central College, Eldora, Iowa/Eldora-New Providence
Connell, a junior quarterback, completed 26-of-36 passes for 240 yards and rushed for 89 yards on 14 carries in Central’s 24-13 victory over Hope. He also rushed for and passed for a touchdown. Connell was the games leading passer and rusher, setting career-highs in rushing and passing yards, and completions.

Women’s Cross Country – Jill Wagaman, Wartburg College, Dysart, Iowa/Union (LaPorte City)
Wagaman, a senior, finished second in the 134-runner Les Duke Invitational hosted by Grinnell College. She finished the 6,000-meter race in a career-best time of 22:31, 11 seconds behind winner Sarah Spencer of Grinnell. Wagaman’s time is the third fastest 6K time in school history and led the Knights to a second-place finish in the nine team meet with 54 points.

Men’s Cross Country – Adam Wolf, Central College, Corning, Iowa/Corning
Wolf, a senior, finished second in the 112-runner Les Duke Invitational hosted by Grinnell College. He finished the 8,000-meter race in 26:05, 16 seconds behind winner Drake Ballew of Grinnell. It was Wolf’s second runner-up finish in as many races this year. The Dutch finished fourth of 10 teams with 87 points.

Women’s Golf – Lindsay Thies, Luther College, Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna
Thies, a sophomore, won the Wartburg Invitational with a 1-over-par 73, one stroke better than the rest of the 93-golfer field. The Norse finished second in the 16-team Invitational with a 324.

Women’s Soccer – Sara Bleeker, Cornell College, Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview
Bleeker, a sophomore midfielder, scored five goals and added an assist for 11 points in three games during the week. In the Rams’ 6-0 victory over Concordia (Ill.), she scored a school record four goals including the game winner. She scored Cornell’s lone goal in a 9-1 loss to Wisconsin-LaCrosse and registered an assist in a 5-1 victory over Waldorf.

Men’s Soccer – Nicholas Cookston, Univ. of Dubuque, Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Luther
Cookston, a sophomore forward, scored five goals and added three assists for 13 points in three games during the week. In the Spartans’ 4-1 win over Maranatha Baptist, he scored two goals, both on penalty kicks. Cookston also had two goals and added an assist in a 3-1 victory over Mount Mercy before finishing the week with a goal and two assists in a 6-1 win over Rockford.

Women’s Tennis – Emily Loewen, Cornell College, Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence Free State
Loewen, a senior, posted a 5-0 record during the week including two victories at #2 singles and three victories at #1 doubles. In singles play, she posted a 7-5, 6-1 win over Augustana (Ill.)’s Tricia Crawford and a 6-1, 6-1 win over Grinnell’s Rachel Engh. Loewen teamed with Pavla Brachova to post doubles victories over Augustana (8-4) and Grinnell (8-3), and teamed with Jessica Horn for a victory over Buena Vista (8-0).

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

• Luther College freshman Jill Nerka (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) scored three goals including the game winner in each of the Norse’s matches at The Classic Soccer Tournament hosted by Luther. She scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Lawrence and scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over St. Scholastica.

• Luther College junior Molly Beyer (Grand Junction, Colo./Grand Junction) went 4-0 during the week including two victories at #1 singles and two at #2 doubles over Central and Wartburg.

• Coe College junior wide receiver/running back Neil Suckow (Fredericksburg, Iowa/Fredericksburg) rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, and had seven receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown in the Kohawks’ 45-0 victory over Aurora.

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