September 18, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Loras College cross country runners Mary Bridget Corken (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert) and Ben Grant (Peosta, Iowa/Western Dubuque) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, September 17. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s eight sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Cross Country – Mary Bridget Corken, Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert
Corken, a sophomore, finished second in the college division of the National Catholic Invitational hosted by the University of Notre Dame, leading Loras to a second-place team finish behind Bellarmine University, the 15th-ranked team in Division II. She finished the 5,000-meter race in 19:32, 30th overall in the 267 runner field.

Men’s Cross Country – Ben Grant, Loras College, Peosta, Iowa/Western Dubuque
Grant, a junior, finished third in the college division of the National Catholic Invitational hosted by the University of Notre Dame, leading Loras to the team title. He finished the 8,000-meter race in 26:01, 18th overall in the 237 runner field.

Football – Edward McIntosh, University of Dubuque, Pompano Beach, Fla./Blanche Ely
McIntosh, a sophomore wide receiver, had five receptions for 102 yards and two touchdowns in Dubuque’s 32-14 win over Cornell. He caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Walner Belleus with three seconds left in the first quarter and then three minutes later, had a 12-yard TD reception from quarterback Jermar Jackson.

Women’s Golf – Megan Smith, Simpson College, Eagle Grove, Iowa/Eagle Grove
Smith, a freshman, had two top-10 finishes during the week. She tied for second (of 82 golfers) at the Luther Invitational with a 7-over-par 79, two strokes behind Medalist Laura Klatt of St. Thomas (Minn.) and tied for ninth (of 70 golfers) at the Loras Invitational with an 86.

Women’s Soccer – Tori Rittman, Central College, Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny
Rittman, a junior forward, scored four goals and had an assist for nine points in three games during the week. She scored the lone goal in a 1-0 Central victory over Crown. In an 8-0 victory over Waldorf, she scored three goals and had an assist. She was held scoreless in a 1-0 win over Monmouth (Ill.).

Men’s Soccer – Mike Richter, Loras College, Libertyville, Ill./Carmel
Richter, a junior forward, scored three goals and had an assist for seven points in two games during the week. He netted three of Loras’ four goals, including the game winner, in a 4-0 victory over Augustana (Ill.) and assisted on the game tying goal in the Duhawks’ 2-1 victory over #17-ranked Wheaton (Ill.).

Women’s Tennis – Jessica Nims, Simpson College, Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale
Nims, a sophomore, went 4-0 during the week including two wins at #3 singles and two wins at #2 doubles. In singles play, she defeated Central’s Katie Moklestad (6-7, 6-4, 11-9) and St. Ambrose’s Jenelle Bayer (6-4, 6-4). Nims teamed with Martha Davis to register an 8-6 win over Central and an 8-4 win over St. Ambrose.

Volleyball – Jena Goedken, University of Dubuque, Lamont, Iowa/Starmount
Goedken, a junior middle blocker, hit. 607 while averaging 6.8 kills, 2.0 blocks and 1.6 digs per game in five matches during the week. She hit over .600 and had 20-plus kills in four of five matches. In a 3-0 Conference win over Cornell, she hit .652 with 16 kills, five blocks, and four aces. In the final three matches at the University of Chicago Gargoyle Classic, she had 20, 21 and 22 kills in wins over Illinois College (3-0), North Park (3-1) and Concordia, Ill. (3-0) while hitting .692, .667 and .714 in the respective matches. She had six blocks in each of the three contests. In Dubuque’s only loss of the week, 3-2 to Lake Forest to open the Gargoyle Classic, Goedken had a double-double with 23 kills and 12 digs to go along with seven blocks and .415 hitting percentage.

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

• Central College junior wide receiver Cody Huisman (Mason City, Iowa/Mason City) set career-highs in receptions (7) and receiving yards (125) in the Dutch’s 24-3 victory over Buena Vista.

• Wartburg College sophomore goaltender Matt Shepard (Des Moines, Iowa/Lincoln) went 2-0-1 during the week with a 0.71 goals against average and an .818 save percentage. He posted a four-save shutout of #21-ranked Washington (Mo.) and had a 260-minute scoreless streak which ended Sunday against Elmhurst.

• Loras College sophomore setter Jenny Dziubla (Bartlett, Ill./St. Edward) was named to the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Pizza Hut Challenge All-Tournament Team after recording 160 assists in 15 games (10.67/game). She had a season-high 49 assists in a 3-1 win over Lakeland, the most for a Duhawk since November 4, 2004.

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