January 21, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Cornell College women's basketball player Tiffany Cowan (Independence, Mo./Truman) and Wartburg College wrestler T.J. Miller (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 20. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s seven sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Basketball – Tiffany Cowan, Cornell College, Independence, Mo./Truman
Cowan, a junior forward, posted 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting with 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season in a 74-71 Cornell overtime win over Wartburg on Jan. 16. The win ended a 16-game losing streak to the Knights dating back to the 1999-2000 season. Cowan also added 18 points and seven rebounds in a 70-63 loss at Buena Vista on Jan. 19. (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Wrestling – T.J. Miller, Wartburg College, Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls
Miller, a senior 197-pounder who is ranked third nationally, scored a takedown in the final minute of the fourth overtime against top-ranked Alec Bonander of Luther during the Knights' 42-0 win over the seventh-ranked Norse. The dual win, which was the largest margin of victory in the series since 1997-98, extended top-ranked Wartburg's overall dual winning streak to 24 and its Iowa Conference dual streak to 117. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Men's Basketball – Andre Wagner, Buena Vista University, Omaha, Neb./Northwest
Wagner, a junior guard, nailed the game-winning shot with 1.1 seconds remaining to help propel the Beavers to a thrilling 64-62 win over Loras Jan. 16. He finished that contest with 21 points on 8-of-20 shooting, including five three-pointers. Wagner then chipped in with a team-high 12 points against Cornell Jan. 19 to help BVU stay perfect in league play at 7-0.

Men's Indoor Track and Field – Orlando Walton, University of Dubuque, Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon
Walton, a junior, provisionally qualified for the 2008 NCAA Division III Championships in the 55-meter dash with a winning time of 6.42 seconds at the UW-Platteville Open. It was the first race of the year for Walton, who led a Spartan sweep of the top three positions in the field of 36 competitors.

Women's Indoor Track and Field – Ashley Schnell, Coe College, Lincoln, Neb./North Star
Schnell, a freshman, currently holds the top time in Division III in the indoor 800-meter run after her winning performance at the University of Iowa Invitational. Schnell's time of 2:14.43 is a NCAA provisional mark and fell just short of an automatic berth. She also won the mile (5:09.28) and the 800 (2:17.66) at the season-opening Carthage Invitational Jan. 12.

Men's Swimming and Diving – Andrew Bross, Luther College, Omaha, Neb./Northwest
Bross, a senior, recorded three first-place finishes to help Luther capture the team championship at the Grinnell Invitational by 362 points. Bross won the 400 individual medley (4:27.82), 100 butterfly (:53.52), 200 butterfly (1:59.20), swam the opening leg on the winning 200 medley relay (1:40.93), and finished third in the 500 freestyle (2:04.84).

Women's Swimming and Diving – Elissa Schmidt, Luther College, Claremont, Minn./Owatonna
Schmidt, a senior, helped lead Luther to the team championship of the 8-team Grinnell Invitational. She set the Luther school and Grinnell pool records with her first-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:56.05) and swam the first leg on the 400 freestyle relay, which set a new Norse record of 3:38.89. Schmidt also finished second in the 50 freestyle (:25.44), 200 individual medley (2:14.41), and the 100 freestyle (:54.43).

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

Women's Basketball – Coe College sophomore center Brittany Norris (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson) recorded 43 points in just 37 minutes of action, including 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting in a 64-58 loss to Luther Jan. 19. Norris also scored 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting in an 87-72 win at Central Jan. 16.

Women's Basketball – Luther College freshman guard Camille Stenhaug (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) averaged 17.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game in leading the Norse in scoring in wins over Dubuque (62-44) and Coe (64-58). Stenhaug scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting against Dubuque and 19 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 10-of-12 shooting from the free-throw line against Coe.

Women's Basketball – Simpson College senior forward Katelyn Whiton (Panora, Iowa/Perry) scored 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting as the Storm (14-1, 6-0 IIAC) defeated Loras 77-54 Jan. 19 in their only action of the week.

Men's Basketball – Loras College senior forward Kyle White (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) registered back-to-back double-doubles in league play. White scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in a 64-62 loss to Buena Vista, then posted a 27-point, 12-rebound double-double in a 69-67 loss at Simpson.

Men's Basketball – Simpson College senior guard Brennen Tubaugh (Centerville, Iowa/Centerville) scored eight straight points with the Storm down 51-50 to put Simpson up for good in a 69-67 win over Loras Jan. 19. Tubaugh finished the game shooting 6-of-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point range.

Men's Basketball – University of Dubuque senior guard Tyler Daughtery (Bellevue, Iowa/Bellevue) averaged 19 points and five rebounds as the Spartans picked up a pair of league wins last week. Daughtery scored 10 points in a 54-47 win at Luther Jan. 16 and then posted 28 points in a 77-64 home win over Central Jan. 19.

Wrestling – Coe College sophomore 165-pounder Tyler Burkle (Coggon, Iowa/North-Linn) scored his 24th consecutive win Jan. 18 with a 16-1 technical fall over Loras' Joel Allen.

Women's Swimming and Diving – Loras College junior Lauren Lehenbauer (Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf) won the 500 freestyle (5:16.48) and the 400 individual medley (4:46.98) at the University of Chicago Invitational, one of the top invitational meets in the Midwest. Lehenbauer also finished third in the 200 butterfly (2:18.70) and swam on four top-eight relays.

Women's Indoor Track and Field – Simpson College sophomore Stacy Bonertz (Swanton, Neb./Tri-County) placed first in the shot put with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 42-0 3/4, the seventh-best mark in Division III this season and the second best distance in school history. Bonertz also took fourth in the weight throw with a toss of 40-11 1/2.

Women's Indoor Track and Field – Wartburg College senior Jessica Bates (Indianola, Iowa/Indianola) turned in an NCAA Division III provisional qualifying effort with a third-place mark of 52-5 1/2 in the weight throw at the University of Iowa Open. Bates also placed fourth in the shot put (39-6) to pace Wartburg with two top-four finishes in the multi-divisional field.

Men's Indoor Track and Field – Cornell College senior James Klobucar (Janesville, Wis./Craig) won the 55-meter hurdles and the long jump and ran on the second-place 4x400 relay at the Knox Quadrangular Jan. 19. He captured the 55 hurdles title with an NCAA provisional effort of 7.70 seconds.

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