September 17, 2007

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . .The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Wartburg College women’s golfer Daina Deery (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls) and Loras cross country runner Ben Grant (Peosta, Iowa/Western Dubuque) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, September 16. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s eight sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Golf – Daina Deery, Wartburg College, Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls
Deery, a sophomore, carded her third sub-80 round of the fall season with a 76 en route to medalist honors at the Luther Norse Invitational. Deery placed first in the 76-golfer field by a single stroke, leading the Knights to the team title by 26 strokes with a 316 total.

Men’s Cross Country – Ben Grant, Loras College, Peosta, Iowa/Western Dubuque
Grant, a senior, finished eighth overall and first among non-Division I competitors at the National Catholic Invitational hosted by the University of Notre Dame. Grant’s time of 25:27 over the 8,000-meter course was 51 seconds behind the meet champion. Grant led Loras to a tenth place finish overall and a runner-up placing among non-Division I entrants.

Volleyball – Kristin Paczosa, Cornell College, Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove
Paczosa, a sophomore outside hitter, registered double-digit kills in four matches (3.4 kills/game) as Cornell went 2-2 on the week. Paczosa opened the week with an 11-kill performance in a IIAC sweep of Loras Sept. 11 and followed that up with 16 kills in a 3-1 non-conference victory over Mount Mercy the next evening. At the Augustana Invitational over the weekend, Paczosa posted 11 (vs. Monmouth) and 10 (vs. Augustana) kills respectively. She also added 12 digs against Monmouth.

Football – Alex McGrew, Loras College, Van Horne, Iowa/Benton Community
McGrew, a junior running back, carried the ball 30 times for a career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns (19, 2) in the Duhawks’ 30-20 win at Cornell. McGrew also added 151 yards on six returns (25.1 avg.), allowing Loras to post an average starting field position of their own 39-yard line. McGrew also accounted for 10 of Loras’ 19 first downs during the game.

Women’s Soccer – Caitlin Tero, University of Dubuque, Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia
Tero, a senior midfielder, scored two goals and one assist to lead the Spartans to 1-0-1 record on the week. Tero assisted on Dubuque’s lone goal in a 1-1 draw with Wisconsin-Platteville, breaking the UD career assists record with her 40th career helper. Tero added two goals in a 4-2 win over Wisconsin Lutheran Sept. 16 to push her career goals total to 44.

Men’s Soccer – Greg Foote, Central College, Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove
Foote, a junior goalkeeper, allowed only one goal and posted two shutouts as the Dutch went 3-0 on the week. Foote made two saves in a 1-0 shutout of Grinnell on Sept. 11, allowed one goal and made one save in a 2-1 win over Millikin, and did not face a shot on goal in a 2-0 road win at Monmouth Sept. 15.

Women’s Cross Country – Janet Dobyns, Luther College, Iowa City, Iowa/West
Dobyns, a junior, placed first in a 54-runner field at the Luther All-American Invitational. Dobyns covered the 5,000-meter course in 18:38, four seconds ahead of the second place runner. Dobyns finished ahead of four University of Minnesota runners while leading the Norse to a runner-up team finish behind the Golden Gophers.

Women’s Tennis – Hillary Allen, Coe College, Fort Collins, Colo./Fort Collins
Allen, a sophomore, posted wins at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles (with Hannah Jensen) in No. 29 Coe’s 7-2 win over #20 Carthage. Allen defeated Taylor Gustafson 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3 singles and the Lady Red No. 2 doubles team 8-2 to improve to her singles record to 4-0 and doubles record to 3-0 on the year.

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

• Football – Central College senior quarterback Tim Connell (Eldora, Iowa/Eldora-New Providence) completed 17 of 34 pass attempts for 300 yards and four touchdowns in Central’s 44-36 win over Luther, setting career highs in both passing yards and touchdown passes.

• Football – Coe College junior cornerback/wide receiver/return specialist Tommy Breitbach (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) caught four passes for 105 yards, including two for touchdowns, in Coe’s 20-10 win over Simpson. Both touchdown receptions covered over 30 yards. Defensively, Breitbach tallied nine tackles including three for loss. He also returned the opening kickoff 40 yards.

• Volleyball – Simpson College sophomore setter Tara Christensen (Hinton, Iowa/Hinton) averaged 1.12 kills, 9.12 assists, 0.35 service aces, 2.18 digs, and 0.12 blocks in five matches last week as the Storm posted a 2-3 record. Christensen also posted 14 digs in Simpson’s 3-0 win over Buena Vista Saturday. She was also named to the All-Tournament team at the St. Benedict Holiday Inn-Vitational.

• Men’s Soccer – Loras College sophomore forward A.J. Josephs (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) scored a pair of goals as the Duhawks posted wins over St. Ambrose (1-0) and St. Norbert (5-0). Josephs scored the game-winning goal in the annual Bishop’s Cup match vs. St. Ambrose and added his second goal of the week and team-high fourth of the season in the 44th minute against St. Norbert Sept. 16. Loras is currently 5-0-1, the lone IIAC men’s team without a loss in 2007.

• Women’s Soccer – Cornell College junior forward Brianna Wallace (Eldridge, Iowa/North Scott) totaled three goals and two assists in helping the Rams to a 1-0-1 mark last week. She posted three goals and an assist in a 7-1 victory at Waldorf.

• Women’s Golf – Simpson College sophomore Katie Vaux (Union, Iowa/BCLUW) posted a pair of top-four individual finishes last weekend. Vaux captured medalist honors with an 82 at Friday’s Loras Invitational, leading the Storm to a second-place finish out of 10 teams. At Saturday’s Luther Invitational, Vaux took fourth with a 79, finishing three shots behind medalist Daina Deery of Wartburg.

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