December 10, 2007

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Loras College women’s basketball player Natalie Pucci (West Dundee, Ill./Jacobs) and Cornell College wrestler Chris Heilman (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary's) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, December 9. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s five sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Basketball – Natalie Pucci, Loras College, West Dundee, Ill./Jacobs
Pucci, a senior guard, averaged 26.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists last week as the Duhawks improved to 8-0 overall and 2-0 in the IIAC with wins over crosstown rival University of Dubuque (79-74) and Beloit (61-55). Pucci hit 10 of 17 shots from the field (58.8 percent) and all six free throws for a game-high 28 points against the Spartans. She added 24 points in the Beloit game on 9-of-21 shooting, including 4-of-12 from three-point range. (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Wrestling – Chris Heilman, Cornell College, Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary's
Heilman, a senior 125-pounder, claimed the 125-pound title and was named Co-Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Dick Walker Invitational hosted by Wartburg. Heilman opened the tournament with back-to-back 15-0 technical falls then beat Coe's Clayton Rush, the No. 8-ranked wrestler in Division III, 7-1 in the semifinals. In the championship match, he posted an 8-3 win over Terrance Young of Iowa Central Community College, the top-ranked junior college 125-pounder. Heilman opened the week with a 13-6 dual meet win over William Penn's Shamar Haynes. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Men’s Basketball – Griffin LaDew, Cornell College, Pewaukee, Wis./Waukesha Memorial Catholic
LaDew, a junior guard, averaged 24.5 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in two games during the week. In Cornell's 82-81 win over Mount Mercy, LaDew scored 27 points behind 7-of-9 shooting from three-point range, dished out five assists, pulled down four rebounds and made three steals. In a 70-66 setback against Clarke, he added 22 points, hitting 9 of 15 shots from the floor and drained four three-pointers.

Men’s Swimming and Diving – Alex Eganhouse, Luther College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington
Eganhouse, a senior, won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events in a dual loss at Minnesota State, Mankato. Eganhouse won the 1-meter by 11 points with a score of 270.30, achieving the NCAA cut (265/275). On the 3-meter, he posted a score of 239.80 to win by 26 points.

Women’s Swimming and Diving – Sarah Taucher, Coe College, Clinton, Iowa/Clinton
Taucher, a senior, won the 500 freestyle (5:48.42) and the 1000 freestyle (11:54.04) and swam on the runner-up 400 freestyle relay (4:10.02) as Coe posted a 0-1-1 record in a double dual against Beloit and UW-Whitewater at UW-Whitewater.

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

Men’s Basketball – Central College senior guard Brett DeHoogh (Clive, Iowa/West Des Moines Valley) averaged 18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists as the Dutch posted wins over Wartburg (89-83) and Monmouth (85-61). Against Wartburg, DeHoogh scored 24 points on 7-of-9 shooting from three-point range, pulled down seven rebounds, and dished out seven assists. He added 13 points with five rebounds in the win over Monmouth.

Men's Basketball – Loras College junior forward Ricky Kolze (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) shot 68.2 percent (15-22) from the field in a pair of wins for the Duhawks. In a 67-44 win over Dubuque, Kolze scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting with eight rebounds. He added 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting with five rebounds in the Duhawks' 66-61 victory over University of Chicago.

Women's Basketball – Buena Vista University sophomore guard Margo Muhlbauer (Manilla, Iowa/IKM) turned in a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds in the Beavers' 75-66 conference road loss at Coe before putting up a game-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting in a 71-49 BVU win over Grand View. She continues to lead both the team and the IIAC in scoring at 23.5 points per contest.

Women's Basketball – Cornell College sophomore forward Kristin Paczosa (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) recorded the first two double-doubles of her career in back-to-back games against Mount Mercy (11 points, 13 rebounds) and Mount Mary (19 points, 12 rebounds). She shot 15-of-22 from the field (68.1 percent) for the week.

Women's Basketball – Simpson College senior forward Katelyn Whiton (Panora, Iowa/Perry) averaged 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 4.0 steals as the Storm posted wins over Luther (70-60) and William Penn (79-75) to improve to 7-1 on the season. Whiton posted a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double with six steals against Luther and followed that performance up with 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting against Penn.

Wrestling - Coe College sophomore 165-pounder Tyler Burkle (Coggon, Iowa/North-Linn) improved his record to 10-0 as he won the 165-pound weight class at the Dick Walker Invitational. Burkle finished 4-0 at the tournament after posting an 8-0 major decision over Wartburg's Adam Weber in the final. Burkle reached the final with a fall over Iowa Central's Brad Lower in 1:45.

Wrestling - Wartburg College junior 184-pounder Romeo Djoumessi (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) helped lead No. 2-ranked Wartburg to its 13th consecutive and 20th overall title at the Dick Walker Invitational, reaching the tournament finals for the third consecutive year. Djoumessi ran his season record to 14-0 by defeating North Central's Gabe Youel 8-3 in the championship match.

Men’s Swimming and Diving – Loras College senior Cody Seil (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) won the 100 freestyle (52.25) and the 200 individual medley (2:11.55) as the Duhawks picked up a 120-65 dual win over Augustana (Ill.). Seil also swam on a pair of non-scoring relays - the 200 freestyle relay that posted the best time and the 200 medley relay that finished second to another Loras quartet.

Women's Swimming and Diving - Loras College junior Michelle Goebel (Caledonia, Ill./Boylan Catholic) won the 200 freestyle (2:09.35) and swam the second leg on the winning 200 medley relay (2:03.87) during the Duhawks' 142-81 dual win over Augustana (Ill.). Goebel also posted the best time in the 100 breaststroke with an unscored time of 1:14.02 swam the anchor leg on the non-scoring 200 freestyle relay (1:52.32).

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