January 5, 2009

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Coe College basketball player Sarah Anciaux (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City) and Luther College wrestler Alec Bonander (Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 4. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for the Conference’s five sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Basketball – Sarah Anciaux, Coe College, Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City
Anciaux, a sophomore guard, fell just short of her first career triple-double as she finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists in the win over Saint Mary’s (Minn.). Paired with 15 points in a league win over Luther Jan. 3, she has scored in double-figures in each of the Kohawks’ past three wins. (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Wrestling – Alec Bonander, Luther College, Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon
Bonander, a senior 197-pounder, posted a 4-2 record at the Midlands Championships, failing to place by one match. Following an opening round pin-fall loss to Hudson Taylor of Maryland, he rattled off four consecutive wins in the wrestlebacks, including a major decision over Tyler Dickenson of Michigan State (10-2) and a win by fall over Chad Hanke of Oregon State, before falling to Iowa State’s Kyle Simonson by a 6-4 margin. Bonander is now 10-2 overall and the top-ranked wrestler in Division III at 197 pounds. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Men’s Basketball – Matt Cleveland, Buena Vista Univ., McCook Lake, S.D./Sioux City (Iowa) Heelan
Cleveland, a senior forward, was named the MVP of the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Classic Dec. 29-30 at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif., after averaging 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds at the tournament. His 29 points and 12 rebounds against Pacific Lutheran set or matched new career highs.

Men’s Swimming & Diving – Dan Coffield, Luther College, Basalt, Idaho/Bonneville
Coffield, a junior, broke the oldest Luther College pool record on the books with his 1:58.27 clocking in the 200 butterfly in the Norse’s Jan. 3 dual win over Loras. The old mark of 2:00.10 was established in 1983. He also swam on the winning 400 medley relay (3:40.72).

Women’s Swimming & Diving – Kristin Trudell, Luther College, Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead
Trudell, a junior, set a new Luther pool record in the 200 butterfly with a winning time of 2:15.11 in the Norse’s Jan. 3 dual win over Loras. The old mark of 2:18.63 was set Nov. 19, 2005. She also swam on the winning 400 medley relay (4:17.80).

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

• Men’s Basketball – Loras College senior guard Ricky Kolze (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) scored 46 points in two games, including a season-high 31 against Ashford Dec. 30. He had nine 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, and six assists during the week as well to help the Duhawks to a 2-0 mark.

• Men’s Basketball – Luther College sophomore guard Jacy Dillahunty (Madison, Wis./Royall) scored a career-high 23 points in Luther’s 71-52 victory over Coe – the Norse’s first league win of the season. In three games, he averaged 11.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 0.7 steals per game, hitting 37.5 percent of his shots from behind the 3-point arc.

• Wrestling – Wartburg College senior 149-pounder Jacob Naig (Emmetsburg, Iowa/Emmetsburg) was named Outstanding Wrestler at the Cornell Matman Invitational with five wins. The defending Division III national champion extended his winning streak to 44 matches dating back to last year and went past the century mark in terms of career wins. He has opened the 2008-09 season with an 8-0 record with six falls and one technical fall.

• Women’s Basketball – Wartburg College sophomore guard Abbey Hempen (Clarksville, Iowa/Clarksville) was named to the all-tournament team at Wartburg’s AmericInn Holiday Classic and tied the school single-game record for made three-pointers when she hit seven in a 77-63 win over former league unbeaten Loras. She hit better than 65 percent from outside the arc in three games, leading the Knights to a 2-1 record.

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