January 12, 2009

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Wartburg College basketball player Katie Zittergruen (Van Horne, Iowa/Benton Community) and University of Dubuque basketball player Josh Bellaire (New Orleans, La./Warren Easton) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 11. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for the Conference’s five sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Basketball – Katie Zittergruen, Wartburg College, Van Horne, Iowa/Benton Community
Zittergruen, a sophomore forward, scored 10 points in a home win over Central Jan. 7 and tied a single-game career high in scoring with 15 points off the bench in a come-from-behind win at Coe Jan. 10. She led the Knights in steals last week with five and posted the top effort at the free throw line with a 11-for-14 effort. Wartburg is 7-1 over its last eight games and is one of two remaining unbeaten teams in league play. (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Men’s Basketball – Josh Bellaire, University of Dubuque, New Orleans, La./Warren Easton
Bellaire, a junior guard, scored 33 points on 14-of-17 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds in a 81-71 road win at Loras Jan. 7. Bellaire entered the game averaging 11.7 points per game. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Wrestling – Clayton Rush, Coe College, Aledo, Ill./Aledo
Rush, a sophomore 125-pounder, improved to 8-0 for his career at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals with a 4-0 performance Jan. 10-11. With two major decisions as well as decisions over the No. 5 and No. 7 wrestlers in Division III, he led the Kohawks to a fourth-place finish, their highest-ever finish at the duals.

Men’s Swimming & Diving – Cameron Webb, Luther College, Carroll, Iowa/Carroll
Webb, a senior, won the 200 freestyle (1:43.91), 500 freestyle (4:54.04) and anchored the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:28.44) to lead Luther to the title at the Saint Mary’s (Minn.) Invitational. He also finished second in the 400 IM (4:22.07) as the Norse outdistanced second-place Carleton by 139.5 points.

Women’s Swimming & Diving – Rachel Bruns, Luther College, Albany, Minn./Albany
Bruns, a sophomore, won the 50 freestyle (25.25), 100 freestyle (54.58) and swam the second leg of the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:41.55) as Luther took second at the Saint Mary’s (Minn.) Invitational. Bruns also took fourth in the 200 freestyle (2:02.10).

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

• Wrestling – Cornell College senior 174-pounder Kyle Kehrli (Winthrop, Iowa/East Buchanan) finished 5-0 while leading the Rams to the sixth-place finish at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. With two pins, a technical fall, a major decision, and an decision, he became the seventh member of the Cornell’s 100-win club, improving his career mark to 101-62. Kehrli stands at 33-3 this season.

• Men’s Basketball – Buena Vista University senior guard Andre Wagner (Omaha, Neb./Northwest) averaged 25 points for the week, while turning in a new career-high of 29 points at Cornell Jan. 7. He also helped the Beavers remain the only unbeaten team in league play by scoring 21 points, including five points in overtime, while recording a key steal with four seconds left that led to the game-winning free throw.

• Men’s basketball – Wartburg College junior forward Kelly McCarville (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) helped lead Wartburg to the .500 mark overall and in IIAC play with back-to-back league wins last week. He scored 19 points each in wins over Central and Coe and extended his streak of double-figure scoring games to five. McCarville opened the win over Coe by hitting his first eight field goal attempts.

• Men’s Basketball – Simpson College junior center Tim Dunlavy (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) posted back-to-back double-doubles in home games against Luther and Loras, averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds.

• Women’s Basketball – Coe College sophomore center Brittany Norris (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson) tallied a career-high four blocked shots in a Jan. 10 loss to Wartburg. With 16 points against the Knights, she has now scored in double-figures in seven-straight games.

• Women’s Basketball – Luther College senior guard Amanda Dahlseng (Algonquin, Ill./Harry Jacobs) averaged 14 points and 6.5 rebounds for the week, including a 20-point, 11-rebound performance in a Jan. 10 win over Cornell.

• Women’s Basketball – Simpson College senior center Maria Oliver (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) averaged 10.0 points, 4.0 blocks, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists as the Storm remained unbeaten in league play with wins over Luther and Loras last week.

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