February 16, 2009

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Coe College diver Colleen Fowler (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) and Loras College swimmer Lauren Lehenbauer (Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf) have been named co-recipients of IIAC Female Athlete of the Week, while Luther College swimmer Michael Pettengill (Vinton, Iowa/Fort Mill [S.C.]) has named IIAC Male Athlete of the Week for the period ending Sunday, February 15. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for the Conference’s seven sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Swimming & Diving – Colleen Fowler, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington & Lauren Lehenbauer, Loras College, Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf
Fowler, a senior, was named Female Diver of the Year at the Liberal Arts Championships after sweeping both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions. She won the 1-meter competition with a 421.50 score and the 3-meter competition with a 439.60 total, provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Championships. (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Lehenbauer, a senior, was named Female Swimmer of the Year at the Liberal Arts Championships winning three events in meet-record time. She won the 500 freestyle (5:04.70), 400 IM (4:33.34), and 1,650 freestyle (17:41.94), eclipsing the NCAA B standard in each event. Lehenbauer also swam the opening leg of the runner-up 200 free (1:41.40) and 400 free (3:43.27) relays, as well as the third-place 800 free relay (8:20.79). She also swam on the fifth-place 400 medley relay (4:11.06). (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Men’s Swimming & Diving – Michael Pettengill, Luther College, Vinton, Iowa/Fort Mill (S.C.)
Pettengill, a junior, won the 100 breaststroke (57.95 / 57.77 in prelims) and 200 breaststroke (2:07.20 / 2:05.50 in prelims) at the Liberal Arts Championships, registering NCAA Championship B cut marks in both events and setting a meet record in the prelims of the 200. He also swam on the winning 200 medley (1:35.16) and 400 medley (3:27.67 – NCAA B cut) and took third in the 200 IM (2:00.57). (Male Athlete of the Week)

Women’s Basketball – Lindsay Bava, Loras College, Downers Grove, Ill./Montini Catholic
Bava, a junior guard, became the eighth player in Loras women’s college basketball history to eclipse 1,000 career points with a career-high 32 points in a key league win over Buena Vista Feb. 14. She hit 8 of 14 shots from the field and was 11-of-12 at the line against the Beavers. Bava also scored 14 points in a loss at Cornell earlier in the week.

Men’s Basketball – Matt Cleveland, Buena Vista Univ., McCook Lake, S.D./Sioux City (Iowa) Bishop Heelan
Cleveland, a senior forward, scored 20 points in each of Buena Vista’s wins last week as the Beavers clinched their second consecutive league title. He has scored at least 18 points in six of his last seven games and raised his scoring average by nearly 1.5 points (12.8-14.3ppg) since BVU’s Jan. 19 loss to Wartburg. His 12 rebounds in a win over Loras matched a career-high.

Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Lauren Bucklin, Simpson College, Bondurant, Iowa/Bondurant-Farrar
Bucklin, a junior, won the 55-meter hurdles at the Buena Vista Dennis Young Classic with a school record and NCAA Championship automatic qualifying time of 8.18 seconds. Running the fourth fastest time in the nation this season, she bettered the old Simpson mark by five-tenths of a second. She also ran on the winning 4x200 relay (1:47.46) and finished second in the 200 (26.47).

Men’s Indoor Track & Field – Eric Bertelsen, Buena Vista University, Polk City, Iowa/North Polk
Bertelsen, a senior, extended his Division III-leading mark in the long jump with a 24 foot, 9 inch leap at the Dennis Young Classic. He broke his own school record for the third time this season and set a new meet record by better than two feet. He also set a meet record with a 6.48 clocking in the 55 dash, bettering the old mark by .12 seconds. He also won the 200 (22.07) and ran on the winning 4x200 relay (1:30.87).

Men’s Tennis – Nate Jung, Luther College, Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead
Jung, a senior, posted a 4-0 record during the weekend with wins at No. 1 singles over Cornell’s John Mineck (6-1, 6-2) and Loras’ Joe Holguin (6-3, 6-0). He also posted a 2-0 record in doubles. Teaming with Tyler Van Heest, he beat the No. 1 doubles team from Loras and the No. 2 team from Cornell.

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

• Men’s Basketball – Central College junior guard Miguel Ley (San Antonio, Texas/Judson) averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game as the Dutch split a pair of league games last week.

• Men’s Basketball – Coe College sophomore guard/forward Alex Tatman (Humboldt, Iowa/Humboldt) posted a career-high 28 points on 9-of-13 shooting in a win over Dubuque Feb. 14. He also made a career-high three 3-pointers and was a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity stripe.

• Women’s Basketball – University of Dubuque junior guard Briana Nelson (Riverview, Fla./Freedom) averaged 19.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists as the Spartans split a pair of games last week. She shot 58.3 percent (14-24) from the field and 90.9 percent (10-11) from the free-throw line.

• Women’s Basketball – Cornell College senior forward Tiffany Cowan (Independence, Mo./Truman) scored 17 points in a 66-62 Cornell over Loras Feb. 11, snapping the Rams’ 20-game IIAC losing streak.

• Men’s Indoor Track & Field – Central College sophomore Kurtis Brondyke (Clinton, Iowa/Clinton) won the pentathlon at the Monmouth Fighting Scot Indoor Invitational with 3,303 points, 97 shy of the NCAA provisional mark. It was Brondyke’s first attempt at the pentathlon.

• Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Wartburg College senior Kelsey Steffens (DeWitt, Iowa/Central Clinton) placed second in the 55 hurdles at the Wisconsin-Platteville Nike Impact Sports Open with a school-record time of 8.34 seconds. The time is tied for fifth on the current NCAA Division III performance list. She also ran on the winning 4x400 relay (3:55.33).

• Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Loras College senior Mary Bridget Corken (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert) won the 800 and anchored the Duhawks’ winning distance medley relay at the Wisconsin-Platteville Nike Impact Sports Open. She won the 800 in 2:16.54, the second-fastest time in Loras history, and ran a 5:04 1,600 split in the DMR, which set a school record, provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships, and has the nation’s fourth-best time.

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