March 16, 2009

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Wartburg College softball player Lexy Determan (Terril, Iowa/Graettinger-Terril) and Simpson College baseball player Jesse Reis (Coon Rapids, Iowa/Coon Rapids-Bayard) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 15. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for the three sports in competition during the week.

Softball – Lexy Determan, Wartburg College, Terril, Iowa/Graettinger-Terril
Determan, a sophomore pitcher, fired back-to-back shutouts as Wartburg swept past Stephens (Mo.) and Westminster (Mo.) this past weekend. She struck out 14 in a 3-0 win over Stephens March 14, allowing only two hits and didn’t allow a base-runner past second base. She came back the next day and struck out 11 over six innings in a 1-0 victory at Westminster. Determan has yet to surrender an earned run in 35 1/3 innings, striking out 53 batters en route to a 6-0 record. (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Baseball – Jesse Reis, Simpson College, Coon Rapids, Iowa/Coon Rapids-Bayard
Reis, a senior infielder, hit .500 with 12 hits, 8 RBI, and 2 home runs as Simpson posted a 4-4 record last week. He hit safely in 7 of 8 games, but drew five walks in the lone game where he did not reach on a hit. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Men’s Tennis – Elliot Rausa, Coe College, Waterloo, Iowa/Columbus
Rausa, a sophomore, improved to 11-1 in singles and 13-1 in doubles play with senior Sam Zerbib with a 2-0 singles record and 3-0 doubles record on the Kohawks’ spring trip to Florida. All three doubles wins came at No. 1, including an 8-2 win against the top team from No. 26 Skidmore.

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

• Men’s Tennis – Luther College freshman Aaron Gendron (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound) went 4-0 during the week, posting 2-0 at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles in dual wins over Morningside and Buena Vista.

• Softball – Coe College freshman pitcher Ashlee Simon (Riverside, Iowa/Highland) improved to 6-0 for the year with wins over undefeated Hiram and No. 22 Ursinus. In just seven appearances, Simon moved to 24th on Coe’s single-season strikeouts list with 71. She registered double-digits in strikeouts in three of five appearances during the week, including 14 against Thomas More and 12 against Ursinus.

• Baseball – Loras College junior infielder Ben Kuebel (Fulton, Ill./Fulton) has hit safely in every game this season for the Duhawks. In six games last week, he hit .417 with 10 hits, 9 RBI, 7 runs scored, and 6 stolen bases.

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