March 31, 2009

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Coe College softball player Sonja Schwenker (Burlington, Iowa/Burlington) and Buena Vista University track and field athlete Eric Bertelsen (Polk City, Iowa/North Polk) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 29. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for the six sports in competition during the week.

Softball – Sonja Schwenker, Coe College, Burlington, Iowa/Burlington
Schwenker, a senior pitcher/outfielder, struck out 14 batters while picking up the win in the second game of a doubleheader split with #5/20 Wartburg March 29. In four games during the week, she hit .385 with two doubles and two RBIs. Schwenker also picked up a no-decision after pitching 6 1/3 innings and striking out six in a 2-1, 8-inning Kohawk win over Willliam Penn March 25. (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Men’s Outdoor Track & Field – Eric Bertelsen, Buena Vista University, Polk City, Iowa/North Polk
Bertelsen, a senior, won the 200-meter dash and long jump and finished second in the 100 at the Victory Lopez Bayou Classic at Rice University. He won the long jump with an NCAA automatic-qualifying leap of 24 feet, 7 ¼ inches and the 200 in an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 21.65 seconds. Bertelsen also ran on the ninth-place 4x100 relay for the Beavers, who finished sixth at the meet behind five NCAA Division I programs. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Baseball – Cory Dawson, Simpson College, Altoona, Iowa/Southeast Polk
Dawson, a senior designated hitter, hit .692 as Simpson went 2-1 in three games against defending conference champion Wartburg over the weekend. In the series, he registered nine hits in 13 at-bats with six RBI, four doubles, and three runs scored. In the March 29 doubleheader alone, Dawson was 7-of-8 with five RBI and three doubles.

Men’s Tennis – Utsab Rijal, Luther College, Kathmandu, Nepal/New Summit
Rijal, a junior, helped Luther to a 5-1 record last week with the only loss coming to NCAA Division II Flagler University. He posted a 4-1 singles record and a 4-2 record in doubles. The Norse, now 21-4, also defeated regionally ranked Wis.-Whitewater (No. 9, 5-4) and Calvin (No. 10, 6-3).

Men’s Golf – Aaron Smith, Luther College, Pella, Iowa/Pella
Smith, a freshman, placed third in a 27-golfer field at the Sunshine Invitational. He posted rounds of 73 and 75 for a 148 total to lead the Norse, who won by six strokes over top-ranked Huntingdon College.

Women’s Outdoor Track & Field – Hannah Weiss, Loras College, Dallas Center, Iowa/Dowling Cath.
Weiss, a junior, won the 800-meter run at the Emory Invitational March 21 in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2:14.22. The time is also the third fastest run by a Loras runner.

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

• Baseball – Buena Vista University sophomore infielder Brad Blum (Earling, Iowa/Harlan Community) hit .500 from the lead-off spot as the Beavers went 6-1 during last week’s spring trip. He turned in the second-highest hit total on the team (13), tied for the team lead in doubles (3), and was second in RBI (9). Blum was also a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts and did not make an error in 26 chances defensively.

• Softball – Luther College senior outfielder Kim Hess (Paynesville, Minn./Paynesville) hit .688 with 22 hits, 14 runs, 8 RBI, 1 double, and 1 home run as the Norse posted an 8-1 record last week. She registered multiple hits in all but one of those games, including a perfect 5-for-5 with 3 RBI and 4 runs scored in the first game of a March 27 doubleheader against St. Olaf.

• Softball – Simpson College junior pitcher Whitney Oviatt (Carnation, Wash./Cedarcrest) won three games last week, striking out 16 in 21 2/3 innings, to improve her season record to 17-3.

• Women’s Outdoor Track & Field – Cornell College senior Julia Hanson (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City) was a two-time winner at the Rhodes Invitational March 28. Hanson won the discus with a toss of 129-1 and the hammer throw with a distance of 141-2.

• Men’s Outdoor Track & Field – Loras College junior John Fry (Elmhurst, Ill./York) won the 3,000 steeplechase at the Emory Invitational with a time of 9:35.95, the fifth-fastest time in school history.

• Men’s Golf – Central College freshman Will Overlander (Argyle, Texas/Argyle) captured medalist honors at the Central Dutch Classic, posting a 4-over-par 76. Overlander finished in a three-way tie for the top spot, but was awarded medalist honors via a tiebreaker.

• Men’s Tennis – University of Dubuque sophomore Claudio Giraldi (Rome, Italy/Shape American) improved to 11-4 at No. 1 singles with straight-set wins in duals against Simpson and Marian, Wis. Giraldi was also 2-0 at No. 1 doubles, defeating the top doubles tandems from Simpson (8-2 with Austin Stewart) and Marian (8-0 with Cory McCarthy).

• Men’s Tennis – Coe College senior Sam Zerbib (Phoenix, Ariz./Arcadia) won the No. 5 singles bracket and teamed with Elliot Rausa to win the No. 1 doubles bracket at the Kerry Seward Memorial Tournament. Zerbib won his three singles matches in straight sets.

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