October 6, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Central College women’s golfer Sarah Paulson (Ottumwa, Iowa/Ottumwa) and Buena Vista University football player Cory Donscheski (Dunlap, Iowa/Boyer Valley) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, October 5. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s eight sports in competition over the weekend.

Women’s Golf – Sarah Paulson, Central College, Ottumwa, Iowa/Ottumwa
Paulson, a freshman, captured medalist honors at the 2008 IIAC Women’s Golf Championship with a total of 76-71-81-78—306, tying the tournament’s 72-hole individual scoring record en route to an 8-stroke victory. She posted a 149 (81-78) total during the tournament’s second weekend, second-best among the 45 golfers in the field, and carded the low round in the final round with a 78. Paulson, who led the Dutch to a tie for second place, also broke Central’s 72-hole scoring record (306) and season stroke average record (79.1). (IIAC Women’s Athlete of the Week)

Football – Cory Donscheski, Buena Vista University, Dunlap, Iowa/Boyer Valley
Donscheski, a sophomore running back, rushed for three touchdowns to help lead Buena Vista to a thrilling 26-21 come-from-behind victory over Wartburg. 51 of his 78 rushing yards came on two fourth-quarter scoring drives, which he capped off with touchdown runs of 1 and 8 yards, respectively. He now sits with 10 career rushing touchdowns and is 59 rushing yards shy of 1,000 in his career. He also assisted on one tackle. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Women’s Cross Country – Mary Bridget Corken, Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert
Corken, a senior, captured fifth place in a field of 172 runners at the Division III Pre-National Invitational at Hanover College. She covered the 6-kilometer course in 21:58.99, 34.72 seconds behind the meet winner, running the first sub-22:00 time in school history. Corken led Loras to a fourth-place finish out of 16 teams with 114 points.

Men’s Cross Country – John Fry, Loras College, Elmhurst, Ill./York
Fry, a junior, placed 25th in a field of 230 runners at the Division III Pre-National Invitational at Hanover College. He finished the race with a time of 26:19.53, 38.21 seconds behind the meet winner. Fry led Loras to a 10th-place finish out of 20 teams with 252 points.

Women’s Tennis – Hilary Baehr, Central College, Des Moines, Iowa/Roosevelt
Baehr, a senior, posted a 5-1 record overall during the week, including a perfect 3-0 record at No. 1 singles. She also teamed with Stephanie Gibbons for a 2-1 mark at No. 2 doubles.

Men’s Soccer – Geoff Miller, Wartburg College, St. Louis, Mo./University
Miller, a junior midfielder, recorded his first career hat trick as the Knights equaled the school’s single-match goals record in a 10-1 win at Cornell Oct. 4. In addition to the three goals, Miller also notched a pair of assists. It was the first double-digit goal outing for Wartburg since 2004.

Women’s Soccer – Whitney Franker, Simpson College, Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale
Franker, a senior goalkeeper, increased her school record victory total to 22 with a 1-0 shutout win over Coe Oct. 4. She is now one win away from the Simpson school record for career wins (34) and has recorded three straight shutouts dating back to Sept. 27.

Volleyball – Tara Christensen, Simpson College, Hinton, Iowa/Hinton
Christensen, a junior setter, posted 166 assists, 45 digs, and 24 kills as the Storm went 4-1 in five matches last week. She was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Augustana (Ill.) Invitational after averaging 9.71 assists and 2.79 digs, including season highs with 50 assists and 15 digs against host Augustana (Ill.).

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

• Football – Loras College senior running back Alex McGrew (Van Horne, Iowa/Benton Community) ran for 152 yards on 31 carries and three scores in the Duhawks’ 42-0 win over Cornell. He tallied three rushing touchdowns and 120+ yards rushing for the second consecutive game and accumulated 222 all-purpose yards.

• Football – Luther College senior linebacker Alex Mierau (Rushford, Minn./Rushford-Peterson) set a school record with a 97-yards interception return for a touchdown with 1:16 left in the first half in Luther’s 26-7 win over Central. The play turned the tide for the Norse as they were trailing 7-6 at the time. Mireau finished with eight tackles (five solo) and two pass break-ups.

• Football – Coe College junior defensive back Kyle Polich (Garwin, Iowa/GMG) recorded two interceptions in the Kohawks 20-17 win over Simpson Oct. 4. His returned his first interception 25 yards for a touchdown, while his second sealed the win for the Kohawks. He also had a tackles for loss and a pass breakup to go along with seven tackles.

• Men’s Soccer – Luther College junior midfielder Adam Pyzdrowski (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) recorded a hat trick and an assist in Luther’s 5-3 win over Central Oct. 4.

• Women’s Soccer – Wartburg College freshman midfielder Katy Wendt (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) posted her first career multiple-goal effort with two goals in Wartburg’s 6-1 win at Cornell Oct. 4. She helped the Knights post their fourth consecutive win and remain unbeaten in the Iowa Conference.

• Volleyball – Buena Vista University sophomore middle hitter Katie Vondrak (Sioux City, Iowa/Bishop Heelan) posted 15 kills and a hitting percentage of .290 while recording three solo blocks to help lead Buena Vista to a 3-0 victory over Wartburg Sept. 30. The win moved the Beavers to .500 (2-2) in IIAC play. It was BVU’s first win over Wartburg since 2006.

• Women’s Tennis – Coe College senior Molly Fiala (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson) went 4-0 during the week, with wins coming at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles against Carthage and Wartburg.

• Women’s Golf – Wartburg College junior Steph Burns (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls) was runner-up for medalist honors with a 75-81-77-81—314 total. She posted the lowest total (148) over the tournament’s final 36 holes, including the only round in the 70s in round three (77). She led the Knights to their fourth IIAC title in five years.

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