Monday, October 7, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. - Fourteen Great Northwest Athletic Conference student-athletes have been selected as GNAC Red Lion Players of the Week (@redlionhotels) for the week of Sept. 30-Oct. 6.

Among the Players of the Week is Western Washington middle blocker Emily Boerger, who had nine blocks and 19 kills in 3-0  wins over Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington.

The honorees include:

Volleyball 

Offense – Keri Knight, Alaska Fairbanks (OH, 5-9, Sr., Arvada, CO) and Kristyn Ross, Saint Martin’s (OH, 5-10, Jr., Olympia, WA – Capital) ... Knight had 26 kills and hit for a .357 percentage as the Nanooks earned a split, defeating Western Oregon for the first time since 2009 and for the first time in Fairbanks since 2006.  Over her last eight matches, Knight has raised her season attack percentage 125 points (from .066 to .193).  Ross led Saint Martin’s to its first conference road victory since early in the 2012 season as she tallied 26 kills in a pair of contests, including 15 in a 3-0 win at Fairbanks. She also had a team-high three service aces.

Defense – Emily Boerger, Western Washington (MB, 6-1, Sr., Marysville, WA – Marysville-Pilchuck) had a team-high nine blocks as the Vikings held Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington to a combined .022 attack percentage in 3-0 victories.  Boerger also had 19 kills and hit for a .483 percentage in the two wins. 

Honorable Mention – Elayna Rice, Northwest Nazarene; Kaitlyn Tuholski, Northwest Nazarene; Maureen Sabado, Alaska Anchorage; Jodi Huddleston, Alaska Anchorage; Kelsey Robinson, Simon Fraser.

Football

Offense – Griff Robles, Dixie State (QB, 6-5, 230, Sr., Spanish Fork, UT) had more than 400 yards in total offense for the second week in a row leading the Red Storm to a 39-12 win against Simon Fraser.  Robles finished with a GNAC season-high 427 yards, rushing for 176 yards and completing 13 of 27 passes for 251 yards.  He contributed six touchdowns, scoring on runs of 15 in the first quarter and 34 in the third quarter and tossing TD passes of nine yards to Randon Willard in the opening period, 11 to tight end Joe Don Duncan and seven to Willard in the second quarter and 48 to Duncan in the third period

Defense – Isaiah Davis, Central Washington (DB, 5-10, 176, So., Bremerton, WA – South Kitsap) tied a GNAC single-game record with three interceptions and also had seven tackles in a 21-13 road win at Humboldt State. Davis’ first interception in the third quarter came near midfield, however, the latter two came in the fourth period deep in Humboldt territory (at the 14-yard line on a second-and-three play from the 38 and at the 10-yard line on a first-and-10 play from the 30).  Davis also broke up two other passes and had 104 return yards, including seven on one punt return, 80 on three kickoffs and 17 on the three interceptions.  He is the seventh player in GNAC history to record three interceptions in the same contest.

Specialty – Jamie Cacciatore, Azusa Pacific (K, 5-8, 175, So., Orange, CA – El Modena) was a perfect four of four of field goals converting from 40, 26, 28 and 26 yards as the Cougars edged Western Oregon 34-32.  His fourth field goal gave APU a 34-19 lead with 7:33 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Honorable Mention – Jordan Todd, Central Washington; Dasmen Stewart, Azusa Pacific; Sean Barber, Azusa Pacific; Patrick Tepea, Western Oregon.

Women’s Soccer

Offense – Makana Pundyke, Western Oregon (M/F, 5-5, So., Kula, HI – Kamehameha Maui) posted eight total points (three goals, two assists) as she led the GNAC in both categories to earn Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week honors. Pundyke got involved on the first three goals in WOU’s 4-0 performance against Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, scoring the first and third while assisting on the second. On Saturday, the sophomore forward assisted on a goal in the third minute, then drilled home the tally that sealed a 2-0 victory over MSU Billings in the 58th minute.

Defense – Brina Sych, Western Washington (D, 5-6, Sr., Vancouver, WA – Union) led a defensive effort that helped the No. 2 Vikings go 2-0 and remain undefeated thus far in 2013. In addition to organizing WWU’s back line against rival Seattle Pacific Thursday, the senior defender scored the Vikings’ first goal on her only shot of the week in the 29th minute to set the tone early. Sych followed her performance Thursday with an equally impressive defensive effort Saturday that led to WWU’s 2-0 shutout of a Central Washington team that had won three games in a row. “Brina contributed on both sides of the ball,” WWU head coach Travis Connell commented, adding, “she was dependable when defending and dangerous getting forward in the attack.”

Honorable Mention – Becca Hoiland, Western Oregon; Lauren Kuklenski, Northwest Nazarene; Kelli Bannerman, Saint Martin’s; Savanna Moorehouse, Central Washington; Kristin Maris, Western Washington; Argia Phillips, Northwest Nazarene.

Men’s Soccer

Offense – Fredy Razo, Northwest Nazarene (F, 5-10, Jr., Irvine, CA – Irvine Valley) scored in each of the Crusaders’ victories and contributed a pair of assists as well, as NNU picked up six points and moved into fourth place in the GNAC standings. Razo sandwiched a goal against the University of Mary on Thursday with a pair of assists as the Crusaders rolled to a 4-0 triumph. On Saturday against South Dakota Mines, Razo scored the first of three NNU goals with a tally in the 15th minute of the 3-0 win. Razo leads the GNAC with eight goals this season, and he has scored in every game that he has played in thus far.

Defense – Michael Aringer, MSU Billings (D, 6-2, Jr., Passau, Germany – Passau) played all 180 minutes on the back line last week, and scored the game-winning goal in the Yellowjackets’ first win of the season Thursday against South Dakota Mines. Aringer followed his effort on Thursday with another solid performance on Saturday as MSU Billings shut out Mary 1-0 and earned six points. Both of the shots Aringer took landed on target as the junior defender was efficient offensively and outstanding defensively in earning Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Honorable Mention – Keegan Rogers, Western Washington; Andrew Weishaar, Western Washington; Haley Klarich, MSU Billings; Eric Owen, Saint Martin’s; Daniel Day, Northwest Nazarene; Danny Olivas, Seattle Pacific; Bryson Pavel, Seattle Pacific.

Cross Country

Male – Dylan Anthony, Alaska Anchorage (Jr., Kodiak, AK) finished first in the Cardinal Division in the 39th annual Charles Bowles Invitational at Salem.  Anthony, who recorded his third win in three starts this fall, covered the 8.000-meter course in a time of 24:20.34, 13 seconds ahead of teammate Isaac Kangogo. He previously posted a win in a dual with Hawaii Pacific and also won the Chaminade Invitational.

Women – Joyce Kipchumba, Alaska Anchorage (So., Kapsowar, Kenya – American International), finished second in back of Willamette’s Michaela Freeby, clocking a 5,000-meter time of 17:42.67.  She was the first of four Seawolf finishers in the Top 6 as UAA cruised to an easy team victory.

Honorable Mention – Dani Eggleston, Central Washington; Joe Berger, Saint Martin’s; Erika Crock, Saint Martin’s; Jamon Rodrigues, MSU Billings;  Michael Gordon, Northwest Nazarene; Natalie Evans, Northwest Nazarene; Brady Beagley, Western Oregon.

Golf

Male - Michael Belle, Simon Fraser (Sr., Burnaby, BC – St. Thomas More) was the top GNAC golfer at the Golfweek Invitational last week, posting a three-round total of 231. Belle started strong with a 78 in his first round and a 73 in his second, before finishing with an 80 to come in at 14th on the leader board. At the Western Washington Invitational, Belle finished tied for seventh with a mark of 217 and a low-round score of 70, 

Female - Samantha Miller, Northwest Nazarene (Fr., Hillsboro, OR - Liberty) shot rounds of 74 and 78 en route to a second-place finish at the Saint Martin’s Invitational on Saturday. Miller’s two-round total of 152 was just two strokes behind the tournament champion as she made par on 22 holes and birdies on three.