Monday, November 5, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. – Player of the Week selections last week for Central Washington running back Cedric Cooper and Saint Martin’s forward Brandon Madsen did little to quench both player’s fire as both earned repeat selections in the GNAC’s weekly honor roll for their respective sports.

Cooper repeated as the Football Offensive Player of the Week after he led the Wildcats in a 74-28 non-conference road win at Southwest Baptist. Cooper carried 18 times for 203 yards and four touchdowns and also caught three passes for 29 yards. Three of his scores came in the first half and he broke off a 57-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

Madsen, meanwhile, turned in another three-goal week to repeat as the Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week. The junior netted the game-winner for the Saints in the 71st minute of a 2-1 win at Seattle Pacific before scoring a pair of goals and making an assist in the Saints’ 6-1 season-ending win at Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

Cooper was joined in the weekly awards by junior defensive back Donte Hamilton, who was selected as the Football Defensive Player of the Week. Hamilton finished with 13 tackles, which included six solo tackles and a half-tackle for loss, and returned an interception 64 yards for a touchdown.

Azusa Pacific senior kicker Jacob Hall was named the Football Special Teams Player of the Week after he kicked the winning 13-yard field goal that gave the Cougars a 20-17 overtime win at Humboldt State. He also made a 22-yard field goal in the third quarter, went 2 for 2 on point-after attempts and punted three times for an average of 42.7 yards per punt.

Western Washington freshman goalkeeper Brandon Wolter received the Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week award for his efforts to help the Vikings end the regular season with two wins. Wolter keyed the defense in a 2-1 upset of previously undefeated Simon Fraser on Thursday before making three saves and recording a shutout in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Concordia.

Simon Fraser senior middle blocker Tessa May was named the Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week after she amassed 31 kills and a .547 hitting percentage in a pair of three-set sweeps of Concordia on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday. May had 15 kills against the Cavaliers and 16 kills against the Wolves.

Central Washington junior Kyla Morgan picked up Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week honors for her role in the Wildcats’ three-set sweeps of Northwest Nazarene on Tuesday and Montana State Billings on Thursday. Morgan finished with 19 digs and four assists against NNU and then added 18 digs against MSUB.

The fall golf schedule wrapped up with Western Washington senior Nick Sparling being named the Men’s Golf Player of the Week and Simon Fraser junior Jaya Rampuri being named the Women’s Golf Player of the Week. Sparling finished tied for fifth at the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate in Hawaii, carding a 2-under-par 214. Rampuri finished in sixth place at the Cal State San Marcos Fall Classic, recording a two-round score of 1-over-par 145.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 11
FOOTBALL
Offensive: Cedric Cooper (Central Washington, RB, 5-11, 185, Sr., Seattle, Wash. – Southwestern Oklahoma State Univ.): Cooper was selected for the second straight week after he carried 18 times for 203 yards and four touchdowns in Central Washington’s 74-28 win at Southwest Baptist. He also caught three passes for 22 yards. Three of his touchdowns came in the first half in addition to breaking off a 57-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Also Nominated: Gaige Allen (Azusa Pacific), Colby Stevens (Humboldt State), Omari Land (Western Oregon).

Defensive: Donte Hamilton (Central Washington, DB, 6-2, 215, Jr., Mukilteo, Wash. – Saddleback JC): Hamilton led the Central Washington defense with 13 tackles, which included six solo tackles and a half-tackle for loss. He also made an interception in the third quarter, running it back 64 yards for a touchdown. Also Nominated: Josh Olave (Azusa Pacific), Moses Finau (Humboldt State), Griffin Barrett (Simon Fraser), Bo Highburger (Western Oregon).

Special Teams: Jacob Hall (Azusa Pacific, K/P, 6-2, 195, Sr., Greenville, Ill. – Greenville): Hall converted on all four of his kicks, including the game-winning 13-yard field goal in overtime, to lead the Cougars to a 20-17 overtime win at Humboldt State. He connected on a 22-yard field goal in the third quarter and also went 2 for 2 on point-after conversions. In addition, Hall punted three times for an average of 42.7 yards per punt. Also Nominated: Aidan Daily (Humboldt State), Isaiah Abraham (Western Oregon).

MEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Brandon Madsen (Saint Martin’s, F, 6-2, Jr., Auburn, Wash. – Seattle Univ.): Madsen was selected for the second straight week after he scored three goals and had an assist as the Saints closed the regular season with two wins. Madsen scored the game-winner in the 71st minute at the Saints stunned Seattle Pacific at Interbay on Thursday, 2-1. He then scored a pair of goals and assisted on Cayman John’s strike in the second half in the Saints’ 6-1 win at Northwest Nazarene on Saturday. Also Nominated: Paul Seydel (Concordia), Marcello Polisi (Simon Fraser), Christian Rotter (Western Washington).

Defensive: Brandon Wolter (Western Washington, GK, 6-1, R-Fr., Vancouver, Wash. – Union): Wolter allowed just one goal and made three saves to help lead the Vikings to a pair of victories to end the season. He led the defense from the backline as the Vikings handed Simon Fraser its first loss of the season, 2-1 in Bellingham, on Thursday. Wolter then made three saves in the Vikings’ 1-0 win at Concordia on Saturday. Also Nominated: Grant Alcorn (Concordia), Griffin Small (Saint Martin’s).

VOLLEYBALL
Offensive: Tessa May (Simon Fraser, MB, 6-3, Sr., Robert’s Creek, B.C. – Elphinstone): May led the Clan to wins over Concordia and Western Oregon with 31 kills and a .547 hitting percentage. In the three-set sweep of Concordia on Thursday, May finished with 15 kills, five digs, two blocks and a .519 hitting percentage. May then returned to finish with 16 kills, six digs, two blocks and a .577 hitting percentage of Saturday’s sweep of Western Oregon. Also Nominated: Cate Whiting (Alaska), Madison Weg (Central Washington), Symone Tran (Seattle Pacific), Abby Phelps (Western Washington).

Defensive: Kyla Morgan (Central Washington, DS/L, 5-4, Jr., Graham, Wash. – Bethel): Morgan finished with 37 digs to go along with five assists in the Wildcats’ sweep of Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings. She finished 19 digs and four assists on Tuesday against Northwest Nazarene and then came up with 18 digs and an assist in Thursday’s win over the Yellowjackets. Also Nominated: Izela Alvarez (Montana State Billings), Bianca Te (Simon Fraser), Kayleigh Harper (Western Washington).

GOLF
Men: Nick Sparling (Western Washington, Sr., Dublin, Ohio – Ohio State Univ.): Sparling closed out the fall season by tying for fifth place at the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate in Hilo, Hawaii. He carded a three-round score of 2-under-par 214 to tie with Bryson Bentley of Stanislaus State. He carded a 2-under-par 70 on the opening day and registered back-to-back scores of 72 in the final two rounds. Sparling led the Vikings to a second-place team finish, the team’s fourth finish in the top two this season.

Women: Jaya Rampuri (Simon Fraser, Jr., Coquitlam, B.C. – Charles Best): Rampuri was the top GNAC player at the Cal State San Marcos Fall Classic, finishing in sixth place with a two-round score of 1-over-par 145. She closed the tournament with a best round of even-par 72 as she led the Clan to a second-place team finish, the second such finish of the season in four tournaments this fall.