Monday, September 28, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. – A pair of sports sweeps for Western Washington volleyball and Simon Fraser cross country leads the list of 13 selections for GNAC Player of the Week.

Vikings’ outside hitter Rachel Roeder was selected as the GNAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week for an unprecendented third week in a row after putting up outstanding numbers to lead the Vikings to a pair of five-set matches. She finished with 36 kills, eight digs and two blocks over the week, led by a 19-kill performance at Northwest Nazarene. Middle blocker Kayleigh Harper was named the Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week after finishing with 19 blocks and 20 kills in two matches. Her 13 blocks against the Crusaders was one short of the GNAC single-match record.

The duo helped the No. 15 Vikings extended their win streak to 10 matches. They enter the week 10-2 overall and are one of two teams with a 4-0 league record after the first two weeks of GNAC play.

Simon Fraser swept the cross country weekly honors after a pair of solid finishes at the Stanford Invitational. Oliver Jorgensen was named the Men’s Runner of the Week for the second straight week after he placed 22nd in the men’s college race, covering the 8,000-meter course in 24:22. He led the Clan to an eighth place team finish, the best finish by a non-Division I team. Rebecca Bassett was selected Women’s Runner of the Week for the second time this season after she placed 26th at Stanford. Her time of 21:32.8 in the women’s college 6,000-meter race was the best of any Division II runner in the meet.

Western Washington collected four of the 13 awards this week, also earning selections in women’s soccer and women’s golf. Simon Fraser also had four selections for the weekly honor roll with honorees in football and men’s golf.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 4
FOOTBALL
Offensive: Kurt Scoby (Azusa Pacific, RB, 5-8, 190, Fr., Duarte, Calif. – Fresno State Univ.): Scoby led Azusa Pacific to a 34-5 GNAC road victory at Dixie State. He rushed 18 times for 157 yards and two touchdowns, which included a 49-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter. Scoby enters the week ranked second in the GNAC in rushing with 114.2 yards per game. Also Nominated: DeJon Coleman (Dixie State), Christian Gasca (Central Washington), Anthony Wright (South Dakota Mines).

Defensive: Justin Herdman (Simon Fraser, LB, 6-1, 233, Jr., Winnipeg, Man. – Sturgeon Heights Collegiate): Herdman led the Simon Fraser defense with 13 tackles, four tackles for loss (for 28 yards), 1.5 sacks (for 12 yards), a forced fumble and an interception. He combined with his brother, Jordan, for 28 of the Clan’s 67 tackles. Justin Herdman is ranked second in the GNAC in tackles and leads the league in tackles for loss. Also Nominated: Donovan Williams (Dixie State).

Special Teams: Robbie Gerarden (South Dakota Mines, K, 5-10, 168, Fr., Black Diamond, Wash. – O’Dea): Gerarden went 6 for 6 in point-after attempts and also kicked a 22-yard field goal in the third quarter in South Dakota Mines’ 51-10 victory over Lyon.

MEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Ben Culpan (Concordia, M, 5-10, 185, Sr., Auckland, New Zealand – Pakuranga College): Culpan scored three goals as the Cavaliers improved to 1-1-1 in conference play. He scored two goals, including the game-winner, in a 5-1 win at Saint Martin’s on Thursday. Culpan then stopped No. 3 Seattle Pacific’s shutout streak at 613 minutes, scoring in the 51st minute of the match in Seattle. The two teams eventually finished in a 1-1 draw. Culpan is ranked third in the GNAC in points per match and tied for fourth in goals. Also Nominated: Rhys Lambert (Montana State Billings), Alex Mitrovic (Northwest Nazarene), Luke Olney (Western Washington), Tim Teipel (Saint Martin’s).

Defensive: Abraham Placito (Northwest Nazarene, D, 6-2, 194, Jr., Perris, Calif. - Lakeside): Placito played all 200 minutes in the Crusaders’ two road matches. He anchored a defensive effort that limited No. 3 Seattle Pacific to three shots on goal in a 0-0 draw on Thursday and one goal to Saint Martin’s in 2-1 road victory. Also Nominated: Cameron Lee (Montana State Billings), Mitch McCaw (Concordia).

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Elise Aylward (Western Washington, F, 5-9, Jr., Renton, Wash. - Lindbergh): Aylward tied the GNAC single-match record for goals as she scored a hat trick in the Vikings’ 5-0 rout at Simon Fraser, scoring all three in the first 15 minutes of the match. She also had three shots on goal in Thursday’s 3-0 shutout of Saint Martin’s. The effort helped lead Western Washington to a 3-0-0 start to league play. Also Nominated: Lexi Fesenbek (Northwest Nazarene), Jessica Spang (Montana State Billings),

Defensive: Ana Delgadillo (Concordia, D, 5-6, So., Vancouver, Wash. – Columbia River): Delgadillo anchored a Concordia defense that did not allow a goal in 200 minutes in two matches. Concordia opened on Monday with a 2-0 non-conference shutout over Southern Oregon and then went on the road and battled Montana State Billings to a 0-0 tie on Saturday. Also Nominated: Katlyn Lokay (Montana State Billings), Daniele Ortiz (Northwest Nazarene), Sierra Shugarts (Western Washington)

VOLLEYBALL
Offensive: Rachel Roeder (Western Washington, OH, 6-1, Sr., Sammamish, Wash. – Issaquah): Roeder became a three-time winner after she led the Vikings to two road victories with 36 kills, eight digs and six blocks. She had 17 kills in Western Washington’s five-set marathon at Central Washington and then finished with 19 kills and a .294 hitting percentage in a five-set win at Northwest Nazarene. Also Nominated: Kendra Bodine (Northwest Nazarene), Sam Harthun (Alaska), Ashley Jibby (Concordia), Julia Mackey (Alaska Anchorage), Kaitlin Quirk (Central Washington), Ashlynn Ward (Montana State Billings).

Defensive: Kayleigh Harper (Western Washington, MB, 6-3, Fr., Oak Harbor, Wash. – Oak Harbor): Harper was the complete package for Western Washington, finishing with 19 blocks, 20 kills and a .444 hitting percentage in five-set road wins at Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene. She had 10 kills and six blocks at Central Washington and also had 10 kills and 13 blocks (one short of GNAC single match record) at NNU. Harper is ranked third in the GNAC with 1.41 blocks per set. Also Nominated: Britt Beyer (Concordia), Caitlin Hanson (Alaska Anchorage), Elayna Rice (Northwest Nazarene).

CROSS COUNTRY
Men: Oliver Jorgensen (Simon Fraser, Jr., Abbotsford, B.C. – Robert Bantem): Jorgensen finished 22nd overall at the prestigious Stanford Invitational, finishing 10 seconds short of his season best time for 8,000 meters in 24:22. Simon Fraser was the top non-Division I team in the men’s college race as the Clan placed eighth. Also Nominated: Isaac Derline (Western Washington), Jasper Heckman (Saint Martin’s), Robert Peterson (Montana State Billings).

Women: Rebecca Bassett (Simon Fraser, Jr., Nanaimo, B.C. – Nanaimo District): Bassett was the top Division II finisher in the women’s college race at the Stanford Invitational, finishing 26th with a time of 21:32.8 over 6,000 meters. Also Nominated: Brittany Grant (Western Washington), Larissa Kolasinski (Saint Martin’s).

MEN’S GOLF
Chris Crisologo (Simon Fraser, So., Richmond, B.C. – Vancouver Coll.): Crisologo finished second at the Western Washington Invitational. His three-round total of 5-under-par 211 was one stroke off of medalist Andrew Chu of Dixie State. His scorecard included two rounds of three-under-par 68. Also Nominated: Kenyan Fanslow (Northwest Nazarene).

WOMEN’S GOLF
Brooke Branigan (Western Washington, Jr., Bellingham, Wash. - Bellingham): Branigan led Western Washington to a third place finish at the Western New Mexico Intercollegiate Tournament and tied for fifth place individually with a two-round score of 142. Her low round was on the second day as she carded a three-under-par 69. Also Nominated: Kortney McNeil (Montana State Billings).