Monday, March 22, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. – The two Alaska schools swept their volleyball matches last week, setting the stage for the Seawolves and Nanooks to lead the list of GNAC Player of the Week honorees.

Alaska Anchorage junior Eve Stephens earned Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week honors after she led the Seawolves to three wins in a 24-hour span in the team’s first matches in over a year. Stephens averaged 4.42 kills and 2.58 digs per set in a win at Saint Martin’s and a doubleheader sweep at Seattle Pacific on Saturday. In Saturday’s second match, Stephens finished with a career-high 26 kills, the most by a UAA player since 2016, and 13 digs.

Alaska junior Dani Dodge was selected as the Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week after she averaged 6.75 digs per set in a pair of home wins over Northwest Nazarene. Dodge finished with 31 digs in Friday’s five-set win and added 23 digs and an ace in Saturday’s three-set sweep.

The Track Athlete of the Week awards were buoyed by a quartet of NCAA Championships provisional qualifying marks. Senior Calahan Warren earned the Men’s Track Athlete of the Week award in his Western Washington debut, winning the 5,000 meters at the Doris Heritage Track Festival in a time of 14:16.17. The time ranks No. 2 on the WWU All-Time List, No. 6 on the GNAC All-Time List and is the No. 10 fastest time this season across all college divisions.

Seattle Pacific senior Dania Holmberg was named the Women’s Track Athlete of the Week after winning the women’s 5,000 at the Doris Heritage Track Festival. Racing in the event for the first time since 2019, Holmberg won by over a minute with a time of 17:04.76. The time ranks No. 2 in Division II this season.

Montana State Billings senior Beau Ackerman is the Men’s Field Athlete of the Week after he won the javelin at the Yellowjacket-Battlin’ Bear Ice Breaker. Throwing the javelin for the first time since 2018, Ackerman uncorked a throw of 220 feet, 7 inches. It is the fourth-longest throw in MSUB history, ranks No. 3 in Division II this season and No. 17 across all college divisions.

Western Washington junior Hannah Nienaber was named the Women’s Field Athlete of the Week after placing second in the javelin at the Doris Heritage Track Festival. Her personal-best mark of 146 feet, 4 inches, ranks No. 9 in Division II this season.

Vikings freshman Elise Sumner received the Women’s Golf Player of the Week award for the second straight week after she led conference players at Sunday’s El Cheapo Classic. Sumner carded back-to-back rounds of 7-over-par 79 to place 11th with a two-round score of 14-over-par 158. She led the Vikings to a sixth-place team finish in the tournament, which was played in one day due to inclement weather.

Northwest Nazarene and Western Washington split the softball awards for the second consecutive week. Nighthawks junior Maia McNicoll was named the Softball Player of the Week after she batted .500 with a .643 on-base percentage and 1.400 slugging percentage in a four-game sweep of Saint Martin’s. She had nine RBI and hit three home runs. All of the homers came in Friday’s games, which included a three-run shot in game one.

Vikings’ junior Kira Doan was named the Softball Pitcher of the Week for her two complete-game wins at Western Oregon. In 14 innings, Doan did not give up a run while allowing 10 hits and three walks with 14 strikeouts. She allowed four hits and a walk while striking out six in Saturday’s 3-0 second-game win. Doan then allowed six hits and two walks, striking out eight in Sunday’s 10-0 win in the finale.

Montana State Billings senior Daniel Cipriano was named the Baseball Player of the Week after another big offensive week, batting .400 with a 1.267 slugging percentage and a .526 on-base percentage as MSUB took three of four games from Saint Martin’s. He opened the series by going 3 for 4 in Friday’s 18-7 win, which included a pair of two-run homers and a three-run shot. In the process, he became the MSUB all-time home run leader.

Northwest Nazarene sophomore Spencer Schwehr earned the win in 5.1 innings of work in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Central Washington to earn Baseball Pitcher of the Week honors. He allowed six hits, struck out three and allowed just one extra-base hit to improve to 2-1 on the season.

The Nighthawks swept the women’s soccer awards once again thanks to their 4-0 shutout of Montana State Billings on Thursday. Junior Sierra Sanchez earned the offensive award for her two second-half goals, in the 54th and 63rd minutes. Junior Jade Zimmer collected the defensive honor for her part in the NNU defense holding MSUB to six shots and just two in goal.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 11
BASEBALL PLAYER
Daniel Cipriano (Montana State Billings, 1B, 6-3, Sr., Agoura Hills, Calif. – Moorpark Coll.): Cipriano batted .400 with a 1.267 slugging percentage and .526 on-base percentage and broke the MSUB career home run record as the Yellowjackets took three of four games from Saint Martin’s. Cipriano opened the series by going 3 for 4 with three home runs and seven RBI in the 18-7 win on Friday. He hit two two-run homers and one three-run shot. He closed the series on Saturday by going 2 for 4 in the 9-6 win, which included two RBI and a solo home run. Also Nominated: Zach Berryman (Central Washington), Grant Kerry (Northwest Nazarene), Aaron Renaud (Saint Martin’s).

BASEBALL PITCHER
Spencer Schwehr (Northwest Nazarene, P, 6-0, So., Boise, Idaho – Walla Walla CC): Schwehr picked up his second win of the season in the second game on Saturday, a 3-1 victory over Central Washington. In 5.1 innings, Schwehr allowed six hits, struck out three and allowed just one extra-base hit. Also Nominated: Dylan Weese (Central Washington), Connor Redmond (Montana State Billings), Tanner Inouye (Saint Martin’s).

SOFTBALL PLAYER
Maia McNicoll (Northwest Nazarene, P/IF, 5-5, Jr., Kaneohe, Hawaii - Maryknoll): McNicoll batted .500 in the Nighthawks’ four-game sweep of Saint Martin’s with a .643 on-base percentage and a 1.400 slugging percentage. She went 5 for 10 with five runs, nine RBI and three home runs while drawing four walks. McNicoll went 2 for 2 with a pair of home runs, including a three-run shot in the first inning, of Friday’s 10-1, six-inning win in the opener. She then hit another three-run homer in the second game to break the tie in the 8-4 win. McNicoll then had a hit in each of Saturday’s game, which included an RBI single in the fourth to open scoring in the 3-0 second game win. Also Nominated: Theresa Moyle (Central Washington), Hailee Gregerson (Montana State Billings), Britney Patrick (Saint Martin’s), Kirah McGlothan (Western Oregon), Tatum Dow (Western Washington).

SOFTBALL PITCHER
Kira Doan (Western Washington, P/IF, 5-1, Jr., Brier, Wash. – Mountlake Terrace): Doan picked up two wins in the Vikings’ GNAC-opening series with Western Oregon. In 14 innings, Doan did not allow a run while giving up 10 hits and three walks, striking out 14. In Saturday’s 3-0 second-game win, Doan allowed four hits and a walk while striking out six. In Sunday’s 10-0 second-game shutout, Doan allowed six hits and two walks, striking out eight. Also Nominated: Jenna Kister (Montana State Billings), Sidney Booth (Northwest Nazarene), Abby Runyon (Saint Martin’s), Reilly Tidwell (Western Oregon).

MEN’S TRACK
Calahan Warren (Western Washington, Sr., Auburndale, Fla. – Embry-Riddle Univ.): Warren made quite the splash in his Western Washington and GNAC debut, winning the 5,000 meters at the Doris Heritage Track Festival. His time of 14:16.17 is an NCAA Championships provisional qualifier, ranks No. 2 on the WWU All-Time List and No. 6 on the GNAC All-Time List. The time currently leads Division II and ranks No. 10 across all college divisions. Also Nominated: Enrique Campbell (Alaska Anchorage), Gunner Valentini (Central Washington), Mason Schram (Montana State Billings), Michael Russell (Saint Martin’s), Justin Crosswhite (Western Oregon).

MEN’S FIELD
Beau Ackerman (Montana State Billings, Sr., Glendive, Mont. – Dickinson State Univ.): Throwing the javelin for the first time since 2018, Ackerman won the event at the Yellowjacket-Battlin’ Bear Ice Breaker with a mark of 220 feet, 7 inches. The throw is the fourth-longest in MSUB history, is an NCAA Championships provisional qualifier, currently ranks No. 3 in Division II this season and ranks 17th across all college divisions. Also Nominated: David Sramek (Alaska Anchorage), Aidan Cain (Central Washington), Micah Au-Haupu (Saint Martin’s), Jalon Fields (Western Oregon), Trent Kibler (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Dania Holmberg (Seattle Pacific, Jr., Eagle, Idaho – Eagle): Running the 5,000 meters for the first time since 2019, Holmberg cruised to the win in the race at the Doris Heritage Track Festival. She won by 1 minute, 3 seconds with a time of 17:04.76. The NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time currently ranks No. 2 in Division II. Also Nominated: McCall DeChenne (Central Washington), Kailee Stoppel (Montana State Billings), Cassidy Walchak-Sloan (Saint Martin’s), Maya Hopwood (Western Oregon), Karlie Hurley (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Hannah Nienaber (Western Washington, Jr., Battle Ground, Wash. – Prairie HS): Nienaber placed second in the javelin at the Doris Heritage Track Festival. Her mark of 146 feet, 4 inches was a personal best, is a provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Championships and ranks No. 9 in Division II this season. Also Nominated: Megan Smallbeck (Central Washington), Taylor Stringari (Montana State Billings), Brianna Cabrera (Saint Martin’s), Moana Gianotti (Western Oregon).

WOMEN’S GOLF
Elise Sumner (Western Washington, Fr., North Tustin, Calif. – Foothill): Sumner was the top GNAC finisher for the second straight tournament, placing 11th for the Vikings at the one-day El Cheapo Classic. Sumner turned in back-to-back rounds of 7-over-par 79 to finish at 14-over-par 158. She led Western Washington to a sixth-place team finish.

WOMEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE
Sierra Sanchez (Northwest Nazarene, F, 5-2, Jr., Blackfoot, Idaho – Blackfoot): Sanchez scored a pair of second-half goals in the Nighthawks’ 4-0 shutout of Montana State Billings on Thursday. She tallied off of Rikki Myers’ assist in the 54th minute and added another strike off of McKenzie Buell’s assist in the 63rd minute. Sanchez finished with five shots on the day. Also Nominated: Jordan Roe (Montana State Billings), Kiersten Madsen (Saint Martin’s), Piper Matson (Western Oregon).

WOMEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE
Jade Zimmer (Northwest Nazarene, D, 5-7, Sr., Denver, Colo. – George Washington): Zimmer anchored a Northwest Nazarene defense that allowed just six Montana State Billings shots, two on goal, in the 4-0 win over the Yellowjackets on Thursday. Also Nominated: Ali Campigotto (Saint Martin’s), Camille Darland (Western Oregon).

VOLLEYBALL OFFENSIVE
Eve Stephens (Alaska Anchorage, RS, 6-1, Jr., Palmer, Alaska – Colony): Stephens led Alaska Anchorage to three wins in a 24-hour span with a .321 hitting percentage, 4.42 kills per set and 2.58 digs per set. Stephens notched a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs with four blocks in Friday’s four-set win at Saint Martin’s. In Saturday’s doubleheader at Seattle Pacific, Stephens opened with 14 kills, seven digs, three aces and two blocks in the opener. She then registered a career-high of 26 kills with 13 digs, three aces and two blocks in the five-set win in the second match. Also Nominated: Cate Whiting (Alaska), Skylar Reed (Montana State Billings), Brooke Foster (Northwest Nazarene), Mackenzie Carter (Saint Martin’s).

VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE
Dani Dodge (Alaska, L/DS, 5-6, Jr., Topeka, Kansas – Coffeyville CC): Dodge averaged 6.75 digs per set as the Nanooks took a home sweep of two matches with Northwest Nazarene. Dodge finished with 31 digs, one kill and a pair of aces in Friday’s five-set win. She then added 23 digs and another ace in Saturday’s three-set sweep. Also Nominated: Maddi Vigil (Montana State Billings), Caroline McMahon (Northwest Nazarene), Giselle Benetti (Saint Martin’s).