Monday, October 10, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – A record week for Western Oregon wide receiver Paul Revis and Azusa Pacific cornerback Tyree Davis leads this week’s selection for GNAC Player of the Week.

Revis was recgonized as the Football Offensive Player of the Week after he set a WOU record with 250 yards on 17 receptions in the Wolves’ 33-7 win over Simon Fraser. He scored one touchdown and added two punt returns for 62 yards to finish with an impressive 312 all-purpose yards. Davis was named the Special Teams Player of the Week after he tied the GNAC record with his 100-yard kick return for a touchdown at Colorado Mines. He finished with a total of 124 yards on three returns.

Western Oregon’s Tyler Johnson earned the Football Defensive Player of the Week honor after he finished with six tackles, four solo tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception in the win over Simon Fraser. He helped the Wolves hold the Clan to 163 yards of total offense and negative eight rushing yards.

Concordia’s Matt Paine and Northwest Nazarene’s Ryan Foo picked up the weekly men’s soccer awards. Paine was named the Offensive Player of the Week after he scored two goals in two matches, including the game-winner two minutes into overtime, in the Cavaliers’ 2-1 victory over Saint Martin’s. Foo recorded 17 saves in two double-overtime matches as the Crusaders’ tied Simon Fraser 2-2 and beat Western Washington 1-0. His saves included a stop of a penalty kick against the Vikings.

Central Washington’s Keilyn Farrand was named the Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week after she finished with two goals and an assist in two matches. Both goals, including the game-winner, came in the Wildcats’ 3-1 win over Western Oregon on Sunday. Western Washington’s Sierra Shugarts earned her second consecutive Defensive Player of the Week award as she led the Vikings in a pair of wins. Shugarts paced a defense that allowed just four shots, only one on goal, in wins over Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene. She also scored both game-winning goals in the matches. Shugarts is the first player to win back-to-back Defensive Player of the Week awards since the conference began awarding separate offensive and defensive honors in 2012.

Alaska Anchorage setter Morgan Hooe was named the Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week after finishing with 56 assists, 16 digs, 11 kills and a .500 hitting percentage to lead the Seawolves to their 16th and 17th consecutive victories. Saint Martin’s libero Cassidy Apo was named the Defensive Player of the Week after she recorded 52 digs in two matches, including 28 digs in Saturday’s four-set win over Montana State Billings.

Western Washington’s Isaac Derline won on his home course to earn the Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week honor. Derline became the first WWU runner since 2009 to win the Western Washington Classic on Saturday, covering the 10,000-meter course in 31:13.2. Alaska Anchorage’s Caroline Kurgat won the Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week award after placing second in the WWU Classic with a time of 21:26.5 over 6,000 meters. She led the Seawolves to the women’s team title.

Montana State Billings swept this week’s golf awards. Senior Connor Miele was named the Men’s Golf Player of the Week after he placed second at the Rocky Mountain College Invitational with a three-round score of 206, which included back-to-back scores of 68 in the first two rounds. Junior Bailee Dexter was named the Women’s Golf Player of the Week as she too placed second at the RMC Invitational with a two-round score of 150.

This week’s GNAC Player of the Week awards recognized 13 student-athletes from nine member schools. Alaska Anchorage, Montana State Billings, Western Oregon and Western Washington each had two honorees apiece.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 6
FOOTBALL
Offensive: Paul Revis (Western Oregon, WR/KR, 5-9, 165, Jr., Scappoose, Ore. - Scappoose): Revis set Western Oregon school record with 17 receptions and 250 receiving yards in the Wolves’ 33-7 win over Simon Fraser. He caught a 27-yard touchdown pass that opened scoring late in the first quarter. Revis also had two punt returns for 62 yards, including a long of 49 yards, for a total of 312 all-purpose yards. Also Nominated: Weston Carr (Azusa Pacific), Justin Lane (Central Washington).

Defensive: Tyler Johnson (Western Oregon, 6-2, 230, Jr., Eugene, Ore. - Willamette): Johnson finished with six tackles, including four solo tackles, three tackles for loss for 17 yards, two sacks for 15 yards and had an interception to lead the Wolves in its 33-7 win over Simon Fraser. Johnson and the Wolves held the Clan to 163 yards of total offense, negative 8 yards rushing and no offensive points. Also Nominated: Mykal Walker (Azusa Pacific), Tovar Sanchez (Central Washington).

Special Teams: Tyree Davis (Azusa Pacific, CB, 5-10, 180, Sr., San Diego, Calif. – Mesa CC): Davis had three kick returns for 124 yards and became the second player in GNAC history to return a kick 100 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter at Colorado Mines. Davis now leads Division II with an average of 44.5 yards per return.

MEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Matt Paine (Concordia, F, 6-0, Sr., Portland, Ore. – Yavapai CC): Paine scored two goals as the Cavaliers split their weekend matches. He scored the game-winner two minutes into overtime for the Cavaliers’ 2-1 victory over Saint Martin’s on Thursday. Paine also had a goal in Saturday’s loss to Seattle Pacific, his third consecutive match with a goal scored. Also Nominated: Michael Mollay (Northwest Nazarene), Kyle Witzel (Saint Martin’s), Carlos Franco (Seattle Pacific).

Defensive: Ryan Foo (Northwest Nazarene, GK, 6-1, Sr., San Jose, Calif. – Archbishop Murphy) Foo finished with 17 saves in two matches as the Crusaders tied No. 2 Simon Fraser, 2-2, and beat Western Washington, 1-0. He finished with seven saves against the Clan and then made 10 stops, including one in a penalty kick, in the shutout victory over the Vikings. Also Nominated: Christian Caro (Saint Martin’s).

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Keilin Farrand (Central Washington, M, 5-5 Sr., Ellensburg, Wash. – North Idaho JC): Farrand had two goals and an assist in the Wildcats’ two matches. She notched her league-lead tying fourth assist in Tuesday’s 1-1 tie with Seattle Pacific and scored two goals, including the game-winner, in the Wildcats’ 3-1 win on Sunday over Western Oregon. Also Nominated: Taylor Higa (Western Oregon), Dana Lubieniecki (Montana State Billings), Kelli Bannerman (Saint Martin’s), Gabriela Pelogi (Western Washington), Kayla Braunthal (Concordia).

Defensive: Sierra Shugarts (Western Washington, D, 5-9, Jr., Federal Way, Wash. - Decatur): Shugarts earned the award for the second straight week as she led a WWU defense that allowed just one shot on goal in wins over Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene. She also notched the game-winner in both matches and has scored in the Vikings’ last three matches. Also Nominated: Christian Dickson (Simon Fraser), Lili Delgadillo (Montana State Billings), Kylee Sarchett (Saint Martin’s), Meghan Ward (Central Washington), Martha Heaps (Concordia).

VOLLEYBALL
Offensive: Morgan Hooe (Alaska Anchorage, S, 5-6, Sr., Anchorage, Alaska – South Anchorage): Hooe finished with 56 assists, 16 digs and 11 kills and hit .500 as the Seawolves ran its current win streak to 17 matches. She had 34 assists in Thursday’s win over Western Oregon and had 22 assists, six kills and 11 digs against Concordia on Saturday. Also Nominated: Sydney Blankinship (Western Oregon), Kendra Bodine (Northwest Nazarene), Maddie Davis (Alaska), Nicolette Nesbitt (Saint Martin’s), Gabby Oddo (Seattle Pacific), Arielle Turner (Western Washington), Jordan Deming (Central Washington), Lindsey Dorsey (Concordia).

Defensive: Cassidy Apo (Saint Martin’s, DS/L, 5-6, So., Honolulu, Hawaii): Apo recorded 52 digs in the two matches, averaging 7.43 digs per set. She finished with 28 digs and two assists in Saturday’s four-set win over Montana State Billings and had 24 assists in Tuesday’s match with Seattle Pacific. Also Nominated: Christie Colasurdo (Western Oregon), Kylee Cornelio (Montana State Billings), Madi Farrell (Northwest Nazarene), Rachel Nichols (Alaska), Amanda Ganete (Seattle Pacific), Mae Thungc (Western Washington), Kyle Morgan (Central Washington), Anna Dols (Concordia).

CROSS COUNTRY
Men: Isaac Derline (Western Washington, Jr., Kent, Wash. – Kentridge): Running on his home course, Derline won the Western Washington Classic on Saturday as he covered the 10,000-meter course in 31:13.2. It was Derline’s second career victory and the first win by a WWU runner in the meet since 2009. Also Nominated: Garrett Love (Montana State Billings), Isaac Mitchell (Northwest Nazarene), Jasper Heckman (Saint Martin’s), Michel Ramirez (Alaska Anchorage), Jared Seckel (Concordia).

Women: Caroline Kurgat (Alaska Anchorage, Jr., Eldoret, Kenya – Kapkenda): Kurgat was the top GNAC finisher at the Western Washington Classic, placing second on the 6,000-meter course in 21:26.5. She was 1.6 seconds behind winner Regan Yee of Trinity Western and led the Seawolves to the team title with 76 points. Also Nominated: Rebecca Bassett (Simon Fraser), Rio Frame (Montana State Billings), Sierra Manzer (Northwest Nazarene), Shannon Porter (Saint Martin’s), Mary Charleson (Seattle Pacific), Nicole Pederson (Concordia).

GOLF
Men: Connor Miele (Montana State Billings, Sr., Edmonds, Wash. – Saint Martin’s Univ.) Miele finished second at the Rocky Mountain College Invitational, shooting 7-under-par 206 in three rounds. He shot a personal best with back-to-back rounds of 68 in the first two rounds. Also Nominated: Jack Strickland (Northwest Nazarene), Brett Johnson (Western Washington), Ryan Melnychuk (Concordia).

Women: Bailee Dexter (Montana State Billings, Jr., Townsend, Mont. – Butte) Dexter finished second at the Rocky Mountain College Invitational with a two-round score of 150. She missed first place by three strokes. Dexter went on to tie for 12th place in the rain-shortened Saint Martin’s Invitational. Also Nominated: Erin Farner (Simon Fraser), Samantha Miller (Northwest Nazarene), Chloe Read (Saint Martin’s), McKenzi Stan (Concordia).