Monday, October 21, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. - Northwest Nazarene golfer Nick Hardy has been selected as the GNAC Red Lion Golfer of the Week (@redlionhotels) for the week of Oct. 14-20.

Hardy won the Sonoma State Men's Golf Invitational last week by four shots with a 54-hole score of five-under-par 211 to become the first Crusader to win a major tournament since NNU joined the NCAA.

Hardy was one of 15 GNAC athletes to claim Red Lion Player of the Week honors. 

Following is a recap of the winners:

Football

Offense – Tyrell Williams, Western Oregon (WR, 6-4, 200, Jr., Salem, OR – Cascade) caught five passes for 184 yards including touchdowns of 74 and 67 yards to lead the Wolves to a 46-34 road victory at Dixie State.  Williams broke his own GNAC-record for most  yards per catch (min. 5 catches) with his 36.8 average.  He set  the old GNAC record of 32.8 last season catching six passes for 197 yards in a game against Dixie State.

Defense – Austin Schnizler, Central Washington (DT, 6-3, 266, Sr., Ventura, CA – St. Bonaventure/Idaho State) had three quarterback sacks for losses of 24 yards and he also tackled running back Stephen Spagnuolo in the end zone for a safety in a 54-14 win at Simon Fraser.  He finished the contest with five tackles, including four for losses of 25 yards and was also credited with a forced fumble.

Special Teams – Matt Burke, Central Washington (P, 6-0, 192, Sr., Laguna, Hills, CA – Cabrillo) averaged 43.3 yards on three punts and did not  allow a return yard  as CWU maintained its Top 20 nationally ranking in punt return defense, allowing just 3.4 yards per return.  Burke also tossed a 54-yard TD pass to Deionte Gordon on a fake punt in the second quarter to give the Wildcats a 30-14 lead.

Honorable Mention – Terrell Watson, Azusa Pacific; Jordan Todd, Central Washington; AJ Hull, Western Oregon; JD Duncan, Dixie State.

Volleyball

Offense -  Katelynn Zanders, Alaska Anchorage (OH, 5-9, So., Anchorage, AK - South) and Sam Harthun, Alaska Fairbanks (OH, 6-0, So., Oregon City, OR) ... Zanders had 29 kills, including 22 in Saturday’s five-set win over Western Washington, as the Seawolves snapped the Vikings’ 17-match home win streak. Zanders hit .354 against WWU, which on the season is holding opponents to a .119 average.  She also had 23 digs and five blocks in UAA’s two road victories ... Harthun had a dominating performance despite two 3-0 losses, totaling 44 kills and 10 digs and hitting for a .356 percentage.  Her 26 kills Saturday at Simon Fraser was just one kill  off the GNAC record for most kills in a three-set match set by her coach (Mallory Bergstrom Larranaga) against Saint Martin’s in 2003,  and is the most in the GNAC this fall in a match of any length. She also had a match-high 18 kills versus Western Washington.

Defense – Larissa Hamilton, Saint Martin’s (MB, 6-0, Fr., Vancouver, WA - Skyview) and Jackie Arnold, Seattle Pacific (MB, 5-11, So., Anaheim, CA – Canyon) ... Hamilton had 12 blocks in six sets and hit for a .444 percentage (10-2-18) as the Saints split two matches earning their third conference win of the season to match last year’s victory total.  Their win at Billings Thursday was their first-ever road victory against MSUB ... Arnold had 11 block assists, including a career-high nine in a five-set win over Western Oregon. Of the nine blocks against the Wolves, three came in the fourth set and three also came in the fifth set as SPU overcame a 2-1 deficit.  She also had 19 kills, including 10 against WOU, hitting .333 (19-7-36).  She posted a .533 percentage (9-1-15) in a sweep of Saint Martin’s. 

Honorable Mention – Erin Smith, Central Washington; Kaitlin Quirk, Central Washington; Elayna Rice, Northwest Nazarene; Taylor Roberts, Northwest Nazarene; Samantha Hutchinson, Western Washington.

Men’s Soccer

Offense – Juan Sanchez, Simon Fraser (M, 5-9, Sr., Armenia, Columbia - Jenks) scored in the 86th minute against the University of Mary on Thursday to tie the game and help the Clan salvage a point on the road in a 2-2 overtime draw. Two days later, Sanchez scored and provided an assist in SFU’s lopsided 7-0 triumph over South Dakota Mines. Sanchez’ effort helped SFU to four points and more importantly kept his team in sole possession of first place in the GNAC standings.

Defense – Bailey Martin, Western Washington (D, 6-0, Sr., Tacoma, WA - Stadium) anchored the Vikings’ defense for 90 minutes in Thursday’s 1-0 victory over South Dakota Mines. Martin’s effort helped keep the Hardrockers scoreless and set up Andrew Weishaar’s game-winning goal with less than 30 seconds remaining. On Saturday, Martin again turned in 90 minutes of solid defense, as WWU collected a 3-1 victory over the University of Mary and picked up six points to remain just four points out of first place in the GNAC standings.

Honorable Mention – Fredy Razo, Northwest Nazarene; Jeremy Wentzel, Western Washington; Eric Owen, Saint Martin’s; Luke Broz, Northwest Nazarene.

Women’s Soccer

Offense – Maddie Krauss, Seattle Pacific (F, 5-4, Fr., Lake Oswego, OR - Lakeridge) scored two goals in 32 seconds in SPU's 3-0 road victory over Montana State Billings Saturday. The freshman forward was instrumental in a 2-1 triumph against Northwest Nazarene as well, which helped the Falcons snap a two-game losing skid and maintain a spot amongst the top four in the GNAC standings. "Maddie just had a great week,” said Falcon head coach Chuck Sekyra. “She is really coming into her own as a freshman.  Her two goals in 32 seconds put the game away against MSU Billings, and she also had a role in the build-up and creation of our goals against Northwest Nazarene."

Defense – Amanda Rose Johnson, Western Oregon (GK, 5-8, Jr., Montrose, CA – New Mexico Highlands) recorded her seventh and eighth shutouts of the season in victories over Simon Fraser and No. 2 Western Washington on Thursday and Saturday. She made six critical saves versus Western Washington, and took command on numerous balls in the air throughout WWU’s persistent aerial assault. Her effort helped WOU hand WWU its first loss of the season, as she was the first goalkeeper to hold the Vikings scoreless in 2013. The junior has blocked 34 of the 38 shots she has faced this season, and leads the GNAC with eight shutouts.

Honorable Mention – Mariah Konyn, Western Oregon; Kelli Bannerman, Saint Martin’s; Katie Butler, Northwest Nazarene; Natalie Harold, Seattle Pacific; Reilly Retz, Central Washington; Kayla Lipston, Central Washington.

Golf

Men - Nick Hardy, Northwest Nazarene (Sr., Edmonds, WA – King’s) shot a school-record tying 68 in the final round to win the Sonoma State Men’s Golf Invitational with a 54-hole score of five-under-par 211.  Hardy, who leads the GNAC in scoring this with a 72.0 average, won the tournament by four shots becoming the first Crusader to win a major tournament since NNU joined the NCAA.

Women - Haley Gochnour, Northwest Nazarene (So., Boise, ID – Cole Valley Christian) tied for 10^th with a 159 total leading the Crusaders to a third-place finish, highlighted by a school record-round of 323, in the University of Victoria Shootout.

Cross Country

Male – Chase Cunningham, Northwest Nazarene (Fr. Kuna, ID) was the Crusaders’ top finisher in the Lewis-Clark State Inland Empire Invitational in a time of 25:44.  Cunningham finished 43rd overall.

Female – Natalie Evans, Northwest Nazarene (Sr., New Plymouth, ID) set a Crusader cross country school record for 5,000 meters at Lewiston, placing fifth in a time of 17:31.  Ashley Puga set the old school record of 17:46 in 2007.

Honorable Mention – Alex Nelson, Saint Martin’s; Megan Teigen, Saint Martin’s.