Luther's Drewes, Loras' Bridenbaugh Named IIAC Athletes of the Week

By Joshua Schroeder, Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa --- The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Luther College swimmer Stephanie Drewes (West Union, Iowa/North Fayette) and Loras College swimmer Jake Bridenbaugh (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame) have been named IIAC Athletes of the Week for the week ending Sunday, February 19, 2012. The Conference also announced Performers of the Week in seven winter sports and men's tennis.

Women's Swimming & Diving — Stephanie Drewes, Luther College, West Union, Iowa / North Fayette
Drewes, a senior, won two individual events, finished second in another, and swam on two record-setting relays to help lead Luther to a sixth-consecutive Liberal Arts Championships title. She won the 100 breaststroke (1:07.2) and 200 breaststroke (2:26.1) and was second in the 200 IM (2:13.1). She also helped the Norse to pool, school, and championship records in the 200 medley (1:48.2) and 400 medley (3:58.0 ) relays. (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)
Special mention — Darci Schultz, sr., Coe; Alex Proctor, sr., Loras

Men's Swimming & Diving — Jake Bridenbaugh, Loras College, Peoria, Ill. / Notre Dame
Bridenbaugh, a freshman, set eight schools records and reached a pair of NCAA "B" cuts while leading Loras to a fourth-place finish at the Liberal Arts Championships. He finished second in the 200 backstroke with a "B" cut and school record time of 1 minute, 50.7 seconds. Bridenbaugh added third-place finishes in both the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke, setting new Loras marks in the prelims of both events --- 50.13 in the butterfly, 51.14 in the backstroke. He was also a part of four record-setting relays --- the 200 freestyle (1:26.3), 200 medley (1:37.0), 800 freestyle (7:02.7), and 400 freestyle (3:11.3) relays. Additionally, Bridenbaugh set the Loras record in the open 200 freestyle with his 1:42.24 split to open the 800 free relay. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Women's Basketball — Rikki Mulloy, Cornell College, Phoenix, Ariz. / Xavier College Prep
Mulloy, a freshman point guard, scored a career-high 29 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-8 from long-distance, to lead Cornell to a 76-62 win over Buena Vista Feb. 18. She also had four assists and three steals in the victory, which allowed the Rams to secure the sixth and final spot in the IIAC Tournament. It is Cornell's first berth since 2006. Mulloy led the Iowa Conference in scoring at 17.0 points per game.
Special mention — Kate Nielsen, jr., F, Simpson; Sarah Paulson, sr., G, Central; Kayla Waskow, sr., G/F, Coe

Men's Basketball — Wes Nordquist, Buena Vista University, Adel, Iowa / Adel-DeSoto-Minburn
Nordquist, a junior power forward, averaged 23.0 points and 9.0 rebounds as Buena Vista picked up victories over Luther (67-49) Feb. 15 and Cornell (75-64) Feb. 18 to close out the regular season and secure the No. 2 seed in the Iowa Conference Tournament. He scored 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting with nine reboudns and four steals against the Norse, then added 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting and another nine boards against Cornell. Eight of his 12 first-half points against the Rams came during a 16-0 run Buena Vista used to go from 21-19 down to up 35-21 at the half. Nordquist finished the regular season ranked second in the league in both scoring and rebounding. He enters the tournament with three consecutive 20-point games.
Special mention — Seth Light, jr., C, Coe

Men's Indoor Track & Field (field) — Dalen Dirth, Luther College, Apple Valley, Minn. / Apple Valley
Dirth, a senior, placed second in the heptathlon at the Luther Quadrangular with a school-record total of 4,689 points. The total, which ranks currently sixth in Division III, was just 10 off the winning total posted by Leonard Overstreet of Iowa Central Community College.
Special mention — Jonas Elusme, so., Wartburg

Women's Indoor Track & Field (field) — Kinsey Bak, Simpson College, Hinton, Iowa / Hinton
Bak, a senior, won the high jump at the Iowa Invitational Feb. 17 with a leap of 1.63 meters (5-4 1/4) beating competitors from Iowa, Northern Iowa, Western Illinois, and Central. She also placed 10th in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.62 seconds.
Special mention — Britlyn Sieck, jr., Wartburg

Men's Indoor Track & Field (track) — Davivorn Dowe, University of Dubuque, Hainer City, Fla. / Ridge Community
Dowe, a senior, won the 55-meter and 400-meter dashes at the A.Y. McDonald Invitational hosted by the University of Dubuque. He took the sprint in 6.5 seconds and posted a 51.00 in the quarter.
Special mention — Ben Jacobs, sr., Cornell; Jared Kuehner, jr., Coe; Chris Keninger, sr., Wartburg

Women's Indoor Track & Field (field) — Nevada Morrison, Wartburg College, Maywood, Ill. / Proviso East
Morrison, a senior, won the 800-meter run and was a part of the Knights' 4x400-meter relay as Wartburg won its own invitational Feb. 18. Her 800 time of 2 minutes, 14.6 seconds stands 11th-best in Division III. The 4x400 stopped the clock in 3:55.7.
Special mention — Keelie Finnel, sr., Coe; Felicia Coleman, jr., Central

Wrestling — Logan Einerson, University of Dubuque, Lodi, Wis. / Lodi
Einerson, a junior 174-pounder, improved to 19-5 overall with a pair of wins last week. He posted a 4-1 decision over Loras' Joe Butler in a 21-12 win over the Duhawks Feb. 14, then pinned Central's Tommy Van Renterghem in 4 minutes, 15 seconds in a 25-12 dual victory over the Dutch Feb. 16. Einerson is currently ranked sixth at 174 in the NWCA individual rankings.

Men's Tennis — Scott Sundstrom, Luther College, Lino Lakes, Minn. / Centennial
Sundstrom, a senior, ran his singles to 6-0 this spring with a pair of straight-set victories at the No. 1 position Feb. 18. He defeated Wartburg's Chris Buckingham, 6-0, 6-0, and Cornell's Ashan DeSilva, 6-3, 6-2. He also teamed with Ramesh Karki for an 8-3 win over Cornell's top tandem of DeSilva and Orion Wilkinson. The Norse beat the Knights, 8-1, and the Rams, 7-2, to improve to 6-1 overall, 2-0 in the IIAC.
Special mention — Nick Garcia, jr., Dubuque; Justin Bradfield, jr., Cornell