No hitters headline UMAC Player of the Week honors
ST. PAUL, Minn.--- The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced its Player of the Week award winners Tuesday in the sports of men's and women's tennis, baseball, softball and men's and women's track and field. There were three sport sweeps with the College of St. Scholastica taking both baseball awards, the University of Northwestern-St. Paul grabbing both tennis honors and Bethany Lutheran College locking up the track and field nods. Northland College and the University of Minnesota Morris split the two softball awards.
The UMAC Player of the Week awards are nominated for and selected by UMAC coaches and sports information directors and are published each Tuesday morning.
The award winners and descriptions of their accomplishments for the week are below:
MEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
CJ Lloyd, So., Northwestern
Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View
http://umacathletics.com/awards.aspx?aow=1062&path=mten
The Northwestern men's tennis team scored three key wins last week against UMAC opponents to jump to second in the standings with a 4-1 record. CJ Lloyd was crucial to the Eagles' success scoring three wins at No. 1 singles and three more at No. 1 doubles. The sophomore scored two straight-set singles wins and grabbed a huge win over Bethany Lutheran's Brent Heflin in a third-set tiebreaker to help his squad to a 7-2 decision. Against North Central University, Lloyd and partner Brent Jacobus cruised to a perfect 8-0 win. The Eagles will look to solidify a spot in the postseason with two matches this week against Minnesota Morris.
WOMEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Rachel Bostrom, Sr., Northwestern
Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake
http://umacathletics.com/awards.aspx?aow=1063&path=wten
Rachel Bostrom went a perfect 7-0 last week between singles and doubles play to help Northwestern crusie to four 9-0 victories which included three against conference opponents. The senior played at multiple spots in the singles line up, but dropped just three games over the course of four matches. In double play, Bostrom and her partners dropped a total of just two games. This season, Bostrom is an impressive 12-2 in singles competition and 10-2 in doubles. Bostrom and the remainder of the Eagles will look to solidify a place in the UMAC postseason tournament with a pair of conference matches against Minnesota Morris.
BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Gino Strebing, Sr., St. Scholastica
Tucson, Ariz./Santa Rita
http://umacathletics.com/awards.aspx?aow=1064&path=baseball
Gino Strebing pitched his way into the St. Scholastica baseball record book last week in the team's 14-1 victory over North Central Tuesday. The senior hurler threw just the ninth no-hitter in Saints' history against the Rams. He walked just two batters and struck out seven in his seven-inning complete game. Strebing helped the Saints pitching staff go a perfect 5-0 on the week and allow just five runs. The Saints are 15-7 overall this season and 6-0 in conference play. They will look to keep their unbeaten conference streak alive against 6-0 University of Wisconsin-Superior Wednesday and Martin Luther College Saturday.
BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Steven Neutzling, So., St. Scholastica
St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral
http://umacathletics.com/awards.aspx?aow=1065&path=baseball
The St. Scholastica baseball team got five big wins this week thanks in large part to Steven Neutzling who went a remarkable 10-of-17 at the plate. The 2015 UMAC Rookie of the Year drilled in 14 runs over the five-game stretch including three on a home run to give the Saints a 3-2 win over MIAC favorite Bethel University Sunday. The sophomore crossed the plate eight times and did not strike out. He finished the week with a .571 on base percentage and 1.294 slugging percentage. Neutzling and the Saints look to remain undefeated in conference play against Wisconsin-Superior and Martin Luther this week.
SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Elli Stevenson, Fy., Minnesota Morris
Hayti, S.D./Watertown
http://umacathletics.com/awards.aspx?aow=1066&path=softball
Rookie Elli Stevenson didn't take long to ink her name in the Minnesota Morris softball records as she tossed the first-known no-hitter in program history Saturday to lead the Cougars to a win over Bethany Lutheran. The first-year walked the first batter of the game, but was perfect the rest of the way striking out four batters in the 8-0 win. Earlier in the week, Stevenson pitched eight innings and allowed just one earned run in a 3-1 heartbreaking loss to Crown College. She struck out six batters and finished the week with an impressive 0.54 earned run average (ERA). Stevenson and the Cougars face Martin Luther and North Central this week.
SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Crystal Diaz, Jr., Northland
Burbank, Calif./Burbank
http://umacathletics.com/awards.aspx?aow=1067&path=softball
Though the Northland softball team hit a rough patch last week, Crystal Diaz couldn't be stopped at the plate. The junior showed her power going an impressive 9-of-13 at the plate which included two 3-for-3 outings against Wisconsin-Superior. Diaz hit three home runs over a four-game span and drove in a run in each game. She crossed the plate five times and didn't strike out in her plate appearances. On the week, Diaz compiled a .714 on base percentage and 1.462 slugging percentage. Diaz and the rest of the Lumberjills will look to get back on track in three UMAC doubleheaders this week.
MEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Luke Hahn, Sr., Bethany Lutheran
Sioux Falls, S.D./Great Plains Lutheran
http://umacathletics.com/awards.aspx?aow=1068&path=mtrack
The Bethany Lutheran track and field teams had a solid weekend at the Gustavus Adolphus College Lee Krough Invite thanks to a strong pace set by multi specialist Luke Hahn. The senior opened the meet by breaking his own javelin record on four of his attempts. Hahn placed eighth overall with a new record mark of 44.86 meters (147-02). Later in the day, Hahn clocked a time of 25.12 in the 200-meter dash which now ranks in the top 10 all-time at Bethany Lutheran. He also competed in the 100-meter dash. The Vikings and Hahn will continue to prepare for the conference meet competing at Waldorf College Saturday.
WOMEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kari Marzinske, So., Bethany Lutheran
South St. Paul, Minn./St. Criox Lutheran
http://umacathletics.com/awards.aspx?aow=1069&path=wtrack
Kari Marzinske continued to rewrite the Bethany Lutheran records Saturday at the Gustavus Adolphus Lee Krough Invite. First, she broke her own record in the high jump placing 10th with a mark of 1.51 meters (4-11.5). Then, the sophomore bettered her previous school record in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.43 to qualify for the finals placing ninth. Marzinske later ran the third-fastest time in program history for the 200-meter dash (28.52) before helping the 4 x 400-meter relay team set a new school record. The Vikings and Marzinske will continue to prepare for the conference meet competing at Waldorf Saturday.
A history of winners from the 2016 spring sports can be found by award name below:
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Men's Tennis |
Women's Tennis |
Baseball Pitcher |
Baseball Player |
Softball Pitcher |
Softball Player |
Men's Outdoor Track & Field |
Women's Outdoor Track & Field |
2015-16 Player of the Week Archives