UMAC Player of the Week Awards – October 2, 2023
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced its Player of the Week award winners Monday in the sports of football, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, and men's and women's golf. The UMAC Player of the Week awards are nominated by UMAC coaches and athletics communications/sports information staff and selected each week by the latter group.
FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Beau Burk, Junior, University of Northwestern
Ogilvie, Minn. / Ogilvie
-Set the Northwestern record for receiving yards on Saturday against Martin Luther, breaking a record that he had previously set last season.
-Finished with 14 catches for 289 yards and three Touchdowns. His 14 catches were one away from the program record of 15.
-Led the Eagles to a come from behind win in the conference opener.
FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dawson Brandt, Senior, Westminster College
Eldon, Mo. / Eldon
-Brandt had two interceptions for the Blue Jays against Crown.
-Scored a touchdown on a 97-yard pick six.
-Recorded seven tackles.
FOOTBALL SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Alex Happ, Senior, University of Minnesota Morris
Brighton, Colo. / Prairie View
-Happ connected on a 34-yard field goal in a 24-10 Minnesota Morris win at Greenville on Saturday.
-Was 3-for-3 on extra point attempts for the Cougars.
VOLLEYBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ari Schmidt, Junior, No. 4 University of Northwestern
Albany, Minn. / Holdingford
-Put together three very efficient offensive performances to lead the Eagles to a 3-0 week.
-Had 12 kills (.393) against Augsburg, 11 kills (.550) against UW-Superior, and 10 kills (.364) against Northland.
-Finished with 3.6 kills per set.
VOLLEYBALL SETTER OF THE WEEK
Grace Brigson, Junior, North Central University
West Salem, Wis. / West Salem
-Brigson totaled 70 assists and 12 digs on the week.
-Recorded 31 assists against Carleton, 22 against Northland, and 17 against UW-Superior.
VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Marylyn Schroyer, Senior, No. 4 University of Northwestern
Ft. Collins, Colo. / Ft. Collins
-Led the Eagles to a 3-0 week, picking up sweeps in all three matches.
-Finished with 52 digs (5.7 digs per set).
-Added 12 assists over the three games and picked up four service aces over the week.
MEN'S SOCCER OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jake Kidd, Sophomore, University of Wisconsin-Superior
Superior, Wis. / Superior Senior
-Kidd was on fire this weekend, scoring a total of four goals off of eight shots.
-Scoring a hat trick against Northland, the Superior native finished the match with a shooting percentage of .600 leading the Yellowjackets to a 6-2 victory.
-Against Martin Luther, the leading scorer for the Yellowjackets earned his sixth goal of the season, defeating the Knights 7-0.
MEN'S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Serni Batalla, Junior, Crown College
Artesa de Segre, Spain
-Batalla continues to dominate from the defense as he had a goal-saving header in an empty net to keep the Polars early lead against BLC.
-He made multiple defensive plays stopping attacks.
-Also added two goals.
WOMEN'S SOCCER OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Haley Mersberger, Sophomore, University of Northwestern
Kiel, Wis. / Elkhart Lake Glenbeulah
-Scored five goals in a pair of wins over Martin Luther and Minnesota Morris, bringing her season total to 13.
-Hat trick against MLC was her third hat trick of the season (also had an assist in the game).
-Added two more goals versus Morris on Saturday that ended up being the difference in a 2-1 win.
WOMEN'S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brooke Wolanin, Senior, Bethany Lutheran College
Littleton, Colo. / Littleton
-Wolanin posted a pair of clean sheets for Bethany this week in two conference wins.
-The senior made four saves in the 3-0 shutout of Crown on Wednesday.
-Needed just one save in Saturday's 2-0 win over Northland.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Michael Butterfield, Junior, University of Wisconsin-Superior
Bovey, Minn. / Greenway
-Butterfield led the Yellowjackets at the Blugold Invite Friday, with a time of 26:50.9, which is his season-best and a UMAC best on the season.
-His time was the best of all UMAC runners at the event, and lead by nearly a full minute.
-Additionally, the Yellowjackets led all UMAC teams at the Blugold Invite.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Halle Barker, Freshman, University of Wisconsin-Superior
Superior, Wis. / Superior Senior
-Barker ran the second-fastest time of her career at the Blugold Invite with a 24:12.6.
-This time was also the fastest in the UMAC on the weekend.
-Her time was 43 seconds faster than the next nearest UMAC runner at the invite.
MEN'S GOLF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jake Swanson, Sophomore, Bethany Lutheran College
Apple Valley, Minn. / Eastview
-Swanson continues his excellent stretch of golf for the Vikings as he carded two scores of even par this past week.
-On Friday, he claimed medalist honors taking first place out of 46 golfers after shooting 71 (E) at the BLC Invite.
-On Saturday, he would shoot 72 (E) to take fourth place at the MLC Invite.
WOMEN'S GOLF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kendall Clark, Sophomore, Crown College
Vail, Ariz. / Empire
-Clark shot a 79, 81, and an 86 in three rounds this week.
-She placed first at the MLC Dual, second at the MLC invite, and fourth at the BLC Invite.