ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced their Athlete of the Week award winners Tuesday in the sports of baseball, softball, and men’s and women’s tennis. The awards are nominated by UMAC coaches and athletics communications staff and selected each week by the latter group.
BASEBALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Bryan Gerbers, Sophomore, Crown Polars
De Pere, Wis. / De Pere
- Gerbers led the Crown offense hitting .433, tabbing 13 RBI's, 5 doubles, 1 HR, and 2 stolen bases.
BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Adryen Tietz, Sophomore, Bethany Lutheran Vikings
Wabasso, Minn. / Wabasso
- Tietz had a breakout performance on the mound in Friday afternoon's win over Luther. In Bethany's 10-0 8-inning win over the Norse the sophomore went the distance, notching a career high 13 strikeouts while scattering just four hits in the shutout win.
SOFTBALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jadyn Iverson, Senior, Northwestern Eagles
West Fargo, N.D. / West Fargo
- Jadyn Iverson was massive in the Eagles' successful week in Florida. They went 6-0 and outscored their opponents 57-4. Iverson brought home 13 runners with a batting average of .526. With 4 doubles on the week, she recorded a slugging percentage of .737. She now is tied for 1st in the UMAC for runs batted in and tied for 2nd in doubles.
SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Emma Heffron, Senior, Northwestern Eagles
Altoona, Iowa / Grand View Christian
- The senior pitcher, Emma Heffron, went to work in the circle for the Eagles as she led them to two run-ruled shutouts last week. She pitched 11 full innings and only gave up 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 13 batters. In the win against Thomas College, Heffron accounted for 10 of the 15 outs due to 6 SO and 4 fielding outs enroute to a 13-0 win. Against Albertus Magnus, Heffron didn't give up a hit until the 5th inning and stuck out 7 batters to lead UNW to a 8-0 win. She is 2nd in the UMAC for opposing batting average and 3rd for earned run average.
MEN’S TENNIS NORTH DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Brandon Chu, Sophomore, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Rogers, Minn. / Rogers
- Chu had an excellent week in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The sophomore picked up three-of-four doubles victories while splitting his singles matches against a gauntlet of tough opponents.
WOMEN’S TENNIS NORTH DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Kate Jonas, Sophomore, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Annandale, Minn. / Annandale
- Jonas excelled in last week's matches, as the Yellowjackets traveled to Gulf Shores, Alabama for their spring trip. Jonas picked up four-of-four doubles wins alongside Brooke Wilfong and Claudia Curtis, while adding two more victories in singles play both at the No. 6 position. Jonas has won eight of her last nine singles matches while setting a four-match winning streak in doubles play.
MEN’S TENNIS SOUTH DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Andres Sanchez, Senior, Greenville Panthers
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico / Instituto Andes de Tuxtla
- Andres Sanchez went undefeated in both singles and doubles to help the Panthers to a 3-0 record on their annual Spring Break trip to Hilton Head Island. Against Drew University, Sanchez led the #2 doubles team to a 6-3 victory and then cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 singles victory at the #1 position. Facing off against Randolph College, Sanchez helped the #2 doubles team gain a 6-2 win, which he followed up with a tough 3-set battle winning 6-2, 6-7, 1-0 (6). In Greenville's last match of the week against Gordon College, Sanchez capped off a perfect week, winning 6-2 at #2 doubles and 6-2, 6-2 at #1 singles.
WOMEN’S TENNIS SOUTH DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Lily Gregory, Freshman, Greenville Panthers
Mattoon, Ill. / Mattoon
- Lily Gregory went undefeated on the Panthers annual Spring Break trip to Hilton Head Island, going 2-0 in doubles play and notching 3 singles victories over the week. Gregory helped the #3 doubles team from Greenville to a 7-5 win against Randolph College and a 6-4 win over Gordon College. In singles action, Gregory won in 3 sets at the #6 position against Lake Forest College with a score of 1-6, 6-1, 1-0 (9). Moving up to the #5 position against Randolph College, Gregory eased to a 6-2, 6-4 win. In the last match of the week, Gregory again came from a set down to win 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (3) playing at the #5 position against Gordon College.
The UMAC is an NCAA Division III member comprised of eight full-time member schools from Minnesota and Wisconsin: Bethany Lutheran College, Crown College, Martin Luther College, North Central University, Northland College, University of Minnesota Morris, University of Northwestern, and University of Wisconsin-Superior.
Watch UMAC games on the
UMAC Sports Network: available on the
web, as a mobile app for
iOS and
Android, and as a TV app for
Apple TV,
Android TV,
Amazon Fire, and
Roku.