ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced their Athlete of the Week award winners Tuesday in the sports of baseball, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track & field, and men’s and women’s golf. The awards are nominated by UMAC coaches and athletics communications staff and selected each week by the latter group.
BASEBALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Christian Raya, Sophomore, Northwestern Eagles
Moline, Ill. / Moline
- Raya went nuclear at the plate this week, hitting a 3-run home run against Bethel on Tuesday and 2 grand slams against Northland. Friday's 6th-inning grand slam ended up being the game-winner in a tight, 7-4 game. For the week, the sophomore hit .375 with 3 homers, 13 RBI, slugging .938 with an OPS of 1.414.
BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Trent Ash, Sophomore, Bethany Lutheran Vikings
Springville, Utah / Springville
- Ash won his seventh straight start on Friday afternoon as the Bethany Lutheran baseball team claimed a 6-0 shutout win over Crown. The sophomore went 8.0 innings in the game, scattering just two hits and walking four while striking out eight. Ash is now just one of four players in all of NCAA Division III with at least seven wins this season and no losses.
SOFTBALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Carly Nelson, Junior, Bethany Lutheran Vikings
Lake Crystal, Minn. / Mankato West
- Nelson had a strong weekend at the plate for Bethany, going 5-for-9 with seven RBI and three runs scored. She added a double and a home run on the week while also scoring three times.
SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Alyssa Thornton, Sophomore, Minnesota Morris Cougars
San Diego, Calif. / West Hills
- Thornton pitched a perfect game and a no-hitter for the Cougars this weekend, leading Minnesota Morris to two 11-0 victories over Martin Luther. In her 10 innings pitched, she gave up just one walk while recording 13 strikeouts and no hits.
MEN’S TENNIS NORTH DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Igor Guetten Chaves, Junior, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil / Colégio Adventista
- Guetten Chaves led the Yellowjackets to a pair of UMAC wins this past weekend. He won both of his singles matches in straight sets versus Crown (6-0, 6-1) and Martin Luther (6-2, 6-0), while also securing two wins in doubles play alongside Mateo Abarca Pino (6-2) and Vitor Sakakibara (6-0).
WOMEN’S TENNIS NORTH DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Andreina Tejada, Junior, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Quito, Ecuador / Isaac Newton
- Tejada dominated on the court for the Yellowjackets this past weekend, taking on a trio of UMAC squads this weekend. She was slotted at the top spot in singles, sweeping her Polar counterpart 6-0, 6-0. Versus the Knights she teamed up with Giulia Araujo De Barros and defeated MLC 6-3 at the top doubles position, while earning another straight-set victory 6-1, 6-1. Sunday's action saw her at No. 1 doubles once again, defeating the Cougars 6-3 before earning her third singles victory 6-1, 6-0 at the top spot.
MEN’S TENNIS SOUTH DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Andres Sanchez, Senior, Greenville Panthers
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico / Instituto Andes de Tuxtla
- Sanchez helped lead the Panthers to a 5-2 victory over Millikin University by winning 6-2 at the #2 doubles position and then cruising to a 6-3, 6-0 victory at the #1 singles position.
WOMEN’S TENNIS SOUTH DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Addison Brannon, Senior, Greenville Panthers
Alhambra, Ill.
- Brannon helped lead the Panthers to a 6-1 victory over Illinois Wesleyan University. Brannon-Wiegand clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 victory at #2 doubles and then won in straight sets at #2 singles by a score of 7-5, 6-0.
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jesse Ortiz, Freshman, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Medford, Minn. / Medford
- Ortiz led the Yellowjackets this past weekend at the SMU Cardinal Invite. In the long jump he finished with a mark of 6.56 meters for second place before he won the 400-meter race in 49.10 seconds. Both marks place him atop the league in the respective events, while he ranks 34th in the long jump and 17th in the 400-meters across NCAA Division III.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Grace Moravchik, Sophomore, Northwestern Eagles
Mason, Wis. / Ashland
- Moravchik ran a personal best, school record, and NCAA D3 32nd top time in the 400-meter hurdles. The Sophomore finished the race in 64.86 to remain atop the conference in the event by nearly 7 seconds. She also competed in the long jump and notched a leap of 5.01 meters (16'5.25") for a 17th-place finish in the meet and a 4th-best jump in the UMAC.
MEN’S OUTDOOR FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Samuel Plocher, Sophomore, Martin Luther Knights
Kent, Wash. / Evergreen Lutheran
- Plocher hit a PR mark (outdoor) in the High Jump with 2.05 meters at the Minnesota State Open on Saturday. Plocher's jump is the highest among all UMAC jumpers this season. The sophomore finished second in the event, despite an impressive feat from the first-place jumper, who cleared the bar at 2.16 meters. Plocher also had a season-best time in the 110-meter hurdles (15.06 seconds), which put him in seventh.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Stephanie Witbrod, Senior, Bethany Lutheran Vikings
Douglas, Wyo. / Douglas
- Witbrod had a solid showing at the MSU Open on Saturday afternoon thanks to a school record heave in the hammer throw with a distance of 47.58m which tops the next competitor in the UMAC by nearly seven meters. She also set a new season best in the long jump with a mark of 5.05m, which is third best in the conference.
MEN'S GOLF ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Keaton Ginter, Junior, Bethany Lutheran Vikings
Faribault, Minn. / Faribault
- Ginter posted a weekend low score of 69 on Friday during the UMAC Matchplay event before carding a 79 during Saturday’s windy round. His Friday round included five birdies to post the second lowest round in school history behind only his own school record from the fall.
WOMEN'S GOLF ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Shelby Cash, Sophomore, Crown Polars
Clovis, Calif. / Clovis
- Cash had the best overall score at the UMAC Spring Event last weekend, leading the conference field with rounds of 82 and 83 through the two-day match play tournament.
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.
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