ST. PAUL, Minn.-- The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced their Athlete of the Week award winners Tuesday in the sports of football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, and volleyball. The awards are nominated by UMAC coaches and athletics communications staff and selected each week by the latter group.
Football Offensive Athlete of the Week
Martez Stephenson, Fr, Westminster, RB
Florissant, Mo./Lutheran North
Stephenson had 22 carries for 229 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s 35-17 win over Lyon. He had an 89-yard scoring run early in the first quarter and his second score was from 15-yards out late in the first. He also caught two passes for 58 yards.
Football Defensive Athlete of the Week
Matthew Wiegand, So, Westminster, LB
Jefferson City, Mo./Capital City
Wiegand led the defense with nine total tackles, eight of them solo, and one forced fumble in Saturday’s win over Lyon. He also had six kickoffs for 282 yards.
Football Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Samuel Palmer, So, Westminster, K
Ashland, Mo./Southern Boone County R-I
Palmer had five punts for an average of 38.4 yards per punt, and two of them landed inside the 20.
Men’s Golf Athlete of the Week
Kaden Burschiem, Fy, Minnesota Morris
Flandreau, S.D./Flandreau Indian School
Burschiem won his first collegiate event on Friday carding a 67 (-3), five strokes better than second place. Burschiem led the Cougars to their first team win of the season against Crown College and Alexandria Tech. Earlier in the week, the Flandreau, S.D., native tied for fourth at the Polar Invite with a score of 77 (+5).
Women’s Golf Athlete of the Week
Morgan Philyaw, Sr, Northwestern
Jordan, Minn./Jordan
Philyaw finished second in a field of 198 players at the Midwest Region Classic with a two-round score of +2, where she also led the Eagles to a 3rd place team finish among the 35 squads. The senior tied the program record she already held a share of with an even-par 72 on Friday, and closed things out with a 74 (+2) in Saturday's final round.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Week
Seth Davidson, So, UW-Superior, F
Sartell, Minn./Sartell
Davidson logged 12 points on the past weekend versus Northwestern and Minnesota Morris. He fired his second hat trick of the season and garnered an assist against Northwestern before firing two more goals and an assist versus the Cougars, coming away with a pair of 6-0 wins.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Week
Brady Price, Sr, Bethany Lutheran, GK
Grand Forks, N.D./Red River
Price recorded two shutouts as Bethany defeated Crown 2-0 and North Central 3-0. Price made two saves in each game and now has a UMAC-leading three shutouts this season. He lowered his goals against average from 2.49 to 1.93.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Week
Naomi Meehan, Jr, Northwestern, M
Waconia, Minn./Homeschool
The junior assisted on the opening goal against UW-Superior in the 1-1 draw on Tuesday night, then followed that performance with a hat trick on Saturday over Martin Luther College. Meehan is tied for 1st in the UMAC in assists, tied for 4th in points, and tied for 6th in goals.
Women’s Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Week
Baylee Nygard, Jr, UW-Superior, GK
Saint Peter, Minn./Saint Peter
Nygard saw two games in the net for the Yellowjackets this week. In 180 minutes, she made 14 saves and allowed just one goal as Superior came away with a 1-1-1 record on the week.
Volleyball Offensive Athlete of the Week
Lily Duquaine, Fr, Crown, OH
Eau Claire, Wis./Altoona
Duquaine finished the week with 40 kills for the Polars across three games. Her best game came on Friday against Martin Luther, where she had her season-high 17 kills on just 3 errors, also finishing with her season high .368 attack percentage. She accompanied her offense with 28 digs and 5 blocks on the week.
Volleyball Defensive Athlete of the Week
Avery Carlson, Sr, Bethany Lutheran, L
Lucan, Minn./Wabasso
Carlson registered 77 digs as Bethany went 2-1 against UMAC competition during the week. In the home opener against Martin Luther, Carlson made a career-high 33 digs in a four-set victory. She followed that up with 23 digs at UM-Morris and 21 at Crown. Carlson also posted 12 assists and six service aces.
Volleyball Setter of the Week
Sella Fleming, Fr, Minnesota Morris
Hawley, Minn./Hawley
Across five matches the Hawley, Minn., native tallied 164 assists, 9.11 per set. Fleming also tallied 38 digs, 14 kills, five blocks and one service ace. Her best match of the week came against No. 25 St. Olaf College where she recorded 41 assists, 14 digs, seven kills and two blocks in the Cougars' upset win.