Release (.pdf)
CLEVELAND -- Bowling Green's Brandon Gabel (tennis) and Central
Michigan's Laura Chow (gymnastics) were named the MAC Scholar Athletes
of the Week on February 20, 2001.
Gabel (tennis, Sr., 3.38, finance, Toledo, Ohio) won all three of his
matches as the Falcons improved to a perfect 7-0 in dual-match play this
season. BGSU won by identical 5-2 scores over Marquette and UW-Green
Bay. He earned a victory at No. 5 singles and teamed with sophomore
Nicolas Lopez-Alevedo for a win at No. 2 doubles against MU. Against
UWGB, he against teamed with Lopez-Alevedo for a win at No. 2 doubles.
Gabel is now 11-4 in singles this year, while the Gabel/Lopez-Alevedo
duo is 4-1 in doubles action.
Chow (gymnastics, Sr., 3.96, biology/pre-medicine, Mississauga, Ontario)
helped the Chippewas to a 195.950-195.900 win over Kent State by winning
a pair of events. She had a perfect 10.00 in winning the vault and won
the balance beam with a 9.90. Both scores were career-high marks for
Chow.
The MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honor is presented to a MAC male and
female student-athlete who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0
or better and performs well during that week's competition. The winners
are selected by one of the conference's faculty athletic
representatives.
Female Nominees:
Bowling Green: Renee Rosemeier (softball, Jr., 3.00, health science,
Hilliard, Ohio) had a slugging percentage of .538 as the Falcons opened
the season with a 2-3 record at Arizona's Pepsi Classic in Tucson. She
had seven RBI and seven total bases to the lead the team. Rosemeier
picked up two hits and had six RBI in an 8-3 win over Pacific. In that
game, she hit a grand slam (her first career homerun) and a two-run
double.
Buffalo: Sonia Ortega (basketball, Sr., 3.34, fine arts, Chihuahua,
Mexico) averaged 11.5 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four
steals in Buffalo's two games last week. She led the Bulls with
team-highs of 13 points and six assists in a loss at Kent State. Ortega
has scored in double figures in each of her last five games, including
posting a team-high 13 points in Buffalo's loss at Kent State on
Wednesday. In her last five games, Ortega is averaging 11.0 points,
7.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.8 steals. For the season, she is
averaging 8.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.0 steals. In
addition to her scoring streak as of late, Ortega is also putting
herself in good position to finish the season as UB's all-time career
steals leader. She needs just 12 steals to tie Lorrie Drennen (1989-93)
for the top spot with 253 career steals.
Kent State: Jill Mackey (gymnastics, Sr., 3.60, advertising, Rochester,
N.Y.) scored a 9.950 on floor exercise in Kent State's 195.900-195.950
loss to Central Michigan Feb. 16. Mackey has not scored below a 9.800
in any meet this season and has helped Kent State to a 20th place
ranking in the latest polls.
Miami: Kadija Richards (tennis, Jr., 3.27, psychology, Andrews, Jamaica)
led the RedHawks this weekend to wins over Louisville and Murray State.
Richards went 4-0 on the weekend in her two singles and two doubles
matches. She defeated Julie Penn of Louisville in straight-sets 6-3,
6-4. She then teamed-up with Ilse Meyer to defeat Penn and Melissa San
Martin 9-8. In Saturday's match against Murray State, Richards defeated
Erica Heshelman 6-4, 7-5, then joined Meyer once again in doubles to
defeat Heshelman and Cheryl Graham 8-5.
Ohio: Kelli Bankert (Softball, Jr., 3.97, early childhood education,
Clifton, Va.) helped Ohio to a 3-3 record at UNC's Triangle Classic.
Ohio won the Bronze Bracket with three-straight victories after opening
with three losses, two in extra innings. It was Ohio's best finish in a
Classic and first bracket championship. Bankert, the 2000 MAC Freshman
of the Year, hit .428 in six games (9-of-21) with a home run and five
RBI. She had an on-base percentage of .545 and was walked once.
Toledo: Kia Minkkinen (track and field, So., 3.91, bioengineering,
Turku, Finland) won the mile at the EMU Open with a time of 5:02.52.
Western Michigan: Karen Deurloo (basketball, Jr., 3.28, exercise
science, Grand Rapids, Mich.) averaged 26.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and
3.0 assists per game in two games last week. She scored 21 points and
pulled down seven boards at Ball State on Feb. 14. She was 10-of-19
from the floor in 35 minutes of play. Against Miami on Feb. 17, Deurloo
scored 31 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and handed out four assists in an
80-74 win over the RedHawks. She shot 10-of-17 from the floor and was
11-of-14 from the line in 38 minutes of playing time. For the year,
Deurloo is averaging 17.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and ranks
among the top-10 in the MAC in both categories as well as field goal
percentage.
Male Nominees:
Central Michigan: David Webber (basketball, Jr., 3.22, English/secondary
education, Farmington Hills, Mich.) averaged 22.5 points and 5.5
rebounds per game in CMU's two games last week. He shot .545 from the
floor and hit five three-pointers on the week. His 10 field goals
against Toledo were a season high. The Chippewas beat Toledo (70-68)
and fell to Kent State (58-45).
Kent State: Trevor Huffman (basketball, Jr., 3.07, education, Petoskey,
Mich.) averaged 24.0 points on 15-of-25 shooting, including 8-of-14 from
three point range. He nearly had a triple-double with game highs of 21
points, eight rebounds and eight assists at Western Michigan. Huffman
scored a career-high 27 points against Central Michigan and was 10-of-15
at the free-throw line.
Marshall: J.R. VanHoose (basketball, Jr., 3.45, History, Paintsville,
Ky.) currently ranks first amongst all MAC players with 10.9 rebounds
per game. His 10.9 rebounds per game also rank him 5th nationally.
VanHoose is Marshalls active scoring (1,281) and rebounding leader
(718). He recorded back-to-back double-doubles this week, giving him 35
for his career and 16 on the season. His 14 double-doubles this season
ranks as the fourth highest total in the nation this season. VanHoose
is just the 5th Marshall player in school history to record 1,200+
points and 700+ rebounds in a career. VanHoose is currently the Herds
11th all-time leading rebounder, and needs only 20 more rebounds to tie
Derrick Wright (1996-00) for 10th place. VanHoose is currently the
Herds 20th all-time leading scorer. VanHoose has led Marshall in
rebounding in 15 straight games. VanHoose has scored in double-figures
in 30 consecutive games now.
Ohio: Dan Bednar (wrestling, Sr., 3.48, chemical engineering,
Brecksville, Ohio) improved to 23-5 overall and 4-1 in the MAC with an
8-0 win over Buffalo's Taylor Lehmann in his only action of the week.
Toledo: John Sainna (track and field, Fr., 3.27, systems/operations
management, Kapsebet, Kenya) finished fifth in the 3000 meters at the
EMU Open with a time of 8:53.
Western Michigan: Coye Bouyer (track and field, Jr., 3.06, social work,
Lansing, Mich.) won the 400-meter dash at the Michigan State Classic to
earn his third title of the season. The win marked his second crown in
the event. Bouyer currently ranks in the MAC's top-10 performances in
both the 200 and 400 meters.
Previous Winners Female
Week 1 (9/5) Ashlie Case, UA (volleyball)
Week 2 (9/11) Julie Zylka, BSU (volleyball)
Week 3 (9/19) Sara Schaub, EMU (volleyball)
Week 4 (9/26) Erika Flanders, BGSU (soccer)
Week 5 (10/3) Amber Vorst, BGSU (volleyball)
Week 6 (10/10) Jacki Waller, Ohio (cross country)
Week 7 (10/17) Kristin Gamby, BGSU (volleyball)
Week 8 (10/24) Colleen Conway, BSU (field hockey)
Week 9 (10/31) Beth Young, MIA (field hockey)
Week 10 (11/7) Emily Bresser, Ohio (swimming)
Week 11 (11/14) Cassie Eakins, MIA (diving)
Week 12 (11/21) Mari McClure, UB (basketball)
Week 13 (11/28) Heather Cusick, MIA (basketball)
Week 14 (12/5) Shani Charles, EMU (basketball)
Week 15 (12/12) Tiffany Bell, UB (basketball)
Week 16 (1/9) Amy Bodus, BSU (gymnastics)
Week 17 (1/16) Jenny Martin, MIA (basketball)
Week 18 (1/23) Emily Nayes, MIA (swimming)
Week 19 (1/30) Tiffany Bell, UB (basketball)
Week 20 (2/6) Julie Studer, KSU (basketball)
Week 21 (2/13) Cheryl Bowles, UA (basketball)
Week 22 (2/20) Laura Chow, CMU (gymnastics)
Previous Winners Male
Week 1 (9/5) Jim Harding, UT (football)
Week 2 (9/11) Eddie Tillitz, MIA (football)
Week 3 (9/19) Todd France, UT (football)
Week 4 (9/26) Brian Godsey, MIA (cross country)
Week 5 (10/3) Brian Godsey, MIA (cross country)
Zac Derr, UA (football)
Week 6 (10/10) Kevin Kornowa, UT (golf)
Week 7 (10/17) Kevin Kornowa, UT (golf)
Week 8 (10/24) rjan Bjnes, UA (soccer)
Week 9 (10/31) Karoly Bozan, KSU (cross country)
Week 10 (11/7) Brian Potter, MIA (football)
Week 11 (11/14) Blake McDowell, EMU (cross country)
Week 12 (11/21) Rich Allendorf, MIA (basketball)
Week 13 (11/28) Jon Sanderson, OH (basketball)
Week 14 (12/5) Greg Stempin, UT (basketball)
Week 15 (12/12) Mike Ensminger, MIA (basketball)
Week 16 (1/9) David Webber, CMU (basketball)
Week 17 (1/16) Dale Cowper, WMU (track & field)
Week 18 (1/23) Dale Cowper, WMU (track & field)
Week 19 (1/30) Kevin Mulgrew, MIA (swimming)
Week 20 (2/6) Shane Hartzler, Ohio (wrestling)
Week 21 (2/13) J.R. VanHoose, MAR (basketball)
Week 22 (2/20) Brandon Gabel, BGSU (tennis)