VARSITY TEAM SELECTION Baseball Basketball - Men Basketball - Women Cross Country - Men Cross Country - Women Football Golf - Men Golf - Women Indoor Track - Men Indoor Track - Women Outdoor Track - Men Outdoor Track - Women Soccer - Men Soccer - Women Softball Swimming - Men Swimming - Women Tennis - Men Tennis - Women Volleyball

2008 - 2009

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Distance runner Mary Kate Beyer (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) had a busy weekend, setting a school record, provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships and earning the latest Midwest Conference Performer of the Week honor in women’s track.

Beyer has been re-writing the Monmouth College record book this season and last week was no exception. Competing at last weekend’s Indiana Pacesetter Invitational which included Division I schools, the distance specialist placed second in the steeplechase. Her time of 11:01.94 broke her own school record and improved her prior provisional qualifying time for the event. Her performance moved her to the top of the Midwest Conference standings and into the top 20 nationally.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Ryan Tapscott (Port Byron, Ill./Riverdale) shot a season-best last week and was rewarded with the golf season’s final Performer of the Week honor.

Tapscott tuned up for this weekend’s Midwest Conference Championships with a tie for second place at the Scot-Fire Invitational. In the 36-hole tournament played on two different courses, the junior helped the Fighting Scots to a third place finish as the Scots fired a 304-300-604 – their lowest 36-hole score of the season. Friday at Soangetaha Country Club, Tapscott fired a 75, tying his season low. On his home course at Gibson Wood Golf Course Saturday, Tapscott improved on his season-best by carding a 2-over 73.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — A standout performance in the circle last week has earned Amanda Murdock (Aledo, Ill./Aledo) her first Midwest Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week award.

For the week, Murdock posted a 3.00 ERA, more than a full run below her season average.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — One automatic qualifying mark and two provisional times earned Tanesha Hughes (Peoria, Ill./Woodruff) and Logan Hohl (Orion, Ill./Orion) the latest Midwest Conference Performer of the Week award in women’s field and men’s track, respectively.

Hughes threw an automatic-qualifying distance with all five of her discus throws at last weekend’s Augustana Meet of Champions. The senior’s winning throw of 164’6” leads the nation by more than 10’. She also made the provisional mark in the shot put where she finished third at 42’5-1/2”. She placed fourth in the hammer throw at 144’0”.

Hohl improved his provisional 110-meter hurdles time and ran a top 10 provisional time in the 400- hurdles while picking up two firsts at last weekend’s Augustana Meet of Champions. The sophomore ran his season’s first provisional time in the 400- hurdles and immediately moved into the top 10 in the nation. His winning time of 53.58 won the event by nearly one-and-a-half seconds and leads the Midwest Conference by more than five seconds. He improved his 110- hurdle time with a conference-best 14.80 in the prelims before winning the finals by .01. Hohl also ran a leg on the fourth-place 4x400 relay team.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — A fast start to the conference season has earned Monmouth College’s Robbie Hinkle (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) his second Midwest Conference Pitcher of the Week award in as many weeks.

Hinkle threw his third consecutive conference complete-game shutout in a 7-0 blanking of Knox College Saturday to keep Fighting Scots atop the South Division with a 6-0 record. The right-hander struck out eight and scattered just three hits with two walks to improve to 4-0 on the season. Opposing batters hit just .103 against him as he didn’t allow a runner past second.

Hinkle has lowered his ERA to a team-best 2.47. He has held opponents to a minuscule .187 batting average through six appearances.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College sophomore Peyton Lumzy (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) picked up his first Midwest Conference Performer of the Week award after a stellar performance at last weekend’s Fighting Scot Invitational.

Lumzy was named the men’s Field Event Performer of the Week after picking up two firsts and a second in his three events at last weekend’s meet. Competing in Monmouth’s only home meet of the year, Lumzy made it a memorable one, throwing a personal-best 49’11” to win the shot put with the Midwest Conference’s best mark. He logged the meet’s best mark in the discus, sailing the disc 141’1” for his second win on the day and placed second in the hammer throw with a career-best mark of 147’4”. His hammer distance is second in the league.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Seeing his first regular action on the mound has agreed with Monmouth College’s Robbie Hinkle (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) who has been named the Midwest Conference Pitcher of the Week.

Hinkle threw his second complete-game shutout in seven days with a 2-0 win over Illinois College to keep the Fighting Scots atop the South Division with a 4-0 record. The sophomore hurler fanned a career-high nine batters, walked one and scattered five hits with his second win – both shutouts – over the Blueboys in the span of a week. Hinkle didn’t allow a runner past second and allowed only two base runners over the last four innings.

The Fighting Scots’ No. 2 starter saw only 3.1 innings of action last season, but has pitched 31 innings this season while compiling a 3-0 record with a 3.19 ERA.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — The Monmouth College softball team’s sweep of Midwest Conference rival Knox College also resulted in the Fighting Scots sweeping this week’s MWC Pitcher and Position Player of the Week awards.

Pitcher Sarah Christensen (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) picked up her second conference award this season. The senior was nearly untouchable in a pair of wins last week while posting a 2-0 record with a pair of five inning victories – a 10-2 win over Robert Morris-Springfield and a 12-0 league win over Knox College. Christensen rebounded from a shaky first inning against Robert Morris, allowing three hits in the inning as RMS scored both their runs. The only runners to reach after the first inning were by errors as Christensen faced just two batters over the minimum over the last four innings. Against Knox, Christensen nearly earned her first career no-hitter in a shutout over Knox. A sun-field fly ball that dropped for a base hit in the first inning was the only hit the senior allowed in a one hit, one walk, 10 strikeout day. She faced just two batters over the minimum, allowing the hit and walk in the first inning. For the week, Christensen held opponents to a .111 batting average and had a 1.40 ERA with 16 Ks, one walk, four hits and two runs.

Freshman shortstop Morgan Seiler (Chillicothe, Ill./IVC) did her best to help the Fighting Scots to a 3-1 week, splitting a double-header with Robert Morris-Springfield, winning the opener 10-2 and dropping nightcap 5-2, then sweeping Knox 12-0 and 13-7. The freshman slugged a two-run homer in the second inning of Game 1 against Robert Morris to give the Scots a 5-2 lead. She then picked up a pair of singles in the nightcap to go 3-for-7 in the twinbill. Seiler owned the pitchers in the conference matchup against Knox as she went 4-for-6 with three doubles and four RBIs in the two games. Her first double in the opener scored the first run in the five-run first. She then hit back-to-back doubles in her first two at-bats in Game 2, driving in three runs. For the week, the slugging shortstop hit .538 with a 1.000 slugging percentage, driving in seven runs while going 7-for13 with five runs scored, no strikeouts and a .600 on-base percentage.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Senior Tanesha Hughes (Peoria, Ill./Woodruff) threw two provisional qualifying marks at last weekend’s Washington University Invitational and was named the Midwest Conference Field Event Performer of the Week in women’s track & field.

Hughes made the start of the season look easy, winning two events with two provisional qualifying marks and one school record in her season-opening meet. Competing at the 21-team invitational Saturday, Hughes heaved the shot put a provisional-qualifying and school-record 44’5-1/2” to win the event by two feet. The mark bested the previous Monmouth record by more than half a foot. She also threw a provisional mark to win the discus where her throw of 143’5” was nearly 13 feet farther than the runnerup. Hughes also placed seventh in the hammer throw. Her mark in the discus leads the conference by a whopping 23 feet.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Pitcher Sarah Christensen (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) was named the Midwest Conference Pitcher of the Week after she moved to No. 2 on the all-time strikeout list at Monmouth and helped the Fighting Scots to their biggest win of the season.

Christensen struck out eight batters in a 5-4 win over MacMurray Wednesday to tie Kim Buckert’s 201 career Ks. She then took sole possession of second place with three strikeouts in a 3-2 win the next day against 18^th ranked Illinois Wesleyan. Christensen, who worked the first five innings against IWU Thursday, kept Monmouth within striking distance. The senior hurler allowed just one run before leaving the game trailing 1-0. Against MacMurray, Christensen worked out of a bases loaded, one out jam in the first inning before settling in to fan five of the next of the next six batters.

For the week, Christensen was 1-0 while recording 11 strikeouts with one walk and a 2.10 ERA. Opposing batters hit just .225 against Christensen.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Eric Brandhorst (Quincy, Ill./Quincy) helped the Fighting Scots to a 2-0 weekend and earned the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week honor.

Brandhorst was solid as Monmouth downed the University of Dubuque 5-4 and shutout Eureka College 9-0. The senior didn’t lose a match and dropped only three singles games the entire weekend. Playing at No. 3 singles, he downed Dubuque’s Austin Stewart 6-1, 6-1 and cruised past Eureka’s Gordon Barkley 6-0, 6-1. Teaming with Chris Utterback at No. 2 doubles, Brandhorst completed the perfect weekend as the Scots No. 2 team defeated Dubuque 8-2 and Eureka 8-1.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Competing against national-caliber competition at last weekend’s Fighting Scot Invitational at Monmouth College, Gloria Lehr (Knoxville, Ill./Knoxville) had a record performance and earned Midwest Conference Performer of the Week honors.

Lehr, a junior thrower, keeps getting better each week and earned the Performer of the Week in women’s field events. Lehr improved her conference-leading shot put mark, winning the event with a provisional-qualifying and school record throw of 43’4-1/2”. She also took second in the weight throw with a heave of 47’10-3/4”.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Competing against national-caliber competition at last weekend’s Fighting Scot Invitational at Monmouth College, Logan Hohl (Orion, Ill./Orion) had record performances and earned Midwest Conference Performer of the Week honors.

Hohl had the best meet of his season and was named the MWC Performer of the Week in men’s track. The sophomore teamed with Luke Reschke, Jacob Stott and Shane Reschke to run the nation’s second-fastest time in the 4x400 relay, winning the event in 3:19.82. The provisional-qualifying time was also a Huff Athletic Center record. Earlier in the day, he ran the 55-meter hurdles for the first time this season, winning the event in with a provisional time of 7.61. The time was also a track record and a lifetime best for Hohl.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College sophomore Tyler Hannam (Woodhull, Ill./AlWood) soared to new heights at last weekend’s Keck Invitational and earned his first Midwest Conference Men’s Field Event Performer of the Week honor.

Hannam cleared a personal-best 6’6-3/4” to win the high jump by a full two inches at the 13-team invitational hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill. His winning jump was an inch higher than his previous best from the first meet of the season and was less than an inch short of the NCAA provisional qualifying mark. He holds the top height in the Midwest Conference by more than an inch.

Hannam’s winning jump was crucial in the team competition as the Fighting Scots won the meet by a mere four points.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College sprinter Luke Reschke (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) turned in his best performance of the season at last week’s Engineer Invitational and was named the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week in men’s track.

Running in Terre Haute, Ind., on the same track that will host next month’s NCAA Division III National Championships, Reschke had a hand in three first-place finishes and turned in two Midwest Conference top times. The senior clocked a conference-best and provisional qualifying mark while winning the 400-meter dash (49.65), then turned in a league-leading time to win the 200-meters (23.02). Reschke finished the meet running the anchor leg of the winning 4x400 relay (3:23.67).

Reschke’s performance helped the Scots to first place in the nine team meet.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Senior Melissa Gorski (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) became Monmouth College’s third winner this season of the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week award in women’s basketball.

Gorski helped the Fighting Scots stay in the hunt for a Midwest Conference Tournament berth with a pair of wins to complete a 2-0 week, putting the Scots in fifth position – one spot out of a tournament berth. The guard scored a combined 42 points in wins over Grinnell College and Knox College. In Monmouth’s 91-62 win over Grinnell, Gorski poured in 17 points, pulled down eight rebounds and dished out a game-high seven assists. In an 85-55 win over Knox, Gorski exploded for 25 points and grabbed another eight rebounds and handed out a game-high six assists. For the week, she averaged 21 points, eight rebounds, 6.5 assists and two steals.

Already a member of the 1,000-point club, Gorski has moved into fourth place on the women’s all-time scoring list at Monmouth with 1,165 career points. She is 153 points behind her coach, Melissa Bittner, for third. For the season, she is averaging 15.4 points per game and would need to average more than 25 points per game over the remaining six regular season games to catch Bittner.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College’s Tom Pederson (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick) accounted for two firsts in Saturday’s double-dual and earned the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week honor in men’s swimming.

Pederson swam a personal-best 51.81 to win the 100-yard freestyle by three full seconds. The sophomore also swam the anchor leg on the winning 200-yard medley relay. The team of Pederson, Harrison Heilman, Kevin Satler and Stephen Whittle clocked a time of 1:48.27 as the Scots defeated Ripon 70-25 and bested Coe 70-24.

It is Pederson’s first Performer of the Week honor.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — The Monmouth College women’s track team has swept the season’s first Midwest Conference Performer of the Week honors.

Junior thrower Gloria Lehr (Knoxville, Ill./Knoxville) and sophomore sprinter Jae Moore (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame) rose to the top at last week’s season-opening Knox Pentangular.

Lehr (top) sent notice that she will be a force in the Midwest Conference, throwing a provisional qualifying mark in the first meet of the year while winning the shot put (42’9). She also placed third in the weight throw (46’8-1/4), just two inches out of second.

Moore (bottom) got her indoor season off to a good start, picking up two individual firsts and running on two winning relays. Moore clocked a 7.62 to win the 55-meter dash and broke the tape in the 200-meters with a time of 27.64. She also ran a leg on the winning 4x200 (1:52.30), finishing nearly six seconds ahead of the second place team, and 4x400 (4:17.46), winning by nearly 15 seconds. Moore also took her talents to the triple jump where she placed fifth.

The pair will be back in action this Saturday when Monmouth hosts the five-team Midwest Invitational.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College senior Tanesha Hughes (Peoria, Ill./Woodruff) had the best weekend of her career and has earned the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week award in women’s basketball.

      Hughes helped the Fighting Scots to a 2-0 week to stay in the hunt for a conference playoff berth. The Scots beat Lawrence 63-44 on Friday and topped Carroll 86-66 in a crucial game on Saturday. In the Scots’ upset of Carroll, the power forward recorded her seventh double-double in 13 games. Hughes poured in a game-high 30 points on 13-of-21 shooting and ripped down 10 rebounds to go with a team-high five steals. That performance came off a solid effort the night before when Hughes nearly recorded the first triple double in Fighting Scots women’s history. In just 27 minutes against Lawrence, Hughes ripped down 12 rebounds, scored eight points and had eight steals. For the week, she averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds and 7.5 steals.

      Hughes is averaging a double-double this season with 14.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — The Monmouth College swim team made a splash in their first meet of 2009 and swept the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week honors.

Andrew Wright (Quincy, Ill./Quincy)picked up two firsts and swam a personal best as the Fighting Scots sank Lindenwood in last weekend’s dual meet. In Monmouth’s first meet since Dec. 6, the men defeated the Lions 125-44.

In the 100-yard freestyle, Wright swam a personal-best (51.25) and out-touched his Lindenwood competition by .05 to record the win. He had an easier time winning the 200- freestyle (1:52.19), finishing in front of teammate Josh Dunn by a full second. He also swam the anchor leg on the third place 400- medley relay (4:02.50).

MONMOUTH, Ill. — The Monmouth College swim team made a splash in their first meet of 2009 and swept the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week honors.

Buckham was perfect in her three events, winning the 200-yard backstroke (2:24.59), the 1650- freestyle (21:03.58) and swimming the third leg on the winning 400- freestyle relay (4:08.12). Her personal-best time in the 200- backstroke ranks her third in the conference standings. 

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Despite nearly a month off, Monmouth College’s Alison Andrews (Algonquin, Ill./Harry D. Jacobs) had the best game of her career and was rewarded with the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week honor in women’s basketball.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College senior Tanesha Hughes (Peoria, Ill./Woodruff) has gotten off to a fast start and has earned the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week award in women’s basketball.

For the week, Hughes averaged 14.7 ppg, 12.3 rpg and hit 16 of 20 from the foul line.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College hitter Samantha Robinson’s (Milan, Ill./Rockridge) "unbelievable" performance at last weekend’s Washington University Bear Classic has earned her the latest Midwest Conference performer of the Week honor.

Robinson threw down an amazing 15 kills with just two errors against Washington University – the nation’s No. 4 ranked team. She slammed seven kills with one error in the Fighting Scots’ three-set win over Culver Stockton. Over the course of the four-match tournament, Robinson collected 34 kills with just seven errors in 80 attempts for a kill percentage of .338. She also led the team with nine total blocks.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College’s Nick Wright (Canton, Ill./Canton) had arguably the best day of his career in the Fighting Scots’ 78-17 win over Illinois College was rewarded with the Midwest Conference Offensive Performer of the Week award.

Monmouth clinched an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs and at least a share of the conference title.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College’s Whitney Ott (Moline, Ill./Alleman) helped the women’s soccer team post a 2-0 record last week and was named the Midwest Conference Defensive Performer of the Week.

Ott was one of several defenders who shined for the Fighting Scots. The junior was part of a back four that held Knox without a shot in a 6-0 victory. The rare shotless game was just the third one in the conference this season. Three days later, Ott and Co. had little to do in the first half while Monmouth enjoyed a 36-mile per hour tail wind at Cornell. However, Ott helped the Scots pass a major test in the second half, and she won ball after ball to keep the Rams’ attack relatively quiet, allowing the Scots to have enough possessions to score twice into the wind and post a 2-1 come-from-behind win.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College linebacker Marc Artozqui (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) helped the Fighting Scots grab sole possession of first place in the Midwest Conference and was named the MWC’s Defensive Performer of the Week.

Artozqui recorded 17 tackles in the Scots’ 38-35 come-from-behind win over Ripon Saturday to keep Monmouth unbeaten on the year. The senior’s performance was just three tackles shy of Tim Hinson’s school record set in 1990. The Scots defense held Ripon’s run-oriented option attack to just 170 rushing yards – their second lowest total of the season.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College freshman punter Shane Reschke (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) was rewarded with the Midwest Conference Special Teams Performer of the Week honor after his role in the Fighting Scots’ 31-22 win over defending league champion St. Norbert last Saturday.

A sophomore sweeper, Parker starred in the back as the Fighting Scots went 2-0-1 on the week. The only goals scored against the Scots came in a 2-2 tie with defending league champion Carroll. Parker started the scoring in that game with a goal off a corner kick and added an assist the next day as Monmouth defeated Ripon 5-0.

Earlier this season two seniors earned the league’s Performer of the Week honor – libero Crystal Myers and middle hitter Samantha Robinson.

Beyer continued her torrid running, finishing sixth in the field of 315 runners at the 27-team Brissman-Lundeen Invitational which included Division II and other scholarship schools last Saturday. Running on an unfamiliar course at Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, Ill., the sophomore’s 6K time of 22:40.4 ranks her tops in the MWC this season and was just 21 seconds off her personal best.

Myers’ 65 digs in the three-match tournament gave her 1,890 for her career and moved her to the top of the Monmouth record book surpassing Karissa Murray’s old record of 1,849. The libero’s defensive skills helped the Scots take third place. Monmouth opened the tournament with a 3-0 win over MacMurray 3-0 and ended it with a 3-1 win over Robert Morris-Springfield. Sandwiched in between, the Scots fell 3-1 to Loras.

Playing the course at Soangetaha Country Club in Galesburg for the first time had no ill effect on Barnard as she fired an 80 to tie the school record and place third just four strokes back of the winner at last Friday’s Knox College Invitational. The junior carded a 91 Saturday at the Fighting Scots Invitational hosted by Monmouth College. Barnard, an all-conference performer last season, has a stroke average of 88.0 through four rounds this season.

Unzicker, who last week received the conference’s POW honor in women’s soccer, turned her attention last weekend to her other fall sport – tennis – and excelled on the court as well. Competing at the Quincy University Invitational, which included Division II and NAIA scholarship schools, she combined with sophomore Kimi Wegner to win the No. 2 doubles completion. Playing at No. 2 singles, she finished second, falling in three sets. For the season, the talented freshman is a combined 10-2 in singles and doubles competition.