CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The American Rivers Conference announced that Luther College women’s tennis player Devon Bourget (Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) and Luther College men’s soccer player Ben Keller (Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake) have been named American Rivers Athletes of the Week for the week ending Sunday, September 15, 2019. The Conference also announced Performers of the Week in men’s and women’s cross country, football, women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s tennis, and volleyball.  
Female Athlete of the Week – Women’s Tennis – Player of the Week
Devon Bourget, Luther College
Jr., Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial

• Luther remained unbeaten in A-R-C play defeating Dubuque (9-0) and Coe (7-2) last week and improved to 4-0, 4-1 overall.
• Bourget played No. 1 singles and No. 1 Doubles with Shelby Cook and was 4-0.
• In singles she defeated Ashley Palacious (6-1, 6-0).
• Against Coe she defeated Isabelle Hoppenjans (6-2, 6-1).
• Doubles action against Dubuque saw the duo defeat Palacious and Hailey Wang (8-0).
• Against Coe the duo defeated Hoppenjans and Eliza Sundermann (8-1).
• Bourget is now 4-1 in singles for the year and is undefeated with Cook in doubles at 4-0.
• This is the junior’s third Player of the Week honor (9/16/19, 4/22/19, 9/23/18).

 
Male Athlete of the Week – Men’s Soccer – Offensive Player of the Week
Ben Keller, Luther College
Sr., F., Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake

• Keller helped lead No. 24 Luther to wins over No. 9 Augsburg (2-1) and St. Scholastica (3-0) last week.
• The Norse are on a four-match unbeaten streak and are 4-1-1 overall.
• Keller scored his fourth goal of the season against Augsburg at 2:40 assisted by Marc-Arthur Shapiro.
• Against St. Scholastica he scored his fifth goal of the year that proved to be the game winner at 29:13 assisted by Joao Padruzzi.
• Later in the match he assisted on the final goal of the match by Marcos Villa.
• He currently has 12 points scoring 5 goals in six matches.
• He also moved into Luther's top-10 all-time for total points with 83 and ranks 10th.
• Keller is a two-time first-team All-Conference honoree.
• This is Keller’s fourth career Player of the Week accolade (9/16/19, 9/9/18, 10/22/17, 9/10/17).

 
Men’s Cross Country – Runner of the Week
Daniel Sunvold, Central College
Sr., Monroe, Iowa/Southeast Polk

• Sunvold and the Dutch competed at Grinnell’s Les Duke Invitational Saturday, September 14.
• In the field of 175 runners, Sunvold ran to a first-place finish in a time of 26:50.
• The seniors time was 2.2 seconds ahead of second place
• Central finished 1st of 16 teams with 26 team points.
• Sunvold was victorious for the first time in his career running the first 8K of the season.
• The second-place runner was from Division II Truman State.
• The last Dutch runner to earn Men’s Runner of the Week accolades was Mark Fairley (10/15/17).

 
Women’s Cross Country – Runner of the Week
Katalina Stai, Coe College
Sr., Winona, Minn./Winona

• Stai picked up her first collegiate win at the Les Duke Invite in Grinnell on Saturday, September 14.
• She out ran135 other competitors with a time of 23:37.6, eight seconds ahead of second place.
• The second-place runner was from Division II Truman State.
• Stai is the first Kohawk to earn Women’s Runner of the Week honors since September 9, 2007 (Ashley Schnell).

 
Football – Defensive Player of the Week
Brendan Holmes, Simpson College
Sr., S, Atlantic, Iowa/Atlantic

• Holmes led the Storm defense with 11 tackles (seven solo) and three forced fumbles in Simpson’s 27-23 win over University of Chicago.
• The senior safety came up with a strip stack in the fourth quarter that led to Simpson’s go ahead and eventually game winning field goal.
• Holmes is a two-time first-team All-Conference honoree.
• This is the first Defensive Player of the Week award for Holmes.

 
Football – Offensive Player of the Week
Sam Bartlett, Simpson College
Sr., WR, St. Louis, Mo./Fort Zumwalt North

• Bartlett snagged eight receptions for 118 yards and three scores Saturday, September 14, helping the Storm to a 27-23 win over University of Chicago.
• His touchdown catches were 47, 19 and 17 yards.
• Bartlett is second in the conference with 307-yards receiving through the first two contests.
• This is Bartlett’s first career Offensive Player of the Week award.

 
Football – Special Teams Player of the Week
Jon Alberts, Central College
Sr., PK, Huntley, Ill./Huntley

• Alberts went 6-for-6 on PATs for the second week in a row and added a 41-yard field goal in Central 45-19 win over DePauw (Ind.).
• He also averaged 48.0 yards on eight kickoff attempts.
• This is Albert’s seventh career and second consecutive Special Teams Player of the Week award (9/16/19, 9/10/19, 11/13/18, 10/15/18, 10/16/17, 9/17/17, 9/10/17).
• Alberts is a two-time first-team All-Conference award winner.

 
Women’s Golf – Golfer of the Week
Morgan Kranz, Luther College
Jr., Sauk Centre, Minn./Sauk Centre

• For the second week in a row Kranz was the highest finishing golfer from the A-R-C at a tournament involving A-R-C teams.
• Luther played in the Division III Classic hosted by Gustavus Adolphus College at Emerald Greens Golf Course, Hastings, Minn.
• Greens Golf Course was a Par 72 that measured 5,926 yards.
• Kranz shot rounds of 81-79-160 and finished in a four-way tie for 20th from the field of 89 golfers.
• This is the junior’s third Golfer of the Week award, and second this season (9/16/19, 9/10/19, 9/24/17).

 
Men’s Soccer – Defensive Player of the Week
Jake Potratz, Simpson College
Jr., GK, Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk

• Potratz had two shutouts to help Simpson go 2-0 last week.
• Tallied two saves in the team's 2-0 win against Grinnell College.
• He had six saves in the 1-0 win at Bethel University (Minn.).
• All five of the Storm’s wins have come via shutout this year.
• Potratz has a .700 save percentage on the season to go along with 14 saves
• This is the junior’s fifth Defensive Player of the Week honor (9/16/19, 9/17/18, 10/1/17, 9/17/17, 9/3/17).

 
Women’s Soccer – Defensive Player of the Week
Abby Cozzoni, Simpson College
Fr., D, Wentzille, Mo./Timberland

• Only player to play all 180 minutes last week for the Storm.
• As a first-year player, Cozzoni helped Simpson collect shutouts over Concordia Chicago 3-0 and Grand View 1-0.
• Cozzoni and the Simpson defense own a 0.00 goals against average leading the team to a 4-0-1 record through the first five matches of the season.
• The last Simpson player to win the Defensive Player of the Week award was Aspen Brockhouse in 2018 (10/08/18).

 
Women’s Soccer – Offensive Player of the Week
Joy Smith, Wartburg College
So., F, Polk City, Iowa/Homeschooled

• Sophomore forward Joy Smith helped lead Wartburg to a 2-0 weekend to remain undefeated.
• The Knights are off to their best start since 2004 with a record of 6-0.
• Smith tallied five points with two goals and an assist during wins over Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Gustavus Adolphus College.
• This is the sophomore’s first Offensive Player of the Week award.

 
Volleyball – Defensive Player of the Week
Katie Foster, Wartburg College
Jr., DS, Charles City, Iowa/Charles City
 

• Katie Foster totaled 96 digs in 15 sets throughout the weekend as Wartburg hosted the 2019 Knights Classic, as the team went 3-2.
• Foster averaged 6.4 digs per set, including a total of 31 against the College of St. Scholastica.
• The junior has recorded a team leading 274 digs, averaging 5.71 digs/set.
• Foster is now a 10-time Defensive Player of the Week (9/16/19, 9/10/19, 10/29/18, 10/15/18, 10/8/18, 9/3/18, 11/5/17, 10/29/17, 9/24/17, 9/3/17).

 
Volleyball – Offensive Player of the Week
Kate Tidman, Coe College
Fr., OH, Bondurant, Iowa/Bondurant-Farrar

• Tidman recorded games with kills of 21 (Webster University), 22 (Concordia-Moorhead), and 19 (College of St. Scholastica) for a total of 62 kills on the week.
• She hit over .320 in two of the three games; hitting .326 against Webster University and .362 against Concordia-Moorhead.
• The first year outside hitter has a team leading 164 kills on the season.
• The last Kohawk to win the Offensive Player of the Week award was Lindsey Koch in 2018 (09/02/18).