Female Athlete of the Week – Women’s Tennis Player of the Week – SOPHIA FAIN, Coe College
Fain is earning her second consecutive women’s tennis player of the week honor after a successful showing at the A-R-C Women’s Tennis Individual Tournament over the weekend. She ended her fall season returning to Cedar Rapids with two medals. She took home the gold in the A-Singles flight and silver in the A-Doubles flight. She was a perfect 4-0 in the top singles flight and defeated Jay Mascardo of Luther 5-3, 5-3 in the championship match. She teamed up with Alice Tysoe in doubles for another impressive performance. Fain and Tysoe won their opening two matches before a narrow 6-4 defeat in the championship match to Luther’s Julia Moreno and Allie Christensen.
Male Athlete of the Week – Football Offensive Player of the Week – CARTER MARKHAM, Wartburg College
Markham recorded 167 yards passing and 36 yards rushing for a total of 203 yards and five passing touchdowns in the first half of the game. He tied the Wartburg school record for most passing touchdowns in a game and did it all in the first half. This was his career high for touchdown passes.
No. 12 Wartburg defeated Buena Vista 70-21
Football Defensive Player of the Week – HENRY IVERS, Loras College
Ivers totaled six tackles, including four solo, in the Duhawks first win of the season. He recorded one tackle for loss and one sack for 11 yards. Additionally, he recovered a fumble, returning it 79 yards for a touchdown.
Loras defeated Luther 48-13
Football Special Teams Player of the Week – CARTER BUSSANMAS, Wartburg College
Bussanmas had a 20-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown in the second quarter in the Knights dominant win. This play swung the momentum in favor of Wartburg for the remainder of the game.
No. 12 Wartburg defeated Buena Vista 70-21
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week – MITCHELL DICKSON, Simpson College
Dickson registered a career-high five points in the Storm’s win over Buena Vista. He assisted on the first two goals of the game and scored the opening goal in the second period. He was in action for 53 minutes against Buena Vista and 88 minutes against Luther.
Simpson lost to Luther 2-0
Simpson defeated Buena Vista 7-0
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week – CARSON KAY, Wartburg College
Kay scored the game-winning goal against regionally ranked Luther as a defender. He played all 90 minutes at center back in both matches on a 2-0 week for the Knights.
Wartburg defeated Nebraska Wesleyan 3-0
Wartburg defeated Luther 3-2
Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week – MADDIE HAYS, Simpson College
Hays scored two goals as a defender to help Simpson remain undefeated this season. She converted her fourth penalty kick of the year over Luther and found the back of the net unassisted in the second half of the dominant win over Buena Vista. She played all 90 minutes in the win over Luther as well as 54 minutes against Buena Vista.
Simpson defeated Luther 6-0
Simpson defeated Buena Vista 9-0
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week – SAVANNAH SCHNEIDER, Simpson College
Schneider notched back-to-back games with two goals to help Simpson to remain undefeated at 9-0-3. Her four goals led the Storm over Luther and Buena Vista. She now has five goals on the season, all coming in the last three outings. She was on the pitch for 69 minutes of action over the two contests.
Simpson defeated Luther 6-0
Simpson defeated Buena Vista 9-0
Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week – TAYLOR BECHEN, University of Dubuque
Bechen is earning volleyball defensive player of the week for the second consecutive week after the Spartans picked up two conference wins. Dubuque made a comeback against Central after putting themselves down 0-2 and swept Simpson. Bechen finished the two conference wins with 56 digs including a career-high 32 digs against Central.
Dubuque defeated Central 3-2
Dubuque defeated Simpson 3-0
Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week – MADDY MAAHS, Coe College
Maahs was excellent in Coe’s perfect 2-0 week, helping the Kohawks to sweeps over Nebraska Wesleyan and Buena Vista. Maahs averaged 12.0 assists per set, racking up 72 over six sets. She added three kills and a team-high five service aces.
Coe defeated Nebraska Wesleyan 3-0
Coe defeated Buena Vista 3-0
Weekly Report
The American Rivers Conference is deep into fall conference action. The A-R-C hosted the Women’s Tennis Individual Tournament over the weekend. The tournament was highlighted by A-Singles Champion Sophia Fain of Coe and the A-Doubles duo of Julia Moreno and Allie Christensen of Luther. The A-R-C Women’s AQ Tournament field is set too as the regular season wrapped up just before the individual tournament. The AQ Tournament is set for April 22nd, 24th, and 26th. In the first round No. 6 Loras will travel to No. 3 Central and No. 5 Nebraska Wesleyan will travel to No. 4 Wartburg. The winner of No. 3/6 will face No. 1 Luther in the semifinal round while the winner of the No. 4/5 matchup with face No. 2 Coe. The championship match will be hosted by the highest remaining seed in the bracket.
Fall championship trophies will begin to be passed out as teams emerge to the top of the standings. The next set championship will be the A-R-C Cross Country Championships set for November 2 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as Coe hosts. November 2 will be a busy day in the league as the men’s and women’s soccer first rounds will kick off, too.
Coe and Wartburg remain perfect in conference football action after Coe snuck out a double-overtime victory against Central this past weekend.
On the men’s soccer side, Central and Loras remain unbeaten at 2-0-1 to stand atop the conference standings. On the women’s side, Loras, Simpson, and Wartburg remain unbeaten and continue to eye the regular season title.
Dubuque and Wartburg have began the conference volleyball slate on the right foot as they both remain undefeated with a long season still ahead.
The A-R-C partnered with FanWord earlier this summer, an AI storytelling platform, and will be using the platform throughout the academic year to enhance the storytelling of student-athletes, alumni, coaches, and many others. Fans, student-athletes, and coaches are encouraged to contact Ali Wilson, A-R-C Assistant Commissioner, if they have a compelling story.
Don't forget to become a fan of the American Rivers Conference on Facebook @AmericanRiversConference, X (Twitter) @AmerRiversConf, and Instagram @AmericanRiversConference.
About the American Rivers Conference
The Conference dates back to December 8, 1922, when representatives from 12 colleges got together and formed the "Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Association." Honoring its heritage in Iowa and its expansion outside the state, the American Rivers Conference brand was established on August 9, 2018, to build on the academic and athletic success provided by its legacy, the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The A-R-C has nine full-time members: Buena Vista University, Central College, Coe College, University of Dubuque, Loras College, Luther College, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Simpson College, and Wartburg College.
