Female Athlete of the Week – Women’s Golfer of the Week – MORGAN HAWKINS, University of Dubuque
Hawkins won the 2024 A-R-C Women’s Golf Championship with a three-round total of 232. She never lost her lead from the start of the championship. Her championship was highlighted on day one with an eagle. She fired rounds of 75-81-76 to claim medalist honors. Hawkins earned the title of 2024 A-R-C Most Valuable Golfer for her performance. She is the fifth medalist in the program’s history as she led the Spartans to the team title and the first automatic berth from the league office for the academic year. Dubuque will advance to the Division III Women’s Golf National Championship in May.
Male Athlete of the Week – Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week – ISAIAH HAMMERAND, Wartburg College
Hammerand crossed the finish line first at the Dan Huston invite at Wartburg College. He posted a time of 24:06.9 which is a Wartburg course record, personal record, and fourth-best performance in Wartburg program history. He finished 25.8 seconds ahead of second place in a field of 142 runners. The No. 2 nationally ranked Knights finished first out of 11 teams with 15 points.
Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week – ADDISON PARROTT, Central College
Parrott earned a top-20 individual finish at the Division III Pre-Nationals meet. She posted a 6K time of 22:03.40 to finish 19th out of 389 total runners. The Dutch finished 14th out of 44 teams with 409 team points.
Football Defensive Player of the Week – SAM SHAW, Coe College
Shaw had a stellar showing for the Kohawks in their 43-10 victory over Loras on Saturday afternoon. He totaled a team and season-high 13 tackles with six solo stops and two tackles for loss. He picked off the game’s first pass on the opening snap from scrimmage and later forced a fumble, his second of the season.
Coe defeated Loras 43-10
Football Offensive Player of the Week – JOEY RHOMBERG, University of Dubuque
Rhomberg threw six first-half touchdowns to help Dubuque to a 41-10 halftime lead. This was Rhomberg’s first career start. He went 27-for-32, passing for 316 yards.
Dubuque defeated Luther 64-7
Football Special Teams Player of the Week – JOSEPH XIYA, University of Dubuque
Xiya helped the Spartans to a 2-1 league mark. He had nine kickoffs for 522 yards and three touchbacks. He was 8-for-9 in extra points in strong windy conditions of over 30 mph.
Dubuque defeated Luther 64-7
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week – JAVIER PASTOR VALLS, Luther College
Pastor Valls is earning Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. He scored his second career hat trick and tallied one assist. He recorded five shots with five on goal.
Luther defeated Buena Vista 9-0
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week – CURTIS RATZER, Wartburg College
Ratzer scored his fourth goal of the season as a defender in a 2-0 victory over Coe. He logged all 90 minutes in the shutout.
Wartburg defeated Coe 2-0
Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week – KARISSA CRUZ, University of Dubuque
Cruz picked up back-to-back shutout victories for her first shutouts of the season. She faced a total of 28 shots and recorded 16 saves including a season-high 11 saves against Wisconsin-Platteville.
Dubuque defeated Wisconsin-Platteville 1-0
Dubuque defeated Central 1-0
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week – SAVANNAH JOHNSON, Loras College
Johnson had the game-winning goal against non-conference Wisconsin-Whitewater. She contributed to all four goals against Nebraska Wesleyan, scoring a hat trick and tallying one assist.
Loras defeated Wisconsin-Whitewater 4-0
Loras defeated Nebraska Wesleyan 4-0
Women’s Tennis Player of the Week – SOPHIA FAIN, Coe College
Fain was a perfect 6-0 in Coe's 3-0 week, picking up a trio of victories at #1 singles while going 2-0 at #2 doubles and 1-0 at #1 singles. The Waterloo native wrapped up her fall season with an impressive 8-1 record, going a perfect 5-0 in conference matches. She opened the final week of play with a 6-1, 6-1 victory at number #1 singles and added a 6-3 victory at #2 doubles with partner Alice Tysoe. Fain followed on Friday with two more wins, blanking her opponent at the top singles spot 6-0, 6-0 while adding another strong 6-1 decision at number #1 singles with Tysoe. The final match of the fall brought two more wins for Fain who won 6-2, 6-1 at #1 singles and 6-2 at #2 doubles.
Coe defeated Loras 6-1
Coe defeated Simpson 7-0
Coe defeated Central 5-2
Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week – TAYLOR BECHEN, University of Dubuque
The Spartans went 3-0 on the week. Bechen led the Dubuque back line with 62 digs. She reached over 20 digs per match for the 12th time this season and did so twice this past week.
Dubuque defeated Loras 3-1
Dubuque defeated Augustana 3-1
Dubuque defeated Carroll 3-1
Loras defeated Wisconsin-La Crosse 3-1
Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week – ALLISON FEIGENBAUM, Wartburg College
Feigenbaum is earning Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. She followed up last week’s performance with a monstrous .636 hitting percentage. She record 22 kills on 33 attempts with just a single error. She added five blocks.
Wartburg defeated Buena Vista 3-0
Wartburg defeated Coe 3-2
Weekly Report
Loras and Luther men’s soccer programs remain perfect in conference action with 2-0 records. On the women’s side, Loras, Simpson and Wartburg each have yet to record a loss in conference action. Soccer programs across the league prepare for a tough conference slate ahead this week.
Another week of conference football is in the books as we gear up for a fun Saturday ahead. Coe and Wartburg remain unbeaten. This Saturday’s schedule includes Loras at Luther, Coe hosting Central, Wartburg heading to Buena Vista, and Simpson hosting Nebraska Wesleyan.
Conference volleyball is in full swing now. Central, Dubuque, Nebraska Wesleyan, and Wartburg have began their conference schedule on the right foot with wins.
The A-R-C Women’s Tennis Individual Tournament begins on Friday in Pella, Iowa and will conclude on Saturday. More information regarding the tournament will be available on Thursday when the conference office announces draws for the tournament.
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.
