MIAC Athletes of the Week

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for baseball, softball, and tennis on Monday. Student-athletes from Bethel, Carleton, Gustavus, St. Olaf, and The College of St. Scholastica claimed the Conference’s weekly honors.

The MIAC Athlete of the Week awards are nominated by the Conference’s sports information directors and selected by MIAC staff. Throughout the spring season, team sports (baseball, softball, and tennis) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (golf, outdoor track & field) announced on Tuesday afternoons. The winners of the latest Athlete of the Week awards are listed below, along with details on their outstanding performances.

The MIAC Athlete of the Week archive has complete details on each week’s selections and winners.

MIAC Baseball Player of the Week
Jake Schelonka
The College of St. Scholastica
Gr. | Third Base
Sartell, Minn.

Jake Schelonka completed the cycle by blasting a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Saints a 16-15 win over UW-Superior on 4/23. Schelonka went 5-for-6 in the game with two singles, a double, a triple, and the game-winning home run. He finished 8-for-18 at the plate for the week, driving home nine runs across four St. Scholastica victories.

MIAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Matt Forrest
The College of St. Scholastica
Sr. | Left-handed Pitcher
Oakdale, Minn. | Hill-Murray

Matt Forrest tossed a complete-game one-hitter in an 11-0 victory over Hamline on 4/26. Forrest struck out five and did not allow a walk in the eight-inning contest.

MIAC Softball Player of the Week
Abby Otterness
Bethel University
So. | Outfield
Mayer, Minn. | Watertown Mayer

Abby Otterness hit .542 (13-for-24) with a slugging percentage of .833 in six games for the Royals last week. Otterness tallied four multi-hit performances and posted four extra-base hits, five RBI, and five runs scored. In a split with Macalester on 4/26, Otterness was a combined 5-for-8 as the leadoff hitter and drove in a pair of runs. She then went 6-for-9 in a sweep of St. Scholastica on 4/27, collecting two triples, while extending her on-base streak to eleven games and her hitting streak to eight games.

MIAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Roxanne Ring
St. Olaf College
Jr. | Pitcher
Somerset, Wis.

Roxanne Ring extended her shutout streak to four starts and 27.1 innings by tossing shutouts in each of her three starts last week. Ring threw a two-hit shutout against Carleton on 4/22, a four-hit shutout at Gustavus on 4/26, and a one-hit shutout at Macalester on 4/27. For the week, Ring held opponents to a .108 batting average while allowing just seven hits and one walk with 11 strikeouts in 21.0 innings of work.

MIAC Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week
Baiyun Jing
Carleton College
So.
Nanning, China | McCalie

Baiyun Jing went 2-0 at No. 1 singles and 2-0 at No. 2 doubles as the Knights picked up a pair of victories to clinch the No. 2 seed in the MIAC Men’s Tennis Playoffs. Jing picked up a 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) win atop the singles lineup against Hamline on 4/26 and followed that up with a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Saint John’s in the regular-season finale. He was also part of doubles wins against the Pipers (8-3) and Johnnies (8-2).

MIAC Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week
Kaya De Bruijn
Gustavus Adolphus College
Jr.
Maasland, Netherlands | Stedelijk Gymnasium

Kaya De Bruijn went undefeated against a pair of playoff-qualifying teams to help the Gusties clinch the regular season MIAC title over the weekend. In addition to 8-4 and 8-5 wins at top doubles against Bethel (4/26) and St. Scholastica (4/27), she also claimed two wins, each 6-2 and 6-1, at No. 2 singles against the Royals and Saints.