Horizon League Athletes of the Week (Week of Sept. 28)
UIC
Stephanie Sanders
Hometown: Lockport, Ill.
Stephanie Sanders claimed 15th place at the Notre Dame Invitational where the senior set a new personal-best time in the race. Sanders finished the 5K in a time of 18:00.3, bettering her old time by over 12 seconds in that distance.
Detroit Mercy
Ben Kendell
Hometown: Huntington Woods, Mich.
Ben Kendell places fourth out of 286 runners at the 14th Annual Greater Louisville Classic this past weekend for Detroit. The sophomore crossed the 8K finish line in a time of 24:46 to set his second-straight personal record and his third top-10 finish on the season. Kendell’s time marked the best finish ever by a Titan runner at the Classic.
Oakland
Emily Zweng
Hometown: New Baltimore, Mich.
Zweng helped lead Oakland to a 1-0-1 week in conference action. In Wednesday’s Metro Series match versus Detroit, the keeper made a career-high six saves in the 1-1 draw. The freshman goal keeper helped end Valparaiso’s 11-match League unbeaten run on Saturday, making three saves and adding an assist in the 3-1 victory. The assist was the first by an Oakland goalkeeper in the school’s Division I era.
Milwaukee
Anna Smalley
Hometown: Menomonee Falls, Wi
Smalley helped the Panthers remain unbeaten in conference play, scoring three goals on the week as UWM went 2-0. The sophomore scored two goals in the 3-1 win against Green Bay, including the eventual game-winner. On Saturday, she again netted the game-winner, finding the net in the second minute of play. With six goals on the season, Smalley is now tied for the League lead.
Valparaiso
Omar Lawrence
Hometown: Kingston, Jamaica
Omar Lawrence anchored Valparaiso’s back line of defense during its current five-game shutout streak as the Crusaders beat No. 23 Omaha and Milwaukee this past week. Lawrence played every minute of both shutouts last week while only allowing his goalkeeper to have to make five saves during that time span.
Green Bay
Audi Jepson
Hometown: Green Bay, Wis.
Audi Jepson served as an offensive spark for Green Bay this week as the junior tallied six points in the squad’s two wins. Facing Wisconsin, Jepson scored a goal and tabbed an assist on a team-high four shots on-goal to beat the in-state rival. Days later, the junior scored on a penalty kick against Belmont to mark his fourth goal of the year and assisted on another goal late in the second half.
Valparaiso
Taylor Graboski
Hometown: Upper Sandusky, Ohio
Graboski had a strong showing on the offensive end for the Crusaders last week. The sophomore started the week with 10 kills on a .381 attack percentage in Valpo's win over UIC. On Friday, she posted a career-high with 15 kills on a .412 hitting percentage versus Oakland. For the week, she had 25 kills on a .400 attack percentage
Oakland
Alli Gutschow
Hometown: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Gutschow helped lead Oakland to two big road victories last week to improve to 3-1 in League play. She recorded a career-high 27 digs in the four-set win at Valparaiso and then had a match-high 10 digs in Oakland's sweep at UIC. For the week, Gutschow averaged 5.3 digs per set.
Horizon League Athletes of the Week (Week of Sept. 28)
