Loyola's Zyga, UW-Green Bay's Rauen named Horizon League Scholar-Athletes of the Week
Nov. 7, 2006
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INDIANAPOLIS -- Loyola University Chicago junior Markian Zyga (men's soccer) and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay senior Sarah Rauen (volleyball) have been named the Horizon League Scholar-Athletes of the Week, League commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone announced Tuesday (Nov. 7).
Zyga scored the decisive marker in penalty kicks as Loyola ousted top-seeded University of Illinois at Chicago from the League Championship in the semifinals last Friday (Nov. 3). That paved the way for Loyola to win its first-ever League title as the Ramblers defeated UW-Green Bay 1-0 in the championship match on Sunday (Nov. 5) to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
In the classroom, Zyga has maintained a 3.85 grade-point average as a business major. He was a member of the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll in each semester last year, and also earned a spot on the College Sports Information Directors of America/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District V squad this fall. In addition, he helped LU earn the Team Academic Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Rauen became UW-Green Bay's career digs leader, collecting 41 last week to raise her total to 1,447---12 better than the previous record-holder. In the process, she led the Phoenix to victories over two teams above them in the standings, Loyola and UIC. She had 18 digs in a three-game sweep of the Ramblers on Friday and added 23 more as the Phoenix outlasted the Flames in five games Saturday (Nov. 4).
In the classroom, Rauen owns a 3.844 grade-point average in her studies as a human biology major. She earned Academic All-Horizon League honors and was a Second-Team CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District V selection last fall. Rauen is on the ballot for Academic All-District honors again in 2006, with that team announced later this month.
The Horizon League instituted the Scholar-Athlete of the Week awards for this academic year as a way to recognize outstanding academic and athletic achievement by its student-athletes. To be eligible for the honor, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or better (on a 4.00 scale), have completed at least one year at the member institution and passed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours, and perform well during the week's competition. Winners are selected by a group of League faculty athletic representatives, from nominations provided by sports information directors.
OTHER MALE NOMINEE:Bjorn Schantz, Cleveland State (swimming, senior, 3.90, international business/marketing) won the 500 and 1000 freestyle events at St. Bonaventure University on Saturday (Nov. 4), setting a pair of pool records to lead CSU to a 143-95 victory. His efforts have enabled the defending League champions to build a 3-0 record to start the season.
OTHER FEMALE NOMINEES:Mel Snyder, Cleveland State (volleyball, junior, 3.72, middle childhood education) posted 65 assists and a career-high 19 digs versus Wright State University on Friday (Nov. 3) and notched 52 assists plus eight digs in a sweep of Butler University on Saturday (Nov. 4). She averaged 14.63 assists per game for the week, lifting her League-leading pace to 12.36 for the season.
Mary Parker, Detroit (soccer, senior, 3.801, biology/pre-med) had the winning goal in Detroit's 1-0 victory over regular-season champion University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the League Championshp semfinals on Friday. She also tied the championship match with a penalty-kick conversion and became the League's first-ever four-time All-Tournament Team selection.
Mary Dale, Loyola (soccer, senior, 3.45, sports management) hit the net in the Ramblers' 3-1 semifinal-round victory over Butler on Friday. She also played a key role Sunday as Loyola defeated Detroit, 2-1, in the final to win its second League crown. Dale ranks second on the school's all-time career list with 26 goals and 60 points, and ranks second on the team with 19 points this fall.
Cheryl Hegemann, UW-Milwaukee (volleyball, senior, 3.757, education) led the Panthers to two victories and their fourth consecutive regular-season League title. She also surpassed the 1,000-kill plateau for her career and became the school's all-time blocks leader while collecting a pair of double-doubles and averaging 3.5 kills, 2.5 digs and 1.38 blocks per game.
PREVIOUS SCHOLAR-ATHLETES OF THE WEEK Aug. 29-- Aaron Thompson (Butler, soccer), Liz Fazio (Cleveland State, volleyball)Sept. 5-- Kent Wories (Butler, cross country), Genni Gardner (Butler, cross country)Sept. 12 -- Kent Wories (Butler, cross country), Stephanie Gross (UW-Green Bay, soccer)Sept. 19 -- Markian Zyga (Loyola, soccer), Ginny Graczyk (UW-Milwaukee, soccer)Sept. 26 -- Paul Mongillo (Butler, soccer), Liz Fazio (Cleveland State, volleyball)Oct. 3 -- Tom Sadd (Cleveland State, soccer), Mary Parker (Detroit, soccer)Oct. 10 -- Billy Meier (UW-Milwaukee, soccer), Mary Parker (Detroit, soccer)Oct. 17 -- Nick Hawley (UW-Milwaukee, cross country), Mary Parker (Detroit, soccer)Oct. 24 -- Bjorn Schantz (Cleveland State, swimming), Betty Slinger (UW-Green Bay, volleyball)Oct. 31 -- Bjorn Schantz (Cleveland State, swimming), Genni Gardner (Butler, cross country)
