BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for basketball and hockey on Monday. Student-athletes from Gustavus, Hamline, Macalester, Saint Benedict, Saint John's, and St. Olaf claimed the Conference's weekly honors for December 5-11, 2022.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week awards are nominated by the Conference's sports information directors and selected by MIAC staff. Throughout the winter season, team sports (basketball and hockey) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (swimming & diving, indoor 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.
To view each sport's 2022-23 Athlete of the Week home page, navigate to the 2022-23 Athlete of the Week archive for complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Spencer Swanson
Gustavus Adolphus College
So. | Forward
Waconia, Minn.
Spencer Swanson had a career week for the Gusties, leading the team in scoring in a 94-87 win over St. Olaf (12/7) and an 84-81 win over Augsburg (12/10). Against the Oles, Swanson tallied a career-high 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting, along with a game-high 12 rebounds. He also shot 3-for-6 from three-point range and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Swanson then scored a game-high 21 points against the Auggies, shooting 8-for-13 from the field, 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, and hauled in a career-high 15 rebounds. Swanson shot 62.5 percent from the floor and grabbed 27 rebounds on the week.
MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Badou Ba
Macalester College
So. | Forward
Dakar, Senegal | Williston Northampton (Mass.)
Badou Ba tallied seven rebounds, five blocked shots, and two steals in a 1-1 week for the Scots. Ba had five boards and three blocks against Saint John's on 12/7 before adding two rebounds and two blocks against Bethel on 12/10. He had a steal in each game as well.
MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Sophia Jonas
College of Saint Benedict
So. | Guard
Hudson, Wis.
Sophia Jonas averaged 14.0 points and hit 50 percent from the field to lead the Bennies to a pair of wins last week. Jonas had her 15th career double-digit scoring game and her sixth in seven games this season in a 53-52 win over Hamline (12/10) when she scored the game-winning basket with seven seconds to play. She finished with 13 points in the win after posting 15 in a 67-52 victory over Macalester on 12/7.
MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Chan'el Anderson-Manning
Hamline University
Sr. | Guard
St. Paul, Minn. | Cretin-Derham Hall
Chan'el Anderson-Manning totaled 12 rebounds, five blocks, and five steals in a 1-1 week for the Pipers. Anderson-Manning came down with six rebounds, four blocked shots, and two steals in a win over Carleton on 12/7 before adding six more boards, three steals, and a block against Saint Benedict on 12/10.
MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Nick Michel
Saint John's University
Sr. | Forward
Waconia, Minn.
Nick Michel totaled six points with two goals and four assists as the Johnnies went 1-0-1 over the weekend. Michel posted a career-high five points in the Johnnies’ 6-0 shutout of Concordia Wisconsin on 12/9. He ended the weekend with an even-strength goal, which tied the game at 1-1 in the second period, in SJU’s neutral-site tie against Lawrence on 12/10.
MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Lukas Haugen
St. Olaf College
Jr. | Goaltender
Minnetonka, Minn.
Lukas Haugen stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced in the Oles' 2-1 overtime victory against Bethel on 12/10. The junior's 34 saves were a season high and included seven stops over the final eight-plus minutes of regulation to help send the game to overtime.
MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Solvei Berg-Messerole
St. Olaf College
Fy. | Forward
Minneapolis, Minn. | Highland Park
Solvei Berg-Messerole had a hand in nine of the Oles' 10 goals in a weekend sweep of UW-Superior, recording four goals and five assists over the two wins. The first-year scored twice in both victories while matching the program single-game records for assists (4) and points (6) in St. Olaf's 7-1 road win on 12/10.
MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Katie McCoy
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Goaltender
Grafton, Wis. | Cedarburg
Katie McCoy posted a shutout while making a season-high 32 saves against No. 2-ranked UW-River Falls on 12/7. McCoy followed up with a 26-save effort in the Gusties' loss to the Falcons on 12/10.