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 Bethel, Concordia, Gustavus, Saint Benedict, St. Olaf, and 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 winter season, team sports (basketball and hockey) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (swimming & diving and 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 2023-24 Athlete of the Week home page, navigate to the 2023-24 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
Jr. | Forward
Waconia, Minn.
Spencer Swanson led the Gusties to a pair of wins last week, including a comeback victory over Macalester on 12/6. Swanson averaged 25.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.5 steals in both games, with a season-high 28 points against Macalester to go along with 23 points against St. Scholastica on 12/4. He shot 20-for-30 for the week, including shooting 7-for-8 in the second half against the Scots in a 96-86 win. The Gusties are now 5-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Zach Doely
Bethel University
Sr. | Forward
Stillwater, Minn. | St. Croix Prep
Zach Doely pulled down 28 rebounds with three blocks and two steals in a pair of wins for the Royals last week. Doely had 11 rebounds, 14 points, four assists, and one block in a 75-60 victory over Macalester on 12/4. He then matched a career-high 17 boards - 14 on the defensive glass - to go along with 10 points for his fifth straight double-double in a 77-65 win over Saint Mary's on 12/9. He added two steals and a pair of blocks in the game.
MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Carlee Sieben
Concordia College
Jr. | Guard
Grafton, N.D.
Carlee Sieben led the Cobbers to a 3-0 record last week by averaging 17.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. Sieben scored a team-high 19 points in Concordia's 64-52 win at Saint Mary's on 12/4, posted nine points in a 77-61 win over Saint Benedict, and tallied a season-high 23 points in an 82-59 win over Hamline on 12/9. The Cobbers are now 6-0 in MIAC play for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Elly Schmitz
Bethel University
Jr. | Forward
Hermantown, Minn.
Elly Schmitz grabbed 18 boards, collected 10 steals, and blocked seven shots in the Royals' 2-1 week. In a 61-44 win over Macalester on 12/4, she had seven rebounds - all on the defensive end - to go along with a career-high 17 points, five steals, and three blocks. She had 15 points in the Royals' five-point loss to St. Catherine on 12/6 while adding five steals, two blocks, and five rebounds in the game. Schmitz finished out the week with six rebounds, two blocks, and a pair of steals in a win over Saint Mary's on 12/9.
MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Arkhip Ledenkov
The College of St. Scholastica
Sr. | Forward
Polotsk, Belarus | Ostroshitsko-Gorodokskaya
Arkhip Ledenkov totaled seven points with three goals and four assists as the Saints swept Northland in a pair of matchups last week. He had one goal and registered two assists in a 6-2 victory on 12/5 and in an 8-1 home win on 12/8, Ledenkov had his first multi-goal game of the season while recording another assist.
MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Jackson Hjelle
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Goaltender
Delano, Minn.
Jackson Hjelle made a career-high 46 saves, including 19 in the third period, in a 2-0 win at Concordia-Wisconsin on 12/9 for his second shutout in his past three games. He has made at least 20 saves in each of his last five games.
MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Corrine Brown
College of Saint Benedict
Sr. | Forward
St. Paul, Minn. | Hill-Murray
Corrine Brown registered eight assists in a series sweep of Dubuque on 12/8-9. Brown assisted on a Saint Benedict program-record five goals in an 8-0 win on 12/8. That number matches the NCAA Division III high for assists in a single game this season. She went on to help on three more goals in a 6-0 win on 12/9, giving her 10 assists on the season and nine in her last three games.
MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Hannah Fritz
St. Olaf College
So. | Goaltender
Woodbury, Minn. | Cretin-Derham Hall
Hannah Fritz did not allow a goal in 88:48 between the pipes for the Oles in a weekend sweep of UW-Superior, stopping all 26 shots she faced. The sophomore logged her second shutout of the season with a 19-save effort in a 5-0 win on 12/8 before collecting the win in relief with seven saves in the 28:51 in a come-from-behind 4-3 victory on 12/9.