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 Carleton, Gustavus, Macalester, and Saint John's 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 (outdoor track & field and golf) 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
John McMurray
Macalester College
Fy. | Outfield
Washington, D.C. / Sidwell Friends
John McMurray batted .550 (11-for-20) with four doubles, a home run, six runs scored, and nine RBI in a 5-0 week for the Scots. McMurray doubled and scored the tying run in the ninth inning of the Scots' 2-1 walk-off win against Northwestern on 4/13 before helping Macalester sweep Saint Mary's on 4/15 by going 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI in another ninth-inning walk-off in Game 1. He then belted a three-run homer and singled home the go-ahead run in a 7-6 victory in Game 2. McMurray closed the week by going 4-for-7 with three runs and three RBI, including a 3-for-3 performance with a double and two runs in Game 1, to help the Scots sweep Carleton on 4/19. McMurray had an on-base percentage of .583 and a slugging percentage of .900 in the five wins last week.
MIAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Matthew Magnuson
Saint John's University
Jr. | Right-Handed Pitcher
Chanhassen, Minn. / Chaska
Matthew Magnuson picked up a 10-inning, complete-game shutout for the Johnnies in a 1-0 win against St. Olaf on 4/19. Magnuson struck out eight and allowed just two hits over ten frames. With Magnuson on the hill, the Oles were 0-for-8 with runners on base, 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and 1-for-11 with two outs in the game. The 10-inning shutout is SJU's best on record, and the most innings thrown by a single SJU pitcher since 2011.
MIAC Softball Player of the Week
Carly Olson
Gustavus Adolphus College
Jr. | Third Base
Luverne, Minne. / Luverne
Carly Olson slashed .429/.500/.714 for a 1.214 OPS in four games for the Gusties last week. Olson drove in ten runs, with four of her six hits resulting in doubles. Three of those doubles came in a 4-for-4 performance against Hamline in Game 1 of a twinbill with Hamline on 4/15. Olson collected eight of her ten RBI for the week in the series with the Pipers. She brought home two more runs and added another double in a doubleheader with St. Olaf on 4/19.
MIAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Rachel Block
Carleton College
Jr. | Pitcher
Alamo, Calif. / Head-Royce School
Rachel Block went 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA in a pair of complete-game starts for the Knights last week while holding opponents to a .167 batting average. Block tallied a career-best eight strikeouts in an extra-inning victory over Bethel on 4/15, yielding one earned run on four hits over eight frames. Block capped the week with another route-going effort, this time a five-hitter at Hamline in which she struck out three and permitted only one unearned run.
MIAC Men's Tennis Player of the Week
Gage Gohl
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr.
Sioux Falls, S.D. / Lincoln
Gage Gohl led the Gusties to a pair of MIAC wins over the weekend against Carleton (4/18) and Macalester (4/19). Gohl collected a 6-2 victory at No. 1 doubles and took the top singles match by a score of 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) against the previously unbeaten Knights before earning a 6-3 win in doubles and a 6-0, 6-1 victory in singles against the Scots.
MIAC Women's Tennis Player of the Week
Karina Elvestrom
Gustavus Adolphus College
So.
Minnetonka, Minn. / Minnetonka
Karina Elvestrom led the Gusties to two conference wins over the weekend. Elvestrom won 6-2 at No. 1 doubles and 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 singles against Carleton on 4/18 before adding a 6-0 doubles win and a 6-0, 6-1 singles triumph against Macalester on 4/19.