North Coast Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week – Week of Oct. 24, 2023
Offensive Field Hockey Athlete of the Week – Mary Johnson, Wooster
Wooster sophomore Mary Johnson (Brighton, MI/Brighton) scored four goals to lead the Fighting Scots to a 2-0 week. The sophomore started off strong by recording a hat trick in a 5-1 win over Transylvania on Saturday and then helped the Scots move up in the league standings after she scored the game winner in a 2-0 victory against Wittenberg on Sunday. Johnson finished the week having tallied eight points with seven shots, six of which were on goal.
Defensive Field Hockey Athlete of the Week – Cary Mauck, Denison
Denison senior Cary Mauck (Richmond, VA/St. Catherine's School) led the Big Red defense to two shutouts this past week against the University of Mary Washington (2-0) and NCAC opponent Earlham (7-0). In addition to Mauck recording an assist on Denison's final goal against Earlham, the Big Red defense did not allow a single shot or penalty corner by the Quakers and recorded their eighth shutout in eight conference games this season.
Offensive Football Athlete of the Week – Sean Tejeda, Hiram
Hiram sophomore Sean Tejeda (San Antonia, TX/McCollum) went 15-of-21 on pass completions for 207 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for a touchdown as part of the Terriers 27-19 win over Oberlin on Saturday. The quarterback recorded a season-high 71.4 completion percentage. The performance marked Tejeda's second straight game with multiple passing touchdowns and zero interceptions, and his first game of the year with three total touchdowns.
Defensive Football Athlete of the Week – Jeff Moore, Denison
Denison senior Jeff Moore's (Richmond, VA/St. Christopher's School) defensive outing helped the Big Red earn a 35-31 win over Wooster on Saturday. Moore tallied nine tackles, a fumble recovery, and a quarterback hurry. The linebacker's fumble recovery gave Denison the ball back at the Wooster 23-yard line and set up the go-ahead touchdown to give the Big Red their first lead of the game (35-28) with just under 14 minutes left to play.
Women's Golf Athlete of the Week – Becky Williams, DePauw
DePauw sophomore Becky Williams (Zionsville, IN/University High School of Indiana) brought home medalist honors at the Wittenberg Fall Classic. Williams finished first among 48 golfers and was two strokes ahead of second place with a 154 (79-75). The sophomore led the field with seven birdies and matched the tournament low round score with 75 strokes in her final showing of the tournament.
Offensive Men's Soccer Athlete of the Week – Nasim Amer, Oberlin
Oberlin senior Nasim Amer (Princeton, NJ/Princeton Day School) helped the Yeomen secure three points in conference play this past week. Amer recorded his first-career brace as he scored Oberlin's first and third goals in a 3-0 shutout of Hiram. The senior then netted the Yeomen's first goal in a 2-2 draw with Wittenberg on the weekend.
Offensive Women's Soccer Athlete of the Week – Madison Cofer, Ohio Wesleyan
Ohio Wesleyan junior Madison Cofer (New Albany, OH/New Albany) helped the Bishops defeat Kenyon and Wooster this past week during league play. Against Wooster, the junior scored the equalizer in the 20th minute to even the score at 1-1. Cofer then found the back of the net again after heading in a corner kick in the 67th minute to break a 2-2 tie and secure the 3-2 victory. The junior was a starter on defense in the team's 1-0 shutout against Kenyon.
Defensive Women's Soccer Athlete of the Week – Lily Winkle, Wittenberg
Wittenberg first-year Lily Winkle (Cynthiana, KY/Harrison County High School) helped secure a pair of wins on the week, including a 3-2 win against DePauw and a 2-0 shutout at Oberlin. Winkle made 13 saves against 18 shots against the Tigers, recording a .867 save percentage. The goalkeeper tallied her second shutout of the season against the Yeowomen after making nine saves against 15 shots.
Men's Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week – Dayne Sauter, Hiram
Hiram junior Dayne Sauter (Bakersfield, CA/Bakersfield) totaled four first place relay finishes to go along with three individual titles this past week in team wins over Bluffton (189-20) and Wittenberg (187-64). The junior swam the first leg in the winning 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays in both duals. Individually, Sauter finished first in the 50 butterfly (25.35), 50 freestyle (24.91), and 100 freestyle (56.00) while also taking second in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.73). With his performances, Sauter helped Hiram improve their overall record in dual meets this season to 3-0.
Offensive Women's Volleyball Athlete of the Week – Natalie Dieball, Ohio Wesleyan
Ohio Wesleyan first-year Natalie Dieball (Cincinnati, OH/Lakota East) helped the Battling Bishops collect wins over Wooster (3-0), Denison (3-0), and non-conference opponent Hanover (3-2) this past week. Dieball recorded a double-double in Ohio Wesleyan's match-up against Hanover with 18 kills and 16 digs. On the week, the outside hitter averaged 3.45 kills per set by notching 38 total kills to go along with eight service aces and 35 digs over 11 sets.
Defensive Women's Volleyball Athlete of the Week – Grace Myers, DePauw
The defensive efforts of DePauw sophomore Grace Myers (New Palestine, IN/New Palestine) played a major role in the Tigers' wins against NCAC opponents Wittenberg (3-1) and Oberlin (3-2) as the defensive specialist tallied 52 digs across the two matches. Against Wittenberg, the sophomore recorded 6.5 digs per set and three service aces. On the week, Myers produced 5.7 digs per set and 58 service receptions with only four errors.
NCAC Milestones & Records (Oct. 16 – 22)
Denison, Football – Fifth-year senior Josh Aiello (Mansfield, OH/Lexington) recorded three receiving touchdowns to help the Big Red earn a 35-31 win over Wooster to keep ahold of the Battle of the Old Red Lantern trophy for the ninth season in a row. In addition to scoring three receiving touchdowns for the second straight week, Aiello broke the Denison single-season program record with 14 receiving touchdowns so far this season. The previous record was 13 receiving touchdowns by Dushawn Brown in 2014.
Ohio Wesleyan, Field Hockey – The Bishops' recorded their 11th consecutive shutout on Saturday against DePauw, tying the school standard set last season … The win over DePauw was Ohio Wesleyan's 14th in a row, equaling the longest winning streak in Bishop field hockey history, matching the mark set by the 1989 squad … Ohio Wesleyan ranks fifth in NCAA Division III in scoring margin (4.08) and is one of three unbeaten teams in NCAA Division III.
Wabash, Football – Wabash broke the school record for total offense yards in a single game with 776 total yards in the Little Giants' victory over Kenyon on Saturday. The Little Giants ran for 425 yards, the sixth-most in a single game in program history … Wabash senior Liam Thompson (Indianapolis, IN/North Central) threw for 354 yards in the victory to move to second on the NCAC all-time passing yards list. He moved past Kenyon's Thomas Merkle's (2016-2019) total of 10,227 yards and trails all-time leader Mason Espinosa (Ohio Wesleyan; 2010-2013) with 11,069. Thompson enters this week's game against Wittenberg with 10,428 career passing yards.
Wooster, Field Hockey – The Fighting Scots allowed their first goal in a span of 267:09 of game time on Saturday. Transylvania snapped Wooster's run of not allowing a shot at 226:40.
Wooster, Women's Golf – The team's win at the Wittenberg Fall Classic marked the Fighting Scots' first time winning four tournaments in a season.