WIAC Softball Athletes of the Week

2003 WIAC Women's Softball
Athletes of the Week

Week of April 21 - 27
Position
Erin O'Connell, Sophomore (Altoona), Firstbase of UW-Stout
O'Connell put on an offensive show last week in eight games, batting .714 (15-of-21) with seven home runs, two doubles, two triples, nine runs scored and 16 RBIs with a slugging percentage of 2.000 and an on-base percentage of .760. She was also perfect in the field with 77 putouts and seven assists on 84 chances. O'Connell broke the school record and tied the conference mark for most home runs in a game when she hit three against UW-Superior on April 21 going three-for-three with seven RBIs in a 9-0 victory. She also hit what would prove to be the game-winning single in a 5-4 win over UW-Eau Claire on April 23 and hit two home runs against UW-Stevens Point on April 27 to extend her WIAC single season home run record to 15 and tied the school career record for home runs with 17.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Beth Steward, Junior, Catcher, Chippewa Falls (Chi-Hi)
UW-La Crosse, Julie Schadrie, Senior, Outfielder, Black Creek (Seymour)
UW-Oshkosh, Brenda Feucht, Senior, Firstbase, Mayville (Hartford)
UW-Platteville, Stacey Yager, Sophomore, Outfielder, Lancaster
UW-River Falls, Amanda Moxon, Senior, New Richland, Minn. (New Richland-Harland-Ellendale-Geneva)
UW-Stevens Point, Jill Van Wychen, Senior, Outfielder, Kaukauna (Freedom)
UW-Superior, Katie Beadles, Sophomore, Outfielder, Chaska, Minn.
UW-Whitewater, Lauren Morstad, Freshman, Utility Player, Elgin, Ill. (Larkin)

Pitcher
Amy Brooke, Senior (Spring Valley), Righthanded Pitcher of UW-River Falls
Brooke had three good outings on the mound for the Falcons and helped the team to a perfect 6-0 record on the week in WIAC games. She pitched 19.1 innings and allowed 26 hits and seven earned runs with two walks and 18 strikeouts. Brooke helped the Falcons to victories over UW-Superior (5-1), UW-Platteville (7-2) and UW-Stevens Point (8-6). She also batted in the .588 (10-for-17) at the plate with two doubles and two RBIs.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Sally Wenzel, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Mequon (Homestead)
UW-Oshkosh, Lizz Fernelius, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Beaver Dam (Highland Park, Ill.)
UW-Stout, Megan Donley, Freshman, Righthanded Pitcher, Fridley, Minn.
UW-Whitewater, Dana Jakoubek, Sophomore, Righthanded Pitcher, Brookfield, Ill. (Fenwick)

Week of April 14 - 20
Position
Anna Poulter, Junior (Colfax, Iowa/Colfax-Mingo), Catcher of UW-River Falls
Poulter played four strong games during the week as the Falcons went 2-2 in WIAC contests. She batted .461 (six-for-13) with a triple, two runs scored and four stolen bases. In UW-River Falls' 4-1 win over UW-La Crosse on April 18, she went three-for-three at the plate with one run scored. Poulter also had 17 putouts and four assists in the four games.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Nicole Lepak, Senior, Thirdbase, Stevens Point (Pacelli)
UW-Oshkosh, Katie Dams, Senior, Secondbase, Greenfield
UW-Platteville, Chrissy McCauley, Sophomore, Shortstop, North Fond du Lac (Horace Mann)
UW-Stevens Point, Rebekah Bauer, Freshman, Outfielder, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-Stout, Kaela Wold, Sophomore, Outfielder, Altoona
UW-Superior, Tiffani Anderson, Freshman, Catcher/Infielder, Cloquet, Minn.
UW-Whitewater, Erin Bravo, Junior, Firstbase, Arlington Heights, Ill.

Pitcher
Sally Wenzel, Senior (Mequon/Homestead), Righthanded Pitcher of UW-La Crosse
Wenzel went 1-1 last week with a 1.62 ERA. In a 5-2 victory at UW-River Falls on April 18, she pitched seven innings, allowing three hits, two runs and one walk while striking out nine batters. In a 1-0 loss to Central (Iowa) on April 19, Wenzel pitched six innings, allowing four hits, one run and one walk with six strikeouts. Wenzel became UW-La Crosse's career leader in strikeouts (381) in the game against Central.

Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Lizz Fernelius, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Beaver Dam (Highland Park, Ill.)
UW-River Falls, Devanie Bigalk, Sophomore, Lefthanded Pitcher, White Bear Lake, Minn.
UW-Stevens Point, Katie Knoedler, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Mosinee
UW-Stout, Megan Donley, Freshman, Righthanded Pitcher, Fridley, Minn.
UW-Superior, Abby Glawe, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Horicon
UW-Whitewater, Katie Brunner, Sophomore, Righthanded Pitcher, Hubertus (Hartford)

Week of April 7 - 13
Position
Jill Van Wychen, Senior (Kaukauna/Freedom), Centerfielder of UW-Stevens Point
Van Wychen hit 14-for-24 (.583) and extended her hitting streak to 25 straight games. She had a pair of triples and went four-for-four in a 7-0 win against UW-Whitewater on April 9 as the Pointers swept the doubleheader from the Warhawks. Van Wychen also went four-for-four against UW-Stout on Saturday in the league's cluster tournament at Stevens Point. For the week, Van Wychen added a pair of doubles, five runs scored and two stolen bases.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Julie Schadrie, Senior, Outfielder, Black Creek (Seymour)
UW-Oshkosh, Angie Long, Junior, Shortstop, Green Bay (Southwest)
UW-Platteville, Michelle Skaden, Senior, Catcher, Lewiston, Minn. (Lewiston-Altura)
UW-River Falls, Abby Keene, Junior, Centerfielder, Hastings, Minn.
UW-Stout, Erin O'Connell, Sophomore, Firstbase, Altoona
UW-Whitewater, Erin Weber, Sophomore, Outfielder, Waterloo

Pitcher
Alexis Thoms, Freshman (Lakeville, Minn.), Righthanded Pitcher of UW-Platteville
Thoms went 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA, including a 10-0 no-hitter over defending WIAC champion UW-Superior. It was the sixth no-hitter in Pioneer history and the first since 1996. Thoms pitched 18 innings during the week, allowing 10 hits and one unearned run. She struck out 16 while walking just two and holding opponents to a .152 batting average. All three wins came against WIAC competition as the Pioneers improved their league record to 9-0 on the season.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Sally Wenzel, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Mequon (Homestead)
UW-Oshkosh, Lizz Fernelius, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Beaver Dam (Highland Park, Ill.)
UW-River Falls, Amy Brooke, Righthanded Pitcher, Spring Valley
UW-Stevens Point, Karen Guckenberger, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, South Milwaukee
UW-Stout, Megan Donley, Freshman, Righthanded Pitcher, Fridley, Minn.
UW-Whitewater, Dana Jakoubek, Sophomore, Righthanded Pitcher, Brookfield, Ill.

Week of March 31 - April 6
Position
Meagan Strmsek, Freshman (Oak Creek), Outfielder of UW-Stevens Point
Strmsek batted .609 (14-for-23) for the week with six doubles, a home run and nine RBIs. She ended the week on fire with eight straight hits, including hits in 13 of her last 14 at-bats. The only time she didn't get a hit during the span, she reached on an error. Strmsek had a double in six of the team's eight games during the week and also hit two sacrifice flies.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Jannah Grinnell, Senior, Firstbase, Delano, Minn.
UW-La Crosse, Kari Piehl, Freshman, Outfielder, Kenosha (Tremper)
UW-Oshkosh, Anne Stanislawksi, Sophomore, Shortstop, Amherst
UW-Platteville, Wendi Siedschlag, Sophomore, Catcher/Firstbase, Monroe
UW-River Falls, Anna Poulter, Junior, Colfax, Iowa (Colfax-Mingo)
UW-Stout, Kaela Wold, Sophomore, Outfielder, Altoona
UW-Superior, Sarah Tarasewicz, Sophomore, Catcher, Hurley
UW-Whitewater, Erin Bravo, Junior, Firstbase, Arlington Heights, Ill.

Pitcher
Karen Sennert, Freshman (Storm Lake, Iowa), Righthanded Pitcher of UW-La Crosse
Sennert pitched a perfect game in a 15-0 win at Viterbo on April 1. She retired all 15 batters she faced. It was the sixth no-hitter in school history.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Kim Czapla, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Arlington Heights, Ill. (Buffalo Grove)
UW-Oshkosh, Natalie Mlinar, Sophomore, Righthanded Pitcher, Whitewater
UW-Platteville, Steph Wood, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Van Dyne (Horace Mann)
UW-River Falls, Amy Brooke, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Spring Valley
UW-Stevens Point, Karen Guckenberger, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, South Milwaukee
UW-Stout, Megan Donely, Freshman, Righthanded Pitcher, Fridley, Minn.
UW-Superior, Abby Glawe, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Horicon
UW-Whitewater, Amanda Ryan, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Oregon

Week of March 24 - 30
Position
Andrea Tsilis, Senior (Sparta), Catcher of UW-La Crosse
Tsilis went 7-for-11 (.636) with five runs scored, one double and one RBI in four games at the Augsburg (Minn.) Tournament. She helped lead UW-La Crosse to a 4-0 in the tournament. Tsilis had a .727 slugging percentage in the four games. She went a combined five-for-six in wins over Nebraska Wesleyan and Augsburg on March 30.

Also nominated:
UW-River Falls, Abby Keene, Junior, Outfielder, Hastings, Minn.
UW-Whitewater, Amy Ferry, Junior, Secondbase, Tinley Park, Ill.

Pitcher
Sally Wenzel, Senior (Mequon/Homestead), Righthanded Pitcher of UW-La Crosse
Wenzel went 2-0 with two complete games and a 0.58 ERA at the Augsburg (Minn.) Tournament. She allowed six hits, one run and one walk while striking out 12 in 12 innings pitched. Wenzel pitched seven innings, allowing three hits, one run and one walk with six strikeouts in a 5-1 win over UW-River Falls on March 29. She then pitched five innings, allowing three hits and striking out six in a 8-0 win over Nebraska Wesleyan on March 30.

Also nominated:
UW-River Falls, Leah Vanderploeg, Sophomore, Righthanded Pitcher, Cable (Drummond)
UW-Whitewater, Katie Brunner, Sophomore, Righthanded Pitcher, Hubertus (Hartford)

Week of March 17 - 23
Position
Jill Van Wychen, Senior (Kaukauna/Freedom), Outfielder of UW-Stevens Point
Van Wychen batted .447 as the Pointers went 6-4 on their annual spring trip to Fort Myers, Florida. Batting in the lead-off spot, she racked up 17 hits including a double and a triple. She was also a threat on the base paths with 11 runs scored and seven stolen bases, including three in a single game.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Kari Piehl, Freshman, Outfielder, Kenosha (Tremper)
UW-River Falls, Anna Poulter, Junior, Catcher, Colfax, Iowa (Colfax-Mingo)
UW-Stout, Kim Caswell, Junior, Infielder/Outfielder, Stanley (Stanley-Boyd)
UW-Superior, Kathleen Duffy, Freshman, Outfielder, Superior (Senior)

Pitcher
Karen Sennert, Freshman (Storm Lake, Iowa), Righthanded Pitcher of UW-La Crosse
Sennert went 3-1 with a 0.27 earned run average on UW-La Crosse's spring trip to Kissimmee, Florida. She allowed one earned run in 26 innings. Sennert struck out 17 while walking two. She picked up victories over Wooster (Ohio) (4-1), South (Tenn.) (8-3) and St. Norbert (1-0). Sennert pitched two complete games, including 7.0 innings allowing no runs and four hits in the win over St. Norbert.

Also nominated:
UW-Platteville, Alexis Thoms, Freshman, Righthanded Pitcher, Lakeville, Minn.
UW-River Falls, Amy Brooke, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Spring Valley
UW-Stevens Point, Karen Guckenberger, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, South Milwaukee
UW-Stout, Megan Donley, Freshman, Righthanded Pitcher, Fridley, Minn.
UW-Superior, Abby Glawe, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Horicon

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