Press Releases

JACKSON, Mich. – The Crossroads League announced its weekly sports awards on Monday as well as its 2021 men’s and women’s tennis honors.

Women’s Tennis

The Crossroads League announced its 2021 Women’s Tennis All-League Team and Coach-of-the-Year honors on Monday, following Indiana Wesleyan’s sweep of the league’s regular season and tournament championships.

The Wildcats took home the most postseason league awards as well, bring in five-of-15 spots on the All-Crossroads League Team, while Spring Arbor head coach, David Darling, was named the CL Coach of the Year.

The All-Crossroads League Team was voted on by the CL’s head women’s tennis coaches.

2021 Crossroads League Coach of the Year

David Darling, Spring Arbor

2021 All-Crossroads League Team

Maddie Bemisderfer, Indiana Wesleyan
Esther Bolon, Huntington
Lucy Burau, Spring Arbor
Betija Dusele, Marian
Melanie Dveksler, Indiana Wesleyan
Ashlee Fisk, Indiana Wesleyan
Morgan Fitzpatrick, Huntington
Lena Golz, Indiana Wesleyan
Anna Graves, Grace
Laura Kuebler, Marian
Thias Mendez, Indiana Wesleyan
Rebekah Pike, Spring Arbor
Lydia Ruegsegger, Grace
Makenzi Sells, Spring Arbor
Teodora Simion, Marian

Men’s Tennis

The Crossroads League announced its 2021 Men’s Tennis All-League Team and Coach-of-the-Year honors on Monday, following Indiana Wesleyan’s sweep of the league’s regular season and tournament championships.

The Wildcats took home the most postseason league awards as well, collecting six-of-15 spots on the All-Crossroads League Team, with IWU head coach Eddy Shigley being named the CL Coach of the Year.

The All-Crossroads League Team was voted on by the CL’s head men’s tennis coaches.

2021 Crossroads League Coach of the Year

Eddy Shigley, Indiana Wesleyan

2021 All-Crossroads League Team

Mateo Ameller, Huntington
Alejo Bagnera, Huntington
Kevin Bollman, Goshen
Martin Carrizo, Indiana Wesleyan
Mark Griffin, Marian
Mariano Jalif, Indiana Wesleyan
Joel Mast, Spring Arbor
Jones McNamar, Marian
Jeremias Rocco, Indiana Wesleyan
Max Rozas, Grace
David Sandi, Grace
Leonardo Sprovieri, Indiana Wesleyan
Isaac Steiner, Indiana Wesleyan
Hunter Sylvester, Marian
Karl Wurth, Indiana Wesleyan

Weekly Honors

The Crossroads League Athletes of the Week were announced on Monday, recognizing the league’s top athletes from September 20 through 26. Sports Information Directors from the league institutions nominate student-athletes for the awards and vote on each week’s winners.

Volleyball Attacker of the Week
Skyler Van Note, Marian
Van Note did it all for No. 8 Marian, helping the Knights remain unbeaten with sweeps of No. 16 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 22 Bethel and Goshen. The All-American averaged 3.4 kills, 4.9 digs and 0.9 blocks in the trio of three-set wins.

Volleyball Defender of the Week
Stephaney Fifield, Taylor
Fifield repeated as the CL’s top defensive player, turning in two more efforts with at least 20 digs and averaging 6.9 digs per set and 20.7 digs per match in RV Taylor’s trio of three-set wins. Fifield posted 22 digs in a win at MVNU and closed the week with 28 against Grace.

Volleyball Setter of the Week
Kacy Bragg, Taylor

Bragg flirted with a triple-double with 33 assists, 11 kills, eight digs and one ace in RV Taylor’s sweep at MVNU and closed the week averaging 33.0 assists, 6.7 digs and 5.0 kills on a .379 percentage over a trio of three-set wins for the Trojans.

Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Sydney Brown, Indiana Wesleyan
Brown posted two goals, three assists and seven points in No. 10 Indian Wesleyan’s wins over Lawrence Tech and Goshen. The junior forward had a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win at LTU, before striking for one goal and two helpers in the league-opening victory over the Maple Leafs.

Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Lilly Jakuszewski, Mount Vernon Nazarene
Jakuszewski was tough inside the goal for Mount Vernon Nazarene, allowing just one goal over 192 minutes of action and helping MVNU post a 1-0 shutout of RV Taylor in the Crossroads League opener for each squad.

Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Andres Gonzalez, Bethel
Gonzalez highlighted a RV Bethel offense that outscored its opposition by a 10-0 count in a pair of victories. The sophomore midfielder put up one goal and two assists in a 7-0 win against Rochester and added another score in BU’s 3-0 win at Saint Francis to open league play.

Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Gabriel Burgos, Mount Vernon Nazarene
Burgos was busy in the net for the Cougars, piling up 19 total saves in two starts in goal. The senior allowed just two goals in 180 minutes of work, posting 10 stops in MVNU’s 2-1 win over Lawrence Tech.

Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week

Landon Wakeman, Indiana Wesleyan

Wakeman paced the No. 1-ranked Indiana Wesleyan men’s cross country team to a third-place showing at the Roy Griak Invite, finishing 11th-of-374 individually with a time of 25:58.9 against mainly NCAA Division I and Division II competition.

Women’s Tennis Player of the Week
Maddie Bemisderfer, Indiana Wesleyan
Bemisderfer went 4-0 during Indiana Wesleyan’s run to a 30th-consecutive Crossroads League Tournament Championship, notching wins at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles in IWU’s victories against Saint Francis and Marian.

Men’s Tennis Player of the Week
Martin Carrizo, Indiana Wesleyan
Carrizo led Indiana Wesleyan to a third-straight Crossroads League Tournament Championship, going 1-0 at No. 1 singles and 2-0 at No. 1 doubles for the Wildcats.