April 29, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS - Cleveland State University sophomore Phil Orno (men's tennis) and University of Illinois at Chicago sophomore Jenna Reisch (women's tennis) have been named the U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athletes of the Week, League commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone announced Tuesday (April 29).

Orno capped a dominant League campaign by earning Horizon League Player of the Year honors. He then helped the Vikings to their first-ever League championship. In Saturday's (Apr. 26) semifinal match against Green Bay, Orno earned a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 1 singles after teaming with Ryan Hamning to post an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles. Orno came back in Sunday's (Apr. 27) championship match against UIC to tally an 8-2 doubles victory and a 6-2, 6-0 sweep at No. 1 singles. He has now won 19 consecutive singles matches.

As an English major, the Denmark native carries a 3.40 grade-point average. Orno was recognized on the League Academic Honor Roll last fall.

In the championship match against Butler on Sunday, Reisch teamed up with Ilinca Cristescu to win their No. 3 doubles match 8-6 and clinch the doubles point for UIC. She helped the Flames to their 12th-consecutive Horizon League title and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Academically, Reisch boasts a perfect 4.0 grade-point average as a psychology and communications major. She was recently named the 2007-2008 UIC Female Student-Athlete of the Year, and was also recognized on the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll last fall.

The Horizon League instituted the U.S. Army Scholar-Athlete of the Week awards as a way to recognize outstanding academic and athletic achievement by its student-athletes. To be eligible for the honor, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or better (on a 4.00 scale), have completed at least one year at the member institution, passed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours and perform well during the week's competition. Winners are selected by a group of League faculty athletic representatives, from nominations provided by sports information directors.

OTHER MALE NOMINEES:

Tom Andreoni, Loyola (track & field, sophomore, 3.65, finance) was part of Loyola's 4x400-meter relay team that captured first place at the Gina Relays at Hillsdale College and set a season-best mark of 3:15.50. He also placed 11th in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.40 seconds.

Brett Schaefer, UIC (baseball, junior, 3.33, business) drove in a team-best seven runs in four games while hitting .333 (5-for-15) last week. He also hit a grand slam to key a 10-run fifth inning against Trinity International on Saturday (Apr. 26).

John Giusti, Valparaiso (baseball, senior, 3.33, sports management) had hits in all five games last week to extend his hitting streak to seven straight games. He drove in three runs, scored six, and had four doubles, hitting .588 (10-for-17), drew three walks for a .650 on-base percentage. Giusti has had at least two hits in each of his four starts, including a four-hit performance in the first game of a doubleheader against Butler on Saturday.

Aaron Merrill, Youngstown State (track & field, junior, 3.66, criminal justice) won the shot put and discus at the St. Francis (Pa.) Red Flash Open with meet record distances. He threw a personal-best mark of 147 feet, 5 inches in the discus and 57-7 3/4 in the shot put. Merrill owns the Horizon League's top shot put mark this season and ranks third in the discus.

OTHER FEMALE NOMINEES:

Paige McCracken, Butler (golf, senior, 3.866, English) tied for fifth place at the Horizon League Women's Golf Championship. She was named to the All-Tournament Team and to the All-League team for her efforts. McCracken was also honored as Butler's Most Outstanding Female Senior Athlete at the Bulldogs awards luncheon on Thursday (Apr. 24).

Katie Broere, Cleveland State (golf, sophomore, 3.72, communications) helped the Vikings to a fourth-place finish at the Horizon League Championship. After shooting 90 in the opening round, Broere responded with rounds of 79-80 to tie for 14th-place overall. Her 80 in the final round helped Cleveland State to a school-record tying team score of 318.

Anna Bluemel, Green Bay (softball, senior, 3.735, human biology) had a 1-1 mark with an earned-run average of 2.62 in two starts last week. She remained on the mound for ten innings, allowing just two runs on eight hits as the Phoenix defeated Butler to snap a 12-game losing streak. Bluemel struck out nine while walking just three batters on the week.

Genevieve Binnie, Loyola (track & field, junior, 3.70, biology) placed 11th with a time of 10:12.31, a second shy of her personal best time in the 3,000-meter run at the Gina Relays. She was also the Ramblers' top finisher in the 5K, finishing third among 88 runners.

Holly Nearman, Milwaukee (track & field, senior, 3.702, journalism) broke the school record in the 5,000-meter run at the prestigious Drake Relays, taking third-place in the event. Her time of 16:47.80 eclipsed the school mark of 16:49.20, which was set in 1982. Nearman qualified for NCAA Regionals with that performance.

Tracy Korth, Valparaiso (softball, senior, 3.559, sports management) hit .300 (6-for-20) for the week with one run scored and four RBIs, helping the Crusaders to a 5-2 record on the week. She tallied four doubles, including three in a doubleheader at Wright State on Thursday (Apr. 24). Korth slugged a team-best .500 over last week's seven games. She now has 12 doubles on the season, tying her for fourth-most in a single season in Valpo history.

McKenzie Bedra, Youngstown State (softball, senior, 3.36, exercise science) led the Penguins to a 3-4 record last week after posting a .524 batting average with four home runs, a double and 10 RBIs as she also stole her first base of the season. She was named Horizon League Player of the Week for her efforts. Bedra turned in a 3-for-4 performance against St. Francis (Pa.), blasting a home run and a double with five runs batted in. She then cranked two home runs while driving in four in a 7-2 victory over Valpo. Bedra also tied the school's single-season home run record (10) with a two-run shot in a 13-5 loss to the Crusaders.

PREVIOUS U.S. ARMY SCHOLAR-ATHLETES:

Aug. 28 Nina Inic (Butler, volleyball)
Sept. 5 Ryan Miller (Green Bay, cross country); Liz Fazio (Cleveland State, volleyball)
Sept. 11 Chris Honig (Valparaiso, cross country); Katarina Hanackova (UIC, volleyball)
Sept. 18 Malcolm DeBaun (Loyola, soccer); Betty Slinger (Green Bay, volleyball)
Sept. 25 Markian Zyga (Loyola, soccer); Sara Hughes (Valparaiso, volleyball)
Oct. 2 Kent Wories (Butler, cross country); Ani Michl (Valparaiso, soccer)
Oct. 9 Zeke Dombrowski (Milwaukee, soccer); Lotte Rasmussen (Green Bay, soccer)
Oct. 16 Kent Wories (Butler, cross country); Amanda Stinson (Green Bay, soccer)
Oct. 23 Robby Leibold (Milwaukee, swimming); Alyse Serritella (Loyola, volleyball)
Oct. 30 Steve Grove (Cleveland State, swimming); Genni Gardner (Butler, cross country)
Nov. 6 Steve Grove (Cleveland State, swimming); Beth Steuer (Milwaukee, soccer)
Nov. 13 Robby Leibold (Milwaukee, swimming); Cynthia Morote-Ariza (Loyola, soccer)
Nov. 20 Mike Schachtner (Green Bay, basketball); Mel Snyder (Cleveland State, volleyball)
Nov. 27 A.J. Graves (Butler, basketball); Kailey Klein (Cleveland State, basketball)
Dec. 4 Drew Streicher (Butler, basketball); Ashley Hall (Milwaukee, diving)
Dec. 11 Jake Diebler (Valparaiso, basketball); Ashley Hall (Milwaukee, diving)
Dec. 18 Samuel Haanpää (Valparaiso, basketball); Leah Hochstetler (Valparaiso, basketball)
Jan. 8 Ryan Tillema (Green Bay, basketball); Kayla Groh (Green Bay, basketball)
Jan. 15 Mike Schachtner (Green Bay, basketball); Kari Helland (Green Bay, diving)
Jan. 22 Steve Bartholomew (Valparaiso, indoor track & field), Kelsey Hausken (Green Bay, swimming)
Jan. 29 Robby Leibold (Milwaukee, swimming); Jessica Weidert (Wright State, swimming)
Feb. 5 Jeremy Waldhart (Milwaukee, swimming); Ashley Hall (Milwaukee, diving)
Feb. 12 Phil Orno (Cleveland State, tennis); Kat Krause (Loyola, softball)
Feb. 19 A.J. Graves (Butler, basketball); Elise VanBogaert (Loyola, basketball)
Feb. 26 Adam Schleis (Milwaukee, baseball); Jessica Weidert (Wright State, swimming)
Mar. 4 Julian Betko (Butler, basketball); Launa Hochstetler (Valparaiso, basketball)
Mar. 11 Aaron Merrill (Youngstown State, outdoor track & field); Andrea Zappia (Valparaiso, softball)
Mar. 18 Andy Hetebrueg (Milwaukee, baseball); Kim Sajevic (Valparaiso, tennis)
Mar. 25 A.J. Graves (Butler, basketball); Nora Schober (Loyola, softball)
Apr. 1 Andy Hetebrueg (Milwaukee, baseball); Karen Korb (Valparaiso, softball)
Apr. 8 Ryan Stohs (Valparaiso, track & field); Holly Nearman (Milwaukee, track & field)
Apr. 15 Chris Honig (Valparaiso, track & field); Genni Gardner (Butler, track & field)
Apr. 22 Sean Bidzinski (Loyola, golf); Kat Krause (Loyola, softball)