It was a very busy week for Indiana Wesleyan athletics as fall sports are immersed in post-season play and basketball now in full swing.
Women's cross country and women's soccer both earned bids to the NAIA National Championships while men's soccer will compete in NCCAA post-season competition. The men's cross country team will also have Ethan Naylor representing the Wildcats at the NAIA National Championship. Both cross country teams placed third at the competitive NCCAA National Championships this weekend in Cedarville, Ohio.
Back in MCC action, the women's soccer team clinched another MCC Tournament Championship and will advance to their second straight NAIA National Championship while the men's soccer team fell just short with a 2-1 loss at Bethel in the championship match.
The biggest news of the week came Sunday evening as the NAIA announced that the women's soccer team will host Houghton (N.Y.) College in the 2009 NAIA National Championship Opening Round on Saturday, November 21. The contest will be the first NAIA national championship event ever held on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan.
*** Early in the week the women's cross country team earned an at-large bid into the NAIA National Championship which will be held on Saturday, November 21 in Vancouver, Washington. On the men's cross country team, Ethan Naylor earned a spot in the national meet with his performance at the MCC Championships
*** Mitch Lobdell was named MCC Offensive Player of the Week. Lobdell scored the game-winning goal with four minutes left in the match for the men's soccer win over Goshen in the MCC Tournament Semifinals
*** Kim Walton and Kelsey Johnston earned a sweep for the women's soccer team in the MCC weekly awards. The honors came after IWU defeated Spring Arbor in double overtime to advance to the MCC Tournament Semifinals
*** Zach Coverstone scored a game-high 22 points as the men's basketball team escaped Detroit on Tuesday with a 72-62 victory over Marygrove
*** Women's soccer was ranked No. 11 in the final NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll. The final ranking was very important as the NAIA chose at-large bids based on teams' final slotting in the poll, although the Wildcats clinched an automatic bid later in the week
*** Shelby Newberry from Texas signed to continue her volleyball career with Indiana Wesleyan in 2010. Newberry was introduced with a video signing at WIWU TV-51
*** Megan Marshall, Brittany Smith, Kelsey Johnston and Heidi Breckner of the women's soccer team were honored as MCC All-Conference selections. The four have helped lead IWU to the NAIA National Championship Tournament
*** Men's basketball lost their first game of the season in a top-25 battle against No. 16 Cornerstone. The game was played Friday in Spring Arbor, Michigan during the MCC/WHAC Challenge. IWU rebounded from the loss with a convincing 67-47 win over Aquinas on Saturday
*** Elaine Hessel was named tournament MVP as she averaged 27.5 points this weekend in the Cedarville Tournament. Hessel poured in 29 points for the No. 14-ranked women's basketball team in a big win against Wilberforce and she added 26 more in an overtime victory over No. 11 Cedarville
*** Cross country was also in Cedarville, Ohio over the weekend to take part in the NCCAA National Championships. Women's cross country finished third in the 19 team field while men's cross country also finished third in the 23 team field
*** Women's soccer avenged their only conference loss during the regular season on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Marian in the MCC Tournament Championship. The shutout victory was the seventh straight for the Wildcats and it clinched an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship
*** Men's soccer just missed out on the NAIA National Championship with a 2-1 loss at No. 8-ranked Bethel. The Wildcats scored first but the Pilots responded with two unanswered goals to earn the automatic bid. IWU will now take part in the NCCAA Regional Tournament with the regional title match being held on Saturday, November 21 at 7 p.m. against Cedarville
*** On Sunday night, women's soccer was awarded a home match for the NAIA National Championship Opening Round and will host Houghton College from New York. IWU is ranked No. 13 in the 32 team field and will host one of 16 Opening Round matches at host sites. The 16 winners will then travel to one site in Decatur, Alabama for the NAIA National Championship
