2013-14 Student-Athletes of the Month

September 2013

Jennifer Gaffney, golf
A senior from Waukee, Iowa/Waukee HS ... named IIAC Golfer of the Week for week ending Sept. 22 ... sat in third place after first weekend of IIAC Championship (finished seventh) ... posted three, top-3 finishes ... won the Simpson Fall Invitational on Sept. 16, then tied for 2nd at Luther on Sept. 20-21 ... owned team-low 82.3 stroke average ... led Simpson to two tournament victories.

Mitchell White, soccer
A junior forward from Decorah, Iowa/Decorah HS ... scored eight goals and had one assist in nine games, leading Simpson to a 7-0-2 start, the longest unbeaten streak to start a season in school history ... named IIAC Offensive Player of the Week for week ending Sept. 22 after scoring four goals with one assist in two games ... scored three goals in a 5-1 win over Grinnell, the second hat trick of his career ... became just the sixth player in school history to record multiple hat tricks in a career ... increased career goal total to 28, sixth most in school history.

October 2013

Kim Rogers, volleyball
A senior from Omaha, Neb./Harry A. Burke HS ... helped Simpson qualify for the IIAC Tournament for first time since 2010 ... earned Capital One Academic All-District 8 First Team honors ... led team with 220 digs during the month ... finished career fifth in digs (1,375).

Taylor Nelson, football
A senior quarterback from West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley HS ... led team to 3-1 mark ... named IIAC Offensive Player of the Week twice ... threw for 1,054 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions ... completed 67.1 percent of passes ... surpassed Mike Donnenwerth as Simpson career leader in touchdown passes when he threw his 67th in an overtime win over Coe ... accounted for six touchdowns in win over Coe.

November 2013

Lauren Stillman, soccer
A freshman defender from West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley HS ... named second team all-conference, the highet postseason award for a Simpson player in 2013 ... started all 21 games in first year of collegiate soccer ... top defender on the team.

Brad Vogel, football
A senior wide receiver/return specialist from Donnellson, Iowa/Central Lee HS ... named first team all-conference as a returner and a receiver ... earned a spot on the D3football.com All-Region Third Team as a receiver, Simpson's only all-region performer ... caught eight passes for 126 yards and three touchdowns in Simpson's season-ending win over Luther.

December 2013

Morgan Mauro, basketball
A sophomore shooting guard from Des Moines, Iowa/West Des Moines Dowling Catholic HS ... averaged 8.7 points and 3.5 rebounds in six games ... made 16 of 29 3-pointers (52.2 percent) ... reached double figures in three straight games ... made a career-high six 3s at Mount Mercy, going 6-for-7 ... her 85.7 percent shooting from beyond the arch was the best by a Simpson player since 2008.

Ryan Joint, wrestling
A freshman 149 pounder from Stuart, Iowa/West Central Valley HS ... led the Storm with a 5-3 record during the month, going 2-1 in dual competition ... closed the month with a team-best 9-5 record ... went 3-2 in a stacked 149-pound division at Simpson's Luther L. Hill Invitational ... 3 of 5 wins came by pinfall.

January 2014

Morgan Terpstra, basketball
A senior forward from Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Linn-Mar HS ... led Simpson with 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game as the Storm went 6-1 ... posted a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double in win at Coe ... earned IIAC Athlete of the Week honors Jan. 27 after averaging 16 points and 8.5 rebounds in wins over Central and Wartburg ... narrowly missed two more double-doubles, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds against Luther and Wartburg.

Brett Roberts, wrestling
A sophomore 174 pounder from Ottumwa, Iowa/Eddyville HS ... led the Storm with a 10-5 record during the month ... began the month on a six-match winning streak ... earned IIAC Athlete of the Week honors for the week ending Jan. 5 ... went 5-0 during that week, winning the 174-pound title at the Williams Invitational.

February 2014

Christina Amburgy, swimming
A sophomore from Knoxville, Iowa/Knoxville HS ... was named to the All-Liberal Arts Championship team after placing third in the 100 freestyle ... effort in the 100 free marked the highest finish by a Simpson swimmer at the LAC in 10 years ... set three school records at the meet: 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay ... broke a 10-year old record in the 100 freestyle.

Brad Vogel, track & field
A senior from Donnellson, Iowa/Central Lee HS ... won the 55-meter dash at the 2014 Iowa Conference Indoor Championships, the first in school history ... placed second in the event in 2011 and 2012 and injured hamstring in the 2013 finals ... also placed fourth in the 200 at the IIAC Championships.

March 2014

Abbie Van Vleet, softball
A sophomore utility player from Indianola, Iowa/Indianola HS ... hit .443 with four doubles, five triples, one home run and 26 RBIs during the month ... also went 7-1 as a starting pitcher, posting a 2.62 ERA with two saves and a 2.7 k/bb ratio ... named IIAC Female Athlete of the Week on March 9 after hitting .556 and going 3-0 in the circle.

Tyler Craig, baseball
A senior first baseman from Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale HS ... hit .380 with seven doubles, three triples, one home run and 14 RBIs during the month ... slugged a team-best .700 ... named IIAC Male Athlete of the Week on March 16 after going 7-for-10 with three doubles, one triple, one home run and seven RBIs.

April 2014

Tori Haag, softball
A sophomore catcher from Waukee, Iowa/Waukee HS ... hit a team-high .424 with two home runs in 16 games ... led team in RBIs (13), doubles (10) and slugging (.729) ... reached base safely in 15 of 16 games ... tied a school record with three doubles in a win over Buena Vista on April 22 ... went 7-for-9 with a home run, three doubles and seven RBIs in a doubleheader sweep of Wartburg on April 1.

Trent Lindenman, golf
A sophomore from New Sharon, Iowa/North Mahaska HS ... led team with a 75.4 stroke average in April (including final two rounds of IIAC Championship) ... turned in three, top-10 finishes and two top-5 efforts ... named IIAC Golfer of the Week after placing second at the Wartburg Spring Invitational on April 12 ... fired a career-low 71 in final round at Wartburg ... earned All-IIAC honors by tying for 10th at the IIAC Championships.

May 2014

Bayley Fleshner, track & field
A junior hurdler from Rockwell, Iowa/West Fork HS ... qualified for the NCAA Championshis in the 100-meter hurdles with a personal-best 14.43 at the Wisconsin-La Crosse NCAA Qualifier ... took second place in the 100 hurdles at the IIAC Championships and won the 100 hurdles at the Monmouth Fighting Scot Invitational.

Matt Pennings, baseball
A junior pitcher from Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny HS ... named Second Team all-IIAC after going 6-4 with a 2.68 ERA during the season ... became just the third pitcher since 1999 to post an ERA under 2.70 ... picked up school record-setting ninth career save in Simpson's 7-6 win over Wartburg in the IIAC Tournament.