The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association has announced the 12 individual student-athletes as its Athletes of the Week, for the week of competition ending on March 9, 2020.
The MIAA Athlete of the Week awards are nominated by coaches following one week of competition and selected by the MIAA Conference Office.
This week's winners are listed below with their respective achievements during last week's competition.
Zac Schirmer, Alma
Senior, Infield
Bay City, Mich.
The right fielder, Zac Schirmer, batted .500 with two triples, two doubles, and a walk over the weekend against Wilmington College (OH). Schirmer drove in six RBIs as well as scored himself seven times.
On the year, Schirmer is batting .390 and has 19 RBIs through 14 games. He is also tied for eighth in the nation in triples with three. He also was a big part of the Scots success at the RussMatt tournament in Florida as he had two home runs and 10 RBIs in eight games.
Devin Murray, Albion
Freshman, Pitcher
Rochester Hills, Mich.
Freshman Devon Murray earned the win in relief playing in his first collegiate outing and earned another win in his first collegiate start. He gave up just 1 run and 8 hits while putting out 9 batters on strikeouts in seven innings with a 1.17 era.
Lilly Patillo, Albion
Freshman, Utility
Northglenn, Colo.
Freshman Lilly Patillo led her team to the best start in Briton history going 8-2 on the week. She hit 2 home runs, 5 doubles, and 15 RBIs and scored 14 times in 12 games.
Ashley Pion, Albion
Freshman, Pitcher
Edwardsburg, Mich.
Freshman Pion pitched 42.3 innings where she struck out 60 batters while giving up just 5 walks and 18 runs. She finished the week with a .425 ERA to help the Britons to their best start of a season in program history.
Matthew Czarnecki, Albion
Freshman
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
In singles, Matthew Czarnecki won all 4 matches during the week with 6-0, 6-0 wins over Waynesburg, and Mount Vernon Nazarene; a 6-1, 6-1 win over St. John?s Fisher; and a 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 win over Bridgewater. In doubles, he went 3-1 on the week with partner Sagar Kamaraju, with their only loss coming in a tiebreaker to Bridgewater.
Ashley Spirrison, Trine
Sophomore
Fishers, Ind.
Sophomore Ashley Spirrison went 8-0 through four matches on our spring break trip. She posted convincing singles wins over King's College 6-2, 6-1, Wartburg 6-1, 6-0, Emerson, 6-0, 6-0, and Concordia Moorhead 6-0, 6-2. In doubles, she teamed up with Ellie Cole for wins over King's College 8-3, Wartburg 8-4, Emerson 8-1 and Concordia Moorhead 8-2. She helped Trine win three of the four matches.
Chase Sparling, Calvin
Sophomore, Midfielder/Face-Off
Novi, Mich.
For the second time in his collegiate career, Calvin sophomore Chase Sparling has been named the MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week in men's lacrosse. Sparling (Novi, Mich./Novi HS) helped the Calvin men's lacrosse team split a pair of games last week as the Knights fell to Benedictine University 15-10 and then defeated Anderson 23-5.
Over the week Sparling won 43 of 60 faceoff opportunities (.717). He was credited with 23 ground balls and caused three opponent turnovers. He also collected one goal and two assists.
Peyton Gasche, Adrian
Senior, Attacker
Lake Orion, Mich.
Senior Peyton Gasche paced the Adrian offense with 17 points on eight goals and a team-best nine assists while collecting six ground balls during the Bulldogs 2-0 week on the road. He had three goals and three assists in a 14-9 win at Concordia-Chicago, then followed up that performance with a school-record 11 points (5g, 6a) in 17-6 road win at Earlham. He has taken over the MIAA scoring lead with 27 points on 13 goals and 14 assists.
Erika McDonald, Adrian
Junior, Midfield
Hastings, Minn.
Junior Erika McDonald racked up five goals for the Bulldogs during their three-game week. She also picked up nine ground balls and won 11 draw controls. McDonald also caused three turnovers to the Bulldogs.
Erin Doyle, Saint Mary's
Junior, Midfield
Niskayuna, NY.
Junior Erin Doyle amassed 12 goals, nine assists, and 13 draw controls as the Belles went 2-0 on the week. She matched her school record of 12 points and had a game-high six ground balls in a 20-10 win over Aquinas. The junior then became the Saint Mary's all-time leader in points in a career with a nine-point effort - including a school record-tying five assists - in a 17-12 comeback win over Southwestern.
Brett McGugan, Adrian
Junior
Sarnia, Ontario
Junior Brett McGugan led the Bulldogs "A" lineup with a 78+74=152 on the par-72, 6,955-yard course for an eighth-place tie out of 58 players at the 10-team Pfeiffer University Invitational in Hardeeville, S.C., where the Bulldogs were in fifth place. He shot the lowest round of any Bulldog on the second day to play an integral role in the team's 12-stroke improvement (307) from the first-day total of 319.
Taylor Ross, Adrian
Sophomore
Columbiana, Ohio
Sophomore Taylor Ross, who is a spring semester transfer, made in immediate impact in the Adrian lineup during the Bulldogs spring schedule debut at the 2020 Pfeiffer University Invitational in Hardeeville, S.C. On the first day, Adrian shot a 355 for third place. But on Tuesday, the Bulldogs shaved five strokes for a 36-hole total of 705 for runner-up honors in the eight-team event. For her part, Taylor led the way in her first collegiate event for Adrian with a 90+84=174 for 11th place--jumping from 15th after the first 18 holes--out of 42 golfers on the par-72, 5,800-yard course.
