The Great American Conference named Southern Nazarene midfielder Angel Lopez as offensive player of the week while Rogers State defender and Harding's Jared Nitz swept defensive player and goalkeeper of the week, respectively.
In Southern Nazarene's 4-1 win over Newman, Lopez picked up two goals in the second half that allowed the Crimson Storm to procure their spot in the GAC championships. Hubble was vital in a pair of stops in the backline to bring Rogers State's game against Harding to a draw.
Nitz made a season high eight saves in the game against the Hillcats. The only goal he let in was a penalty kick as the 1-1 score was the first time in 31 instances that Harding did not lose to an opponent that is nationally ranked.
Others nominated for offensive player were Fort Hays State's Blake Arndt, Newman's Luke Mills and Rogers State's Jordan Watson. FHS' Alec Bevis, Newman's Asa Moncivais and Southern Nazarene's Estaban Ramirez were nominated for defensive player while FHS' Kieran Brown, Newman's Jean Claude Consol, Rogers State's Dillon Dean and Southern Nazarene's Ramiro Jimenez were considered for goalkeeper.
GAC GOLFERS
OF THE WEEK
The GAC named Southwestern Oklahoma's Rebecca Lau as the women's golfer of the week while Arkansas Tech's Henry Fizzell secured the men's award.
Lau aided SWOSU in taking the third out of 18 teams at the Missouri West State Holiday Inn Express Classic, finishing ahead of three nationally ranked teams. Lau's final round 79 in winds blowing between 20 and 30 miles per hour sent her up by 13 positions to tie sixth.
At the NSIC Preview Invitational, Frizzell tied fourth along with teammate Andre Jacobs. His even-par 71 matched the third best round of the invitational.
Oklahoma Baptist's Hayden Meiser and Arkansas Tech's Jacqueline Klemm were nominated for the women's accolade and Southern Arkansas' Kade Johnson was considered for the men's award.
GAC WOMEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Arkansas Tech's Aastha Dargude picked up the accolade after the Golden Suns brought home a pair of wins.
Dargude's three-set victory at No. 3 singles procured the match as Arkansas Tech took their first win over Drury. She was paired with Michelle Khoo for a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles. The freshman coasted to a 6-1, 6-1 victory in singles and a 6-2 victory in doubles.
Henderson State's Mulan Kamoe and SAU's Honoka Yoshimura were nominated for the award.
GAC TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
The GAC named Oklahoma Baptist's Hayden Ashley as the men's track athlete while Harding's Dorian Chaigneau nabbed the men's field athlete. Harding's Kinga Szarzynska secured the women's track honor and teammate Sierra White took the women's field honor.
Ashley took the top score in the decathlon in Division II so far, tallying 6,928 points at the Texas Relays. He broke his own record of 6,325 points that he established at the 2019 OBU Invitational, gaining an NCAA Provisional Mark.
The NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field national champion, Chaigneau became the first Division II athlete to overcome the qualifiying mark of 5.24 meters when he secured a vault of 5.30 meters at the Texas Relays. He also broke the GAC record that was set by Southern Nazarene's Colin Pasque in 2017.
Szarzynska managed to lower her time in the 800-meter run to 2:10.09 at the Texas Relays, earning an NCAA Division II Provisional mark as the third fastest time in the county and the second best in GAC history. At the 2018 Drake Relays, Szarnyska produced the GAC's all time best time of 2:09.84.
White blew out the GAC record in the pole vault while setting a school recording when she cleared 4.00 meters during the Bobcat Invitational. Garnering an NCAA Division II Provisional mark, White became the fifth athlete in Division II with a vault of at least 4.00 meters.
Others nominated were Harding's Fallou Gaye, SAU's Dylan German and Jordan Johnson, East Central's Zach Wells, Oklahoma Baptist's Emma Downing, SWOSU's Sabrina Hughbanks, Oklahoma Baptist's Isabella Lotz and SAU's Alexis Matlock and Jasmine Peoples.
GAC WOMEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Harding's Emma Roberts earned the offensive player award while Oklahoma Baptist's Kimmy McKinney and Southern Nazarene's Maci Attalla took the defender and goalkeeper honors, respectively.
Robert picked up the first goal of Harding's 3-1 win over East Central Saturday. McKinney picked up her second defender accolade in the past three weeks, vital in Oklahoma Baptist's scoreless draw against SWOSU as she was on the field for the entire 110 minutes.
Attalla made at least eight saves, stopping all of NWOSU's eight tries on the net in a 1-0 double overtime victory. She leads the GAC with 10.00 saves per game, ranking fourth in Division II.
Others nominated were goalkeepers Bethanie Dixon of Harding and Mia Pendleton of Oklahoma Baptist.