Three Ashland University student-athletes are the latest Eagles to be named Great Midwest Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week on Monday (Oct. 23) afternoon.
Junior goalkeeper
Ty Bowden and senior goalkeeper
Mackenzie Simon are the latest Great Midwest men's and women's soccer Defensive Athletes of the Week, respectively, and sophomore
Cole Huebner is AU's first men's swimming Athlete of the Week of the new season.
- Bowden, now a three-time Great Midwest honoree this season, turned in his second clean sheet of 2023 in a 0-0 tie at Walsh on Saturday (Oct. 21), making seven saves in the process. His season goals-against average went down to 1.30, and his season save percentage went up to .796, and Bowden is 4-3-1 this fall.
Ashland's men are 5-7-3 overall and 5-3-3 in the Great Midwest, and their next game will be Wednesday (Oct. 25) at 6:30 p.m. at Ferguson Field against Cedarville (8-4-3, 5-3-3). Both the Eagles and Yellow Jackets are tied for fourth in the conference table.
- For Simon, this is her fourth Great Midwest weekly laurel of the season. Last week, she recorded her ninth shutout of 2023 (tied for third-most in NCAA Division II) in a 2-0 win at Northwood, making two saves. For the season, Simon is 13-0-1 with a 0.22 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage (both third-best in D-II).
The No. 1-ranked Ashland women are 13-0-2 overall and 9-0-2 in the Great Midwest, and will play on Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Ursuline (2-10-2, 2-8-1).
- Huebner needed just two outings in 2023-24 to get his first conference honor of the new campaign. In the opening meet at Oberlin on Oct. 13-14, Huebner was part of the first-place men's 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:26.36, the winning men's 400 free relay in 3:13.71, and the victorious men's 800 free relay in 7:13.11, won the men's 100 free in 48.1 seconds, and was third in the men's 50 free in 22.07 seconds. On Friday (Oct. 20) night at Findlay, he was third in the men's 100 free in 48.47 seconds.
Ashland's men's and women's swimming and diving teams will go to Wayne State on Friday (Oct. 27) at 5 p.m.
2023-24 ASHLAND UNIVERSITY GREAT MIDWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
SEPT. 5 – Bailey Ruth (volleyball),
Mackenzie Simon (women's soccer).
SEPT. 11 – Makenna Belcher (volleyball),
Mackenzie Simon (women's soccer).
SEPT. 18 – Andrew Kolar (men's golf),
Oliver Whaley (men's soccer).
SEPT. 25 – Makenna Belcher (volleyball),
Katie Thompson (volleyball).
OCT. 2 – Ty Bowden (men's soccer),
Rodri Fernandez (men's soccer),
Dezmin Lyburtus (football),
Katie Thompson (volleyball).
OCT. 9 – Ty Bowden (men's soccer),
Dani Hicks (women's soccer),
Vander Rocha (men's soccer),
Katie Thompson (volleyball).
OCT. 16 – Mackenzie Simon (women's soccer).
OCT. 23 – Ty Bowden (men's soccer),
Cole Huebner (men's swimming),
Mackenzie Simon (women's soccer).
