North Coast Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week | March 4, 2025
 
Baseball Player of the Week – Parker Gryskevich, Wittenberg
Wittenberg graduate student Parker Gryskevich (Brownsburg, IN/ Brownsburg) helped the Tigers to a 3-2 record on the week with wins over Bethany (WV) (3-1), Immaculata (23-5) and Shenandoah (11-1). On the week, the catcher hit .385, drew two walks, stole one base, produced five RBI and scored four runs. The grad student tallied five hits, three of which were for extra bases as he belted one double, one triple and one homerun for an .846 slugging percentage. In the field, he did not commit an error and recorded 38 putouts, while having a hand in a double play for the Tigers.
 
Baseball Pitcher of the Week – Calvin Burkholder, Oberlin 
Oberlin sophomore Calvin Burkholder (Aurora, CO/Cherokee Trail) pitched a complete-game shutout to earn the win on the mound in the Yeomen’s 13-0 victory over Berea on Saturday. The right-hander threw seven innings, allowing just three hits and one walk, while striking out nine of the 25 batters he faced.
 
Men’s Lacrosse Athlete of the Week – Tommy Quinson, Denison
Denison senior attackman Tommy Quinson (Rye Brook, NY/Brunswick School) propelled the Big Red to two victories last week, totaling five goals, four assists, four ground balls, and three caused turnovers. The senior scored three goals and added three assists in Denison's 19-9 win over Baldwin Wallace on Thursday. Quinson followed up that performance with two goals and one assist in the Big Red’s 14-12 win over No. 4 nationally-ranked Washington and Lee on Sunday. In the win over the Generals, the attacker scored the final goal of the game with 4:20 remaining in the fourth quarter, which gave Denison a two-goal cushion.
 
Women’s Lacrosse Athlete of the Week – Julianne Henigan, Denison
Denison sophomore goalkeeper Julianne Henigan (South Orange, NJ/Columbia) helped lead the Big Red to a 2-0 week with wins over Mount Union (13-7) and No. 22 nationally-ranked University of Chicago (11-2). The sophomore made 27 saves on the week, including 16 in Denison's win over Chicago on Sunday, in which she held the Maroons to two goals on 34 shots faced. In the six-goal victory over Mount Union on Thursday, Henigan recorded 11 saves on 18 shots faced with a .786 save percentage. The South Orange, New Jersey native finished the week with a 2.95 GAA and .844 save percentage.
 
Softball Player of the Week – Ella Kuenster, DePauw
DePauw junior Ella Kuenster (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park and River Forest HS) helped the Tigers record a 3-3 record on the week, with wins over Belhaven (7-6), Stevens (15-7) and Alma (8-1). Across six games, the junior went 10-for-18 at the plate, for a .556 average at the plate.  Kuenster produced 10 RBI, scored seven runs, drew three walks and belted four extra base hits, three of which were homeruns. For her efforts on the week, she was named to NFCA Leadoff Classic All-Tournament Team.
 
Softball Pitcher of the Week – Izzy Akin, Kenyon
Kenyon first-year Izzy Akin (Seven Hills, OH/Normandy), who came on in relief, helped lead the Owls to a doubleheader sweep of Gallaudet (25-0, 17-3) on Sunday. In game one, the rookie pitched one inning and struck out all three batters she faced. In game two, she entered after two outs were recorded in the first inning and went the rest of the way without allowing a hit and fanning nine batters. Overall, she pitched 5.1 innings, gave up no runs, no hits and no walks, while striking out 12 of the 16 batters she faced.
 
Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week – Finley Buelte and Will Cramer, DePauw
DePauw junior Finley Buelte (Rockford, IL/Rockford Christian) and first-year Will Cramer (Zionsville, OH/Zionsville) collected a win at the No. 1 doubles flight over the No. 25 nationally-ranked Kenyon tandem of junior Paulo Pocasangre Kreling (Guacimo, Costa Rica/Interamerican High School CATI) and sophomore Alejandro Gonzalez (Monterrey, Mexico/Citizens). The Tiger duo collected a 7⁷-6⁴ victory over the Owl pair in their only match of the week.
 
Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week – Caitlin VanWinkle, Denison
Denison first-year Caitlin VanWinkle (Indianapolis, IN/Park Tudor) played a key role in the Big Red's victories over No. 33 nationally-ranked Bethel and No. 24 Carleton. The rookie clinched both matches for the Big Red, winning a hard-fought No. 3 singles match in three sets against Bethel’s Claire Keller (6-2, 2-6, 7-5) to secure the 5-2 team victory. VanWinkle followed that up with a three-set win over Carleton’s Mariam Nechiporuk (7⁸-6⁶, 2-6, 6-3) at No. 2 singles, helping Denison edge the Knights 4-3.
 
NCAC Milestones & Records (Feb. 24 – Mar. 2)
 
Kenyon, Men's Lacrosse – After going 19-for-24 in the faceoff circle against Centre on Saturday, senior Thomas Nelson (Minneapolis, MN/The Blake School) set a new NCAC career record for faceoff wins, surpassing the previous mark of 744 held by Oberlin's Kinori Rosnow (2014-17). Nelson's performance helped Kenyon secure a 12-11 victory with a key win on the final faceoff allowing the Owls to run down the clock and claim the win.
 
Oberlin, Women's Tennis – The Yeowomen recorded a dominant 7-0 sweep over Mount Union, marking their first shutout since 2022.
 
Ohio Wesleyan, Women’s Basketball – Senior guard Kasey Schipfer (Mechanicsburg, OH/Mechanicsburg) netted 16 points in the Battling Bishops NCAC Women’s Basketball Semifinal matchup with Wittenberg on Friday, which moved her career total to 2,121 to make her the NCAC's all-time leading scorer, passing Ohio Wesleyan's Kelly Heil (2,112; 2001-05).
 
Wooster, Men's Basketball – Senior guard Jamir Billings (Lorain, OH/Lorain) set a new NCAC career steals record with his 324th steal in the league’s Men's Basketball Tournament Final against Denison, surpassing the previous record of 323 held by Scott Tedder of Ohio Wesleyan (1988).