Berwanger's a hit at SIU; NIU has Lake County flavor
Southern Illinois University volleyball player Jennifer Berwanger (Lake Zurich/Lake Zurich HS) has been named the Missouri Valley Conference player of the week, the league announced Monday.
A junior outside hitter, Berwanger earned all-tournament team honors at the Northern Illinois invitational last weekend, helping SIU start the season 4-0. She posted two double-doubles and led the team in kills in all four matches.
She averaged 4.29 kills, 3.36 digs and 0.64 service aces per set, hitting .248 over the weekend. She recorded 14 kills and 5 digs in the season-opening sweep of Stephen F. Austin, then put up 17 kills and a match-high 20 digs for her 26th career double-double in a win against Northern Illinois.
On Saturday, she posted 11 kills, 5 digs and 3 service aces in a sweep of Illinois-Chicago, then went on to post another double-double in a four-set victory over Western Illinois with 18 kills, 17 digs and 2 service aces.
Football
Three Lake County high school products are scheduled to be the starting offensive lineup for Northern Illinois University on Saturday, when the Huskies begin their 2009 season with a 6 p.m. kickoff against Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
Kyle Skarb (Hawthorn Woods, Lake Zurich HS), 6-foot-2, 226-pound junior, will start at fullback, while the line will include 6-5, 281-pound redshirt sophomore Joe Pawlak (Grayslake, Grayslake HS) at right guard and 6-3, 284-pound redshirt senior Eddie Adamski (Kildeer, Carmel HS) at center.
Another Lake County product, 6-3, 210-pound senior Marcus Lewis (Gurnee, Warren HS), is listed second on the depth chart at a wide receiver position.
Baseball
Jon Mikrut (Wauconda, Carmel Catholic HS), who played at Northwestern from 2002-05, has returned to his alma mater as an assistant baseball coach.
"We're very excited to have Jon back at Northwestern University after being a player here and moving on to professional baseball," NU coach Paul Stevens said. "We feel that he will have a strong relationship with our student-athletes. He'll be in charge of infielders and hitters and I think that they will be well instructed and well prepared under his guidance."
Mikrut was a standout as both a shortstop and a pitcher during his time at NU, including earning third-team All-Big Ten accolades as an infielder during his sophomore season. His name can be found littered across the Northwestern career record book as he ranks first all-time in at-bats (788), second in games played (212) and saves (16), third in triples (11) and total bases (365), fourth in doubles (44) and sixth in hits (233).
Mikrut was voted by his teammates as co-freshman of year in 2002 and hit a team-best .317 the following year during his All-Big Ten campaign. Doubling as the team's closer, his 16 career saves came over his first three seasons in a Wildcat uniform.
Following his collegiate career, Mikrut signed a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals' organization. He competed as both a position player and a pitcher for four seasons and advanced to the Double A level. Mikrut played in the 2006 Midwest League All-Star Game as a pitcher for the Swing of the Quad Cities and was also selected to the 2008 Florida State League All-Star Game.
He has six years of coaching experience as a baseball instructor at the Libertyville Sports Complex as well as recently serving as the head sophomore baseball coach at Carmel.
Mikrut graduated from Northwestern in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in learning and organizational change from the School of Education and Social Policy.
Women's soccer
Junior midfielder Tara Strickland (Libertyville, Libertyville HS) recently became DePaul University's first Big East offensive player of the week in the program's 14-year history.
Strickland scored DePaul's first goal in a 4-0 victory over Loyola. Two days later, she netted the first of three straight Blue Demon scores in a 3-2 comeback victory over Northwestern.
The win marked the first time DePaul has beaten NU in women's soccer.