SLIAC Weekly Release - March 4

This week in the SLIAC is a weekly review of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. It recaps the prior weeks results and highlights upcoming events. You can also find the latest standings, statistics, schedules and awards.

HEADLINES

"Styles Points" for Spalding in SLIAC Title Win (February 28, 2015)
Kayla Styles jump started the Spalding Univeristy Golden Eagles to their second consecutive SLIAC Tournament title.....MORE

Golden Eagles Outlast Fontbonne in SLIAC Championship (February 28, 2015)
In a game that featured 12 ties and 11 lead changes the Spalding University men's basketball was the one in the end that out lasted their opponent, Fontbonne University, to capture the 2015 SLIAC Championship.....MORE

SLIAC Winter All-Academic Team Released (March 3, 2015)
The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has released the 2014-15 Winter All-Academic Team. The conference would like to congratulate the 53 student-athletes that achieved the honor this year.....MORE

Trio of SLIAC Student-Athletes Named Jostens Trophy Finalists (March 3, 2015)
A trio of St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference student-athletes have been named 2015 Jostens Trophy Finalists......MORE

Several Tigers Garner USCAA Honors (March 3, 2015)
The United States Small College Athletic Association held their awards banquet at the 2015 USCAA National Tournament in Uniontown, PA.  Academic All-American Teams and All-Americans were announced at the banquet.....MORE

SLIAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

The SLIAC Players of the Week are honored for their performances during the week. Click on the sport link below to see the full list of 2014-15 Players of the Week. For this week's Player of the Week release - HERE

Men's Tennis - Travis Blair, Webster University

Baseball l Softball l Men's Tennis l Women's Tennis l Men's Track & Field l Women's Track & Field

SLIAC SPRING STANDINGS

AROUND THE SLIAC

Blackburn's Briana Rae was just one of ten NCAA Division III women's basketball players to be named a finalist for the 2015 Jostens Trophy. The award, in its 18th year, honors the most outstanding men's and women's players based on basketball ability, academic prowess and community service. Rae was named to the Winter All-Academic team and earned Second Team All-Conference honors this year.

Eureka College's Kelsey Shoemake was the second SLIAC women's basketball player to be named a finalist for the Jostens Trophy. Shoemake earned Winter All-Academic team honors and was named First Team All-Conference after averaging 18.0 points per game and setting a conference record for rebounds. The winner of the Jostens Trophy will be announced March 13.

Despite being the last team into the 2015 SLIAC Men's Basketball Tournament the Griffins nearly pulled off a magical run. The Griffins, the #4 seed, upended host and top seed Webster University 67-61 in the semifinals. Their run came to an end though as they fell to Spalding 58-51 in the championship game. Griffins Blake Welch and Richard Dorhauer were named to the All-Tournament team.

The Greenville women's basketball team had their season come to an end with a loss to Spalding in the semifinals of the 2015 SLIAC Tournament. The Panthers finished the year with a 12-14 overall record and were represented by Kelly Lenz on the All-Tournament team after finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds, and four steals in her team's playoff game.

Iowa Wesleyan's Karla Vietinghoff joined rare company in the SLIAC as she was named the Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, becoming just the third player to win the award multiple times.  Vietinghoff led her team in scoring this year and averaged 17.2 points per game during conference play. She joins Halley Spann (Webster) and Elizabeth Klotz (Fontbonne) as the only players in SLIAC history to take home the conference's top individual award more than once.

It was a busy week for MacMurray's Clayton Whitlock. In addition to earning First Team All-Conference honors Clayton was named the 2015 SLIAC Men's Basketball Player of the Year. A couple of days later more honors came his way as he was named a finalist for the 2015 Jostens Trophy.

Principia College's Parker Davidson, a freshman from Amarillo, Texas, was named the 2015 SLIAC Men's Basketball Newcomer of the Year. He led the Panthers in scoring (15.2) and rebounding (9.1) per game and was ranked in the top ten in the conference in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots. Davidson becomes the first Panther to earn the conference Newcomer of the Year award in program history.

Spalding is home to both 2015 SLIAC Basketball Champions. The ladies won their second straight title and will face Washington University in St. Louis in the opening round of the DIII Championship. The men's team won their second title in three years and will travel to Atlanta, Georgia to face Emory University in the first round.

The Webster University men's basketball team played host to the 2015 SLIAC Tournament but saw their season came to a premature end when they fell to rival Fontbonne in the opening round. The Griffins were represented on the All-Tournament team by Aaron Griffin who along with Hunter Ward earned Second Team All-Conference honors. Ahmad Smith was named to the First Team.

The Westminster basketball teams swept the SLIAC Team Sportsmanship awards. The men's team won their second consecutive award while the women's team won their fourth straight. The Sportsmanship Award is given to the team whose players, coaches, and fans best represent the principles of good sportsmanship.

THIS WEEK'S SLIAC SCHEDULE

To see a complete schedule of this week's SLIAC action click HERE

KEEP UP WITH THE SLIAC ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Be sure to keep up with the SLIAC using various social media tools. You can follow us on Twitter (@sliac) HERE or Facebook (St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) HERE

Be sure to check out the SLIAC You Tube Channel. There you will find our weekly Feature Friday series where we talk with student-athletes from around the conference and help you get to know them outside of athletics and give you an idea of what it is like to be a NCAA Division III student-athlete. This week we took a break from interviews and showcased the 2015 SLIAC Basketball Tournaments. There you can watch the highlight videos from both the Men's and Women's Tournaments. To watch the Men's Highlight Video click HERE and to watch the Women's Highlight Video click HERE