PORTLAND, Ore. – Fall golf action was highlighted by a pair of individual winners last week, who topped the latest list of Great Northwest Athletic Conference Players of the Week released on Monday.
 

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MEN’S GOLF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Benjamin Mulder – Northwest Nazarene University
First-career player of the week.
 
Mulder put together a memorable week on the links, recording a win and a runner-up finish in two events. The sophomore from Spokane, Wash., kicked off his season by claiming the title at the True North Classic, topping a field of 47 golfers including four of the five GNAC schools. Mulder posted a three-round score of 3-under-par 213 (70-74-69) on the par-72, 6,858-yard course. In a tight race for the individual title, Mulder delivered a final-round 3-under-par 69 to hold off a trio of players who tied for second at 2-under-par 214. Building off his success into the Bishop Invitational last weekend, Mulder tied for second place among a field of 92 players to once again emerge as the top GNAC player of the event. Mulder carded a 4-under-par 212 (70-70-72) on the par-72, 6,986-yard course, beginning the event with back-to-back 2-under-par 70s. Through the first two weeks of the 2024-25 campaign, Mulder leads the conference with a scoring average of 70.8 strokes per round and has shot par or better in five of his six rounds thus far.
 
Also Nominated: Graedon Woodward, Montana State Billings; Denby Carswell, Simon Fraser; Peter Dionne-Yahr, Western Washington.
 

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WOMEN’S GOLF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Orraya Tipasathien – Montana State University Billings
First-career player of the week.
 
Tipasathien has done nothing but win this fall, claiming victory for the second straight event at the Black Hills State Classic. The Yellowjacket sophomore topped a field of 39 competitors with a two-round score of 156 (76-80), battling through challenging conditions and holding off teammate Ella Tannenberger by one stroke to claim the title. The win comes after Tipasathien emerged triumphant at the South Dakota Mines Hardrocker Invitational on Sept. 18. Her performances led the MSUB women to the team title in each of their first two tournaments of the year. A native of Bangkok, Thailand, Tipasathien ranks ninth in the GNAC in scoring average at 77.8 strokes per round.
 
MSUB Head Coach Adam Buie: “Orraya has had a superb start to her sophomore campaign. She went 3-0 in the Leslie Spalding Cup and won our first two tournaments leading the team to victory in all three competitions. Her ball striking is elite and she hits a ton of greens in regulation. Her ceiling as a golfer is so high. With her swing, length and power, she just needs to continue to work on putting and can be one of the best players in Division II. I’m really happy to see her hard work pay off on the course. In each of her wins, she made a birdie on her 17th hole to win by one shot, so she has been finishing very strong at the end. Red Rock and Spearfish Canyon were difficult courses to start the year, and she answered the bell at both.”
 
Also Nominated: Dana Smith, Simon Fraser; Lauren F. Lee, Western Washington.
 

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WOMEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ciara Garcia – Western Oregon University
First-career player of the week.
 
Garcia helped the Wolves start their conference slate with a pair of victories, impacting her team’s 1-0 win over Saint Martin’s last Thursday and its 4-2 triumph over Northwest Nazarene last Saturday. Racking up two goals and an assist across the two games, Garcia’s five total points were the most of any GNAC player last week. The sophomore from Flagstaff, Ariz., started her week by supplying the assist on Olivia Fothergill’s game-winning goal in the fourth minute against the Saints. She followed by collecting a brace in the win over NNU, helping her team overcome an early 1-0 deficit and move to the top of the GNAC table with six points. Garcia struck in the 28th minute and quickly doubled her tally in the 37th minute to put her team ahead 2-1 before halftime in its final win of the week. The sophomore transfer from UC Colorado Springs leads her team and ranks second in the GNAC with three goals this fall.
 
WOU Head Coach Kacey Bingham: “Cici had a great week last week. She was a huge piece of our success. Cici is a player who can make big plays in key moments.”
 
Also Nominated: Sami Huber, Central Washington; Liberty Palmer, MSU Billings; Attie Jo Westbrook, Northwest Nazarene; Taylor Krueger, Seattle Pacific; Dariella Lopez, Simon Fraser; Sophie Bearden Croft, Western Washington.
 

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WOMEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Asia Hardin – Western Washington University
First-career player of the week.
 
Hardin was instrumental in each of the Vikings’ results last week, helping WWU shut out Simon Fraser 1-0 before a 1-1 draw against reigning GNAC regular-season champion Seattle Pacific. Starting their conference slate against a team that received votes in last week’s United Soccer Coaches national poll, the Vikings relied on a 90-minute effort by Hardin on the back line to seal their third shutout of the season against the Red Leafs. She followed with another full-90 effort against the Falcons, and made perhaps her most important contribution in the final minute of the weekend. With WWU trailing 1-0 and less than 60 seconds remaining, Hardin fed an assist to Sophie Bearden Croft who punched home the equalizer to salvage the draw. It was the first-career assist for the junior defender, who has started all 52 of WWU’s matches since making her debut as a freshman in 2022.
 
WWU Head Coach Travis Connell: “Asia is a leader on and off the field for us. This last week our team was balancing a lot with three games and the start of class, so we leaned on her a lot. She was a rock in the back and helped the players around her play at a high level.”
 
Also Nominated: Danika Galbraith, Central Washington; Sunny Bennion, MSU Billings; Mercedes Cullen, Seattle Pacific; Emily Smith, Simon Fraser.
 

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VOLLEYBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Emma Daoud-Hebert – Central Washington University
Fifth-career player of the week, first this season.
 
Daoud-Hebert was a force on both sides of the net last week, helping Central Washington beat Montana State Billings in straight sets before a 3-1 win over reigning GNAC champion Seattle Pacific. The fifth-year senior from Woodinville, Wash., posted a .621 hitting percentage – nearly 200 points higher than the next-closest GNAC player from last week’s matches. Daoud-Hebert had just two attacking errors on 29 swings, punching down 20 kills to help the Wildcats improve to 4-0 in conference play on the season. Daoud-Hebert was unstoppable in the sweep of MSUB, posting a .769 hitting percentage with 11 kills on 13 attempts. She followed with nine kills on 16 swings to help CWU snap a nine-match losing streak against Seattle Pacific. In addition to her offensive efficiency, Daoud-Hebert contributed seven total blocks including five in the triumph over SPU. An All-American in 2023, Daoud-Hebert leads Division II volleyball with a hitting percentage of .494 this fall.
 
CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya: “Emma has been contributing in a lot of ways, and her presence alone is very impactful. She is becoming a very good overall volleyball player which enhances her ability to play the middle. Her performance this week shows the work she is putting in. Emma loves the challenge and it definitely showed this weekend.”
 
Also Nominated: Bethany Tuchardt, Alaska Anchorage; Karli Nielson, Alaska Fairbanks; Julia Gordon, Montana State Billings; Maren Machado, Northwest Nazarene; Brooke Dexter, Simon Fraser; Madison Hornback, Western Oregon; Devyn Oestreich, Western Washington.
   

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VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Madi Smith – Northwest Nazarene University
First-career player of the week.
 
Smith propelled the Nighthawks to their first two wins of the conference season, as NNU upended the reigning champion Falcons in five sets before topping Montana State Billings 3-1. Smith was a force at the net, averaging 1.67 blocks per set and racking up the second-highest total block amount of any GNAC player last week with 15. In the match against the Falcons, the junior from Olympia, Wash., posted seven total blocks including a block assist on the final point of the match to seal a 15-12, fifth-set victory. After establishing a career high in total blocks on Thursday, she promptly broke it with eight more in the win over the Yellowjackets. The big performance moved Smith up to No. 2 in the GNAC with 1.21 blocks per set this fall.
 
NNU Head Coach Doug English: “Madi had her first chance to start against WOU the previous week, and she played great this last week. She has the ability to read the setter well and is one of the best blockers we have on our team. She did a great job of seeing what the other team was doing, combined with studying scouting reports and learning her opponents’ tendencies.”
 
Also Nominated: Madison Galloway, Alaska Anchorage; Elizabeth Jackson, Alaska Fairbanks; Kayleigh-Shay Chang, Central Washington; Christine Funk, Montana State Billings; Hannah Hair, Seattle Pacific; Macyn Unger, Simon Fraser; Emily Vossenkuhl, Western Washington.
 

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MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Kevin McDermott – Western Washington University
Second-career cross country runner of the week, first this season.
 
Making his 2024 season debut, McDermott was the top performer at the Bill Roe Classic in a field that contained six GNAC squads. The senior from Port Orchard, Wash., clocked an 8k time of 24:05.4, finishing third among 175 competitors at the event. Chico State’s Dylan White was the only Division II runner to finish ahead of McDermott, with a time of 24:02.3. McDermott’s key effort helped the Vikings place second among the 12 teams competing, finishing only behind a Chico State team that was ranked No. 7 nationally in last week’s USTFCCCA poll. McDermott is the reigning GNAC cross country champion, winning last year’s event in Anchorage, Alaska.
 
WWU Head Coach Ben Stensland: “Both T.J. and I were really pleased with Kevin’s season opener. Coming into his last season he has brought a great mindset of simply refining all the work he’s already put in through his career. His work ethic and leadership has elevated our whole men’s team performances, and I think we’re going to accomplish some great things this championship season.”
 
Also Nominated: Zach Grams, Alaska Anchorage; Ben Browning, Alaska Fairbanks; Brody Kemble, Northwest Nazarene; Benjamin Schoening, Simon Fraser.
 

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WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Kendall Kramer – University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fourth-career cross country runner of the week, second this season.
 
Kramer was the top Division II performer among a field of 120 runners at the Bill Roe Classic, running a 6k time of 20:31.9 on Saturday. The senior from Fairbanks collected her second cross country weekly honor of the season and fourth of her career, finishing second overall at the event and helping the Nanooks to a third-place team finish behind only No. 11 Western Washington and No. 12 Chico State. It was Kramer’s top 6k time of the fall season, besting her mark of 20:42.3 in her opener at the Seawolf Throwdown on Aug. 31.

UAF XC Coach Conrad Haber: “Last week’s meet presented an incredible opportunity for Kendall to compete with some of the most respected and talented runners in the west region. She patiently executed her plan while also remaining malleable, making fantastic mid-race decisions to adapt to what was transpiring around her. I am really excited for what lies ahead.”

Also Nominated: Alexandra Otto, Alaska Anchorage; Morgan Erler, Northwest Nazarene; Rachael Watkins, Simon Fraser; Ashley Reeck, Western Washington.