INDIANAPOLIS- The Great Midwest Athletes of the week for March 17, 2025 are based on student-athlete performance from March 10th, 2025- March 16th, 2025.
Baseball
North Division
Pitcher
Zach Johnson/ Tiffin University / Gr. / Pitcher / Lyndonville, N.Y.
Johnson was a star for the Dragons as he came in on relief for Tiffin against a high-powered Ohio Dominican offense. He shut them down and got the win to pull off a sweep in their conference opener. In the win, he threw 4.2 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and only gave up one hit which was a single.
Player
Brendan Hammer/ Northwood University / Jr. / Third Base / Temperance, Mich.
The Timberwolves got a huge showing out of Hammer last week. He hit .538 to lead Northwood to a 4-0 road week at Thomas More to open conference play. He finished the week with nine RBIs while having a .692 slugging percentage and a .600 on-base percentage. On the final day of the weekend, Hammer had five hits and seven RBIs over the course of a doubleheader.
South Division
Pitcher
Evan Oakley/ Kentucky Wesleyan College / Jr. / Pitcher / Gilbertsville, Ky.
Oakley recorded an incredible career-high 13 strikeouts against the Findlay Oilers on Friday. His 13 strikeouts are tied for third in a single game in program history as he pitched six innings and received the win, moving to 4-0 this season. He also allowed just three hits and one unearned run in the Panthers' 12-1 victory over the Oilers.
Player
Gianni Passarelli/ Ohio Dominican University / RS-Jr./ Infield / Delaware, Ohio
The Panthers continued to have their heavy-hitting offense, and Passarelli led the charge this past week. He hit .333 with three home runs, 10 RBI, four runs scored and three walks in four games this past week while also drilling two home runs in a game at Tiffin on Friday.
Men’s Lacrosse
Defensive
Mark Strunk/ Seton Hill University / Sr. / Midfield / Stroudsburg, PA
Strunk was a rock for the team in the faceoff circle as he went 13-for-16 in a 29-4 win over Thomas More. He also added on seven ground balls in his efforts.
Offensive
Brenner Chase / Wheeling University / Sr. / Attack / Dunkirk, MD
Wheeling had a huge offensive charge this past week in the G-MAC first week of action. Chase was at the helm as he recorded eight goals and one assist in games against Lake Erie and Walsh for a total of nine points in two games. His biggest effort came as the Cardinals took down Walsh for the first time since March 2018, when he scored five goals while putting six of his eight shots on net.
Women’s Lacrosse
Defensive
Cambrie Neuenschwander/ Malone University / So. / Defense / Medina, Ohio
Malone played great defense this past week and Neuenschwander caused four turnovers and collected one ground ball in a matchup against Edinboro.
Offensive
Tori Wanat/ Ashland University / Fr. / Attack / Strongsville, Ohio
The Eagle won at home against Daemon, 20-12, and leading the scoring column was freshman Tori Wanat. She had seven goals and one assist for eight total points. Just days later against Grand Valley State University, she notched on three more goals and an assist.
Softball
Pitcher
Joni Russell/ Hillsdale College/ Sr. /Pitcher/ Cable, Ohio
Russell went 4-0 in her four appearances this past week en route to tallying two big shutouts. She gave up just one earned run in 26 innings of work for a 0.35 ERA, while striking out 41 batters, including three double-digit strikeout games. Her efforts broke Hillsdale's career shutouts record set in 2001 with her 19th career shutout in a 6-0 win over Wayne State.
Player
Emma Sather/ Hillsdale College/ Jr. /Center Field/ Rockford, Minn.
While being the leadoff hitter, Sather went 12-for-28 at the plate for the Chargers. On the week she stole seven bases and scored eight runs as Hillsdale went 6-2 during their Spring Break trip to Florida. She scored the eventual winning run in three games, including the only run in Hillsdale's 2-1 extra-inning win over No. 16 UIndy, and hit a single and stole a base in the top of the eighth to score the winning run in extra innings in Hillsdale's 1-0 win over Florida Southern.
STUNT
Abby Rossow/ Davenport University/ So. / Base / Shelby Township, Mich.
Another week, another Panther in the AOTW honors. Rossow led the Panthers to a perfect 3-0 record to close out their 2025 regular season. The Panthers defeated Alma (23-6), Ashland (23-1) and Tiffin (24-0) to conclude the year, finishing the season 10-0 in G-MAC action and 16-1 overall. Rossow finished with 99, 82 and 84 points in the final three games for Davenport.
Men’s Tennis
Ellis Klanduch/ Hillsdale College / So. / Mooresville, N.C.
Klanduch went 4-0 at No. 1 singles and doubles as Hillsdale beat West Liberty 7-0 and Millersville 6-1 in action over Spring Break. He did not drop a set and only lost seven total games across his four victories.
Women’s Tennis
Polina Zaytseva/ University of Findlay/ Fr. / Moscow, Russia
The Oilers got a massive showing from Zaytseva this past week. She went 2-0 at No. 1 doubles including a win over the No. 19 ranked doubles team in the country from Adelphi, while also going 2-1 at No. 2 singles including a win vs a No. 39 nationally ranked singles player in the country from Adelphi.