Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Names Hilton Garden Inn Athletes of the Week
1/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | General
Jan. 3, 2006
2005-06 Winter Weekly Release #6
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern University has named wrestling's Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) and women's basketball's Ifeoma Okonkwo (Spring, Texas/Klein Oak) Hilton Garden Inn Athletes of the Week.
Herbert, a sophomore, earns his second-straight Hilton Garden Inn Athlete of the Week accolade after winning his second-consecutive 174-pound Midlands title last week. Herbert, the nation's second-ranked grappler at 174 lbs., went 5-0 in the tournament and beat Iowa's third-ranked Mark Perry--one of the most highly anticipated matches of the year--in the title bout. Herbert becomes the first Northwestern wrestler to win consecutive Midlands titles, while improving his record to 16-0 this season. For his performance, Herbert was named the Midlands Champion of Champions, voted on by other tournament title winners.
Okonkwo averaged a team-leading 11.3 ppg over the past three contests to earn Hilton Garden Inn Athlete of the Week accolades. Against No. 14 DePaul, No. 15 Minnesota and Wisconsin, the senior shot a combined .500 percent from the field (14-of-28) and pulled down 6.7 rpg. Okonkwo is NU's leading scorer in the conference, coming in at 13th on the list with an average of 13.9 ppg. She is fifth in the conference in rebounding, averaging 7.9 caroms per contest.
