Hope athletes honored as MIAA players-of-the-week during the 2010 fall sports season.

FOOTBALL

9-6-10 -- Kyle Warren, a senior from Grandville (Hudsonville Unity Christian HS), is the defensive player-of-the-week. He made 16 tackles, including 11 solo stops, in Hope's 20-16 season-opening loss Saturday to Illinois Wesleyan. An All-MIAA first-team selection last season, he is being honored as Player of the Week for the third time in his career.

9-13-10 -- Zach Jones, a senior from Three Rivers (Three Rivers HS), is the defensive player-of-the-week. He made 10 tackles and recovered a fumble to lead the Hope defense in a 17-14 loss to Wisconsin Lutheran. He is being honored as Player of the Week for the second time in his career. It marks the second consecutive week that a Hope player has been named the MIAA defensive player of the week. The honor a week ago was presented to Kyle Warren.

9-27-10 -- Zach Jones is the defensive player of the week for the second time this season. A senior from Three Rivers (Three Rivers HS), Jones made 14 tackles and returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown in Hope's 27-12 loss to Lakeland, Wis. Jones is being honored as Player of the Week for the third time in his career.

10-11-10 -- Junior Kyle Warren of Grandville (Hudsonville Unity Christian HS) is the MIAA defensive player of the week for the second time this season and the fourth time in his career. Last Saturday in a 35-24 victory over Kalamazoo, he made 17 tackles. He had 1.5 tackles for loss, forced a fumble and also broke up a pass.

11-8-10 -- Freshman punter Aaron Thompson of Imlay City (Imlay City HS) is the specialty team player of thje week. He averaged 41 yards on nine punts in Hope’s loss to Adrian. He had a long punt of 54 yards and placed one punt inside the Bulldogs’ 20-yard-line. He is being honored as Player of the Week for the first time in his career.

11-15-10 -- Freshman punter Aaron Thompson from Imlay City (Imlay City HS) is the MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. He averaged 38.1 yards on seven punts as Hope closed out its season with a 14-7 victory over Olivet. In league games this season he averaged 38.3 yards per punt and for the entire season averaged 37.2 ypp. He had five punts go 50-or-more yards, including one for 70 yards that was the fifth longest in school history. He had no blocked punts in 63 kicks.

MEN'S SOCCER

9-6-10 -- Shaun Groetsema, a junior from Augusta (Galesburg-Augusta HS), is the offensive player-of-the-week. He scored four goals in leading the Flying Dutchmen to a pair of season-opening wins. He scored once in a 2-0 victory over Goshen, Ind., and had a hat trick in a 9-1 defeat of Milwaukee School of Engineering at the Bergsma Memorial Tournament. Groetsema is being honored as player-of-the-week for the third time in his career.

9-6-10 -- Logan Neil, a junior from Holland (West Ottawa HS), is co-defensive player-of-the-week. He did not allow a goal in two games at the Bergsma Memorial Tournament. Hope blanked Goshen, Ind. 2-0 and routed Milwaukee School of Engineering. He had three saves in the shutout win over Goshen. Neil is being honored as player-of-the-week for the first time in his career.

9-27-10 -- Brayden West is being honored as the offensive player of the week for the first time. A freshman from West Olive (West Ottawa HS), he scored the game-winning goal off a rebound in the second half Saturday to lift Hope to a 2-1 victory over Calvin, which entered the game as the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division III.

11-8-10 -- Defender David Whitaker is the defensive player of the week. A junior from Vicksburg (Vicksburg HS), Whitaker anchored a strong Hope defense that posted back-to-back shutouts, 2-0 over Kalamazoo and 2-0 over Olivet, as the Flying Dutchmen clinched a share of the MIAA championship with Calvin and an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. He also scored the first goal in the victory over Olivet. Whitaker is being honored as Player of the Week for the first time in his career.

VOLLEYBALL

9-13-10 -- Sara DeWeerdt, a senior from Hamilton (Hamilton HS), is the player-of-the-week for the first time in her career. She set Hope and MIAA single-game records for aces in a match with nine in a three-game sweep of Albion Tuesday. She also had 26 kills in three matches for the week for a hitting percentage of .434 as the Flying Dutch won two of three MIAA matches. She also added 28 digs for the week.

9-27-10 -- Greer Bratschie is the specialty player of the week. A sophomore from Grand Rapids (East Grand Rapids HS), Bratschie distributed 69 assists (11.5 per game) in leading the Flying Dutch to three-game sweeps of Alma and Adrian. In the Alma match, she had 38 assists, seven digs, five kills and three blocks, while against Adrian, she had 31 assists and eight digs. Bratschie is being honored as a Player of the Week for the first time in her career.

10-18-10 -- The MIAA has honored Hope middle hitter Jacie Fiedler and Greer Bratschie as its Players of the Week.

* Player of the Week: Jacie Fiedler, a senior from Richmond, Ill. (Richmond Burton HS), delivered 17 kills, tying a school record for a three-game match, for a hitting percentage of .406 in leading the Flying Dutch to a sweep of Calvin and a share of first place in the MIAA race. She also earned all-tournament honors at the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament at North Central, Ill., as she averaged 4.8 kills and 1.1 blocks per game and had a hitting percentage of .504 as Hope won four straight matches. Fielder is being honored as Player of the Week for the first time this season and third time in her career.

* Specialty Player of the Week: Greer Bratschie, a sophomore from Grand Rapids (East Grand Rapids HS), dished out 36 assists and added 10 digs and four kills in Hope's victory over Calvin. She also earned all-tournament honors at the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament as she averaged 12 assists and 3.1 digs per game, and helped Hope compile a team hitting percentage of .301 for the tournament. In a three-set match against St. Mary's, Minn. she set a school record for assists (47). Bratschie is being honored as Specialty Player of the Week for the second time this season and in her career.

10-25-10 -- Libero Jessica Maier is the volleyball Specialty Player of the Week in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). A sophomore from Jenison (Jenison HS), Maier had 71 digs for Hope as the Flying Dutch won three straight matches to maintain a share of first place in the MIAA. She set an MIAA record for a four-game match with 34 digs against Alma, and added 21 against Adrian and 16 against Kalamazoo. Maier is being honored as Specialty Player of the Week for the first time in her career. She tops the MIAA in average digs per set (5.15).

11-8-10 -- Kara VandeGuchte is the player of the week while Greer Bratschie is the specialty player of the week. A senior from Hamilton (Hamilton HS), VandeGuchte dominated the net with 33 kills and a hitting percentage of .608 in leading the Flying Dutch to three straight three-set sweeps in the MIAA Tournament. In the championship match against Calvin, she had 12 kills for a hitting percentage of .647 as Hope swept the Knights 25-14, 25-17, 25-14. VandeGuchte is being honored as Player of the Week for the first time this season and third time in her career. A sophomore from Grand Rapids (East Grand Rapids HS), Bratschie dished out 112 assists (12.4 per game) and added 29 digs and 11 kills during Hope’s run to the MIAA Tournament championship. She had 42 assists, a team-high 16 digs and five kills in the Flying Dutch’s semifinal win over Kalamazoo, then added 37 assists and seven digs in the championship match against Calvin. Bratschie is being honored as Player of the Week for the third time this season and in her career.