NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Augustana’s Laura Behnke and North Central’s Vlasta Mangia were named the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Softball Players of the Week Tuesday.

Behnke, a sophomore outfielder from Roselle, Illinois and Wheaton-St. Francis High School (General Studies), batted .632 (12-for-19) with seven runs, two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI and a 1.053 slugging percentage for the Vikings last week. She was 2-for-3 with an RBI in a 4-3 win over 16th-ranked Coe on March 29. Behnke was then 3-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and a double in an 11-0 shutout of Ripon, also on March 29. In a double header split with St. Ambrose on March 27, she went 3-for-6 with three runs, four RBI and two home runs. Behnke ended the week by going 2-for-3 with one run, an RBI, one double and a steal in an 8-0 win over Wartburg on March 30, along with a 2-for-4 performance in a 3-2 win over Wisconsin-La Crosse earlier in the day.

Mangia, a junior pitcher from Cicero, Illinois and Morton High School (Physical Education major), went 3-0 for the Cardinals last week.  She went five innings, giving up three hits and one earned run in a 10-1 win over Concordia-Chicago on March 26. She then pitched all seven innings in a 6-0 shutout of Beloit on March 28, totaling seven strikeouts and giving up only two hits. Mangia ended the week with three strikeouts in a 13-2 win over Monmouth on March 30, moving the Cardinals’ record to 16-0 on the season.

2013 CCIW Softball Players of the Week

Hitter of the Week
Laura Behnke – Augustana (4/2/13)
Katie Boals – Elmhurst (3/26/13)
Emma Clark – Illinois Wesleyan (3/19/13)
Cora Jeffers – Millikin (3/12/13)
Laura Behnke – Augustana (3/5/13)
Bella Masini – Elmhurst (2/26/13)

Pitcher of the Week
Vlasta Mangia – North Central (4/2/13)
Andrea Starr – North Central (3/26/13)
Danielle Schmidt – Wheaton (3/19/13)
Alyssa Vorel – Illinois Wesleyan (3/12/13)
Sarah Hintz – Augustana (3/5/13)
Krystina Leazer – Carthage (2/26/13)

The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services eight member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2011-12 academic year, the CCIW honored 1,323 academic all-conference recipients, 16 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 1 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, 89 all-Americans and three national championship teams.