NAPERVILLE – Carroll senior Olivia Rangel was named Region 8 Player of the Year and Illinois Wesleyan’s Mia Smith was selected Region 8 Coach of the Year on Tuesday by D3hoops.com.
Rangel, who was named the Lori Kerans CCIW Most Outstanding Student-Athlete on Feb. 24, is the seventh consecutive D3hoops.com Region Player of the Year from the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW). She was joined on the All-Region First Team by Lauren Huber of Illinois Wesleyan. Huber is a repeat First Team pick by D3hoops.com and a three-time honoree overall.
Ava Bardic and Mallory Powers of Illinois Wesleyan were on the Second Team alongside Natalie Gricius of Carroll. Elmhurst’s Kristin Bukata was picked for the Third Team. It's the 24th season D3hoops.com has named All-Region teams.
Smith’s selection as Region 8 Coach of the Year marked her first since receiving the same award in 2012. She led the Titans to a sweep of the CCIW regular-season and tournament titles and a berth in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
D3hoops.com All-Region 8
Player of the Year: Olivia Rangel, Carroll
Coach of the Year: Mia Smith, Illinois Wesleyan
First Team
Olivia Rangel, Carroll
Lauren Huber, Illinois Wesleyan
Second Team
Natalie Gricius, Carroll
Ava Bardic, Illinois Wesleyan
Mallory Powers, Illinois Wesleyan
Third Team
Kristin Bukata, Elmhurst
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).