Dupage Policy Journal

Senior Ava Khoury and sophomore Mallory Holland from Illinois Wesleyan University have been named NFCA Division III National Players of the Week. Their performances led the IWU softball team into the NCAA Tournament, earning them recognition as the Titans swept the final weekly awards on Tuesday, May 13.

Khoury and Holland are the first IWU players to receive this accolade since Ally Wiegand in February 2020. Khoury is also the first Titan to be named national hitter of the week since at least 2017. This marks the first time a school has swept these honors since Belhaven in March 2023.

The duo played crucial roles in IWU's success during the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament from May 8-10. The Titans secured a league title with a perfect record in the tournament, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament while breaking their longest win streak record. With a victory over Augustana, Illinois Wesleyan achieved its 22nd consecutive win.

Khoury set a new program record by hitting three home runs during the week, breaking Sam Berghoff's previous career record. She hit .625 with three homers, seven RBIs, and three runs scored, slugging 1.750 for the tournament. Khoury's achievements included two home runs against Millikin on May 9 and another solo shot in the championship game.

Holland was instrumental on defense for IWU throughout their tournament run. She recorded saves in IWU's first two games before pitching a complete game on championship Saturday against Augustana. The Shelbyville native pitched all seven innings, allowing five hits and improving her season record to 8-1. Holland completed 12.1 innings over the week with one win, two saves, and a .214 opponent batting average.