DEKALB, Ill. - Each week, NIU honors two student-athletes that exemplify the concept of the "student-athlete" supremely well. These students excel both in the classroom and on the playing field. This week, the honorees are Courtney Woods of women's basketball and Mason Kauffman of wrestling.

These Huskies have been nominated for the MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week awards, which are announced on Wednesdays during the academic year.

 

NIU Scholar Athletes of the Week (February 3-9)
Mason Kauffman	Courtney Woods
MALE RECIPIENT	FEMALE RECIPIENT
Sport: Wrestling	Sport: Basketball
Year: Redshirt-Sophomore	Year: Redshirt-Senior
Position: 157-lb. Weight Class	Position: Forward
GPA: 4.0	GPA: 3.89
Major: Kinesiology	Major: Sport Management
Week's Achievements: Mason Kauffman went 2-0 on the weekend as the Huskies won their duals at Cleveland State and Ohio. The redshirt-sophomore opened the weekend with a 3-1 sudden victory win over Brady Barnett of Cleveland State on February 7, helping lead NIU to a 24-6 win over the Vikings. On February 9, Kauffman won 5-1 against Kade Kowalski of Ohio as the Huskies defeated Ohio for the first time since 2008 31-6.	Week's Achievements: Courtney Woods became the third Huskie in NIU women's basketball history to reach 2,000 career points this week, accomplishing that feat at Central Michigan on Wednesday night. Needing two points to get to 2,000, Woods led NIU with 18 points and 10 rebounds against the Chippewas. It was her first double-double since March 5, 2018. On Saturday, Woods scored a season-high 32 points as NIU won at Bowling Green 92-87 in overtime. She had 23 points in the second half and overtime, adding a game-high four assists and two steals. For the week, Woods averaged 25 points and nine rebounds per game and shot 44 percent from the field.
Previous Honorees
Week of January 27-February 2
Caleb Brooks - Wrestling	Morgan Hooper - Gymnastics
Week of January 20-26
Kristopher Ortega - Tennis	Paula Veyhle - Tennis
Week of January 13-19
Bor Schweiger Muzar - Tennis	Courtney Woods - Basketball (MAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Week)
Week of January 6-12
Bryce West - Wrestling	Mia Lord - Gymnastics
Week of December 30-January 5
Caleb Brooks - Wrestling	Gabby Nikitinaite - Basketball
Week of December 23-29
Gage Braun - Wrestling	Myia Starks - Basketball
Week of December 2-8
Izzak Olejnik - Wrestling	Jehvania Whyte - Track & Field
Week of November 25-December 1
Matt Ference - Football	Courtney Woods - Basketball
Week of November 18-24
Gage Braun - Wrestling	Ashley Tutt - Cross Country
Week of November 11-17
Bryce West - Wrestling	Ashley Tutt - Cross Country
Week of November 4-10
Kristopher Ortega - Tennis	Courtney Woods - Basketball
Week of October 28-November 3
Jordan Less - Golf	Ashley Tutt - Cross Country
Week of October 21-27
Jan Maertins - Soccer	Miranda Karlen - Volleyball
Week of October 14-20
Alex Welch - Soccer	Ashley Tutt - Cross Country
Week of October 7-13
Mitchell Brinkman - Football	Miranda Karlen - Volleyball
Week of September 30-October 6
Jordan Less - Golf	Lauren Ingle - Golf
Week of September 23-29
Nick Markanich - Soccer	Ashley Tutt - Cross Country
Week of September 16-22
Mikko Malinen - Tennis	Madison Kaufmann - Soccer
Week of September 9-15
Kristopher Ortega - Tennis	Paula Veyhle - Tennis
Week of September 2-8
Jan Maertins - Soccer	Ashley Tutt - Cross Country