MADISON, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - Three UW-Eau Claire student-athletes have been named Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Athletes of the Week, WIAC Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations Matt Stanek announced today.

Earning recognition this week were women's basketball player Sarah Bingea (Jr.-Delano, Minn.), women's swimmer Sara Eggebrecht (Jr.-Abbotsford, Wis./Colby) and men's swimmer Jake McDade (Fr.-Monona, Wis./Monona Grove).

Bingea helped the Blugolds open the season with a 2-1 record last week. In the Blugolds' season-opener at St. Scholastica, a 68-58 win, she led the game with 16 points while pulling down eight rebounds. Friday against Ripon College, she helped the Blugolds to a 64-62 win, scoring a career and game-high 23 points, 17 of which came in the second half. While the Blugolds fell just short 78-69 to 17th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday, she led the Blugolds with 18 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Blugolds' Tip-Off Tournament. For the week, she averaged 19 points and five rebounds per game. She was a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line and finished the week with 11 assists, four steals and one block.

Eggebrecht won two individual events and was part of the winning 200-yard medley relay team with season-best times Friday against UW-River Falls and MSU-Moorhead. She took the top spot with a mark of 1:02.59 in the 100-yard backstroke while winning the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:15.42. The 200-yard medley relay team which she was a part of, won with a time of 1:52.50.

At two meets this weekend, McDade won two individual events with season-best times and was part of a winning relay team Friday while he swam in six events Saturday at the River City Relays. On Friday at River Falls, he won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:49.90 while taking the top spot in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:00.98. He also swam for the 200-yard freestyle team, which won with a time of 1:33.27.

-KM-