ELMHURST, Ill. �€" Oral Roberts baseball player Brendan Duffy (Glendale, Ariz.) and tennis player Emily Arkell (Queensland, Australia) have been named the Mid-Continent Conference Athletes of the Month for April.

During the month of April, Duffy hit safely in all 14 games, as the Golden Eagles went 11-3, defeating nationally-ranked Wichita State twice and Long Beach State once. He led the league in batting average (.491), hits (26), stolen bases (7) and on-base percentage (.588), had 12 RBI in 14 games and scored 18 runs. The rightfielder went 26-for-53 with three doubles and two triples. He also walked 12 times. Duffy is currently in the midst of an 18-game hitting streak that started on April 1 against Bethune-Cookman.

Arkell went undefeated in both singles and doubles play during the month of April. She was named Mid-Con Women�€™s Tennis Player of the Year and garnered first-team all-conference honors. The junior posted a 16-9 record at No. 1 singles during the 2006-07 campaign, including a perfect 7-0 mark in conference action. She was just as good in doubles action as she picked up 15 doubles wins, primarily in the first doubles slot, and a 6-0 mark against Mid-Con opponents. She and her teammates face Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this Saturday.

(Also nominated for the Men�€™s Athlete of the Month: Gabriel Garcia, IUPUI, tennis; Dennis Schwarz, UMKC, tennis; Ryan Heath, Oakland, baseball; Nate Ott, Southern Utah, track and field; Steve Bartholomew, Valparaiso, track and field; Tim Streng, Western Illinois, golf).

(Also nominated for the Women�€™s Athlete of the Month: Angelica Espinosa, IUPUI, softball; Brittnay Hofer, UMKC, golf; Jessica Granger, Oakland, softball; Lindi Kennedy, Southern Utah, softball; Taylor Callahan, Valparaiso, softball; Kamren Ferguson, Western Illinois, softball).

2006-07 Athletes of the Month

Month              Male, School                      Female, School



August/September   Martin Browne, Western Illinois   Jamie Farrell, IUPUI


                                                     Faithy Kamangila, Oral Roberts


October            Jess Baumgartner, Southern Utah   Devika Bellamy, IUPUI     


 November           Jess Baumgartner, Southern Utah   Ori Zuzic, Oral Roberts


December           Caleb Green, Oral Roberts         Maggie Vaughan, Centenary 


 January            Andretti Bain, Oral Roberts       Elisha Turek, Oral Roberts


 February           Marcin Unold, Oakland             Maggie Vaughan, Centenary


March              Marcin Unold, Oakland             Laura Rolf, Valparaiso


April              Brendan Duffy, Oral Roberts       Emily Arkell, Oral Roberts