Berry, Buchanan, Olsen Named March Student-Athletes of the Month

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa student-athletes Soo-Jin Berry (softball), Stephen Buchanan (men’s wrestling), and Lucy Olsen (women’s basketball) were named March’s Student-Athletes of the Month, the Iowa Student-Athlete Advisory Committee announced on Friday.

Berry, a sophomore from Pittsburg, California, has been a key contributor to the success of Iowa’s softball team this season, helping the team secure its highest-ranked win in 10 years over No. 5/6 UCLA. Berry hit two home runs during that game and was named one of Softball America’s Stars of the Week.  She hit a home run and two RBI’s to sweep Indiana during Iowa’s Big Ten opening weekend in Bloomington, which had not been done since the 2008-09 season.  Berry recorded four home runs during the month of March and is currently ranked the No. 14 shortstop in the nation by Softball America.

Buchanan, a graduate student from Loyal, Wisconsin, capped off an incredible career by winning the NCAA National Championship at 197 pounds and being named an All-American for the fourth time in his career. Buchanan posted a 7-1 record in postseason competition, with four bonus-point victories, and finished second at the Big Ten Championships. Buchanan became Iowa’s first national champion at 197 pounds since the weight class was introduced in 1999.

Olsen, a senior from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, helped lead the Iowa women’s basketball team to a pair of wins in the Big Ten Tournament along with a win in the NCAA Tournament. She was named to the Big Ten’s All-Tournament team and was Iowa’s only First Team All-Big Ten selection. During the final month of her season, she averaged 18 points per game, 5.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game. In the NCAA Tournament game against Murray State, she became just the third Hawkeye since 2009 to record more than 10 assists and a double-double. The only other Hawkeyes to achieve this feat are Caitlin Clark and Sam Logic. Olsen tallied a career-high 12 assists and earned her first career double-double as a Hawkeye.