It doesn't come close to having the mass appeal of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Nor does it receive the same notoriety as the NCAA Division II and III national tournaments.

Yet, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Tournament is a highly-entertaining affair in its own right.

This year's NAIA tournament was held in Kansas City, Mo., last week, and it had some local flavor. Reggie Bunch, a former St. Catherine' High School standout, played for Robert Morris College of Chicago.

Bunch, a 6-foot-5 junior forward, enjoyed a terrific tournament in helping the Eagles advance to the semifinals of the tournament.

"He played great in the national tournament," Robert Morris College coach Al Bruehl said of Bunch. "He really stepped it up a notch."

Bunch did do that. In the semifinal game, which Robert Morris lost 75-70 to Rocky Mountain, Mont., Bunch scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed a team-leading six rebounds.

In another tournament game against Auburn University-Montgomery, Bunch totaled 27 points and grabbed a tournament-high 16 rebounds in Robert Morris' 87-76 victory.

Bunch's dynamic play earned him a spot on the 10-member all-NAIA tournament team.

Bunch, who began his college career at Missouri Western, is a junior and has one year remaining at Robert Morris.

Bruehl expects Bunch to have a banner senior season and then start collecting a paycheck as a professional player.

"We're very excited about having Reggie back for another season," Bruehl said of Bunch, a business major. "He's a very good player. I think he has a chance to play beyond here. I think he could play professionally overseas. He sure has the ability to do that."

- James Haarsma (St. Catherine's) had a nice freshman season at the University of Evansville.

Haarsma, a 6-7 forward, played in all 31 games for the Purple Aces, averaging 5.8 points and 18.4 minutes per game.

Evansville finished 17-14, its first winning season since 2000.

Track and field

Jessica Ehlen (Burlington) turned in a big-time performance for Marquette University in the UTEP Springtime Invitational Saturday in El Paso, Texas.

Ehlen, a senior, set a personal record and a Big East-qualifying distance by winning the discus competition with a throw of 155 feet, 2 inches.

That was just .01 inches off the NCAA qualifying distance.

Swimming and diving

Ohio State's Chuck Allison (Case) earned an All-America honorable mention selection after competing in the recent NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships at College Station, Texas.

Allison, a sophomore, swam a leg on the Buckeyes' 200-yard medley relay team, which finished 15th. Allison's split was 46.7 seconds.

Allison also competed in the 100 butterfly in the preliminaries and had a time of 46.7.

"Chuck did a nice job and he did it because of all his hard work," Ohio State coach Bill Wadley said. "I think he's going to continue to improve, too."

- UW-Eau Claire senior Bryan Dykstra (Horlick) wrapped up his collegiate career in style with a 12th-place finish in the 3-meter diving competition at the recent NCAA Division III nationals championships at Minnesota.

Dykstra had a score of 422.35.

His teammate, Kenny Ritt (Horlick) placed 20th in the NCAA championships with a score of 375.05.

Baseball

Jared Andreoli (Union Grove) has made an immediate impact at Western Kentucky.

Andreoli, a freshman outfielder, has started 11 games and is batting .358. He has an on-base percentage of .444.

Western Kentucky is 18-7 overall and 8-1 in the Sun Belt Conference.

- Sophomore outfielder Chris Barker (Racine Lutheran) is batting a team-high .500 for Madison Area Technical College.

Wolfpack catcher Matt Soderlund (Park) is also off to a good start, batting .308 with a team-high five RBIs.

Another Racine County product on the MATC team is Cody Winiarski, a sophomore pitcher from Union Grove who has a 5.14 earned-run average in three appearances.

Softball

Sophomore shortstop Megan Burgess (Park) put her name in the Alverno College record book when she drew five walks in the Inferno's recent game against Mount Mary College.

Honors

Iowa State gymnast Ceilia Maccani (Case) earned All-Big 12 Conference academic honors. Maccani is studying health and human performance.

To qualify for the award, a student-athlete must maintain a 3.0 grade-point average in the two previous semesters and participate in at least 60 percent of her team's contests.

- UW-La Crosse's Erin Sommer (Horlick) was a nominee for the 2009 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Judy Kruckman Women's Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete award.

Alexandra Nugent of Winona State was the recipient of the award.

In order to be nominated for the award, a student-athlete must have a 3.25 grade-point average or better and compete in sports a minimum of two years.