The University of Akron Athletics
athletics emails tom 2012 13 march 13 2013
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OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS –WE WANT YOUR HELP!
Our Athletics Department is undergoing a 90-day Strategic Planning process to help shape Zips Athletics moving forward – and your feedback is a valuable part of this process.
We have developed a short online survey that will give you a chance to share your thoughts on the state and future of Zips Athletics. Please share this link with anyone with an interest in Zips Athletics, even if they’re not currently affiliated with the Athletics Department or the University.
We want to hear from everyone – student-athletes, former student-athletes, our coaches and staff, donors, sponsors, season ticketholders, UA faculty and staff, current students, alumni, and anyone who works or lives in Akron, Summit County and Northeast Ohio.
Your answers will remain anonymous (unless you elect to be contacted further), but you can enter to win prizes for completing the survey (your answers will remain anonymous even if you enter to win).
The survey closes at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, March 22, so please fill it out and encourage others to do the same. Thanks in advance for helping us get better!
JOIN US AS THE ROO INVADES THE Q!
By now surely you’ve heard that our basketball programs will be playing at Quicken Loans Arena, starting tomorrow and hopefully lasting through Saturday night, in the Mid-American Conference Tournaments.
Our Women’s Basketball team faces Buffalo at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow in the quarterfinals (we received a double-bye thanks to earning a No. 3 seed en route to winning the MAC East Division Regular Season Title ). With a win, we would play again in the MAC semifinals at 2:30 p.m. Friday, and another win would advance us to the Championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Our Men’s Basketball team is the No. 1 seed and will take on a to-be-determined opponent at 6:30 p.m. Friday. With a win, we would advance to our seventh consecutive MAC Championship game, held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Clevelander Sports Bar & Grill, located at 834 Huron Road just a block from the Q, will serve as the Zips Headquarters starting two hours before every game our Women and Men play in the MAC Tournament.
Full information about tickets and The Clevelander is available here. We’ve also been very active on campus, and in partnership with the AK-Rowdies and the Alumni Association, are providing some free tickets and other amenities to students who will travel to Cleveland to cheer on the Zips.
While we have already seated fans for Thursday’s Women’s game and Friday’s Men’s game, please contact us if you are interested in purchasing tickets for what we all hope are our other games throughout the weekend. Please note that the Chima Athletics Ticket Office will close at 2 p.m. Friday so our staff can help our fans at the Q that night.
GOOD LUCK, NITTAYA
Head Women’s Swimming and Diving Coach Nittaya Klim announced last week her retirement from college coaching after the MAC Championships. She was a very devoted coach to our student-athletes and we appreciate all she did for our program in her seven years at the helm. We will miss having her, Joe and Andrew as a part of our current Athletics family – but also know that they’ll always be Zips.
We will conduct a national search for our next head coach.
ALEX ABREU
I sent a note Friday about this, but wanted to touch on it again:

We are obviously saddened to learn of the situation involving Alex Abreu. We don’t know all of the facts and will await more information in the days and weeks ahead as the legal process plays out.

What I do know, more than ever, is how determined our team is to move forward. I am proud of the effort that Coach Dambrot and our student-athletes showed against Kent State, and how they have approached their preparations this week for the MAC Tournament.
Please bring that same energy and passion that we showcased
Friday night on ESPN2 to the Q this week to cheer on the
Zips. Let’s be loud and proud!
ZIPS CONGRATS TO …
… Men’s Basketball head coach Keith Dambrot, who earned MAC Coach of the Year honors for the first time in his career! What a well-deserved and long-overdue honor for Coach D. Keith also has been named a finalist for the Hugh Durham Award, given to the top mid-major coach.
… Women’s Basketball redshirt junior forward Rachel Tecca, who was named MAC Player of the Year … we’re so happy for Rachel, who overcame a season-ending injury last year to return better than ever ….
… Tecca also was named to the All-MAC First Team, while Sina King and Hanna Luburgh were named to the Third Team – the first time we’ve had three Women’s Basketball student-athletes on all-conference teams in one season. You can learn more about Sina, who is featured in our Student-Athlete Video of the Week …
… Men’s Basketball senior center Zeke Marshall, who repeated as the MAC Defensive Player of the Year …
… Marshall also earned First Team All-MAC honors, and Demetrius Treadwell was named to the Second Team. Jake Kretzer was named to the All-Freshman, and Alex Abreu received Honorable Mention All-MAC …
… Softball freshman Erin Seiler, who was named MAC East Division Co-Pitcher of the Week for already the second time this season after making seven appearances and tossing three complete-game victories at the Rebel Spring Games …
… to freshman pole vaulter Shawn Barber for receiving All-America distinction by the U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association of America after being named to the First Team following his fifth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships …
… Alexis Cooks, Brittany Funk, Gabriel Genovesi and Alex McCune were named to the USTFCCAA Second Team, and Joe Wesley earned Honorable Mention …
… to Jared Embick for his first win as our Head Coach, with Men’s Soccer’s 1-0 victory at Cleveland State (spring exhibition match) …
… to Women’s Tennis for being picked to repeat as MAC Champs in the league preseason poll …
“DRIVE FOR 5” DONORS OF THE WEEK
Thanks to Kevin Harris for joining our team through the “Drive for 5”! You can join Kevin – and our team – by signing up here as we seek to elevate Zips Athletics by having 5,000 donors and fundraising $5 million annually by 2015.
ZIPS CLIPS
… if you’re going to read just one article this week, make it Terry Pluto’s Cleveland Plain Dealer column on Rachel Tecca …
… though Bill Livingston’s column on Keith Dambrot after Friday’s Men’s Basketball game is well worth your time as well …
… George Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal looks at how “Tree” Treadwell has become a leader for our Men’s Basketball team …
… and the News-Herald’s Guy Cipriano checks in with both “Tree” and Nick Harney …
… finally, the Times-Herald profiles Joe Wesley and his great career pole-vaulting for the Zips …
ASK THE AD …
As always, if you have a question or want to comment about Zips
Athletics, click here now or at any
time on the “Ask the AD” button on the home page
of GoZips.com.
Go Zips!
Tom Wistrcill
Director of Athletics
