The University of Akron Athletics
athletics emails tom 2012 13 november 16 2012
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GREETINGS FROM PUERTO RICO!
About 50 donors and supporters of Zips Athletics have joined our Men’s Basketball team in San Juan this week for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Tournament. Based on the terrific response we received from this trip, please be on the lookout moving forward for more travel packages like this – it’s a great way to combine a vacation and a love for the Zips into one trip! Special thanks to our friends at Chima Travel for all of their assistance.
Yesterday’s game vs. Oklahoma State showed a national audience what an exciting and tough team that Coach Dambrot can put on the floor this season. As you would expect, the coaches and student-athletes were disappointed with the final result – a 69-65 overtime loss to the Big XII opponent – but already have regrouped to prepare for UNC-Asheville, who we face at 1 p.m. ET today on ESPN3 . We’ll also take on either Penn State or Providence on Sunday.
Follow our online blog for videos and photos from trip – including video of senior center Zeke Marshall salsa dancing Wednesday at the Welcome Dinner for the tournament field.
As you know, we have two Puerto Ricans on our roster – junior Alex Abreu and freshman Carmelo Betancourt – who are enjoying this Homecoming opportunity. During down time on the trip, both have visited with their families and friends, who have joined our fan base to give us the largest cheering section here at the tournament. They and Coach Dambrot also have granted numerous interview requests from local media, so that exposure has helped grow the Zips Basketball brand.
MEN’S SOCCER HOSTS NCAA TOURNAMENT MATCH
Join our Men’s Soccer program at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field for the second round of the NCAA Tournament, when we host Michigan. Since reporting for preseason camp, our team’s focus has been on winning the national championship, and not once has that changed. I admire our team’s single-minded focus. They are eager to begin the “third season” after winning the “second season” with our ninth MAC Tournament title!
If you attended our Official NCAA Selection Show Party at Johnny J’s in the Valley, then you heard Coach Porter express our surprise at earning the No. 5 seed, but that this will not impact our team. I spoke for 30 minutes on Tuesday to the chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Selection Committee and to the NCAA staff liaison to ask why the math doesn’t add up. I wanted to understand how the No. 1- ranked team in all of the national polls – and ranked second in the RPI – equated to the fifth seed in the NCAA Tournament. Basically, it was explained to me that our number of Top 25 wins (one, over Indiana) was the difference maker, since Georgetown and Connecticut each have four.
Unlike those other two schools, we don’t have any bad losses, but it was helpful to understand better the committee’s decision-making criteria, and I genuinely appreciate the opportunity to discuss this with them. We will continue to schedule as tough a non-conference slate as we can (this year we had the toughest non-conference strength of schedule in the nation) to position ourselves for a top-4 seed, which guarantees home matches until the College Cup.
But right now, the opportunity to win our second title is in front of us, and we need you there Sunday to provide our team with the home field advantage that our team loves and our opponents can’t stand. Please purchase your tickets here.
TO THE MAC TOURNAMENT GOES VOLLEYBALL
Please join us in supporting our Volleyball team as it returns to the MAC Tournament for our first appearance in the quarterfinals since 2003! We face Northern Illinois at 11 a.m. today at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva. Ticket and streaming information is available here.
Coach Ron Arenz and his staff have done a terrific job earning the No. 5 seed, and our student-athletes have worked hard to rebuild our program. Their efforts have results in our highest overall and conference win totals in nine years – as well as a season sweep of Kent State to take a full point in the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge. Thanks for all you have done for Zips Volleyball – and hopefully our season is not done anytime soon!
ZIPS CLIPS AND CONGRATS TO …
… redshirt senior Tina Dimitrijevs, who was named to the All-MAC Volleyball First Team …
… Rachel Tecca for scoring her 1,000th point as a Zip in our 78-67 road win Tuesday at Tennessee Tech. She will receive a commemorative game ball before tonight’s 7 p.m. contest vs. Bryant at James A. Rhodes Arena as our Women’s Basketball team looks to improve to 3-0 …
… the four newest members of our Women’s Basketball program – Keanna Gary, Hannah Plybon, Alex Ricketts and Hannah Scipio – who signed national letters of intent to join us in 2013-14. Welcome, ladies!
… incoming freshman pole vaulter Shawn Barber, who Track & Field News named the No. 2 High School Track & Field Athlete of the Year for 2012 …
… baseball head coach Rick Rembielak, who agreed to a three-year contract extension …
… Men’s Soccer senior midfielder Scott Caldwell, who followed up being named MAC Player of the Year with Top Drawer Soccer National Player of Week honors. Don’t forget to Vote for Scott for the Senior CLASS Award every day through Nov. 19!
… our Men's and Women's Cross Country teams for finishing 11th and 18th, respectively, last week at the NCAA's Great Lakes Regional …
… former UA football coach Jim Dennison, who is retiring from Walsh University …
… The Akron-Beacon Journal ran a strong column by George Thomas and an editorial by Michael Douglas on our men’s soccer seeding …
… Marla Ridenour of the ABJ profiles men’s
soccer walk-on Saad Abdul-Salaam …
THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE
We unfortunately had some issues with our website host provider for
those logging in on campus to view www.GoZips.com. Our
understanding is that this has been fully resolved, but please let
us know if you still experience any difficulties viewing anything
on our website.
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
