The University of Akron Athletics
athletics emails tom 2013 14 march 6 2014
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MAC CHAMPIONS!
Congrats to Head Coach Dennis Mitchell and Men's Indoor Track and
Field, and Head Coach Brian Peresie and Swimming and
Diving on their Mid-American Championships last
weekend! Also, Women's Indoor Track and Field placed
second – their best finish since winning the event in
2009.
Track and Field won its third indoor title in the last
four years and Coach Mitchell was named league Coach of
the Year for the 18th time. Additionally, distance runner
Kyle Cochrun was selected as Men's
MVP of the Meet after he won both the 3,000 and 5,000
meters. Seven other athletes won championships as well –
Shawn Barber (pole vault), Daryl
Baptiste (long jump), Brittany Funk (weight throw),
Weronika Gaudyn (triple jump), Jake
Hiltner (800 meters), Clayton Murphy (mile) and
Annika Roloff (pole vault). The program
learned earlier this week that five of our athletes will compete at the NCAA
Championships next weekend in Albuquerque, N.M.
Swimming and Diving won its first-ever MAC
title and Coach Peresie was selected as conference Coach of the
Year. Our 200 yard medley relay team (Kelsey Ferrante, Kendra
Colby, Erin Seiler, Hannah Raspopovich) and 200 yard freestyle
relay team (Colby, Raspopovich, Taylor Hart, Ashley Niznik) each
took first place as did Raspopovich in the 50 yard freestyle. We
also set eight school records throughout the weekend. Three of our
divers have been chosen to compete at the NCAA Zone Meet next
weekend in West Lafayette, Ind.
One of the more rewarding parts of my job is celebrating the
accomplishments of our coaches and student-athletes, and I was
fortunate enough to be at both events during the final moments of
competition. At the track meet, I stood and celebrated with Kyle
Cochrun as we clinched the win, and as the swimming and diving meet
concluded I stood with Diving Coach Chris Medvedeff. Chris has been
with the program for 16 seasons and he and I had tears in our eyes
as our student-athletes began to celebrate. It felt great to see
Chris' years of hardwork and dedication pay off for him in
championship style.
Please join us in congratulating both programs on these great
accomplishments!
RIFLE COMPETES AT GARC CHAMPIONSHIPS
No. 16-ranked Rifle competed in the Great American Rifle (GARC) Championships
last weekend, scoring 2,305 points in air rifle and 2,285
points in smallbore.
It was the team's first championship match in our new conference,
which is considered the premier rifle league in the nation. Six
schools from the GARC qualified for the NCAA Championships last
season and we look forward to going up against this type of
competition in future years.
BASKETBALL REGULAR-SEASON FINALE HOMESTAND
Men's and Women's Basketball close out the regular season at home
tomorrow and Saturday, respectively. It will be Senior Night/Day
for both teams.
Our Men take on neighborhood rival Kent State tomorrow at
7 p.m. on ESPN2, marking the fifth straight year we have faced
the Flashes on national television for the regular-season finale.
The winner of the game will also earn one half point in the PNC Wagon
Wheel Challenge standings. A win for us also will secure one of
the four quarterfinal round byes to the MAC Tournament, which will
be held at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland next week. The
team will honor senior Quincy Diggs prior to the game, and we have
a number of in-game presentations and recognitions planned that you
won't want to miss.
Our Women, who have won 13-straight games, will face Bowling Green
on Saturday at 2 p.m. The team has already clinched the No. 3 seed
and a quarterfinal round bye to the MAC Tournament, and will play
at The Q next Thursday at 2:30 p.m. We will recognize our five
seniors – Kacie Cassell, Cari Guyton, Hanna Luburgh, Rachel
Tecca and Carly Young – before the game as well. University
Communications and Marketing produced a wonderful video feature
about the seniors. Click here to watch.
Tickets for this weekend's games are available on ZipsTickets.com or by calling
our ticket office at 1-888-99-AKRON (25766). Also, Men's Basketball
season ticketholders are eligible for complimentary tickets to
Saturday's Women's game. Click on this order form if you are
interested.
If you are unable to make it to JAR, you can always watch the
Women's game by way of our free video stream, and both games also will be
broadcast locally on SportsRadio1350.com (1350 AM) and nationally on iHeartRadio.
ALSO COMPETING THIS WEEK ...
... Men's Soccer plays its first of five spring exhibition matches tomorrow
at 7 p.m. at Cleveland State ...
... Women's Tennis faces Butler and Duquesne at LaTuchie Tennis
Center in nearby Stow on Saturday at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.,
respectively ...
... Women's Golf heads to Rio Verde, Ariz., to
compete in the Rio Verde Invitational on Friday and Saturday
...
... Softball travels to the state of Florida for six games between
tomorrow and Sunday in the Rebel Spring Games ...
... Baseball will be in Clarksville, Tenn., for a
game against Austin Peay tomorrow and contests versus Milwaukee on
Saturday and Sunday ...
... Men's Golf will be in Aiken, S.C., next Monday and Tuesday for
the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate ...
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MAC TOURNAMENT
TICKETS
As you make plans to attend the MAC Men's and Women's Basketball
Tournaments at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland next week, we
encourage you to order seats through our ticket office. You
can do so by using this order form or by calling 1-888-99-AKRON
(25766). The deadline is tomorrow (March 7) to get prioritized
seating. You will be charged only for games in which we compete and
then per round as we advance.
Please remember that the MAC requires each school to purchase a
block of tickets for each round, so any unsold tickets are a cost
we need to absorb. Plus, this way you are guaranteed to sit among
other Zips fans!
Be sure to join us before and after the games at the Clevelander,
our Official Fan Headquarters, located just a few blocks from The Q
at 834 Huron Road East.
PNC WAGON WHEEL CHALLENGE UPDATE
After Men's Track and Field finished ahead of Kent State at last
weekend's MAC Championships and Women's Basketball's 80-66 win at Kent State on Sunday, we now lead the
Flashes 5.0-3.5 in the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge standings.
The first school to eight points wins the competition.
FOOTBALL SEASON TICKETS ON SALE
A reminder that Football season tickets and renewals went on sale on
Wednesday, Feb. 5. Once again we are not increasing ticket
prices while offering a variety of all-inclusive packages that
include free parking, concessions vouchers, seat cushions, tailgate
flags and more.
Renewal invoices for current ticket holders are available at ZipsTickets.com, with a deadline of June 2 to
be eligible for additional prizes and to secure your same seat
locations. Hardcopy renewal invoices will be mailed at a later
date, and only to those who have not yet renewed
electronically.
We kick off the season at home on Thursday, Aug. 28 against Howard
and also play host to Marshall on Saturday, Sept. 20 in
non-conference play. Our MAC home games are against defending
league champion Bowling Green as well as Eastern Michigan,
Massachusetts and Miami (Ohio). We anticipate announcing dates and
times for conference games very soon.
We look forward to seeing you at games on campus in the Fall.
Please contact our ticket office at 1-888-99-AKRON (25766) if you
have questions.
ZIPS CONGRATS ...
... Shawn Barber (pole vault), Brittany Funk (weight throw),
Weronika Gaudyn (triple jump), Alex McCune (heptathlon) and Annika
Roloff (pole vault) from Track and Field, selected to compete in the NCAA Championships on March
14-15 in Albuquerque, N.M. ...
... Men's Track and Field listed No. 18 and Women's
Track and Field No. 30 nationally in the U.S. Track & Field
and Cross Country Coaches Association rankings ...
... Rachel Tecca from Women's Basketball, named MAC East Division Player of the Week for the
fifth time this season and 11th time during her career ...
... Demetrius Treadwell from Men's Basketball, became the 41st UA player to score 1,000 career
points, doing so as part of a 17-point effort last Saturday
against Bowling Green ...
ZIPS CLIPS ...
... Watch the latest episode of Zips
Women's Basketball with Head Coach Jodi Kest ...
... Hear from Men's Basketball Head Coach Keith Dambrot in This
Week in Akron Basketball ...
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
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