The University of Akron Athletics
Read the Latest Edition of Zips Line – April 23, 2015
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CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON STARTING UP THIS WEEKEND
The championships for the spring sports start this weekend with the Mid-American Conference Women's Golf Championships. Coach King and the squad look to build on their top-five finish from last season. Make sure to follow the action live online via Golfstat Live Scoring.
The Baseball team travels to Athens, Ohio, for a key MAC East showdown with the Ohio Bobcats. The Zips are tied atop the MAC East standings with rival Kent State, with both teams leading the Bobcats by just one game. If the MAC Tournament started today, the Zips would be the No. 2 seed.
The Softball team looks to remain in the hunt for a MAC East title, as well, with the Zips playing host to Miami (Ohio) and Ball State at Lee R. Jackson Field. Saturday's game vs. Ball State will serve as Senior Day for our five seniors while Sunday's game will be the squad's annual Strike Out Cancer game.
CONTINUING TO IMPROVE
One key aspect of working in college athletics is looking for ways to improve how we run our day-to-day operations. This week, I went to the Collegiate Sports Summit to meet with more than 150 Division I college athletics directors. During this two-day summit, we heard from a number of speakers on the best practices for leadership, deepening the fan experience and more. A couple of topics I enjoyed most were the Leadership Lessons from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and Regaining Control of the Message by Ari Fleischer, among many others.
This was a great opportunity to bring back a number of ideas to help our staff continue to take Zips Athletics into the future.
WRAPPING UP SPRING BALL
Last weekend, Coach Bowden and the Football team wrapped up spring practice with the annual Spring Game. It was a gorgeous day at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field. The Blue Team posted a 10-0 win over the White Team in front of 2,200 fans. We also had a number of Football alumni back in town, including Super Bowl Champions Domenik Hixon, Chase Blackburn and Dwight Smith. If you were not able to make it last weekend, make sure to stop by our External Relations office to pick up your 2015 Zips Football schedule poster (James A. Rhodes Arena, Suite 83).
Coach Bowden and the staff were pleased with the progress our student-athletes made during camp and are looking forward to summer workouts and the start of fall camp in a few months.
I will make sure to update you on the fall camp schedule once Coach Bowden and the staff have finalized it. Until then, don't forget to get your season tickets for the upcoming season. We have a number of great packages to choose from, with season tickets starting at $60.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
There are a lot of great events coming up that give Zips fans a chance to mingle with coaches, staff, student-athletes and other Zips fans. Make sure to mark your calendars and sign up early. Visit the Z-Fund events page for more information.
- April 24: Women's Swimming and Diving Alumni and Friends Gathering
- April 29-30: Rifle's Second-Annual Spring Fling Fundraiser
- May 1: Women's Basketball Celebration Banquet
- May 29: Varsity "A" Associate Beer & Wine Tasting
- June 8: Zips Football Golf Outing at Shale Creek Golf Club
- July 27: The Presidents' Cup Golf Outing, Presented by the Varsity "A" Association at Lake Forest Country Club
- August 14: Zips Men's Basketball Golf Outing at The Quarry Golf Club
- September 18: Zips Baseball Golf Outing at The Quarry Golf Club
- October 6: The Invitational Golf Outing (Men's and Women's Golf) at Firestone Country Club
- September 19, 2020: Akron Football will travel to Clemson, S.C., to take on the Clemson Tigers.
CONGRATS TO…
… Softball's Erin Seiler, for earning her fourth Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Week award this season …
… Women's Basketball's Sina King and Hannah Plybon, for earning Academic All-MAC honors …
… Men's Basketball's Jake Kretzer and Reggie McAdams, for being named to the Academic All-MAC team …
… Track and Field's Shawn Barber, for representing Zips Athletics as a finalist at the 85th Sullivan Award ceremony in New York City on Sunday …
… Track and Field's Claudia Garcia Jou and Clayton Murphy, for earning MAC Track and Field Athletes of the Week after strong performances last weekend …
… Track and Field's Weronika Gaudyn and Brent Gray, for setting school records in the triple jump (Gaudyn) and 400m (Gray) events last weekend …
… Men's Soccer, for its 5-1 win over Sigma FC, a Canadian soccer academy based in Toronto, Ontario, on Saturday at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field …
… Baseball's John Valek III, for earning his second Zips' Student-Athlete of the Week award after posting a career-high 12 strikeouts against Miami (Ohio) on last Friday …
… Women's Soccer and First-Year Head Coach Noreen Herlihy, for posting an undefeated record of 3-0-1 during this spring's exhibition schedule …
… Men's Golf's George Baylis, for posting the first top-five finish of his collegiate career earlier this week at the 2015 Cobra Puma Invitational in Cincinnati …
… Women's Tennis' Olga Shkundina, for being named the recipient of the MAC's Leann Grimes Davidge Sportsmanship Award. The award is presented to the student-athlete who has displayed outstanding sportsmanship in MAC competition …
… Baseball's Matt LaRocca, for being named one of 36 players named to the 2015 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award watch list by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame …
GOOD LUCK TO…
… Men's Soccer, as the squad will conclude its spring exhibition schedule by playing host to VCU on Saturday at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field. The squads will play two matches, with the first set to begin at 5 p.m. ET …
… Track and Field, who will send a number of student-athletes to events across the country this weekend …
WHAT TO WATCH…
… Our weekly recap show, Zips Weekly, and our weekly feature show, Z360 …
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
