The University of Akron Athletics
Read the Latest Edition of Zips Line – January 29, 2015
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FOOTBALL SIGNING DAY LIVE
We’re less than week away from welcoming the newest members to our football program, and we hope you’ll be there when Head Coach Terry Bowden announces them at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Student Union by Starbucks. Our friends with UA’s Dining Services have offered to provide free food and drink samples to those who attend, and we’ll be offering different Register-to-Win prizes for students, faculty, staff and fans. If you can’t be there in person, you can still participate – just tweet your questions using the hashtag #AskBowden. We’ll stream the press conference live on GoZips.com.
Our 2015 Football Season Tickets also go on sale that day, as renewals will be sent via e-mail and, of course, we’ll take new orders as well. Just call 888-99-AKRON (25766), click on GoZips.com/tickets, or visit the C.P. and Cornelia S. Chima Athletics Ticket Office. Pittsburgh, Kent State and Ohio are among the opponents who will visit InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field this fall.
SINA KING – SENIOR CLASS
Even if she wasn’t the only senior on our Women’s Basketball team, Sina King would be at the top of her – or any – class based on all that she has accomplished. The reigning MAC East Division Player of the Week and GoZips.com Student-Athlete of the Week was named a candidate for the prestigious 2015 Senior CLASS Award, which is awarded to a NCAA Division I senior with notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Congratulations, Sina!
She followed a stellar week (watch the highlights in Zips Weekly) with 27 points and six rebounds last night at Ohio, and is averaging more than 20 points and 8 rebounds per game this season – which places her in the top 30 in Division I for points and top 20 for double-doubles (she already has 10). Your next opportunity to see Sina and her teammates will be 2 p.m. Saturday, as the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge resumes when Kent State visits James A. Rhodes Arena. It goes without saying it’s a big game – get your tickets here!
OUR SECOND-ANNUAL PURPLE OUT #4PetesSake
Thank you to everyone who came to Tuesday night's game wearing purple to pay tribute to Dan Peters and his family, which expressed to me many times over their appreciation for what our family has done for theirs. It was fun to see our team in purple uniforms and now, with two-consecutive Purple Outs under our belt, I believe that we have created a new tradition that can carry on for years to come.
Great, too, to see Pat Forsythe play a big game with a career-high 17 points in our 59-47 win over Ball State. Pat was one of Coach Peters’ favorites (well, they all were, but especially Pat). The Men return home on Saturday, Feb. 7, against Buffalo.
ZIPS TRIPS AND UPCOMING EVENTS
Register to win a VIP Experience to our Men’s Basketball game on Wednesday at Ohio, courtesy of AAA Akron Auto Club – just click here and fill out the form, and you could win a hotel room at the Ohio University Inn, two tickets to the game, two pre-game All-Access passes, a $25 gift card to Old Carolina Barbecue Company, an autographed basketball yearbook and two Akron Zips polo shirts! Registration ends January 30.
The 40th Annual University of Akron Sports Hall of Fame Banquet is just a few weeks away – Friday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. in the Quaker Station Ballroom, with an all-star cast of honorees. Click here to register, and don’t forget if you played for our Men’s Basketball or Women’s Basketball programs, it’s their Alumni Weekend as well.
TIMEOUT WITH OLIVER SLAWSON
Oliver Slawson, a native of Manchester, England, has called Akron home for the past nine years, as he is the longest running member of the Men’s Soccer program's staff.
What brought you to Akron from England?
I was first on campus in 2005 as a grad assistant and I have been here ever since. I started in the sport science department and I was an assistant coach at a Division III school (Kenyon College) two years prior to that. I wanted to be at a higher-level soccer program in the state, and Akron was better than anybody. There wasn't a graduate assistant position open with the current staff at that time so I got myself on campus with the sport science department. Then Caleb Porter came in in January 2006, and I bugged him and he let me get involved in training and I got started that way.
Did you see yourself becoming a soccer coach when you were a kid?
I played in England ever since I was little. If I wasn't watching it, I was playing it or learning about it. It's always been a big part of my life, but, the college system is so unique, it doesn't happen anywhere else in the world. My first summer over here in 2002 when I was coaching youth camps, it was very new to me. In England, if you're not involved in professional football, it's hard to get into it. It's not really an option as a career path unless you were a professional player. So, I came over to America, and it opened my eyes to the opportunities to be a coach and get involved in the game professionally as a coach, and it elicited my desire to do it.
What is it about Akron that made you want to stay and pursue your career here?
Ever since I left my friends and family in England, the university and surrounding areas have been my second home. I like the area and I can relate to the people, it's very similar to where I'm from back home. Plus, I get to work with some of the best players in the country at the youth level. I'm doing as a job what I used to do as a kid for intrinsic fun.
Read the full feature story on Oliver Slawson in the Zips Insider blog.
ZIPS CONGRATS TO …
… Tom Hanna, just named our new Volleyball Head Coach. Tom was the head coach at Marist, where his Division I program won consecutive MAAC regular-season titles. We’ll profile him soon on an upcoming edition of Z360 …
… Shawn Barber, selected to participate in the prestigious Armory Track Invitational in New York City on Saturday, which will be televised on NBC Sports Channel from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Our Indoor Track and Field programs checked in at No. 18 nationally in the latest NCAA Division I National Team Computer Rankings …
… Women’s Tennis, which defeated Butler and Valparaiso on the road last weekend. We host Oakland (Mich.) at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Latuchie Tennis Center in Stow …
… Former Zips DeAndre Yedlin, Perry Kitchen, Dillon Serna and Wil Trapp, named to the U.S. Men’s Soccer National Team’s 23-player roster for upcoming friendlies against Chile and Panama …
… nine members of our Football program who earned Academic All-MAC honors, including junior Robert Stein named for the third time …
… the seven seniors on our Swimming and Diving team, who have the last home meet of their Zips career at 5 p.m. tomorrow vs Xavier and Mount Union. We’ll recognize them pre-meet at 4:40 p.m. in Ocasek Natatorium …
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
