The Martin University Center is located at 105 Fir Hill Street on The University of Akron campus. Tickets for the luncheon are $7.25 each. A table can be reserved by calling the Martin University Center at (330) 972-7711.
Highlighting the list for Akron were five perfect 4.0 GPAs including seniors Joe Pukansky and Aaron Vaughn (baseball), sophomore Phil Kochik (cross country), freshman Mike Lukanski (football) and senior Aron McGuire (track).
Also, seven UA athletes were named to Academic All-MAC teams for their sport while five Zips were named MAC Scholar Athletes of the Week during this past semester.
The women's tennis team of head coach Frank Polito took the honor of attaining the highest team GPA in the department at 3.66.
A 1997 graduate of John Carroll University with a degree in English, Bahhur was a four-year basketball letterwinner and team captain as a senior. She completed her career at JCU sixth all-time in rebounding (525) and field-goal percentage (.469). Bahhur, who is from Lakewood, Ohio and graduated from Lakewood High School, was honorable mention All-Ohio Athletic Conference last season when she led JCU in scoring at 10.2 points per contest.
The other dinners are scheduled for the games versus Bowling Green (Jan. 17) and Toledo (Feb. 7). Contact the Alumni Association at (330) 972-7272 for more information and reservations.
Hoy scored 22 points and doled out four assists to earn game MVP honors as Akron beat host Alaska-Anchorage, 86-77, on Friday. The Zips, now 5-7 (1-0 MAC), had lost to two-time defending NCAA champion Tennessee, 93-68, in the first round and fell to Manhattan, 64-50, in a battle for fourth place. In three games, Hoy tallied 36 points (including six three-point baskets) and 15 assists.
Coach Roxanne Allen's club returns to action Sunday, Dec. 28, taking on MAC foe Ohio at 2 o'clock at JAR Arena.
Last week, Marshall defeated nationally ranked Wake Forest and Kent in Huntington, W. Va.
The Zips, meanwhile, took two of three games, highlighted by a 69-55 MAC win Saturday at Ohio. UA handled Loyola of Chicago, 81-52, at JAR Arena Monday, but then lost to Cleveland State, 78-67, on Wednesday at Goodman Arena. The Zips improved to 4-4, 1-0 in the MAC.
The week's action also marked the return of Jami Bosley (Massillon/Jackson) to the UA lineup. The Ohio State transfer missed the Zips' first five games with a fracture in his lower back after sitting out all of last season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. Bosley sparked the team, hitting for 35 points in the three games.
The offensive unit is led by Outland Trophy winner Aaron Taylor of Nebraska at guard and Heisman Trophy finalist Randy Moss of Marshall at wide receiver. LSU lineman Alan Faneca, a first-team All-American, and Nebraska I-back Ahman Green, a first-team All-Big 12 selection, also highlight an explosive contingent. The 13-man unit includes quarterback Charlie Batch (Eastern Michigan); running backs Joel Mackovicka (Nebraska), Cecil Collins (LSU) and Green; wide receivers Larry Foster (LSU) and Moss; tight end Tony Holcomb (Bowling Green); offensive linemen Mike Bird (Miami), Bob Hallen (Kent), John Wade (Marshall), Taylor and Faneca. The placekicker is Brent Lockliear of Ball State.
Lombardi Trophy winner Grant Wistrom of Nebraska at end leads the defensive unit. He is joined by All-America punter Chad Kessler of LSU and Nebraska's first-team All-Big 12 selections Jason Peter at tackle and Ralph Brown at cornerback. Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year JoJuan Armour of Miami is one linebacker. LSU's All-SEC defenders, cornerback Cedric Donaldson and tackle Chuck Wiley, also are tabbed.
The 12-man unit includes defensive linemen Anthony McFarland (LSU), Wistrom, Peter and Wiley; linebackers Marcus Matthews (Toledo), Larry McCloud (Marshall) and Armour; defensive backs Clarence Love (Toledo), Tevell Jones (Ohio), Brown and Donaldson.
All told, Nebraska and LSU garnered 13 of the 25 players named to the team. Marshall had three players chosen. Toledo and Miami each had two players selected. Ten of the Zips' 11 opponents are represented on the team. The squad was chosen by the UA coaching staff.
Heading into tonight's showdown with the New England Patriots, Taylor has five quarterback sacks to his credit, despite missing two games with a broken bone in his arm. During the '96 season, the 6-6, 250-pounder racked up 18 tackles for loss (including 10 sacks) for the Zips and was named first-team All-MAC. Akron's other NFL performer, Victor Green of the New York Jets, led the NFL in tackles in 1996.
Any fan wearing a button will be admitted free and provided general admission seating.
More than 170 cities nationwide participate in First Night, an alcohol-free community celebration of New Year’s Eve through the arts. This is Akron’s second year of participation and the University is one of 19 locales in the downtown area hosting non-stop family entertainment.
Sophomore Christi Smith (Columbus/Bexley) picked up right where she left off last spring by winning the pentathlon with a school-record 3,758 points. Senior Aron McGuire (Kent/Roosevelt) made it an Akron sweep of the pentathlon by winning the men’s event as well. The Zips actually went 1-2-3 in the event, with juniors Mike Slomovitz (Woodmere) and Ryan Lowe (Marshallville) gaining second and third places, respectively.
Sophomore LaTrese Taylor (Canton/McKinley) won both the 55-meter (6.9) and 200-meter dashes (24.9) in school-record times, outlasting a field of 46 sprinters in the 200.
Junior Jeff Whittaker (Canton/Jackson) claimed the high jump event when he cleared 6-8 3/4.
A total of seven school records fell on the day, including the men’s 55-meter dash when freshman Anthony Scruggs (Geneva) popped a 6.1. Freshman Lisa Clark (Columbus/Kilbourne) set a UA mark in the 500 meters (1:17.9) and senior Barron Pringle (Middletown) added a Zips record in the 200 hurdles (23.0). Junior Kelly Trenta (Wadsworth) tossed the 20-pound weight a record 48-9. The Zips are in action again Jan. 17 at Kent.
A member of the MAC East Division, Akron has its eye on being one of eight schools to qualify for the conference post-season tournament. A year ago, the Zips finished 6-12 in MAC play and lost the tie-breaker to Toledo for the eighth and final playoff spot. The conference has expanded to 12 schools this season with the addition of Marshall and Northern Illinois, but the eight tournament berths remains the same.
The Zips fell twice to Ohio by a combined margin of seven points during ‘96-97.
Coach Roxanne Allen’s Zip women leave for Anchorage, Alaska, Tuesday at 5 a.m. for the Northern Lights Tournament. UA will face No. 1-ranked and two-time defending NCAA champion Tennessee Thursday at midnight ET. Allen’s squad (4-4, pending Monday’s result against Cleveland State) already has played national powers Alabama and Colorado State on the road.
Senior Desmond Johnston (Johannesburg, South Africa) and junior Allen Eller (Mentor) were named to the NCAA Division I All-Mideast first team, while junior Lee Jones (Auckland, New Zealand) was tabbed on the second team. All three players were also named first-team All-Ohio. In addition, juniors Michael Apple (Copley) and Justin Millard (Strongsville) were both named to the second team.
Coach Ken Lolla’s Zips won the regular-season MAC championship with a record of 5-1-1 (14-5-2 overall), but fell to Bowling Green 1-0 in the championship game of the MAC Tournament.
Ball was not the only MAC player recognized by Basketball Weekly. Eastern Michigan guard Earl Boykins was named third-team All-America, while Ball was joined on the honorable mention list by Ball State forward Bonzi Wells.
Bobbie Hardbarger (Utica) was the state Division II 1600m runner-up last June, and the regional champion in cross country in October.
Eva Horvat (Mentor/Lake Catholic) was a state-meet qualifier in the 1600m as a junior and ran a 19:02 as a senior in 5,000m cross country.
Deanna Norflee (Trotwood/Madison) was the regional champion in the 100m as a sophomore and a state-meet qualifier the past three years.
Michelle Rizzo (Perry) was a state-meet qualifier in the 800m the past three years, placing second as a sophomore and third as a junior. An all-state performer in cross country during all four years of high school competition, Rizzo has a career-best 5,000m time of 18:59.
Mary Varga (Cuyahoga Falls/Walsh Jesuit) was the state champion in the high jump in Division II as a junior with a personal-best performance of 5-10, after placing fourth in the state as a sophomore. An all-around athlete, Varga was also all-district in volleyball, second-team all-state and first-team all-district in softball and a member of the Warriors basketball team. The Walsh softball team has been the district champs for the last two seasons.
Hayes, the MAC’s leading punter (43.8 yards), is a sports medicine major with a 3.44 GPA. Burke (education) has a 3.10 GPA, Knisely (engineering) has a classroom average of 3.70, while Wessman (education) carries a 3.16 GPA.
Coach Ken Lolla’s Zips won the regular-season MAC championship with a record of 5-1-1 (14-5-2 overall), but fell to Bowling Green 1-0 in the championship game of the MAC Tournament.
Julia Villard (Canton/McKinley), Amy Blauvelt (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Luers), Rianne Hess (Vancouver, Wash./Evergreen), Lisa Keenan (Paradise, Calif.) and Ali Janutolo (Pickerington) all plan to play their collegiate softball for the Zips and will enroll at The University of Akron for classes next August for the 1998-99 school year.
Akron finished third in the Mid-American Conference in 1997 with a 19-12 record (29-22 overall), and qualified for the MAC Tournament. The Zips return 12 letterwinners and nine starters for the 1998 campaign, which begins February 20 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tournament in Raleigh, N.C.
Senior Amie Marks (Jewett) and sophomore Erica Glover (Warren) were named to the all-tournament team. Marks led the team in scoring with 30 points in the two games, including 19 in the loss to Colorado State.
The Zips will travel to Robert Morris this Wednesday before moving on to 17th-ranked Alabama this weekend for a game against the Crimson Tide on Saturday afternoon.