Moore averaged 6.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game over the winter as a member of the Zips’ 17-10 men’s basketball squad. Santek, the 1995 Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year in women’s volleyball, had 30 kills in a match against Marshall (Oct. 3) and was named to three all-tournament teams in 1997. Early this fall, she will become the fifth Zip to register career totals of 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.
Moore and Santek will be among more than 370 student-athletes from NCAA member institutions attending the event. Represented institutions also include those that participate in the CHAMPS/Life Skills program.
A 5-8 outside hitter, Case was the 1997 district player of the year and a participant in the Ohio all-star game.
“Ashlie is a 4.0 student-athlete who is considering chemical engineering as an academic major,” says Zips volleyball coach Mike Sweitzer. “I believe she is the best volleyball player to come out of the Youngstown area in at least the last 10 years. She is an explosive offensive player with great competitive desire.” The Zips finished 16-17 (5-11 MAC) last fall with one senior on the roster.
"This is certainly not a decision taken lightly," said UA Director of Athletics Michael A. Bobinski. "Like all college athletics programs, we face financial pressures as we attempt to field a competitive and balanced program. With the recent addition of women's swimming and diving, we will now sponsor eight sports for men, eight sports for women, and one co-ed sport (rifle)."
Five of the nine members of this year's team are seniors. UA will honor its scholarship commitments to student-athletes wishing to continue their education at Akron. An immediate release will be granted for any player desiring a transfer. The Zips are being coached by graduate assistant Jane Elias.
UA has sponsored men's tennis since 1950.
Senior high jumper Laura Wozniak (Brunswick) cleared 5 feet, 10 inches and finished in a three-way tie for ninth place on Saturday in Indianapolis, Ind. Wozniak, Stanford's Tracye Lawyer and North Carolina's Joy Ganes bowed out of the competition at 5-10. Three jumpers tied for sixth place at 5-11 1/2. Erin Aldrich of Texas won the event, clearing 6-4 1/4.
The Mid-American Conference indoor champion, Wozniak had the fifth-best jump among American student-athletes to garner All-America notice. She cleared a school-record 6-0 on Jan. 31 at the Smith Barney Invite in Indianapolis to qualify for the championship event.
Wozniak becomes the first UA athlete to earn Division I All-America since kicker/punter Darin Alcorn gained honorable mention honors in football in 1992. Volleyball standout Patti Godzinski was a second-team Academic All-American in 1995.
Howell, who cracked two home runs and batted .333 for the tournament, was the lone bright spot for the Zips, who dropped five of six games and fell to 5-7. UA lost to Santa Clara (7-2), 22nd-ranked California (4-1), Creighton (2-1), San Jose State (1-0) and Centenary (9-7). The Zips topped St. Mary's, 5-4. Coach Deanna Parks' team returns to action this Friday at the Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S. C.
"This is certainly not a decision taken lightly," said UA Director of Athletics Michael A. Bobinski. "Like all college athletics programs, we face financial pressures as we attempt to field a competitive and balanced program. With the recent addition of women's swimming and diving, we will now sponsor eight sports for men, eight sports for women, and one co-ed sport (rifle)."
Of the nine members on this year's tennis team, five are seniors. UA will honor its scholarship commitments to student-athletes wishing to continue their education at Akron. Bobinski said an immediate release will be granted for any player desiring a transfer.
UA has continuously sponsored men's tennis since 1950. The Zips are being coached this season by athletics department graduate assistant Jane Elias. The Mid-American Conference will be left with seven of 12 member schools playing men's tennis. Akron hosted the 1997 MAC Men's Tennis Championships at Lee Jackson Field and will entertain the women's event this April 23-25.
Sophomore Christi Smith (Columbus/Bexley), the MAC’s “Outstanding Performer” at the conference championship meet, had popped a school-record long jump of 20-1 1/2 at Ohio State on Feb. 21, but is not expected to make the cut. Smith scored 29.5 points at the MAC indoor meet on Feb. 27 & 28 at Kent. She cleared 18-5 last weekend at the USATF meet in Bloomington, Ind., in a last-chance effort to qualify.
The Zips are scheduled to play 12 games at four different Florida venues, before returning north to play Duquesne in Pittsburgh on March 24 at 2 p.m.
Coach Dave Fross begins his 25th season at the UA helm (680-526-10, 24 years) cautiously optimistic after graduating 10 seniors from last spring’s veteran club. The Zips finished 31-23 a year ago and in seventh place in the MAC (14-17).
The four seniors on this year’s club are left-handed pitcher Joe Header (Medina), shortstop Todd Mezlak (Amherst), first baseman Joe Pukansky (North Canton) and third baseman Aaron Vaughn (Clinton).
Akron anticipates surprising the experts who picked the club to finish in fifth place in the MAC East Division. The top three squads in each division qualify for the MAC playoffs.
Joe Palmisano, a member of Owens' staff for three seasons, has been promoted to defensive coordinator. The Zips' secondary coach in 1997, Palmisano replaces David Snowball, who resigned his post in early February.
Bob Morris, an assistant coach in the Big Ten for 13 seasons at Purdue and Indiana, is new to the staff and will coordinate UA's pass defense.
Palmisano served as recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach in 1995 and '96, before being elevated to associate head coach and secondary coach for the 1997 season. Regarded as a "program builder," Palmisano started football from scratch at nearby Malone College in 1993 and '94 and helped initiate programs at Greenville College in Illinois and Wingate College in North Carolina. He directed the Malone Pioneers to a 7-3 mark in '94 and earned Mid-States Football Association (MFSA) Coach of the Year notice. A 1976 graduate of Iowa State, where he was a three-year grid letterman, Palmisano played his prep football at Akron Hoban.
Morris served as defensive coordinator at Purdue for three seasons under Jim Colletto and as secondary coach and special teams coach at Indiana for 10 years under Bill Mallory. A native of Boulder, Colo., and a 1977 graduate of Colorado, he was a graduate assistant coach with the Buffaloes for two seasons before joining Mallory for a successful four-year run at Northern Illinois (1980-83). Morris went with Mallory to Indiana and coached in six bowl games with the Hoosiers. He has recruited throughout the midwest and Florida and will be on board when the Zips begin spring drills on March 27. Morris and his wife, Jennifer, also a Colorado graduate, have two sons, Jerod (16) and Joshua (7).
Akron opens its 1998 season on Sept. 5, entertaining defending MAC champion Marshall in the 45th Acme-Zip Game. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Still disappointed in defeat, yet proud of his team, Hipsher was asked to be in Toledo for today's MAC honors banquet. The Zips' court boss has been selected 1998 conference Coach of the Year by the MAC News Media Association, after guiding Akron to a 17-10 overall mark and the MAC East Division title. At 13-5 in league play, the Zips were 10-0 against eastern opponents in the regular season. Three years ago, he inherited a program which had skidded to 24-54 in the three seasons prior to his arrival.
UA has made steady improvement under Hipsher. From 3-23 in 1995-96 to 8-18 in '96-97, the Zips put together a seven-game win streak in February and rallied to capture this year's division crown. As the #3 seed in the MAC Tournament, Akron was upset by rival Kent -- the #6 seed -- 95-88 two days ago at JAR Arena.
After nine years as an assistant to Don Donoher at Dayton, Hipsher served four seasons as head coach at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, where he compiled an amazing 97-18 mark. Prior to the '93-94 season, he was chosen head coach at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla., and guided the Hatters to the Trans America Athletic Conference tournament championship game in his first season. The following year, he was named TAAC Coach of the Year.
A 1977 graduate of Bowling Green State University, Hipsher was a two-time All-Academic MAC cager. The Fostoria, Ohio native has been selected Coach of the Year three times in his nine years as a college head coach.
For the second year in a row, The University of Akron has captured one of the MAC's major postseason basketball awards. Last March, guard Jimmal Ball was accorded Freshman of the Year notice.
Smith, the MAC's defending outdoor long jump champion, tallied 29 individual points in leading Akron to a seventh-place team finish (out of 11 schools) -- a marked improvement under third-year coach Dennis Mitchell.
Smith won the pentathlon (3,754 points), and placed second in the pole vault (11-1 3/4), third in the long jump (18-10 3/4) and fourth in the triple jump (38-3 1/2). She already is provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships in the long jump.
Her twin sister, Crystal, is a scholarship basketball player at Dayton. Akron will host the 1998 MAC Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 21-23.
Canal Park is the home of the Akron Aeros, the Class AA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. Opened last spring, the 8,500-seat stadium is located in downtown Akron.
1998 University of Akron Baseball at Canal Park April 2 vs Duquesne 7 p.m. April 7 TBA 3 p.m. April 16 vs Dayton 7 p.m. April 18 vs Marshall (double header) 1 p.m. April 20 vs Cleveland State 7 p.m. April 30 vs Pittsburgh 7 p.m.
Other top finishers for the women included sophomore LaTrese Taylor (Canton/McKinley), who was fifth in the 55m dash, and sophomore Jasmine Reynolds (Columbus/Brookhaven), who placed fifth in the 200m dash (24.82) and seventh in the 55m (7.18). Sophomore Karen Beasley (Blakeslee/Edon) was sixth in the pole vault (9’ 8”), tied with freshman Heather Globig (Madison).
The men were led by junior Mike Slomovitz (Woodmere/Orange), who captured second in the long jump (23’ 10 1/4”) and fourth in the high jump (6’9”). Senior Barron Pringle (Middletown) was third in the 55m high hurdles (7.41).
Other men scoring for Akron included senior Nate Norris (Elyria/Catholic), who was sixth in the 5000m run (14:55.08), junior Mickey Andrade (Stow), who placed seventh in the 3000m run (8:47.49), and junior Jeff Whittaker (Canton/Jackson), who was seventh in the high jump (6’7”). The Zips also had three eighth-place finishes to score. Sophomore C.J. Lemp (Brunswick) ran the 400m (48.56), sophomore Steve Toth (Rocky River) scored in the pole vault (15’9”) and junior Ryan Lowe (Marshallville/Chippewa) competed in the pentathlon.
Both UA squads finished seventh. Ball State captured the women’s title, while Eastern Michigan took the men’s honors.
Head coach Roxanne Allen, in her first season as the Zips' mentor, guided her team to a record of 12-18 (8-10 MAC) as compared to 5-21 (2-16 MAC) one season ago. UA captured the sixth seed in the MAC Tournament and was defeated in the quarterfinal round by the Toledo Rockets.