Eleven MAC schools (minus Northern Illinois, who does not sponsor track) will send their men's and women's track & field teams to this year's competition at Lee R. Jackson Field.
Competition will begin at 10:30 a. m. on Thursday, at 9:00 a. m. on Friday and at 11:30 a. m. on Saturday. There will be no admission charge for the events on Thursday. Admission to the Championship on Friday and Saturday will be $5 for adults and $2 for students.
Track & Field will be the third MAC Championship held at The University of Akron this spring. The Zips also played host to the conference championships for women's tennis and softball.
Motorists are advised to use the posted detour at Brown and Exchange streets and travel east on Exchange and north on Spicer to Carroll to Union streets and vice versa.
This move has been made to help ensure the safety of the over 500 athletes plus spectators expected to attend the event.
Shelby Howell (Bellflower, Calif.) has been named second-team All-Great Lakes Region. Although she had a team-leading .317 batting average, the recognition came for her performance on the mound. Howell led the Zips with her 20-7 record and a 1.30 ERA. The 1997 MAC Player of the Year, Howell last week was named first-team All-MAC for the second consecutive season.
Vanessa Williams (Artesia, Calif.) has been named second-team GTE Academic All-District. Williams, who posted a 12-7 record with a 1.66 ERA for the Zips this season, is a nursing major and holds a 3.22 GPA. She was a member of the 1998 MAC All-Tournament Team.
The Zips of head coach Deanna Parks were the Mid-American Conference regular-season champions, posting a league record of 23-5 and an overall mark of 35-18.
The starting first baseman, Pukansky was named the 1998 MVP, received the Joe Thomas Award (highest batting average, .350), and was named the team's best defensive player.
Junior pitcher Tim Taylor (Kent/Field) received the Coaches Award and shared the Top Pitcher Award with junior John Wilkinson (Brunswick/Padua).
Junior second baseman Jayson Hill (Austintown/Fitch) was named UA's Most Improved Player. A three-year starter, Hill led the team in runs, and was second in batting average (.341), hits, home runs, doubles and slugging percentage.
Also of note, senior pitcher Joe Header (Medina) finished his collegiate career with 18 wins, tying him for sixth on the UA all-time list for victories. Header was the 1995 Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year when he posted an 8-2 record and a 2.81 ERA.
Eleven MAC schools (minus Northern Illinois) will send their men's and women's track & field teams to this year's competition at Lee R. Jackson Field. The facility has undergone more than $100,000 in improvements, including a widening of lane eight to regulation width, curbing on the inside of lane one, new long-jump pits, a new hammer circle and cage, new shot put sectors, and a new javelin runway. Slated for construction is a new 1,600-square-foot multi-purpose building at the site. Competition start times are 10:30 Thursday morning, 9:00 Friday morning and 11:30 am on Saturday.
The Zips feature two defending MAC champions in senior hurdler Barron Pringle (Middletown) and sophomore multi-event standout Christi Smith (Columbus/Bexley). Pringle won the 110-meter high hurdles last spring at Kent. Smith, a top contender to win the heptathlon, captured the long jump crown a year ago. Seven 1997 MAC track & field All-Americans return for the 1998 conference championship, including Western Michigan's Phil McMullen, last year's MAC decathlon champ and NCAA runnerup.
Akron's 1998 track & field team continued its re-writing of the UA record book last Saturday at Lee Jackson Field.
Hosting the Al Campbell Open, coach Dennis Mitchell's Zips setting UA marks were LaTrese Taylor (Canton/McKinley) in the 100 (11.74) and 200-meter (24.14) dashes, Mike Slomovitz (Woodmere/Orange) in the decathlon (6,853 points), Laura Wozniak (Brunswick) in the high jump (5-10 1/2), Kelly Trenta (Wadsworth) in the women's hammer (151-3), Ron Johnson (Warrensville) in the men's hammer (145-2), Christi Smith in the 100-meter hurdles (14.34) and the men's 4X100-meter relay team (40.92). Taylor and Smith were double winners.
The James Award annually recognizes conference-wide one male and one female student-athlete who have achieved a 3.50 minimum cumulative grade-point average, demonstrated good character, leadership and citizenship and have completed their final season of athletic eligibility.
Johnston, a member of the GTE District IV Academic Team, will be presented a $1,000 post-graduate scholarship. The Zips' ace defender was named three times to the All-Mideast Region team and carries a 3.59 GPA as a finance major. Last fall, Johnston was the only Zip to play every minute of every match as coach Ken Lolla's team won the MAC regular-season title and finished 14-5-2. He is a graduate of Parktown High School in South Africa and was chosen Outstanding Under-19 Player in the 1993 Inter-Provincial Tournament.
Senior pitcher/left fielder Vanessa Williams (Artesia, Calif.) was named to the MAC All-Tournament team.
The foursome led coach Deanna Parks' club to a 35-18 mark (23-5 MAC) and the regular season Mid-American Conference title. The Zips fell twice last weekend in the MAC tournament played at UA's Buchtel Field.
Howell, the MAC's Player of the Year last spring, finished with a 20-7 pitching slate and a team-high .317 batting average, including six HRs and 23 RBI. Metzger, who moved into 10th place on the NCAA's all-time HR list (38 career), hit .289 with a league-high 13 dingers and earned acclaim as one of the MAC's top defensive catchers. Both Zips were repeat first-team picks. Petiya, a second-team choice, had a career year, batting .308, excelling defensively and belting the HR (first of her career) which brought Akron the regular season MAC crown and the No. 1 tourney seed.
Phillips, along with sophomore guard Jami Bosley (Massillon/Jackson), was named MVP and was tabbed “best defender” and “high rebounder.”
Sophomore forward Ryan Andrick (Akron/Manchester) led the Mid-American Conference in field goal percentage (56.5%), won the Zips’ “accuracy award,” and claimed the Zip Award for the intangibles he brought to the squad.
Guard Scott Gooden (Akron/Firestone), the Zips’ only senior, repeated as the “best free-throw shooter,” hitting 81.8%.
Head coach Dan Hipsher was named MAC Coach of the Year and Ohio College Coach of the Year. The Zips won the MAC East Division title and finished 17-10.
The Zips will host Pittsburgh in a 2 o’clock doubleheader on Wednesday, May 6, at Canal Park. The date is a makeup for a single game that was postponed due to inclement weather last week.
Head coach Deanna Parks’ club finished the regular season with a record of 23-5 in the MAC (35-16 overall) to capture the regular-season championship and the right to host the tournament. The Zips clinched the crown on Sunday in the final regular-season game of the year when senior first baseman Stacy Petiya (Newton Falls/LaBrae) hit her first collegiate home run with two outs in the bottom of the 10th to take the 2-1 decision over Miami.
The teams in the tournament in order of seed are: Akron, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Ball State, Kent and Bowling Green.
The tournament, to be held at Buchtel Field, begins on Thursday, May 7. The top-seeded Zips play at 5:30 on Thursday against the winner of the Ball State/Kent matchup from earlier in the day. Four games will be played each on Thursday and Friday with at least two games on Saturday. The championship game is scheduled for a 1:30 start on Saturday.
A tournament ticket for all three days can be purchased through the UA Athletic Ticket Office and is priced at $10 for adults and $5 for youths. Single-day tickets, priced at $5 and $2, are also available.
The men had several first-place finishers, including junior Mike Slomovitz (Woodmere/Orange) who took the prize in the long jump and tied teammate junior Jeff Whittaker (Massillon/Jackson) for top honors in the high jump. Senior Barron Pringle (Middletown) won the 110-meter high hurdles while freshman Will McCauley (Enon/Greenon) took first in the 800 meters.
At the Jesse Owens Track Classic in Columbus, the men’s 4x100 finished fifth. Senior Laura Wozniak (Brunswick) finished third in the high jump and sophomore Christi Smith (Columbus/Bexley) placed third in the long jump.
The Zips are led by senior captain Greg Boyette (73.2 stroke average) and junior Billy Williamson (73.8). Williamson, who carries a 3.70 GPA in finance, has been nominated for the GTE Academic All-America Team after five top-10 finishes during the '97-98 campaign. UA has won the prestigious Persimmon Ridge championship, hosted by Louisville, and ranked second at the 37-team Yale Fall Classic. The Zips expect to challenge defending MAC champion Kent, Toledo and Miami -- three MAC schools already chosen for the NCAA Central Regional, May 14-16, in San Antonio, Texas.
The Zips (35-16, 23-5 MAC), the #1 seed, play host to the six-team, double-elimination MAC tourney beginning Thursday morning (May 7) at 10 o'clock at Buchtel Field. The third annual tournament continues through Saturday. Sunday is the rain date.
Petiya's home run -- the first of her career -- gave the Zips a twin bill sweep of Miami and put a final half-game edge over #2 seed Central Michigan (22-5-1). Third seed Northern Illinois put together a late push, sweeping Central Michigan Friday and Eastern Michigan Saturday to finish 21-6-1. The Zips swept two from Bowling Green on Saturday.
The tournament opens with Northern Illinois meeting #6 Bowling Green (15-13). At 12:30, #4 Ball State (19-7) is matched against #5 Kent (14-12). Central Michigan faces the Northern-Bowling Green survivor at 3:00. Coach Deanna Parks' Akron Zips tangle with the Ball State-Kent winner at 5:30. The MAC tournament champion advances to the NCAA Championship Tournament.
The 1996 MAC Tournament was to be played at Firestone Stadium, but was washed out with Central Michigan declared the winner. The Chippewas hosted and won the 1997 event. Buchtel Field was the site of the 1986 NCAA Division II National Softball Tournament.
A tournament ticket for all three days can be purchased through the UA Athletic Ticket Office and is priced at $10 for adults and $5 for youths. Single day tickets, priced at $5 and $2, are also available. For further information contact the ticket office at (330) 972-6920.
1998 MAC Softball Tournament Schedule
Thursday, May 7 Game 1 10:00 a.m. Northern Illinois (#3) vs. Bowling Green (#6) Game 2 12:30 p.m. Ball State (#4) vs. Kent (#5) Game 3 3:00 p.m. Central Michigan (#2) vs. Game 1 Winner Game 4 5:30 p.m. Akron (#1) vs. Game 2 Winner Friday, May 8 Game 5 10:00 a.m. Game 2 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser Game 6 12:30 p.m. Game 1 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser Game 7 3:00 p.m. Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner Game 8 5:30 p.m. Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner Saturday, May 9 Game 9 11:00 a.m. Game 7 Loser vs. Game 8 Winner Game 10 1:30 p.m. Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner Game 11 TBA Game 10 Participants (if necessary)