Bell, a left-handed-hitting outfielder, hit .418 for Baldwin High School last season with an on-base percentage of over .500, and used good speed to help him swipe 27 bases. He is a two-time selection to the All-West Legion Showcase at Three Rivers Stadium and was a 1997 Team One Regional Showcase selection at Lexington, Ky. Bell, a two-time silver medalist in the Keystone Games, was also a member of the 1996 State Legion All-Star Team.
Reisinger, a right-handed pitcher at Adena High School, was named first-team All-Scioto Valley Conference as a junior when he recorded an 8-0 mark on the mound with a 1.21 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 58 innings. He led the league in hitting (.490) and RBI (23), and was second in strikeouts and wins. Reisinger helped lead Adena H.S. to a 15-6 record and the Division III District Finals last season.
Bell, a 6-2 guard, showed her versatility and strong ball-handling ability as she earned All-City honors last season. North High School reached the AAA Minnesota State High School championship game to cap off Bell’s junior campaign.
“Felecia is an extremely versatile player who handles the ball very well,” said Allen. “We’re really excited about these two early signees, because they’re exactly the type of player that we want to bring in. They can pick up the tempo of a game, and they are both very academically inclined.”
Both Bell and Cooper will enroll at Akron for the 1998-99 school year.
The Zips finished the year with a 16-17 record overall and a mark of 5-11 in the Mid-American Conference.
The UA women will take the floor against Youngstown State at 5:30 p.m., while the men are slated to tip off at 8:05 p.m. against Capital.
The men’s game will be carried live on WBNX-TV 55 with Eric Hogue and Joe Dunn providing all of the play-by-play action. Two other UA home games, Eastern Michigan (Feb. 5) and Kent (Feb. 19) will also be carried live on Channel 55.
All men’s basketball games can be heard on WHLO-AM 640 with Steve French and Jeff Brewer behind the microphones.
The former Ringgold High School star was selected as the Most Valuable Back, Fred Sefton Top Offensive Performer and won the Red Blair High Scorer Award.
Junior free safety Andre McCray (Akron/Buchtel) shared the Top Defensive Player Award with strong safety George Germany (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and shared the Outstanding Junior Award with wide receiver Carl Whitt (Warren/Champion). McCray also was designated as a captain.
Junior offensive lineman Kevin Kuntz (Steubenville) was tabbed Most Valuable Lineman and captain. He already had been named first-team All-MAC by Football News.
Fullback Jamie Reader (Monessen, Pa.) and defensive end Corey Christian (Pittsburgh, Pa.) shared the Outstanding Senior Award. Cornerback and punt returner Rich Reliford (Bolingbrook, Ill.), offensive guard Dan Wessman (Mayfield Village) and special teams performer Ellery Bradford (Mansfield) captured the Outstanding Freshman, Lifter of the Year and John Heisman Unsung Hero Awards, respectively. Bradford is a repeat winner of the Heisman Award.
Senior linebacker Matt Chase (New Washington) earned the team Academic Award with a 3.65 GPA as an international business major. Senior linebacker Nate Boyd (East Liverpool), sophomore tailback Mike Lagasse (Niskayuna, N.Y.) and Germany were also chosen as captains.
Akron, which had cracked the national rankings at No. 25 in the next-to-last week of the regular season, dropped the MAC Tournament championship game to Bowling Green, 1-0, on November 9 in Oxford. The Falcons then defeated Patriot League member Colgate in a play-in game and will now play at Marquette in the first round of the NCAA tourney.
Sophomore setter Kim Schaper (Kalamazoo, Mich.) set a school mark for assists per game (12.1), while her season total of 1,458 ranks second on UA's all-time list. The team's lone senior was Rachel Phillips (Tallmadge).
The UA men have been impressive in two home exhibition wins, scoring more than 100 points and shooting better than 50 percent each time out. Coach Dan Hipsher's club is set to open its '97-'98 slate at 10th-ranked Xavier in Cincinnati on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Musketeers slipped out of JAR Arena last December 21 with a 113-111 win in triple overtime, surviving a 44-point outburst by Zips star Jimmal Ball (Canton/Timken).
Hipsher's anticipated lineup is George Phillips (Franklin Park, Ill./Leyden) and Chris Hahn (Alexandria, Ind.) at forwards, Ryan Andrick (Akron/Manchester) at center, and Scott Gooden (Akron/Firestone) and Ball at guards.
Ball and Eastern Michigan's Earl Boykins represent the Mid-American Conference in a survey of the nation's best under-6' players. A two-page spread dedicated to these small stars includes Aaron Hutchins of Marquette, Terrell McIntyre of Clemson, Shawnta Rogers of George Washington, Tyson Wheeler of Rhode Island and Ball. The magazine's cover boy is Duke guard Steve Wojciechowski. Boykins, who hails from Cleveland (Central Catholic), is singled out for a feature story.
Ball is the youngest of all the "small" players profiled. The 5-10, 170-pounder has been tabbed first-team preseason All-MAC, as selected by the MAC News Media Association. He averaged 17.1 points per game a year ago and was among conference leaders in scoring, three-point goals, assists and steals. Ball played the final month of last season with a fracture in his lower back and still earned selection to three Freshman All-America teams. He was the unanimous choice for MAC Freshman of the Year.
Akron opens its 1997-98 season November 22 at 10th-ranked Xavier. Ball hit for 44 points in a 113-111 triple-overtime loss to the Musketeers last December 21.
Norris placed 13th at the November 1 Mid-American Conference Championship meet at Toledo and has five top-10 finishes to his credit this season.
Coach Rick Jones' squad won the prestigious 23-team Louisville Persimmon Ridge Invitational and placed second and third in two other fall tournaments.
The Akron-Youngstown State women's game will start at 5:30 now, instead of 6:00, with the men's game to start at 8:00, rather than 8:30 as originally slated.
WB-55 also will carry Zips home men's games against Eastern Michigan (February 5) and Kent (February 19).
Coach Ken Lolla's Zips (14-5-2, 5-1-1 MAC) still have an outside chance for an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. The bracket will be announced Monday, November 17.
In the five-game loss to BGSU on Friday, sophomore setter Kim Schaper (Kalamazoo, Mich.) turned in her seventh 60+ assist performance of the season, notching 62 assists on the evening. She needs just 22 more assists to surpass Patti Godzinski's 1995 season total for second place on UA's all-time list. She has already surpassed her freshman-year total of 1,338, having recorded 1,377 assists thus far in 1997.
DL Eric Anderson (Woodburn, Ind.), LB Nate Boyd (East Liverpool), LB Matt Chase (New Washington), DE Corey Christian (Pittsburgh, Pa.), LB Pat Powell (Beaver, Pa.), FB Jamie Reader (Monessen, Pa.), FB Chris Rooney (Sioux City, Iowa), PK Jamie Stidham (Independence, Kan.), DT Tarik West (Miami, Fla.) and TE Chad Zgonc (Mentor) are this year's senior class.
The Zips will have their year-end banquet the following evening at the Martin Center, beginning at 5 o'clock. For ticket information, contact Nancy Stott at (330) 972-7466.
"I really feel bad for Jami," said Hipsher. "No one wants to play basketball more than him. When he walked off the floor Tuesday with his back in spasms, I guarantee you the tears were not due to the pain."
The injury is thought to have occurred over time and is attributed to the extremely active and aggressive style of play that Bosley has become known for, rather than any specific instance. "Due to Jami's commitment, I look for his rehab to go well," said Hipsher.
The Zips open the regular season on the road when they travel to Cincinnati on November 22 to meet Xavier.
"We're obviously proud of what Nate has accomplished this season," said head coach Dennis Mitchell. "Especially when you consider how strong the MAC is in cross country and that we have two teams (Miami and Eastern Michigan) ranked in the top 15."
Norris will represent Akron in the NCAA District IV Championships on November 15 at Indiana.
Among the men's other leading finishers at the MAC Championships for the Zips were junior Mickey Andrade (Stow), who finished 42nd, and freshman Chris Rybicki (Olmsted Falls), who was 54th in the 8,000-meter race.
Freshman Laura Jones (Mentor) was the Zips' top finisher in the women's 5,000-meter race, crossing the line in the 64th spot, while senior Mary Matuk (Ravenna) finished in 72nd place.
Paced by junior Michael Apple (Copley) and freshman Christer Larsen (Bergen, Norway) each with 9 goals, the offense has done its job in scoring 45 goals on the season. It has been the UA defense, however, that has held the opponents in check. The defense, which has not allowed a goal in the past 433:10 of play, now has four consecutive shutouts to its credit (seven for the season) and has surrendered only three scores in the last nine matches. Senior goalkeeper Bill Wahl (Chagrin Falls) has not allowed a goal in the past 512:43. For his six-save shutout effort against the Thundering Herd on Sunday, Wahl has been named the MAC Player of the Week. This latest honor comes only one week after he received the MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week award.