Geneva Davis, senior administrative assistant in the Office of Safety and Security, is retiring after 19 and a half years.  The campus community is invited to attend a retirement reception today for Geneva. The event will be from 1:00–3:00 p.m. in the Student Life Center in Ridgway University Center. Please stop by to congratulate Geneva on her retirement.

Please join the Rethink Diversity Through Mindshifting Dialogue discussion today from noon-1:00 p.m., in Room 272, Schroeder School of Business Building. The topic will be "Just Ask Me: What we know and don't know about gender and sexual orientation.” Feel free to bring your lunch!

Please RSVP at lw161@evansville.edu.

This event is sponsored by the Office of Diversity Initiatives.

Debbie Driggs, prospect specialist in the Office of Admission, is retiring after 20 years of service! The campus community is invited to attend a retirement reception for Debbie today from 2:30-4:00 p.m. in the lobby of the Office of Admission. Please stop by to congratulate Debbie on her retirement.

The annual Ohio River Sweep will be held on Saturday, June 18, from 8:00-11:00 a.m. If you would like to help out at the Evansville location, meet at the Four Freedoms Monument that morning. Wear old, comfortable clothes and shoes or boots that you won't mind getting dirty. Close-toed shoes are also recommended. Trash bags and a limited number of gloves will be provided. If you have work gloves, please bring your own.

For more information, check out the ORSANCO website or UE’s Environmental Facebook page.

Employees of the University of Evansville are invited to play golf with other UE employees on Thursdays at 3:00 p.m. at Fendrich. You can reserve your tee time by contacting Debbie Kassenbrock in the Center for Academic Advising at dk26@evansville.edu by 4:30 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to the outing.

There is still time to register for SOC 230 - Social Problems in the Modern World - Online for Summer Session II. In our increasingly connected society, we need to be equipped to find solutions for a wide range of social problems, and understanding the social conditions and experiences of diverse groups makes us better prepared global citizens. SOC 230 provides an overview of social problems, focusing on major social, economic, political, and environmental issues confronting the modern world, both globally and in the US.

For more information, contact Mari Plikuhn, assistant professor of sociology, at mp168@evansville.edu.

SOC 230 satisfies General Education Outcome 9 and Overlay B.
 

University of Evansville Head Women’s Tennis Coach Jayson Wiseman has announced the signing of Nicoli Attili Pereira to a National Letter of Intent to join the Purple Aces Women’s Tennis Program beginning fall of 2016.

Pereira hails from Santos, Brazil, where she has been a highly successful junior tennis player. Since 2012 Nicoli has been the champion or runner up in 13 Brazilian national tournaments and has also competed in several ITF international events. Pereira has been ranked as high as number three in Brazil for girls 18 and under.

“I am exceptionally pleased to announce the addition of Nicoli Pereira to our program for the 2016-17 season,” Wiseman said. “Her all court game and match experience at such a high level will be an excellent addition to our line up in both singles and doubles.”

“The addition of Nicoli to this recruiting class along with our returning players gives us much more quality and depth than last season,” Wiseman added. “With the group of young women we will have on the courts next season, we have great expectations for next year.”
 

Despite not being on the courts for over a month, it has been an exciting few weeks for the Purple Aces Women’s Tennis program and head coach Jayson Wiseman. In addition to adding top ranked Brazilian prospect Nicoli Pereira to the program this week, the Aces received national recognition for the three incoming freshman recruits signed earlier this year.

On May 30, TennisRecruiting.net posted their final spring recruiting class rankings. The rankings, determined by a panel of recruiting experts, had the University of Evansville class of Theodora Soldatou, Diana Tkachenko, and Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga among the top 35 classes in the country.

Finishing with 17 votes for the Top 25 was good enough to land the Aces the thirty-third ranked class in the country. The Aces finished ranked just ahead of several Power 5 Conference teams Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Oklahoma, St. John's, Texas A&M, Kansas, and Penn State. At number 33 the Aces were the fifth-highest ranking Mid Major recruiting class by the panel.

Today, TennisRecruiting.net posted their final spring Mid Major recruiting class rankings and UE Tennis was once again recognized among the best in the nation. This ranking list, compiled by TRN’s top recruiting analyst Dallas Oliver, compiles the top classes for all schools not in a Power 5 Conference. According to TRN the Aces have the number eight recruiting class among all Mid Major schools.

“It is always very gratifying to have your hard work recognized by such well respected members of the tennis community,” Wiseman said. “A lot of time and effort went in to bringing this recruiting class together, and I am extremely excited to coach the group of young women we have coming in for the fall.”

“I could not have put together this class without the help of Dr. Shane Davidson, Kiersten Saltwick, Andy Brunner, and Sarah Solinsky. Now that we have the assembled this group of talented young ladies, the pressure is on to live up to such lofty expectations.”

The links to the TennisRecruiting.net stories can be found below:

National Top Women’s Classes: http://www.tennisrecruiting.net/article.asp?id=2390

Top Mid Major Women’s Classes: http://www.tennisrecruiting.net/article.asp?id=1950

A great season that saw the University of Evansville Men’s Basketball team post a 25-9 record also saw the program see a large jump in its average home attendance.

The Purple Aces averaged 5,147 fans at its 16 regular-season home games in 2015-16, a jump of 923 fans from the previous year. That jump was the 26th-best in the NCAA for last season.

“We gained a great deal of positive momentum from our CIT run in 2015 and saw that carry over into last season,” UE head coach Marty Simmons said. “Our fans really enjoyed interacting with our players and were able to make a personal connection with them.”

“Our players do a great job of connecting to our fans on and off the court and the fans do an awesome job of showing their support,” Simmons continued. “That support carried us this season and each year prior. Our fans do a great job of supporting and carrying us throughout the season.”

In 16 home games, UE went 13-3 while averaging 5,147 fans per game. That marked the highest average total since the Ford Center opened in 2011. Over the course of its nine Missouri Valley Conference games, the number was even higher as an average of 6,022 fans per game made their way through the turnstiles.

Included in that number was an arena record of 10,034 fans at the January 31 game against Wichita State.

The University of Evansville Athletic Ticket Office is currently taking deposits for NEW season ticket holders for the 2016-17 Men’s Basketball season. We are excited to continue to offer our family section (50% off your purchase of at least one adult and one youth season ticket in certain sections), and our young adult section ($50 per seat for new fans age 18-29 in certain sections). Men’s Basketball season ticket renewals are slated to go out the week of June 13. For more information or to put down your deposit, please call 812-488-ACES or visit the Carson Center Ticket Office.

Fresh off of a strong rebound season, the University of Evansville Softball team will host its summer camps in July.

The first will be a Softball Skills Clinic on July 12. It is for grades 9-12 and features three potential focuses including hitting, pitching and catching. The hitting session will cover proper hitting and bunting techniques. The pitching session will teach the fundamentals and drills used at the collegiate level. All pitchers are required to bring their own catcher (catcher must also complete the release and waiver of liability form). The catching session will cover blocking and framing techniques and throwing situations.

On July 19, the program will be hosting the Aces Elite Showcase, which is also for grades 9-12. The first portion of the Elite Showcase will be a college level practice focusing on the fundamentals of hitting, fielding, pitching, and catching. The second portion will be an instructional scrimmage covering all aspects of the game.

Availability for both camps is limited. To sign up or ask any questions, please contact assistant coach Aubrey Watson at aw358@evansville.edu or at 812-488-2919.