DEADLINE to participate in the survey is MONDAY, MAY 23 @ 5:00 p.m. CDT!!

Ace Purple was created in the late 1960s in the image of a turn-of-the-century riverboat gambler, representing Evansville’s location on the banks of the Ohio River.

He also brandished a club with a spike on one end and carried a gun, and his facial features included a sneer. In 1977 Ace Purple went through an update as UE moved to Division-1 in athletics and with that came another change to Ace Purple as a more likeable character who was cunning, daring, quick wit and had shrewd judgment and those are the current characteristics of Ace Purple.

As the University enters a new era with the move into a new state of the art basketball arena, it appears an appropriate time for Ace Purple to receive a makeover. We need your help in telling us what you like and dislike about the current Ace Purple and what you’d like to see if Ace were to receive a makeover.

Please take a few moments to complete 4 short questions. We value your thoughts regarding the mascot that represents your beloved institution. Go Aces!

Would you like to meet one of the University's international students? The Office of Cultural Engagement and International Services is looking for members of the UE community who wish to be paired with an international student for friendship and fun.  Family participants are asked to meet just once a month with their student on a casual basis. 

Interested or have questions? Contact Emily Fiedler, Coordinator of Cultural Engagement and Leadership, at ef31@evansville.edu or 488-2279.
 

The Summer Fitness Center Class schedule is:

Insanity
Mondays through Fridays at 5 p.m. in the Aerobics Room

Yoga
Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. at the Fitness Center Basketball Courts
 

Do you submit Copy Service Requests and/or In-House Office Supply forms on a routine basis?  If yes, it is time to renew or establish your Pre-Authorization for Distribution Services (PAADS) for fiscal year 2011-12.  Completing and submitting the PAADS form with signature authorizations per the UE approval policy pre-authorizes a Requestor of Distribution Services for the fiscal year based on the dollar amount designated, account numbers provided and services requested.  Note that employee status changes (Requestors and Approvers) during the fiscal year does void a PAADS and a new approved PAADS is required.

The PAADS form and instructions are located on the Copy Services and Central Receiving websites on AceLink. Print and complete a PAADS form with authorized signature and submit via campus mail to Doris Cook/Distribution Svcs./GS before June 1.

If you have questions, contact Doris Cook at extension 1067 or email  dc47@evansville.edu

Thanks to swimmer Christina Schmidgall, tennis player Kate Chybowski and swimmer Colin Gray, the University of Evansville is the only school in its region to put three student-athletes on the ballot for the Capital One Academic All-America At-Large Teams, chosen by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Schmidgall and Chybowski were chosen today for the 10-member All-District 5 Women's At-Large Team, and Gray was chosen for the All-District 5 Men's At-Large Team.  Second in District 5 behind Evansville with two Academic All-America finalists are Notre Dame, Bradley and Northern Illinois.  First-team selections from each of the eight districts across the country go on the Academic All-America ballot.  The men's and women's at-large teams will be chosen in the next two weeks by a committee of CoSIDA members.

The At-Large teams are arguably the most difficult Academic All-America teams to make because of the large number of athletes eligible for selection.  The at-large category includes male and female student-athletes in the sports of tennis, swimming & diving, fencing, gymnastics, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing and water polo, along with the men's sports of wrestling and volleyball, and the women's sports of bowling, crew and field hockey.

Schmidgall, from Golden Valley, Minn. (Robbinsville Cooper HS), graduated last week with a perfect 4.0 grade point average and earned her degree in Athletic Training. She holds UE records in the 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle events.  She produced two top-3 finishes at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in February, finishing second in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 500 free.  She was also the MVC Elite 18 Award winner for having the highest grade point average among all competitors at the MVC Championships.  A three-time all-MVC selection, Schmidgall is a finalist for the Ida M. Stieler Award, presented each June to UE's most outstanding female athlete of the year.

Chybowski, from Appleton, Wis. (Appleton North HS), is Evansville's all-time leader in singles victories (107) and total victories (189), breaking records set in 1999.  She finished 17-3 at number one singles and 10-6 at number one doubles as a senior. Chybowski received the Lois D. Patton Award in April for being the Aces' most outstanding senior female scholar-athlete, and in May was chosen as the Ohio Valley Region recipient of the Arthur Ashe Junior Leadership & Sportsmanship Award.  She won the 2010 Stieler Award, and is a finalist for the same honor in 2011.  The three-time first-team all-MVC selection graduated with a 3.92 GPA in Biology, and will attend the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine in August.

Gray, from Carmel, Ind. (Westfield HS), goes into his senior year in August with a perfect 4.0 GPA in Mathematics.  He will spend the summer at North Carolina State University as part of the Research Experience for Undergraduates program. Gray is an Academic All-America Team finalist for the second year in a row.  He was Evansville's fastest swimmer in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events, and finished his junior season with a season-best time of 2:12.75 in the 200 breaststroke at the Mid-American Conference Championships in March.  Gray won three events during the season, and was UE's lone winner at the Western Kentucky Invitational.  He finished in the MAC's top 20 in both the 100- and 200-breaststroke.

The University of Evansville has produced 42 Academic All-Americans, with its first in 1972.  UE has had at least one Academic All-American in each of the last three years, and seven of the last eight.  Senior Mike Luttrull is the most recent selection, chosen for the Men's Soccer first team last November.

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, working in conjunction with the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce and the College Baseball Foundation, has released the list of semifinalists for the 2011 Dick Howser Trophy, given to the top player in collegiate baseball. Senior Cody Fick of the University of Evansville baseball team is a part of that list.

Fick leads Evansville in a number of offensive categories, including batting average (.409), slugging percentage (.657), hits (81), RBI (71), doubles (20), home runs (9), and total bases (130) through 49 games. He tops the Missouri Valley Conference in batting average and runs batted in, and also ranks second nationally in RBI per game. In less than three seasons, Fick has recorded 230 hits in his career, 182 RBI, and 37 home runs. Fick has also developed into Evansville’s ace, starting the year with a perfect 5-0 record on the mound, including a complete game shutout with nine strikeouts over Jacksonville. The Freeburg, Mo. native led UE to its first Valley series win of the season, hurling a complete game shutout with seven strikeouts at Bradley on April 24th. Fick is also on the watch list for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, presented by the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

The membership of the NCBWA will choose the Dick Howser Trophy Award recipient based on two rounds of national voting. This year’s 25th anniversary of the Dick Howser Trophy presented by Easton Foundations will be made even more special by the awarding of this year’s honor at TD Ameritrade Stadium in downtown Omaha, the new home of the College World Series.  The award will be presented on Tuesday, June 21 at 10 a.m. CT, prior to the fourth day of the 2011 CWS.

The candidates hail from 17 different conferences and 28 different schools. The Southeastern Conference leads the way with six semifinalists, followed by the ACC with four and the Big XII, Conference USA, Missouri Valley and the Southern Conference with three. Every position on the diamond is represented, including eight starting pitchers, four outfielders, utility players and three catchers, first basemen, relief pitchers and shortstop, among this diversified group.

The Dick Howser Trophy, given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager, who died of brain cancer in 1987, is regarded by many as college baseball's most prestigious award.  Criteria for consideration of the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage, qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser's life.
A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-America shortstop at Florida State (1957-58), then coached the Seminoles in 1979, after a career as a major league player and coach. After one year in the college ranks, Howser returned to the majors to manage the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and won the World Series with the Royals in 1985. The baseball stadium on the Florida State campus is named for Howser.

The winner's name is inscribed on the permanent trophy, a bronze bust of Howser displayed at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg - home of the defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays and the 1999 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four – along with several other locations. Both the winner and his school receive a special trophy to keep.

NCBWA membership includes writers, broadcasters and publicists. Designed to promote and publicize college baseball, it is the sport's only college media-related organization, founded in 1962.

 

In the last conference game of the regular season, the University of Evansville baseball team could not catch Illinois State after giving up four runs in the first inning, falling, 4-3, Saturday afternoon at Duffy Bass Field. With the loss, the Aces enter next week’s Missouri Valley Conference tournament with a 28-23 overall record, 7-13 mark in the MVC, and a No. 7 seed. Evansville will play the No. 2 seed, Wichita State, at 12:30 p.m. CT Tuesday at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in the first round of the 2011 Missouri Valley Baseball Championship.

On the afternoon, seniors Greg Wallace, Cody Fick, and Ty Legan led the Aces’ offense, each recording two hits, as Wallace also had all three of UE’s runs batted in.

For the third straight day, Evansville took the initial lead, as UE scored one run in the top of the first off starter JD Learnard. With one out, Eric Stamets singled and stole second base, setting up Fick’s and Wallace’s consecutive singles that gave the Aces a 1-0 head start. Evansville looked to keep the rally going, but Jared Baehl’s hard hit liner to the right side was snagged by first baseman and Zach Amrein, doubling off Wallace and ending the side.

The Redbirds answered right back with all four of their total runs in the bottom of the frame off left-handed pitcher Josh Biggs. A leadoff walk, followed by a double for Josh Colon put runners at second and third. Kevin Tokarski chopped a ball to Stamets who tried to pick Colon off second, but everybody was safe and Chad Hinshaw scored from third base, tying up the ball game. Tyler McNeely followed with an RBI single, and Brock Stewart belted a ground-rule double over the left field wall, plating Tokarski. Mike Hollenbeck capped the innings with a sacrifice fly that scored Court and gave the Redbirds a 4-1 lead.
With the score frozen through the next three innings, the Aces got two back in the top of the fifth. Trentt Copeland and Stamets led off with straight walks and came around to score on Wallace’s single up the middle, making it 4-3.

However, that was where the score would stay the rest of the way despite having the tying run on third base in both the seventh and eighth innings. In the seventh, UE loaded the bases with one out after three walks, but reliever Jacob Wielebnicki recorded a strikeout and line out to end the side.

In the eighth, Legan singled with one out and advanced to third on two stolen bases, but was also left stranded.
Evansville tried one last rally in the ninth when Stamets reached on a lead off hit by pitch, but after Fick flew out, Illinois State ended the game with a strike him out, throw him out. In the game, the Aces left 10 runners on base.

Biggs (5-2) took the loss, throwing seven innings, allowing four runs, eight hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. Freshman Peter Spear threw a perfect eighth inning for UE. Learnard (8-3) earned the win, hurling three innings, allowing a run and six hits.

The Aces will travel to Omaha, Neb. tomorrow and will open the conference tournament against Wichita State on Tuesday.