Faculty, staff, students and all Aces fans are invited to gather prior to the 4th seeded Aces game vs. Drake in the MVC Tourney this Friday. The event begins at 1:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Westport (191 West Port Plaza), Alpine Room. Free food and drinks, door prizes and strong Aces spirit. Cheer the Aces to an MVC Championship!

The people in the Center for Student Engagement have been cleaning out cabinets and now have lots of things to give away. Go over to their area today through Friday and see if they have anything that you might want or need!

The UE community is invited to the Book Fair and the announcement of the book and author for 2014. This event will take place at Barnes & Nobles (on 624 S. Green River Rd.) this Saturday, March 15th starting at 10:00 a.m. The fair will be only be on Saturday but the book proceed benefits will last throughout next week. If you cannot make it on Saturday, you will be able to stop by Barnes and Noble to buy the book or to make any other purchase next week. Be sure to mention "One Book One Community" upon check-out.

The office of Safety & Security will hold its annual Lost and Found Auction on Wednesday March 26. You will be able to view the items in Eykamp 252, Ridgway University Center, from 10 a.m.-3 p. m., on the 26th. This is a silent auction - all bids are confidential.

Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity will host the annual Business Recognition Awards on Tuesday, March 18 at 12:00 p.m. in Eykamp Hall, Ridgway University Center. Two awards will be presented. Kathy Briscoe ’72 M’79 will receive the Business Leader of the Year award and Atlas Van Lines will receive the Business of the Year. Register online at www.uealumnionline.com/biz14 or contact Bronda Simmons at 488-2362.

UE Libraries will observe the following schedule of hours during the Spring Break recess beginning on March 8.

* Friday, March 7:  7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
* Saturday, March 8:  CLOSED
* Sunday, March 9: CLOSED
* Monday, March 10:  7:30 a.m. -5:00 p.m.
* Tuesday, March 11:  7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
* Wednesday, March 12:  7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
* Thursday, March 13:  7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
* Friday, March 14:  7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
* Saturday, March 15:  CLOSED
* Sunday, March 16:  3:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.

Regular hours resume on Monday, March 17.

UE Professor of Creative Writing Margaret McMullan’s collection of stories Aftermath Lounge will be published in 2015 by Calypso Editions. Professor McMullan received a fiction fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts to complete this cycle of stories about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Stories in the collection have been published in Ploughshares, TriQuarterly, Michigan Quarterly Review, StorySouth, The Arkansas Review, The Montréal Review, The Southern California Anthology, Louisiana Literature, Fiction at Work, Freight Stories, and The Sun among other journals and anthologies including Christmas Stories from the South’s Best Writers. One story, “The Swing,” was highlighted in Southern Living magazine and performed by WordTheatre in Los Angeles, California.

Aftermath Lounge is Professor McMullan’s first short story collection and her seventh book of fiction. She is the Melvin M. Peterson Endowed Chair in Literature and Writing.

Anthony F. Beavers, professor of philosophy, is soon to have his paper, "A Brief Introduction to the Philosophy of Information," published in The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Information, which will be edited by Oxford scholar Luciano Floridi. The paper, previously disseminated on academia.edu, has been viewed by researchers in over 85 countries and on six continents. Anyone interested in reading the paper may do so at https://www.academia.edu/1230161/A_Brief_Introduction_to_the_Philosophy_of_Information.

UE Director of Orchestras Brian St. John has composed a new ballet based on the Hans Christian Andersen classic story, "The Little Mermaid." The ballet's world premiere will take place in Evansville at the Victory Theater on Saturday, March 15, at 7:00 PM. Dr. St. John will be conducting the Evansville Philharmonic Youth Orchestra for the premiere. The ballet is choreographed by Mark Bush and will be danced by Evansville Ballet Theater. UE student Sarah Stolnack is the lighting designer. Tickets are available through the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, 812-425-5050. This is the eighth ballet that St. John has written and premiered.

Junior Marketa Trousilova completed the Purple Aces’ tennis trip to Florida a combined 5-0, but the UE women’s tennis team fell to James Madison by a 5-2 final on Thursday afternoon on the campus of Hillsborough Community College.

Trousilova earned a 3-0 doubles mark this week. She was also victorious in both singles matches on the Florida trip. At flight one singles, she defeated James Madison’s Taylor Pinchoff, 7-5, 6-3. She has won four of her last five singles matches

At No. 2 doubles, Trousilova teamed up with sophomore Marina Moreno to defeat the Dukes’ Cara Wirth and Sarah Khan, 8-4. The pair improved to a perfect 5-0 when teamed in doubles this spring.

Also picking up an impressive win was UE freshman Andjela Brguljan. Brguljan faced JMU senior Ruxandra Andriescu at No. 5 singles, earning the win, 6-3, 5-7, 10-8. Since moving into the No. 5 spot in the lineup, Brguljan has posted a 3-2 record.

James Madison earned the doubles point with a hard-fought victory in flight one. Taylor Pinchoff and Alex Huie edge Natasha James and Kelsey Costales, 8-7 (8). Brguljan teamed with Mina Milovic at flight three doubles where they fell to Jacqueline Palmucci and Ruxandra Andriescu, 8-0.

In singles play, Trousilova took the win at flight one while Brguljan was victorious at No. 5. Flight two singles saw James fall to the Dukes’ Huie, 7-6, 6-2. Emily Bradshaw of JMU defeated Moreno in No. 3 singles, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6.

Kelsey Costales fell to JMU’s Nelson in the fourth flight, 6-2, 6-1. Flight six saw Palmucci defeat Milovic, 6-0, 6-1.

Evansville returns home on Saturday, March 22 where they will face IPFW. The match is slated for a 2 p.m. start at Wesselman Park. It will be the final tune-up before the Aces open up Missouri Valley Conference play at Southern Illinois on March 26.
 

The University of Evansville women's basketball team will open the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Friday afternoon at 2:37 p.m., when the No. 4 seed Purple Aces are slated to play No. 5 seed Drake at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.

Evansville (15-14) enters the MVC Tournament with the league's longest streak at eight games, as the Aces closed the regular season with road wins at Bradley and Loyola last week. Freshman Sara Dickey led four UE players in double figures in its win over the Braves with 19 points and junior Mallory Ladd finished with a double-double by tallying 15 points and 10 rebounds. Ladd ended the regular season by turning in one of her best performances of the year against the Ramblers, as the All-MVC Honorable Mention selection scored 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds and notched a career-high seven assists. Dickey posted her first career double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.

Offensively, Dickey leads Evansville and ranks second in the MVC in scoring at 18.0 points per game. Earlier this season, the freshman guard became only the second freshman in Valley history and only the fourth player in program history to score 500 or more points in a season. In addition, she ranks in the top 10 on the Aces' single-season list for field goals (181 – 5th) and free throws (108 – 7th). Ladd ranks second on the squad in scoring (11.7 ppg) and field goal percentage (42.9 percent), and also ranks second in the league in rebounding (9.3 rpg). Fellow junior Kat Taylor is averaging 11.5 points per contest and leads the team with a 36.5 percent mark from three-point range. Freshman Dakota Weatherford leads UE in both assists (104) and steals (63), and is adding 6.5 points per outing.

Evansville is averaging 67.0 points per game and is shooting 38.2 percent from the field, 29.3 percent from beyond the arc and 72.2 percent from the free throw line. The Aces also average 14.2 assists per contest and are forcing 16.0 turnovers per outing defensively, which includes 7.6 steals per game. During its eight-game winning streak, UE is outscoring its opponents by an average of 14.1 points per game, while limiting foes to just 54.5 points per game and a 33.3 percent shooting percentage.

Drake (15-14) closed its regular season by winning four of its last six games, including a split with MVC regular-season co-champion Indiana State and Illinois State last weekend in Des Moines, Iowa. The Bulldogs suffered a 73-71 setback against the Sycamores, before rebounding to defeat the Redbirds, 67-66, on a late layup by Caitlin Ingle. Lizzy Wendell scored a game-high 28 points in the loss to Indiana State and Kyndal Clark added 20, as both players drained four shots from long distance. In the victory over Illinois State, Clark connected on four more triples to break the Valley's single-season record for three-pointers on her way to a game-high 26 points. Wendell added 17 in the win and Ingle dropped in 15.

Clark enters the MVC Tournament as the league's leading scorer at 19.6 points per game and leads the MVC with 108 made three-pointers. Clark also leads DU with 57 steals and a 43.4 percentage from long range. Wendell ranks second on the team in scoring (16.1 ppg) and is the team's leading rebounder at 5.6 boards per game. Wendell ranks second on the team with a 46.1 percent field goal percentage and has blocked a team-high 15 shots. Ingle is adding 8.9 points per game and is shooting a team-best 47.7 percent from the field with 82 assists.

Drake is averaging 72.0 points per game and has been the league's top three-point shooting team, as the Bulldogs are averaging 9.1 three-pointers per game and shooting them at a 35.3 percent clip. From the free throw line, DU owns a 67.7 percentage. Drake is averaging just 35.3 rebounds per contest for a -3.8 rebounding margin.

This year marks Evansville's 14 MVC Tournament appearance and the Aces own a 13-11 record in MVC Tournament contests. UE is 0-5 all-time against Drake in the MVC Tournament and will be looking for its first MVC Tournament victory since 2009, when Evansville won four games in four days to claim the tournament title.

The winner of the Evansville/Drake contest will advance to Saturday's semifinal round, where they will play at 1:35 p.m.

All-Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball player D.J. Balentine added two more honors to his tally this week. Balentine was named to the District 16 NABC All-District Second Team and was also named to the MVC All-Tournament team following his efforts in St. Louis.

Balentine finished as the leading scorer in the league this year, posting 22.8 points per game, 4.2 more than any other player in the Valley. He posted 22 efforts of 20 points or more, including a career-high of 43 in the road tilt at UNI.

One of the top five free throw makers in the country, Balentine also did an excellent job of getting his teammates involved, posting 4.2 assists per game (3rd in the MVC) while posting the No. 5 assist/turnover ratio in the league at 1.7.

His performances reached a new level in last week’s MVC Tournament as he averaged 30.5 points in UE’s two games. After finishing with 30 tallies in the victory over Drake, he totaled 31 against the Shockers, downing seven 3-pointers in the process.

Balentine is just the seventh player in Evansville’s Division 1 era to earn All-District honors. Colt Ryan was named a First Team All-District player in 2012 and 2013 and was voted to the Second Team as a sophomore in 2011. His berth on the All-Tournament team was the first for UE since 1999 when Marcus Wilson and Craig Snow were named to the squad. That season saw the Aces make their way to the championship game for the first time. It was the only other year Evansville had a player on the All-Tournament Team.

After leading the Purple Aces men’s golf team to a victory at the Don Benbow Invitational on Tuesday, Evansville native Alex Turner was named the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Golfer of the Week.

Turned led the Aces contingent in Jacksonville, posting a third place finish in the 2-round tournament. In the opening round of play, the sophomore carded a 1-over 72. He improved that tally by a stroke on Tuesday, shooting an even 71 to finish in third place overall.

As a team, the Aces led for the majority of the event. UE finished with a lead of three strokes following Monday’s round before that advantage held strong in the final trip around Jacksonville Beach Golf Club as the Aces shot 581 to finish three shots ahead of Florida Atlantic.

With a 71.38 stroke average in the fall, Turner finished atop the MVC leaderboard. He shot a season-low 68 in the final round of the fall while posting a tie for second place in the Dayton Flyer Invitational.

Turner and the Aces are back on the course next week for the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate in Sevierville, Tenn. The event will take place on Monday and Tuesday.

Riding an 8-game win streak entering the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, the fourth-seeded University of Evansville women’s basketball team will face the No. 5 seed Drake at 2:30 p.m. Prior to the contest on Friday, a pregame party will be held at the team hotel.

The party is set to begin at 1 p.m. in the Alpine II Room at the Sheraton Westport Lakeside Chalet, which is less than a 15 minute drive from the arena. The address for the hotel is 191 West Port Plaza and is inside the St. Louis city limits.

Evansville’s tilt versus Drake will begin approximately 90 minutes later with a 2:30 p.m. tip at Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.

Free food and drinks will be available while door prizes will also be given out. UE’s cheerleaders and pep band will provide for a great pregame atmosphere as the Aces prepare to face the Bulldogs.

Fans are asked to arrive to the party a few minutes early in order to give the team a sendoff prior to the game. The team bus is scheduled to leave the hotel at approximately 1 p.m.

For more information, contact Lance Wilkerson at 812-488-2623.
 

The University of Evansville women's basketball team had three players selected to All-Missouri Valley Conference teams, as announced by the league office Wednesday. Freshman Sara Dickey was named to the All-MVC First Team, junior Mallory Ladd was selected as an All-MVC Honorable Mention and freshman Dakota Weatherford earned a spot on the MVC All-Freshman Team.

Dickey is the first Evansville player to be named to the All-MVC First Team since Rebekah Parker in 2008, became just the second freshman in the history of the MVC to score 500 or more points in a single season and currently ranks fourth on UE's single-season scoring list. The Montezuma, Ind., native ranks second in the MVC in scoring at 18.0 points per game and third in the league in three-pointers per game at 1.8. Dickey has scored in double figures in 28 of Evansville's 29 games this season, including 10 20-point efforts. The freshman guard was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week five times this season.

Ladd is averaging 11.7 points per game, which ranks 17th in the MVC, and is the conference' second-leading rebounding at 9.3 boards per contest. The junior forward is shooting 42.9 percent from the field this season and ranks fifth in the MVC in free throw percentage with an 81.4 percent clip. The Evansville native has posted eight double-doubles this season and scored in double figures 14 times, despite missing six games this season due to injury.

Weatherford averaged 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for the Aces this season and led the squad with 63 steals and 104 assists, which ranked her third and fifth in the MVC in those categories, respectively. The Arcadia, Ind., native also ranked third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio with a 1.5 ratio. Weatherford tallied five or more assists in eight contests in her debut season and recorded four or more steals seven times.

No. 4 seed Evansville will open the MVC Tournament Friday afternoon, when it takes on No. 5 seed Drake at 2:37 p.m.