University of Evansville

AceNotes Today

Friday, August 8, 2014

Upcoming Events

* Missouri Valley Conference Day at Wrigley Field

The Office of Development and Alumni Relations would like to invite you to join us at Wrigley Field on Saturday, September 6th in Chicago, for an afternoon of fun and fellowship with alumni and friends of the University. Tickets are available for $37.50 per person in the Terrace Reserved Infield seats and an exclusive Chicago Cub’s Missouri Valley Day T-shirt. For additional information and to register to attend, please visit: www.cubs.com/evansville

 
* Fire Alarm Testing

Starting Monday, August 11, Vanguard will be on campus conducting Fire Alarm Sensitivity testing. As each building is tested the alarm will intermittently go off. Physical Plant and Security will know on a daily basis which buildings Vanguard is working in. The testing will be done between 7 AM-5 PM and should be completed by Friday, August 22. Any concerns or schedule conflicts please concern the Physical Plant at 488-2775. 

 

Info You Should Know

* Join UE's Race for the Cure Team

The Race for the Cure will be held on Sunday Sept 28 at the Eastland Mall. Please join Team UE at http://evansville.info-komen.org/goto/uevansville or visit the Fitness Center for paper registrations. Our team is open to everyone so please share Team UE's information. Contact the Fitness Center with questions at x2397. 

 
* Discounted Parking Permits for UE License Plate Holders

Students, faculty, administrators, and staff who sport the UE State of Indiana license plate in 2014 (new and renewal plates) will receive a $25 discount off the UE parking permit fee for 2014-15. The registration process for the plates is now handled through the state. If you want to purchase or renew a UE plate, visit www.in.gov/bmv/2744.htm. If you already have your 2014 UE plate, bring your State of Indiana vehicle registration to the Office of Safety and Security when you purchase your parking permit for the new academic year. If you have not registered your vehicle yet, you will need to pay the full parking permit fee and then bring your registration to the Office of Safety and Security to get a credit for $25. If you have any questions, contact alumni@evansville.edu.

 
* Nominations Now Being Taken for Alumni Association Awards

Each February at Founders Day, the Alumni Association presents four awards to individual alumni who’ve made great achievements in their careers and in service to others and UE. The Alumni Awards Committee of the UE Alumni Association Board of Directors is now seeking nominations for the following awards:

Distinguished Alumnus Award
Young Alumnus Award
Samuel Orr Honorary Alumnus Award
Edie Bates Volunteer Service Award

Find out more about these awards, view a list of past recipients and link to the nomination form, visit http://www.evansville.edu/alumni/alumniAwards.cfm.

Nomination deadline is August 25. 

 

Congratulations

* Aces Volleyball Earns 10th AVCA Award in 11 Years

The University of Evansville was one of nine Missouri Valley Conference schools that were honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as recipients of the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2013-14 season.

Members of Bradley, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, Loyola, Missouri State, UNI, Southern Illinois and Wichita State were part of a record-breaking 676 programs to earn this distinction.

The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.

Evansville finished the 2013-14 academic year with an unbelievable 3.715 GPA. Just as impressive was the fact that nine team members posted a 3.64 or higher. Leading the way was Lorena Marquez with a 3.939. In her first semester at UE as a sophomore, Marquez posted a perfect 4.0.

Just behind her was senior Jenn Murphy. The Wilmington, Ill. native finished with a perfect GPA in the spring semester of 2014. Seniors Lauren Seyller and Rachel TenHoor also tallied a 4.0 in the spring.

The AVCA Team Academic Award has become one of the AVCA's fastest growing awards programs, seeing an impressive surge in teams honored over the past several years. Since the 2000-2001 season, the number of recipients have increased every single year but one, while amassing an overall 500% increase over the span of the last decade. Since the award's inception in 1993, the amount of award winners has increased from 62 to its current number of 684.

NCAA Division I recorded their highest-ever total number of recipients, honoring 136 programs while NCAA Division II also set a new record by reaching a total of 95 honorees. NCAA Division III continues to set new records after 129 schools take home the honor with the Two-Year College category also surpassing their previous high of 16 with 23.

 
* Cris Hochwender and ES/Biology Students Present Restoration Research Project at CEER

Professor of Biology Cris G. Hochwender presented a research poster, in collaboration with three UE students—Samantha Montgomery, Nicole Kreuzman, & Stephanie Tran—at the Conference on Ecological and Ecosystem Restoration (CEER).

Their research was entitled, “Exploring native prairie grasses as competitors to suppress growth of the invasive grass Sorghum halepense.”

CEER is a Collaborative Effort of the leaders of the National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration (NCER) and the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER). The conference brought together scientists, engineers, policy makers, restoration planners, partners, NGO’s and stakeholders from around the world to address challenges and share information about restoration projects, programs, and research from across North America. Across the continent, centuries of unsustainable activities have damaged the aquatic, marine, and terrestrial environments that underpin our economies and societies and give rise to a diversity of wildlife and plants.

This conference supported SER and NCER efforts to reverse environmental degradation by renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats for the benefit of humans and nature. 

 

Athletics

* Ashley Balazs Named Assistant Softball Coach at UE

Head University of Evansville Softball Coach Mat Mundell has announced the hiring of Ashley Balazs as his assistant coach with the Purple Aces.

“I am excited to add Ashley to our coaching staff,” said Mundell. “She is a young up-and-comer in the coaching ranks and a tremendous asset in helping to develop our young players. To be able to add someone of Ashley’s caliber is a real win for the Aces.”

Balazs comes to Evansville after spending the 2014 season as the head coach at Viterbo University in LaCrosse, Wisc. In a short time, she made a great impact, improving the squad by 12 wins from 2013. She also led the team to a 108 run improvement in run differential while coaching three All-Conference players.

“I would like to thank Interim Director of Athletics Dwight Merilatt and Coach Mundell for this opportunity,” Balazs said. “This is a great step forward in my career and I am eager to get on campus and begin working with the coaching staff and team.”

Prior to Viterbo, Balazs spent three seasons as a Graduate Assistant at the University of Indianapolis. She coached two Great Lakes Valley Conference Freshmen of the Year, two Player of the Year winners, three First Team All-Americans as well as a Pitcher of the Year in the GLVC.

In two of those seasons, UIndy was ranked in the top two entering postseason play and advanced to the Super Regionals in 2013. She was part of a coaching staff that was named the GLVC and Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year.

Balazs, a Drury University graduate, started all four years of her college career as a catcher or an outfielder. In addition to being an Academic All-GLVC honoree, Balazs also won the Drury Panther Pride Award.
 

 
* UE Softball Adds Five More to Signing Class

Days after signing his first three players at the University of Evansville, head softball coach Mat Mundell has announced the addition of five more players for his 2015 squad.

“I am excited to add all five of these young ladies to the Aces Family,” Mundell said. “These five players bring a wealth of success and talent to the 2015 roster.”

Twins Mickaela and Samantha Fleming come to UE from Champaign, Ill. Both spent their freshman seasons playing at Lake Land College in Mattoon, Ill. where Samantha was a pitcher and Mickaela was a catcher. Samantha saw action in 15 games for the Lakers where she posted a 2.19 ERA while striking out 41 over the course of 38 1/3 innings of work. At St. Joseph Ogden High School, she came on strong, earning All-Conference honors as a junior and senior while garnering an All-Area award in her final season.

Mickaela played in 43 games at Lake Land as a freshman, posting a .375 batting average. She registered an impressive 21 RBIs in her 72 at-bats. Four of those came via a grand slam versus Wabash Valley Community College. In high school, also at St. Joseph Ogden, she was a 2-time Golden Glove winner, 3-time All-State player and also earned Rookie of the Year honors.

“Samantha is a true utility player. She can come in and pitch for us as well as play anywhere else on the diamond,” Mundell added. “Mickaela is a tremendous defensive catcher. She gives us immediate experience behind the plate.”

Evansville native Abbi Fahse joins the Purple Aces for her senior season after playing last season for Purdue University Calumet. In 36 games for the Peregrines, she batted .375 while recording six home runs and 33 RBIs. In 2012 and ’13, Fahse played at Wabash Valley where she appeared in a total of 92 games for the Warriors as an infielder.

As a freshman, she batted .320 before upping that to a .432 mark as a sophomore. She was named a First Team All-Region 24 player in both seasons while earning NJCAA Third Team All-America honors as a sophomore. Fahse lettered all four years at Reitz High School in Evansville where she was named the Courier & Press All-Metro Player of the Year as a senior.

“We are happy to be able to bring a local product home to finish out her career,” Mundell explained. “Abbi brings much needed experience and leadership to our infield.”

Another local native will stay in the area as Ferdinand, Ind. product Hayli Scott signed with the Aces after playing for McKendree University last season. Scott had a successful career at Heritage Hills HS where she earned three letters in softball and basketball and two in volleyball.

Scott’s senior season saw her bat .348 with 26 RBI while earning All-Conference and All-County honors. Her squad at Heritage Hills won their sectionals in her junior season.

“Hayli is another local player that brings in some much needed depth at catching,” Mundell said.

Freshman pitcher Cecilia Dopart brings a strong resume of success from her career at Glenbard North (Ill.) HS. In 2012, her team won the National Championship while she was named the pithing MVP.

Her 2014 season was equally impressive as she went 27-5 with a 1.00 ERA and 0.72 WHIP. She struck out 324 batters while pitching a 5-inning perfect game. All of her outs were strikeouts.

“We are excited to be able to get a young pitcher like Cecilia,” Mundell said. “She will come in and be a force right away." 

 
* Aces Student-Athletes Attend MVC SAAC Meeting

Current University of Evansville student-athletes Miranda Graham (women's soccer) and David Howard (men's basketball) attended the Missouri Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee meeting in St. Louis.

Joining them was former UE tennis player Kelsey Costales, who is serving as the MVC representative on the National SAAC.

Part of the meeting was a community service project where the student-athletes in attendance ran a sports camp at St. Louis University High School.

The MVC SAAC is comprised of two student-athletes from each member institution and provides a voice for student-athletes to discuss issues relating to governance, student-athlete welfare and community service. Among the items discussed at the meeting were national and conference issues along with meeting other athletes from MVC schools to bring new ideas back to UE.
 

 

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