This is the second year for the Purple Aces annual event for local girls
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – To celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day on February 5 the University of Evansville held a free event for Tri-State area girls in 8th grade and under on Saturday, February 1.
For the second year in a row, UE Athletics held a National Girls and Women in Sports Day event sponsored by MDWise. The event was free for local girls in the 8th grade or younger thanks to MDWise support. At the event, the 85 girls participated in a clinic where they learned different women’s sports offered by the Purple Aces. The clinic was then followed up by a free dinner and watching the UE women’s basketball game against Valparaiso.
“This event was a great opportunity to bring our community on campus and to get to know our student-athletes,” said UE Director of Athletics Dr. Ziggy Siegfried. “This special day would not have been possible without the support of MDWise. A big thank you to MDWise, the NGWSD Committee, our female student-athletes, all the participants, and their families. We look forward to continuing this event after two successful iterations.”
The clinic from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday was run by Evansville’s women student-athletes from five different programs, Aces Cheer, and the UE athletic training department. The girls began in Meeks Family Fieldhouse with stretches and warmups. They were then split into two groups based on age to rotate between four different sports stations.
In the groups, the girls learned different parts of soccer, softball, volleyball, and golf. Once the sports clinics wrapped up at 4 p.m. everyone gathered in the women’s basketball practice facility for a tailgate. During the tailgate, the participants learned cheers from Aces Spirit and enjoyed a photo booth. The day then ended with the girls watching UE women’s basketball take on Valpo in a close 66-54 loss.
“It was special to have that crowd,” said Evansville women’s basketball forward Maggie Hartwig. “We always love when fans come out and support. But seeing the little girls there reminds you of when you were little. And it’s super special to see that they’re growing up and being able to watch us go out there and compete.”
“It was an awesome environment,” said Head Women’s Basketball Coach Robyn Scherr. “We’re super grateful to our sponsor MDWise for helping us put on this event. I’m so proud to coach here at UE and to be a part of our players’ lives and give them the platform to give back to the girls in our community. Hopefully, some of the girls that came today continue to be inspired and will want to keep picking up a basketball because it’s a great game.”
