Aces add five to roster

 University of Evansville head volleyball coach Manolo Concepcion has announced the signing of five student-athletes to play for the Purple Aces next season.  Included in the class are: Deja Clark, Erlicia Griffith, Taylor Jones, Elane Shumway and Rachel Hin Ching Tam.

Clark and Shumway come to Evansville from Pickerington, Ohio where they each played for Mintonette Sports and for the same high school (Pickerington North).  Clark, a 6’0’’ Outside Hitter/Opposite was the 2016 Ohio Capital Conference Co-Player of the Year and was also 1st Team All-District and All-Conference as a hitter. Shumway is a 6’3’’ Middle who is known for her defensive capabilities in the net.

“The inclusion of Deja in our program adds athleticism, speed and offensive presence.  She has a reach of over 10 feet and is built to play in a fast-pace offense,” Concepcion said.  “We look forward to her immediate impact in our scoring capabilities.”

“Elane has the wingspan of a 6-5 athlete with the ability to improve our blocking.  I have seen her progress offensively throughout this club season, especially in transition; something we were looking for at her position” Concepcion added.  “The fact that Deja and Elane have played together for so long will allow their combination to sync right away.”

Griffith, a 6-3 Right Side, is a native of Wharton, Texas.  She is transferring from NJCAA Nationally Ranked San Jacinto College (#18), where she was a 2nd Team All-District player and was one of the main reasons that her team finished 7th in the Nation in Block Assists.

“Erlicia will enhance our defense on the right side of the net as well as add charismatic leadership skills to our young team,” Concepcion explained.  “She fits perfectly with our team culture and comes from a junior college powerhouse that has had a winning tradition for a long time.”

Originally from Hong Kong, China, Rachel Tam is the current Captain for the Youth & Junior Hong Kong National Team as a 5’9’’ Outside Hitter, as well as for St. Catharine’s School for Girls.  She played Division 2A in China where her team won the championship of the Kowloon and Hong Kong Island District Schools. She has also represented her country with the Beach Volleyball National Team.

“Rachel is an engaging, hard-working kid with great international experience,” Concepcion said.  “Her smart game and out of system problem solving skills were two aspects that caught our attention.  She is an emotionally intelligent student of the game that will impact our program in the long run.”

Taylor Jones is a native of Winamac, Ind. where she was a 4-year letterwinner as a 5-7 Setter.  She led her team to a sectional title and was a 3-time Midwest Conference First Team player and also served as a team captain for three seasons. She is the current Captain for Epic United Volleyball Club (17-Elite ROX).

“Taylor is a fast-pace setter with the ability to run the system that we want to establish in the future or our program,” Concepcion said.  “She compensates her height with her explosiveness, quick hands and set precision/location.  It will be great to have more depth in that position for years to come.”

 After battling to a 2-1 series victory over Wichita State last weekend and a 2-1 thriller over Murray State on Tuesday, the University of Evansville baseball team will be hoping to keep things rolling this weekend as the Purple Aces will welcome in Bradley for the second weekend of Missouri Valley Conference play.

The Aces (18-13) are currently riding a three-game winning streak, thanks in part to some impressive pitching performances from freshman starters. Brandon Gomer, Alex Weigand and Austin Allinger have each picked up the victory over the last three games, and overall, Aces freshmen have tossed nearly 45% of the UE’s 269 innings on the mound.

This weekend, both Gomer and Weigand as well as junior hurler Patrick Schnieders are slated to carry the starting load for the Aces once again. Schnieders, saw his streak of quality starts upended in last Friday’s loss to the Shockers, but he will still enter the weekend as the statistical leader among the three with a 3-2 record and a 2.82 earned run average over a team leading 44.2 innings.

Gomer, on the other hand, picked up his first collegiate win after holding WSU to just four hits and a pair of runs in Saturday’s contest, and Weigand struck out a career-best seven hitters in six innings of work a day later. The duo has a combined 4-4 record on the season.

At the plate, the Aces line-up has maintained its torrid power pace, highlighted by the heavy-hitting trio of Jonathan Ramon, Trey Hair and Boomer Synek. Ramon, who has already logged the most home runs for a UE hitter in a season since 2010, leads the team with nine round-trippers to go along with his .308 average. Hair, a junior college transfer out of Fort Scott Community College, is the top hitter in the MVC with a .417 mark at the plate with 14 doubles and five homers, and Synek, who hit Tuesday’s ninth-inning game-winning homer at Murray State, is a .320 hitter with a team-leading 34 runs batted in.

Overall, the Aces are hitting .287 this season with 32 homers, which stands as the most for any UE team since 2010, which was the year before the NCAA introduced its new bat standards.

Meanwhile, the Braves enter the weekend looking to repeat some of the success of a week ago against Missouri State. BU is 15-11 this season, but facing one of the nation’s most powerful line-ups, the team was able shut down the Bears for a 2-1 victory before Sunday’s rubber game was called off due to inclement weather. Earlier this week, BU dropped a 5-1 decision at Northwestern.

First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m., and the games on Saturday and Sunday are slated to begin at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

NOTES: With 15 career saves, Aces closer Brent Jurceka is now tied for fifth all-time in UE history, equaling former Aces Matt Brinkmann and Sam Johns … Since 1978, UE is 49-37 against Bradley … The Aces are also 221-197 against schools that hail from the state of Illinois over that time span, including 4-1 this season … Last year, the Braves picked up the first two wins of the series in Peoria before the Aces left town with a 10-0 seven-inning win on the final day… In 2014, the last time BU paid a visit to Evansville, the Aces won all three games by a combined 22-8 score.

Two Aces sports earn APR recognition

More than 1,000 Division I sports teams are being recognized for outstanding performance in the classroom and two University of Evansville programs are near the top of that list as the Purple Aces women’s cross country and women’s golf teams have earned recognition.

Based on their most recent multiyear Academic Progress Rate, these teams have earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards for posting scores in the top 10 percent of their sport. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams nationally.

For both UE programs, it marks the seventh year in a row that both have been recognized, making for an amazing accomplishment.

The 1,071 teams publicly recognized for high achievement include 649 women’s teams and 422 men’s or mixed squads. This year, schools combined the indoor and outdoor track and field teams into one team score, which slightly reduced the overall number of teams earning Public Recognition Awards.

The scores required to be in the top 10 ranged from 983 to a perfect 1,000, depending on the sport. Earning a perfect APR score were 944 teams.

“We want to ensure college athletes are getting the most out of their experience, and academics are a top priority in this effort,” said NCAA President Mark Emmert. “The teams honored today earned recognition by making a commitment to success in the classroom as well as in competition. We celebrate their achievement and dedication to preparing themselves for life after college.”

The APR measures eligibility, graduation and retention each term and provides a clear picture of the academic performance for each team in every sport.

The most recent APRs are multiyear rates based on scores from the 2011-2012, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years.