5-2!!!

2010 has been very good to the University of Akron Women's Basketball Team. After a big overtime win at Ball State last night, the Zips are now 5-2 in conference play. The 5-2 record keeps the Zips at the top tier of the MAC standings, currently in second place.

With wins over Miami, Buffalo, Kent State, Western Michigan, and Ball State the Zips are poised to continue their success throughout the remainder West games and into the East matchups! Below are the links to the Zips conference wins! We hit the road again on Saturday when we take on a very good Eastern Michigan team. We will return to the JAR Arena on Feb. 4th against Central Michigan. We hope to see you there!!! Until next time... GO ZIPS!!!

Akron tops Buffalo:

http://www.gozips.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=47196&SPID=4339&DB_OEM_ID=10800&ATCLID=204866962

Akron beats rival Kent State:

http://www.gozips.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=47196&SPID=4339&DB_OEM_ID=10800&ATCLID=204868821

Akrons gets road win at Miami:

http://www.gozips.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=47196&SPID=4339&DB_OEM_ID=10800&ATCLID=204870048

Defense prevails against Western Michigan:

http://www.gozips.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=47196&SPID=4339&DB_OEM_ID=10800&ATCLID=204873558

Akron gets another road win at Ball State:

http://www.gozips.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=47196&SPID=4339&DB_OEM_ID=10800&ATCLID=204875951

Holiday Party!!!

I hope everyone had a great Holiday season! Last week we had our annual Holiday Party at Coach Kest's House. It was a great night filled with laughs, good food, gifts, and even a little snow! This team is very special and so much fun to be around. Whenever we get together it is hard not to have stomach aches from laughing so much!

At our Holiday Party we finally revealed our Secret Santa identity and gave our big gifts. It was alot of fun to see the players and coaches try and guess who had them. I applaud the players that kept their secrets for this long. If you know our team this in itself is a daunting task! Their was great gifts given and even a few gag gifts. I am still trying to figure out if my 12 pack of diet coke is a gag gift? (Thanks Denver!)

It was a great weekend for the Zips! We got our first conference win against Buffalo on Saturday, beating the Bulls 72-56. Our Men's Team also had a great win against Bowling Green 71-45. Also, Men's Soccer player, Teal Bunbury, won this year's Hermann Trophy recognizing him as the best soccer player in the country.

This week we play Kent State on Wednesday night at home. Tip is at 7pm. This will be a great game not only because of the rivalry but because Kent is playing very well. We hope to see you in stands Wednesday!

- Coach Jackson

Happy Holidays!!

Happy Holidays from the Zips! The Akron Zips have had a good December going 4-1 heading into the Holidays. We recently topped off a 4 game winning streak by beating Chicago State on the road. Road trips to Chicago are always a fun bonding time with the team. We really get to know each other on the long bus trip. It is also a great time to get up to date on some current movies. Coach Kest loves movies so trips to Blockbuster are a must for our long road trips. During our trip to Chicago we kept with the Holiday spirit and watched Elf (Great Flick) and Four Christmas!

December is also a fun month with team because we do our annual "Secret Santa". At Akron we really get into it. We decorate our awesome lockeroom with a tree filled with ornaments. Each player has their own personal ornament as well as their own personal stocking with is hung in their locker. Throughout the month we receive clues and little gifts from our "Secret Santa's". It is always fun to try and figure out who has who. Most years it is always a struggle for the girls to keep who they have a secret. But this year it seems as if they have done a good job so far. Once we return from break we will have our annually Holiday Party at Coach Kest's House and reveal our Secret Santa's. This is fun time for all!

I hope you and your families had a great Holiday. The Zips are now back on campus and we are preparing for our last 2 non-conference games against Temple and Lehigh! These will be great tests as we head into MAC play! We hope to see you Monday December 28th at 7pm as we take on the Temple Owls!!!

Until Next Time... GO ZIPS!!!

- Coach Jackson

Signing Day!!!

Last Wednesday we welcomed our 2010 "Fab Four" Recruiting Class. Kacie, Sina, Hanna, and Carly are four very successful basketball players and great people. We are so happy to officially make them part of our Akron family. Above are a few pics from their signings! Also click on the link to read more about these great individuals! Until next time! Go Zips!

http://www.gozips.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=47196&SPID=4339&DB_OEM_ID=10800&ATCLID=204831684

- Coach Jackson

Halloween Akron Style!!!

Halloween is always a fun Holiday with the University of Akron Women's Basketball Team. As always the girls did a great job with their costumes. We had an array of creative costumes. The coaching staff also really got into it as well. As you can see in the pics we had everything from Aerobic instructors to Yoshi (That's me... Coach Jackson). Along with the fun of costumes we again had a great team dinner at Coach Kest's House. The team sure can eat!!! Luckily they do a great job burning off those calories on the court! I wish I could say the same! :) We hope everyone had a great Halloween!

- Coach Jackson

End of Preseason

The Zips worked extremely hard this preseason and really pushed themselves thru the last couple of weeks. Each player showed improvement both in the weight room and on the track. They preserved through adversity and step it up to achieve their goals. We are all extremely excited about the upcoming practices and ready to get our season underway!!!

This year to conclude our preseason and kickoff practice we had a great team dinner at Coach Kest’s house. It is always a very entertaining time at Coach Kest’s. She loves having the team over for fun, food, and games. On this night we had lasagna and garlic bread (a team favorite). The girls ate every ounce of the lasagna. Boy, can this team eat!
After dinner we handed out our preseason awards. We wanted to recognize the athletes that showed the most improvement and the ones that consistently worked hard everyday. Below is a list of the winners.

Most Improved in Weight Room: Jasmine Mushington

Most Improved in Conditioning: Natasha Williams

Best overall in Conditioning: Rachel Tecca

Iron Zip: Kara Murphy

Also, as you can see in the pics. Coach Kest knows a few things about gadgets! Here you can see her new 90inch projector TV. Yes it has HD! Until next Time

- Coach Jackson

Women's Basketball Gives Back to the Community

The Women’s Basketball team has been provided the opportunity to help make a difference in the lives of many. To kick off the community service endeavors for the year, the team made a visit to Akron Children’s Hospital. The Hematology/Oncology Division held a “Cancer Sport Week” which allowed us the chance to socialize and get to know some of the patients who had been diagnosed with cancer. The patients were enormously upbeat and great fun to be around!! It was definitely an eye-opening and uplifting experience and makes you appreciate the blessings that you have received.

Our next event took place on at Sue Lang’s open house. Sue Lang is a Safety Communications Technician who works with 911 operators for the Akron Police Department. She has Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and her home was beginning to deteriorate beyond repair. Last April, the team was able to help in the transformation of her home by painting the living room, kitchen, hallway, and some furniture items. Being able to return once all work had been completed allowed for us to celebrate with Sue and all other helpers that had participated in the city-wide project. To see an article in the Akron Beacon Journal, go to Ohio.com, and search for the article titled, “They Are Their Sister’s Keeper.”

Most recently, the Women’s Basketball team spent time with members of the Golden Hearts senior citizen organization at Northwest Family Recreation Center on. After a few competitive games of bingo, the team and group parted ways but had been provided the chance to build long-lasting friendships.

Upcoming community outreach events:

Bridges School Basketball Clinic Oct. 8
Elementary Reading Oct. 19
Hot Meals Oct. 27
Rockynol Retirement Community Oct. 29

-Candace Wilson

Director of Basketball Operations