By Jordyn Etling, Sports Editor
November 13, 2018
The Akron Zips Men's Soccer Team captured its 15th Mid-American Conference Tournament title and seventh consecutive league tournament title win on Sunday, Nov. 11 against Western Michigan. According to GoZips.com, Akron has now won four consecutive games and outshot SIU Edwardsville, West Virginia and Western Michigan by a combined 52-20 margin, including 22-7 on goal, in three MAC Tournament contests. The win helped come about by junior Marcel Zajac (Mississauga, Ontario) who had two of the three second-half goals. Along with the two second-half goals, Zajac was selected as the Tournament Most Valuable Player. Western Michigan was outshot 17-10, including 11-2 on goal. The Zips received a game-high of three shots apiece from sophomore David Egbo (Enugu, Nigeria), redshirt junior, Skye Harter (Copley, Ohio), Abdi Mohamed (Westerville, Ohio) and Zajac. While the first half ended scorelessly, the Zips continued their aggressive offense in the second half when Egbo found the...
By Jordyn Etling, Sports Editor
November 6, 2018
On Saturday, Nov. 3, the Akron Women’s Swimming and Diving team defeated Ball State in a Mid-American Conference dual. Currently, in the NCAA rankings, the Zips sit at number 22 while Ball State is unranked. The Zips managed to place first in every event except for the one-meter, three-meter diving events and the 100 backstrokes. In the first event of the day, the 200 medley relay, sophomore Paulina Nogaj (Radom, Poland), sophomore Paula Garcia (Madrid, Spain), senior Sadie Fazekas (Windsor, Ontario) and senior Ragen Engel (Springfield, Ohio), brought the top time of 1:45.50. The Zips took the top two places in the 500 freestyle event with freshman Avery Movold (Prince George, British Columbia) taking first with a time of 5:04.38 and sophomore Brooke Lamoureux (Belleville, Ontario) touching second. Ball State held on to the top three scored within the one-meter dive, however senior Karly Crail (Edgewood, Ky.) came in fourth with a score of 237.08 In the three-meter...
By Megan Parker, Copy Editor
October 31, 2018
After the first weekend of the sixth annual Zippy Open Rifle Tournament, the Akron rifle team has taken the lead in both air rifle and smallbore. According to GoZips.com, the first round of competition occurred on Oct. 27-28 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the final weekend of competition will happen on Nov. 10-11, also from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. For air rifle, junior Kera Kaufman (Delmon, S.D.) took the lead by scoring 590 out of the possible total 600. Head coach Newt Engle told GoZips.com that this type of performance was what he was looking for before the team’s next match against Morehead and Nebraska. "I was glad to see this performance by Kaufman because she has been creeping up on greatness and now that she is over the 590 hump, I expect she will never look back," Engle said. The Zips success continued on the smallbore range, where junior Anthony Jackson (Seven Valleys, Pa.) scored a season-high of 579 and junior Cierra Terrizzi (Dallastown, Pa.) beat her personal best with 581...
By Jordyn Etling, Sports Editor
October 30, 2018
On Oct. 23, The University of Akron Department of Athletics announced that former Cincinnati Reds’ third baseman Chris Sabo will be the head coach of the newly revived baseball team. Akron’s baseball team was eliminated in July of 2015, along with 215 jobs, when former President Scott Scarborough attempted to cut $40 million in expenses as the University faced a $60 million shortfall, according to cleveland.com After the elimination of the team, former Zips players lobbied for the University to bring back the program, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Then, on Oct. 11, 2017, former UA President Matthew Wilson and Director of Athletics Larry Williams gave recommendations during a board of trustees meeting for baseball to be reinstated. Now, three years after its elimination, Akron baseball is scheduled to return in the Spring of 2020 and resume competition in the Mid-American Conference, according to GoZips.com. Williams said to GoZips.com that the University is excited to...
By Jordyn Etling, Sports Editor
October 24, 2018
On Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, the annual Wagon Wheel rivalry between Akron and Kent State football teams took place at Dix Stadium in Kent, Ohio. The game went into overtime, where the Zips secured a 24-23 win through an extra-point conversion. This is Akron’s ninth overtime game in program history and the first since 2012, according to the post-game notes. According to Kentstatesports.com, in 11 of the last 13 meetings, the team that has scored last has won. UA sophomore quarterback Kato Nelson (Hollywood, Fla.) made a successful pass to sophomore receiver Andre Williams (Orlando, Fla.) for the game-winning touchdown from the eight-yard line to give the Zips a 24-17 lead. After senior defensive end Jamal Davis II (Canton, Ohio) tackled Justin Rankin for a four-yard loss on the opening play of overtime for Kent State, the Golden Flashes scored a 29-yard touchdown pass to take the score to 24-23. Akron posted 362 yards in total offense, including 219 passing yards. Kent...
By Jordyn Etling, Sports Editor
October 24, 2018
If you’ve been around Kent or Akron, Ohio long enough you may have heard about the rivalry between Kent State University and The University of Akron. You have also probably heard about how this game is all about the Wagon Wheel. This random trophy that doesn’t appear to have many references to anything has just a muddy background as it might seem. While the two schools sit 11.6 miles apart, some citizens aren’t entirely sure where the rivalry comes from. According to kentstatesports.com, there are multiple potential backstories as to the origin of the Wagon Wheel. However, according to UA’s Traditions page, the story is: “As legend has it, before settling in Akron, UA founder John R. Buchtel was traveling through Kent, Ohio, exploring areas for a new school. While riding through town in his horse-drawn carriage, a wheel broke off and got stuck in the mud. Discovered during the construction of a pipeline along the Western Reserve Trail in 1902, the wheel became the...
