Published: 7/31/2007
Author: Bob_Richards
© Old Gold Free Press Columnists
Faris honored as AAU Junior All-AmericanFor the second year in a row, Heritage Christian's Kelly Faris has been honored for outstanding play during the volleyball national championships. Faris was named to the 2007 AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships All-American team. Her team, Asics Team Indiana Titans 16s, finished fifth in the 16-under division.
Moses wins freethrow competition
We mentioned last night how the Indiana's Finest 14U team took ninth at the recently completed AAU 14-under Nationals. We heard today Courtney Moses took part in the AAU National Free Throw Shooting Competition, and hit 25-of-25 to take the title. She received recognition and a trophy during the opening ceremonies of the 14-under National Championships.
Coaches spotted
Purdue coaches were spotted in the crowd at the Nike National Tournament this weekend. Recent Purdue commitment Alex Guyton is there with The Family club team, along with 2009 target Skylar Diggins. Purdue was also at the Adidas Summer Slam in Cincinnati.
Purdue eighth nationally in attendance
Purdue ranked eighth nationally in average game attendance in 2007, according to Division I attendance figures released by the NCAA. Purdue averaged 7,585 fans per game for a total overall home attendance of 106,184, up one spot from last year. Purdue also ranked eighth in total overall attendance in all games, regardless of home or away. The 2006-07 team played in front of 207,793 fans last season.
The Big Ten landed six teams in the top twenty in average home game atttendance. Following Purdue was Michigan State with 6,389 (9th), Minnesota with 5,943 (12th), Penn State with 5,777 (15th), Wisconsin with 5,720 (16th), and Ohio State with 5,001 (20th).
Indiana's Finest Blackcats 15-under takes fifth at AAU Nationals
The Indiana's Finest Blackcats 15-under team featuring Purdue target Kelly Faris finished fifth at AAU Nationals. Finest Blackcats 15s finished in a two-way tie for the top spot in Pool D with a 4-1 record, but received the Pool's No. 1 seed in the tournament due to a winning record over the James River Blaze, who also finished with a 4-1 record. The team cruised to the Elite Eight with victories over Georgia Pistols (54-40), Michigan Wizards (82-45) and Georgia Elite (72-51). But on Thursday morning, the Spokane Blazers knocked off the Blackcats 69-63.
Indiana sent four additional qualifiers to Nationals. The FH Indy Wildcats, Indiana Wolfpack and Indiana's Finest Red 15s teams lost in the first round of tournament play, while Indiana Gymrats made it to round two before being sent home by the Arkansas Bombers.
Versyp on gender equity
In a recent national Associated Press report, Coach Versyp contributed comments on the need for colleges to give women coaches the resources they need to be successful. Simple economics can influence the success of women coaching at the collegiate level, especially when the expectations are raised to those of men's sports yet the resources are not allocated to assist the coaches of women's sports to get there.
"You've got to have the money to recruit great players," Versyp said. "We get to charter flights like men's basketball, we get buses, we stay in nice hotels, we get gear and uniforms and shoes and lots of things."
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