HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We are 2-1 to start the season with wins over Dayton and Albany and a loss to 24th ranked Green Bay on the road. I can’t thank the Rocket faithful enough for the amazing support we have seen. At this point we have already sold over 2,900 season tickets for the season. Since we averaged 3,000 people per game last year, we are thrilled that season tickets are selling at such a rapid rate. Soon you will see some player cardboard cutouts in restaurants and around campus to help us spread the word. The cutouts will hold schedule cards and serve as a reminder to campus and the community of our upcoming games.

We practice in the morning, eat a Thanksgiving brunch at the Hilton, then head toward Bloomington to face the Hoosiers.  Our schedule is a demanding one, but one that will help us be very prepared for MAC play.  Indiana has a tall roster with six players above 6’1″. Three of those players are 6’3″ or above. They lost to Miami last night, so I’m sure they will be fired up to see us. It is a great opportunity for us to learn how to stay focused on the road.

As Christmas approaches, I wanted to throw an opportunity out to all of you. Every year our team sponsors a family who is less fortunate. If you’d like to make a contribution toward this effort, call our office and let Katie DeBenedictis know. There’s nothing better than helping others have a more enjoyable Christmas! Katie’s phone number is 419-530-2363 or you could email her at:   katie.debenedictis@utoledo.edu

We recently signed three new players for next year. Cat Wells is a local product from Notre Dame in Toledo. She’s a quick point guard with great passing, ball handling, and shooting skills. Kendyl Nunn is a taller wing with 3pt shooting ability.  She hails from Morgan Park HS in Chicago. I love the fact that this young lady thrives in pressure situations. Finally Michele Hayes is a combo guard capable of playing the point or wing. She is from Detroit Lathrop HS and has deep three point shooting ability, great quickness to defend opposing guards and is capable of creating her own shot. All three of these players will represent our program with class on and off the court.

I’ve received several questions regarding our upcoming game with Iona on December 1st. The start time is unusual with the tip at 11am on a weekday. For this game we are inviting grade schools and junior high schools to bring their students as an educational field trip day. We have designed some materials based on the curriculum to help inspire students to work harder in the classroom by using basketball to teach lessons. Our players and coaches will be making visits to the schools who participate this day. In addition to being a fun academic day we also hope this opportunity might help some kids in our area who have never been to a game, experience what it is like to see a game in Savage Arena. We already have 2,000 kids signed up. If you have connections to any area schools who may like to participate, please pass along the contact information of Heather Lutz 419-530-2486. We had to schedule the game at 11am to get the buses back in time for the regular routes at the end of the school day.

On the theme of the holiday we are approaching, a big THANK YOU to all of you who have made our jobs so enjoyable! We appreciate all you do to make the University of Toledo such a great place! I hope you and your family have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

GO ROCKETS!

Tricia Cullop