UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOISAT CHICAGO

Athletic Development839 W. Roosevelt Rd (MC 195)Chicago, Illinois 60608-1516

Nonprofit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDChicago, ILPermit No. 4860

2010UIC ATHLETICSGOLF OUTING

Wednesday, June 9, 2010Broken Arrow Golf Club

Lockport, IL

10 a.m. Shotgun with BBQ, Raffle, Auction and Awards to follow$620 per foursome

$580 for paying UICAAC Members$170 per single golfer

RSVP BY JUNE 1st

Contact Lisa Meindl at 312-996-5874 or lisam@uic.edu for more information on this event

COLANGELO SPEAKS AT HOOPS BANQUET

The UIC men’s basketball team held its End-of-Year Banquet on Friday, April 9th to honor the senior class of Chris Buchanan, Jeremy Buttell, Kris Harris and Spencer Stewart for their extraordinary contributions to the Flames.

Jerry Colangelo, a Chicagoland native and the Chairman of USA Basketball’s Board of Directors, addressed the banquet’s attendees as the featured speaker.

“When I come back to Chicago, I feel at home,” said Colangelo, who grew up in the Hungry Hill neighborhood of Chicago Heights.

Colangelo is the architect of the United States’ resurgence on the international basketball landscape. He was a driving force behind the Senior Men’s National Team’s gold-medal per-formance at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games

in Beijing, which is chronicled in the book Return of the Gold: The Journey of Jerry Colangelo and the Redeem Team.

In addition to his tremendous work with USA Basketball, Colangelo is perhaps best known for his duties with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. He has served in a variety of roles since the team’s inaugural season in 1968 ranging from general manager to head coach to chairman.

Colangelo is a Basketball Hall of Fam-er and a member of the National Ital-ian American Sports Hall of Fame, which sits in the Jerry Colangelo Center, located on Taylor Street less than a mile from the home of the Flames, the UIC Pavilion.

At the event, the former AAU teammate of UIC legend and Hall of Fame member Tom Russo told stories infused with motivational quotes and historical examples of perseverance that carried over to the rest of the evening, a night that also included remarks from UIC ath-letic director Jim Schmidt and head coach Jim-my Collins.

“It’s not if you have adversity, it’s how you deal with it when it comes,” noted Colangelo.

Flames Enjoy Success In Competition and Classroom

DRAGON’S ROAR© 2010 UIC Athletic Development. All rights reserved.

A publication of the Athletic Development Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago

Please submit items for publication to: Alice Tym, Assoc. AD/Dir.of AdvancementUIC Athletics839 W. Roosevelt Rd. (MC 195) Chicago, Ill. 60608Development Office: (312) 996-2042e-mail: tymalice@uic.edu

Athletic Director: Jim SchmidtEditor: Dan YopchickContributors: John Jaramillo and Zoe KindPhotography Credits: Steve Wolt-mann, UIC Archives, UIC Develop-ment Office, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Yankees

The UIC Flames and the UIC Athletic Alumni Club are hosting several social events throughout the summer.

May 25th

Cubs Rooftop$100/ticket*7:05 p.m. vs. Los Angeles3609 N. Sheffield

June 9th

Athletics Golf Outing10 a.m. Shotgun$620/foursome*Broken Arrow Golf Course

June 18th

UICAAC Membership Drive6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.$30 membership duesThe Fifty/50

September 2nd

UIC Scholarship ClassicTime: TBABolingbrook Golf Club

For more details, please contact Lisa Meindl at 312-996-5874 or via e-mail at lisam@uic.edu

*Don’t forget to ask about great UICAAC discounts!

JOIN US THIS SUMMER!

From The UIC Athletic Director’s DeskFirst and foremost, I want to thank everyone who contributed to making this past year a success, particularly in the classroom and in private contributions during this difficult economic time.

As I look back, this past year featured some memorable achievements across the board.

Our men’s gymnastics team defended its ECAC title and advanced to the national meet, and our women’s gymnastics team sent three qualifiers to NCAA Regionals. The women’s tennis team won its 14th straight conference championship. As of press time 20 of our student-athletes earned all-conference accolades, and our teams had 30 competitors honored as conference athletes of the week. Brian Anderson was named the Horizon League Men’s Swimming Athlete of the Year and

Swimmer of the Championship Meet, while Emily Gniatczyk was named Women’s Swimming Newcomer of the Year, highlighting the swimming and diving team’s haul of 10 event championships. Jovan Bubonja of the men’s soccer team and Andrew Stover of the men’s gymnastics team were in the running for national athlete of the year honors in their respective sports.

We hosted both the Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships and Outdoor Track and Field Championships this year, giving student-athletes around the League a first-class experience.

In the classroom, our student-athletes once again achieved an 84 percent graduation rate (well above the national average of 79 percent for Division I schools).

We continue to make positive strides toward our fundraising goal of $6.6 million, raising 63 percent of that goal thus far. Highlighting our fundraising efforts this year was the start of the Campaign to Honor Tom Russo and the Ann Baum Softball Scoreboard Campaign. Both fundraising efforts are underway, so please consider making a gift toward these projects that honor our past and help us build for the future.

The upcoming months will offer some other great opportunities to help the department and have some fun at the same time—-those include a Cubs Rooftop event, the UIC Athletics Golf Outing, and the UIC Athletics Scholarship Classic. These are very important events for us as they help provide funding for student-athlete scholarships and each athletic program.

Few realize that athletics receives less than one percent of our funding from the state. The majority of our athletics budget is self-generated and is heavily reliant on fundraising. Without your support, we would not be able to provide the scholarships, facilities, and support staff needed to provide our student-athletes with the best opportunity to succeed.

I hope that you are enjoying the spring, and we look forward to seeing you at some Flames special events this summer. We expect great things both in the classroom and in victory!

Go Flames!

James W. Schmidt, Director of Athletics

UIC Director of Athletics Jim Schmidt shares his thoughts on the past year and what’s in store for the Flames.

The Flames concluded the 2009-10 sports seasons with plenty of high-lights. From postseason appearances to all-conference selections, there were accolades abound for many of UIC's ath-letic squads. Shannon Tully’s women’s tennis squad continued to dominate the opposition as they ran their streak of Ho-rizon League victories to 123, while earn-ing a 12th straight NCAA Tournament berth. Sophomore Mariya Kovaleva had another outstanding year which culminated in a second straight Horizon League Player of the Year Award. CJ Johnson's men's gymnastics squad returned to the NCAA Championships after capturing their second straight Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League Cup on April 2nd.

Peter and Mary Jansson's women's gymnastics team also enjoyed a solid season sending a trio of qualifiers to the NCAA Columbia Regional. In the pool, head coach Paul Moniak's swimming and diving teams contin-ued their tradition of aquatic excellence. The Flames hosted the Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships in February where the men's team finished third and the women fourth in a deep conference. Men's swimmer Brian Anderson was named the Horizon League Men's Swimmer and

Men's Athlete of the Year. The Flames were also successful in the classroom. UIC placed a Horizon League-high 11 student-athletes on the conference’s winter sports All-Academic Teams.

Granderson Joins World Champion Yankees

CLASS OF 2010: UIC Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees (from left) Cameron Astiazaran (Softball), Sasha Begovic (Men’s Soccer Coach), John Ellis (Men’s Basketball), Jenni Goebel (Women’s Cross Country and Track), Luke Reckamp (Football, Wrestling and Track and Field) and Tim Grover (Lifetime Achieve-ment Award).

THE CLASS OF 2010

On February 3rd, UIC Ath-letic Director Jim Schmidt proudly announced that Sean Phillips, the top assis-tant coach of the UIC men’s soccer team since 2005, had been selected as the fifth men’s soccer coach in school history.

“The past five years here at UIC have been a tremendous

experience on and off the field, both professional-ly and per-s o n a l l y , ” said Phil-lips. “All the players that I have w o r k e d with and all of the alums from UIC who p l a y e d here before

2005 make UIC a unique and exciting place to be the head men’s soccer coach.”

The Flames advanced to three straight NCAA tournaments between 2006-2008, including back-to-back Sweet 16 runs and an unprecedented trip to the Elite Eight in 2007.

UIC won Horizon League regular season cham-pionships in 2006 and 2008 and clinched the league’s tournament title in 2007.

UIC has gone 54-24-26, along with 51 shutouts, during Phillips’ tenure on staff. The Flames have also achieved some of their greatest na-tional rankings during Phil-lips’ UIC ca-reer, including a school-best No. 4 ranking in 2008.

UIC Elevates Sean Phillips To Lead Men’s Soccer ProgramJerry Roberts Installed As New President Of The Chicago PCA

On January 23rd, Jerry Roberts, a prominent member of the UIC Athletics Development Leadership Board and loyal supporter of the Flames, was installed as the new President of the Plumbing Contractors Association of Cook County and Chicago (PCA).

In addition to his roles

with UIC and the PCA, Roberts is the owner and founder of JSR Enterprises, a specialty contractor serving commercial, industrial and institutional markets. He runs the successful business with his wife of nearly 26 years, Sharon.

Roberts has been presented with several distinguished honors throughout his career including the Black Contractors United’s prestigious “Best Contractor of the Year” award and the R. Lewis A.H. Caldwell Award.

The Dragon’s Roar congratulates Jerry on his new post!

UIC Athletics Celebrates Hall Of Fame Weekend

“Our men’s soccer team has achieved tre-mendous success over the last five years, and Sean was a major part of spearheading the ef-forts that took UIC men’s soccer to national prominence. After talking with Sean and see-ing his plan for the future, I am convinced that he is the right person to lead our program and continue its ascent to great heights.”

– Jim Schmidt, Athletic Director

A night celebrating six UIC greats took place on Friday, Feb. 5 at the 2010 UIC Athletics Reunion and Hall of Fame Banquet inside the UIC Forum.

Softball All-American Cameron Astiazaran, cross country standout Jenni Goebel, basketball legend John Ellis, all-time winningest soccer coach Sasha Begovic and multi-sport Navy Pier star Luke Reckamp were inducted into the UIC Athletics Hall of Fame, while world-renowned personal trainer and former Flames basketball player Tim Grover was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

A bevy of past Hall of Fame inductees were in attendance, as were members of outstanding UIC teams such as the softball squads of the late 1990s and early 2000s, the 1999 and 2000 soccer teams, and many more Flames contributors.

The following day featured a jam-packed slate of alumni events at the UIC Pavilion.

Prior to the men’s basketball game against Youngstown State, former Flames such as Ellis, Martell Bailey, Armond Williams, Kenny Williams, Joe Scott, Kyle Kickert, Jordan Kardos, Bryant Lowe, and a host of others took part in the 2010 men’s basketball alumni game.

Associate head coach Tracy Dildy and assistant coach Mark Miller, both former Flames players, were pitted against each other on the sidelines as they led their respective alumni teams. The friendly contest featured a competitive showing, numerous playful moments and even a couple of slam dunks.

Feb. 6 was also alumni day for the Dancing Flames, as current coach and former Dancing Flame Toya Ambrose and numerous former UIC dancers gathered to perform at halftime of the men’s basketball game.

UIC Athletics Hall of Famer Curtis Granderson has moved to Major League Baseball's biggest stage after the former Flames baseball star was traded from the Detroit Tigers to the 2009 World Series champion New York Yankees in December. Granderson played for the Tigers for four full seasons and was named to the American League All-Star Team in 2009. After the 2009 campaign he was named the Marvin Miller Man of the Year by his peers for his efforts on and off the field. In three seasons at UIC, Granderson hit .350 and set the Flames' career record for runs scored with 178 from 2000-2002. He was named the Horizon League Player of the Year and a Second Team All-American by Baseball America in 2002. On January 18, 2008, Granderson was inducted into the UIC Athletics Hall of Fame for his achievements.

YOU CAN HELP PUT UP THE BOARD ... YES!The UIC softball program

boasts a field with one of the greatest backdrops, Chicago’s skyline, in the entire country. One way that UIC is trying to make Flames Field even better is with the addition of the Ann Baum Scoreboard.

The UIC athletic de-velopment department, in conjunction with head coach Michelle Venturella and the softball program, is working to put up a state-of-the art scoreboard at beautiful Flames Field.

The overall cost for the project is $150,000. UIC has already received a gener-ous grant of $100,000 from the Alvin H. Baum Fam-ily Fund in honor of Ann Baum, for whom the new scoreboard will be named.

“ T h e suppor t of the a t h l e t i c d e p a r t -m e n t and the commu-nity has been out-standing for the UIC Softball program. This generous donation in re-membrance of Ann Baum will not only enhance the look at Flames Field for the UIC softball team, but also for those in the com-munity who use our venue as well,” said Venturella. “It will be something that will be enjoyed for years to come.”

Michelle MacCartney Pe-terson played for UIC from 1987-1991.

Recently, Peterson made a contribution directly to the softball program and wrote a letter to her team-mates and friends to en-courage each of them to do the same.

In the letter, Peterson writes, “What I found at UIC was everything I was looking for in a school: ed-ucation, major, teammates, and a softball program that

was a great fit for me and my goals.

“If I had not played soft-ball, I would have never gotten the education I re-ceived.”

Peterson went on to add, “Since I know there is still a competitive athlete in you, I challenge you to match my donation or at least give what you feel you can comfortably afford.”

For more information on donating, please contact: Rick Harrigan (312) 996-5633, rickhar@uic.edu, or Alice Tym (312) 996-2042, tymalice@uic.edu.

Donors may also con-tribute by sending a check (made out to UIC Athlet-ics) to: Ann Baum Softball Scoreboard Campaign, UIC Athletics, 839 W. Roosevelt Rd. (MC195), Chicago, IL 60608.

Catching Up With A Former Flame: Mike Gapski, Class of ‘82The former UIC student and athletic trainer has been behind the bench for one of the top teams in the

NHL for 21 years, Chicago’s very own Blackhawks.

A career that once began as an assistant athletic trainer at UIC has tak-en Chicago native Mike Gapski to the bench of an Original Six franchise in the National Hockey League, which also happens to be his hometown squad.

After graduating from UIC with a physical education degree and highest honors in 1982, Gapski stayed on as an assistant athletic trainer

for the Flames for three years before being promoted to the school’s head athletic trainer position. He would remain in that role for two more years before fulfilling a lifelong dream and accepting the Blackhawks’ Head Athletic Trainer position in 1987, a job he has held ever since.

The Dragon’s Roar recently caught up with Gapski as he helped prepare the Central Division Champion Blackhawks for a deep Stanley Cup play-off run.

DR: Was there anyone during your time at UIC who helped to inspire or mentor you?MG: When I first got there and started as a trainer, the head trainer was more of a basket-

ball guy, so he assigned me to the hockey team. This was great for me because hockey was my favorite sport and it was an off-site rink; because of this, we didn’t have the luxury of having more students to help, which forced me to think and act on my own. This was a lot more dif-ficult, but I learned how to be my own person and about responsibility, too.

DR: What is your favorite memory from your 20-plus years as the head athletic trainer for the Blackhawks?

MG: The first was working the 1991 All-Star Game at the Chicago Stadium. The other was the following year when we went to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1992. The lean years were kind of tough; it was not as much fun watching the team play in front of 5,000 people. The last few years have been really exciting though. Being from Chicago myself, along with being a Blackhawks fan, the resurgence of the team and the city feels great.

DR: What is the best part of your job?MG: The best part of my job is all of the different peo-

ple I get to work with. We meet people from all over the world; doctors, therapists, players, management, every-body. You learn a lot from working with everyone and just the camaraderie and teamwork it takes for us all to work together. It’s just a lot of fun and I really enjoy it.