By Sports Editor Matt Frey
Three weeks
before practices start for the 2007 season, the Rib Lake
volleyball team found out it has earned one last award from
its fantastic 2006 season.
For the third straight year, the American Volleyball Coaches
Association (AVCA) is presenting Rib Lake with a
GamePlanTM/AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2006-07 school
year. A total of 303 colleges and high schools won the award.
Rib Lake was one of 129 girls teams from across the country to
be honored. The Lady Redmen were one of nine high school teams
from Wisconsin to get the award.
The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors
collegiate and high school teams that displayed excellence in
the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team
grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and a 4.10 cumulative team
GPA on a 5.0 scale during the school year. Nominating head
coaches must be AVCA members. Each school will receive a
plaque, and each player a certificate commemorating the
designation. Rib Lake’s team grade-point average was 3.56.
“It has always been my philosophy that academics comes first,”
Rib Lake head coach Barb Anderson said. “The girls know that
if they need to talk to a teacher or get caught up on
something that I will give them some time before they come to
practice to take care of the issue. We often talk about
schoolwork to and from other schools on the bus. I have been
very fortunate to coach athletes who work hard both on the
court and in the classroom. The girls and their parents should
be very proud of their achievements.”
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Rib Lake’s 2006 team members were Elizabeth
Anderson, Erin Anderson, Jordyn Anderson,
Breanne Zondlo, Courtney Glenzer, Brooke
Zondlo, Dana Dolezalek, Cally Gordon, Marah
Beard, Kate Weiss, Sadie Brehm, Julie Thums
and Megan Peterson. |
The Lady Redmen
compiled a 22-2 dual-meet record and lost to only three teams
all season on their way to a second-place finish in the WIAA
Division 4 state tournament. They won the Marawood
Conference’s North Division title with a 13-1 league mark. Rib
Lake lost two games to Marathon to take second place in the
Red Raiders’ season-opening tournament, then the Redmen lost
their third conference match to Auburndale on September 7.
They didn’t lose again until dropping a four-game match to
Burlington Catholic Central in the state championship on
November 4.
In all, teams from 303 schools received the award this year.
Recipients range from NCAA Division I institutions to high
school girls’ and boys’ teams. The college ranks produced 163
programs that met the requirements for the award in 2006-07. A
total of 140 high school boys’ and girls’ programs earned the
award in 2006-07, nearly tying their highest mark of 144 set
in 2003-04.
“The AVCA is again privileged to present the GamePlanTM/AVCA
Team Academic Award to these outstanding institutions,” said
Kathy DeBoer, AVCA Executive Director. “We congratulate the
student-athletes for their hard work in the classroom and
thank our coaches for instilling this dedication in the young
women and men of our sport.”
The other Wisconsin girls teams to get this award for 2006-07
were Kenosha Bradford, Johnson Creek, Merrill, Milwaukee
Lutheran, Mukwonago, Racine Lutheran, River Valley and
Waterford. Wisconsin women’s college teams to get the award
included UW-Green Bay, UW-Parkside, Concordia University,
UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse.
