FERRIS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DUO RECEIVES ACADEMIC KUDOS

Erin Miller & Rachel Folcik Named To ESPN The Magazine All-District Second Team

Senior guard Erin Miller (Niles) and junior forward/center Rachel Folcik (Powers/Carney-Nadeau) of the 2006-07 Ferris State University women’s basketball team have both been recognized as ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV College Division Women's Basketball Second Team selections in an announcement made Friday (Feb. 9).

Academic Honorees

Ferris State's Erin Miller (top) and Rachel Folcik (bottom) were both recently recognized as ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV College Division Women's Basketball Second Team selections

Miller and Folcik were among only five representatives from a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)-member school named to any of the three District IV teams (first, second, third) selected in voting conducted by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Grand Valley State's Julia Braseth earned first-team laurels, Lake Superior State's Jaclyn Armstrong attained second-team kudos and Bethany Mesko of Wayne State picked up third-team recognition. Five players were honored on the first team, the second team had seven selections and the third team featured 10 student-athletes.

Student-athletes must have reached at least sophomore status academically, maintain a 3.2 cumulative grade point average and also be a starter or key reserve for their team to be nominated. The District IV team is comprised of colleges and universities located in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama.

A team captain, Miller is currently averaging 10.6 points per game this campaign. She has reached double-figure scoring in 10 of FSU's outings to date this year and earned the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week Award earlier this campaign (Nov. 27). In addition, she's presently averaging 3.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals a contest.

Miller ranked as FSU's leading scorer (14.7 ppg) last season and was listed among the GLIAC's overall statistical leaders in nine different categories. She compiled 19 double-figure scoring outings last campaign and became the 12th player in school history to register 1,000th career points. She currently ranks third on FSU's all-time scoring list with 1,512 career points. Miller was previously recognized as a first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV honoree, picked up GLIAC North Division First-Team recognition along with Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region Second-Team honors last year.

Miller returned in 2005-06 after missing all but the first two games of the 2004-05 campaign due to injury. She reached double-figure scoring in 28 of her 31 contests in 2003-04 and ranked as the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer (17.0 ppg). Miller was the recipient of the GLIAC’s 2002-03 Freshman of the Year Award after being the team’s third-highest scorer (12.5 ppg) in her initial season.

The 2003-04 Verizon Academic All-District IV Third Team and GLIAC All-Academic Team honoree also attained first-team Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Great Lakes Region and All-GLIAC North Division honors along with being among 40 finalists for the NCAA Division II Kodak/WBCA All-America Team during the 2003-04 campaign.

Folcik, who’s currently averaging a team-best 18.7 points per game, has presently scored in double-figures 19 times to date this year. She was honored as Ferris State University’s female Bulldog of the Month award winner for both December and January based on her play the last two months and has attained GLIAC North Division Player of the Week kudos three times to date this season. A team captain, Folcik is also currently averaging a squad-best 8.5 rebounds per game this campaign. She's presently listed second overall in scoring and fourth in rebounds among the GLIAC's overall leaders while ranking second in free throw (.875) along with third in field goal (.553) percentage.

This past Saturday (Feb. 10), Folcik tallied a game-high 34 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots as FSU fought off a tough Northern Michigan squad for a 70-65 league home win inside Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. In addition, she also became only the 14th player in school history to notch her 1,000th career point and currently has scored 1,006 points in her career. Her seven blocked shots in the game was one shy of tying the school's single-game record. Folcik's 16 made field goals in the contest tied the school record owned by former Bulldog player Ola Earvin, who had the same number against Florida Southern in 1993-94 (12/31).

Folcik received the squad's Sixth Player and Rookie of the Year Awards as a freshman in 2004-05 after recording 245 points, 150 rebounds and 39 assists while notching 10 double-digit scoring performances in 28 contests. She tallied 10 points or more in six of the squad's final eight games as a rookie. Folcik also ranked second among the squad's leaders in both field goal percentage (.505) and rebounding (5.4 rpg) along with fourth in scoring (8.8 ppg) in 2004-05.

Last season (2005-06), Folcik was a GLIAC All-Academic Team selection. She finished second among the team's performers in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and third in scoring (12.8 ppg) along with registering 19 double-figure scoring games. Folcik also was named to the Aquinas College Classic All-Tournament Team a year ago. Earlier this year, both Folcik and Miller were chosen as all-tourney selections as Ferris posted a 2-0 mark in the season-opening Clarion (Pa.) Classic (Nov. 17-18).

This year marks the 55th anniversary of the Academic All-America program, which was founded by CoSIDA in 1952 to recognize collegiate student-athletes for their outstanding achievements in the classroom and on the playing field. Over the years, the program has grown into one of the most recognized and prestigious collegiate scholar-athlete awards nationwide, honoring student-athletes from all NCAA championship sports. This season marks ESPN The Magazine's third year of sponsoring the Academic All-America program, which was formerly endorsed by both GTE and Verizon.

The 2006-07 campaign represents the eighth consecutive season in which Ferris State has had a player named to either the Academic All-District IV First or Second Team. Former player Jen Newsone was a second team pick (2000-01) before both Debbie Killips (2000-01, 2001-02) and Lucy DeMartin (2002-03, 2003-04) became two-time first team honorees. FSU's Bridget Horwitz earned first-team distinction in 2004-05 before Miller garnered identical laurels last season. Both Killips and DeMartin went on to attain Verizon Academic All-America First Team kudos as Killips received the honor during the 2001-02 campaign and DeMartin claimed the recognition in 2003-04.

The Bulldog women's basketball team, which is currently 16-7 overall and 10-5 in GLIAC action this season, visits Wayne State Thursday, Feb. 15, for a 5:30 p.m. (EST) league tilt in Detroit, Mich. The game will be carried live by Bulldog Radio, which can heard locally on television Channel 21 both via on-campus cable and Charter Communications in Mecosta County. A live audio webcast will also be provided by Bulldog Radio at www.bulldogradio.org.