FERRIS' RACHEL FOLCIK TO APPEAR IN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

Junior Forward Selected For Weekly "Faces In The Crowd" Section

Ferris' Rachel Folcik Will Appear In Next Week's Sports Illustrated Magazine

The 6-1 Folcik will appear in next week's popular "Faces In The Crowd" section of the weekly magazine. Folcik was nominated for inclusion by the Ferris State Athletics Communications Office following her 37-point performance earlier this year in a 90-70 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road win at Mercyhurst (Jan. 18), which earned her the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week Award for the third time this season.

Folcik will be one of six athletes included in next week's edition and among four college student-athletes across the nation recognized. The "Faces In The Crowd" section, which can also be found online, honors athletes from all levels of competition on a weekly basis for their accomplishments. Former Ferris State hockey goaltender Mike Brown was the last Ferris student-athlete to be recognized in the magazine, which came during FSU's record-breaking 2002-03 Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Championship campaign.

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 tallied 56 points, 19 rebounds and eight blocked shots in two league home games last week as she added 22 points and eight boards in the Bulldogs’ narrow 69-65 setback Thursday (Feb. 8) versus Michigan Tech. The performance allowed her to earn the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week honor for the fourth time this campaign. Folcik, who also grabbed her 500th career board in Saturday’s game, averaged 28 points, 9.5 rebounds and four blocks in the two games. Last Friday (Feb. 9), Folcik was named to the 2006-07 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV Women's Basketball College Division Second Team for her performance both on the floor and in the classroom.

Previously, Folcik was selected as the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week for the first time in her career to open the New Year (Jan. 3) and also attained the honor two other consecutive weeks (Jan. 15 & Jan. 22). To date, she's attained the league weekly honor four of the last seven times its been awarded this 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. 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 third in rebounds among the GLIAC's overall leaders while ranking second in free throw (.875) along with third in field goal (.553) percentage.

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, Folcik was chosen as an all-tourney selection as Ferris posted a 2-0 mark in the season-opening Clarion (Pa.) Classic (Nov. 17-18).

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.

Next Week's "Faces In The Crowd" Section Can Be Found Online At The Link Below:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/scorecard/faces/2007/02/19/