FERRIS' RACHEL FOLCIK AN HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICAN

Junior Forward Among NCAA-II Kodak/WBCA All-America Honorable Mention Picks

Junior forward/center Rachel Folcik (Powers/Carney-Nadeau) of the 2006-07 Ferris State women's basketball team was honored today (March 21) as a 2007 NCAA Division II Kodak/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Honorable Mention All-American in an announcement made jointly by the WBCA and the Eastman Kodak Company.

Ferris' Rachel Folcik has been honored as a NCAA Division II Kodak/WBCA Honorable Mention All-America pick

Folcik, who previously picked up Division II Kodak/WBCA All-Region honors and was among 40 All-America candidates this year, was joined on the honorable mention list by fellow first-team all-region four selections Christina Jackson (Gannon), Amber Shelton (Southern Illinois-Edwardsville) and Mary Moskal (Lewis). Lewis' Darcee Schmidt, who also was a first-team all-region four selection, was the only player from the region named to the 10-member Division II Kodak/WBCA All-America First Team squad.

Selection committees in each of the eight WBCA geographical regions selected the top 10 players for first-team All-America recognition with the other 30 receiving honorable mention laurels. This year represented the 25th year of the Division II Kodak/WBCA All-America program, which began in 1983. The 10-member NCAA Division II Kodak/WBCA All-America Women's Basketball Team was announced at the Division II Banquet of Champions last night (March 20) in Kearney, Neb.

Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as an amateur sport for women and girls.

Folcik joins former Bulldog players Lucy DeMartin and Tianna Kirkland along with current senior guard Erin Miller (Niles), who concluded her collegiate eligibility this campaign, as the only players in the program's history to attain any type of All-America accolades. DeMartin was honored as a Division II Women's Basketball Bulletin Honorable Mention selection in 2003-04 while Kirkland was a Division II Women's Basketball Bulletin Third Team All-America pick during the 2000-01 campaign. Both Miller and DeMartin were among the Division II Kodak/WBCA All-America Honorable Mention nominees in 2003-04. Folcik previously was named to this year's five-member Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region First Team as selected by the region's sports information directors, becoming only the sixth player in FSU women's history to attain all-region laurels.

The 6-1 Folcik earned All-GLIAC North Division First Team honors along with GLIAC North Division All-Defensive Team accolades for her performance this campaign. She also attained the league's divisional Player of the Week Award honor six times this year, all of which came in the final nine weeks of the season. Folcik received the league's weekly honor more than any other male or female conference player this campaign.

Folcik became only the 14th player in school history to notch her 1,000th career point in FSU's 70-65 league home win over Northern Michigan (Feb. 10) as she tallied 34 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots in the contest. Her seven blocked shots in the game was one shy of tying the school's single-game record while her 16 made field goals in the contest tied the school record. Additionally, Folcik's 241 made field goals and 602 total points this season both represented school single-season marks while her 261 rebounds was the second-highest seasonal figure in FSU history.

Folcik was featured in the Feb. 19th Sports Illustrated magazine issue in the popular "Faces In The Crowd" section of the weekly magazine. Folcik also was recently 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.

Folcik, who averaged a team-best 18.8 points per game, scored in double-figures 27 times this year and notched 13 double-double (points & rebounds) performances. She was honored as Ferris State University’s female Bulldog of the Month award winner for December, January and February based on her play those three months. A team captain, Folcik also averaged a squad-best 8.2 rebounds per game this campaign. She finished the year listed second overall in scoring and fifth in rebounds among the GLIAC's overall leaders while ranking second in both field goal (.555) and free throw (.860) percentage for all games played.

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 Ferris State women's basketball squad posted a school-record 23 wins (23-9) this campaign while advancing to the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Championship Game for the first time in school history. The Bulldogs, who suffered a 79-69 loss to Drury (Mo.) in the regional final (March 12) at Romeoville, Ill., reached the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen for the first time and recorded back-to-back wins in their first two national tournament games.

Prior to this year, Ferris had never won a game in the NCAA Tournament. Folcik was chosen as a NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional All-Tournament Team selection for her efforts in guiding the Bulldogs to a regional runner-up finish.