Rocket Report with Bryan B. Blair - May 2023
5/24/2023 2:03:00 AM | Athletics
May 24, 2023
Â
Team Toledo,
As we near the culmination of what has been the most successful athletics season in the history of the University of Toledo, I would like to take a few minutes and bring you up to date on some of the exciting things happening in our athletics program, as well as share more about the vision that we have for Rocket Athletics in the years to come.
The spring brought us two more MAC Championships, giving us a total of six league titles for the school year, more than twice our previous record of three. We currently rank No. 1 in the Mid-American Conference in the Learfield Director's Cup standings, which tracks the NCAA Championship success of every Division I school. By any measure, this has been a truly historic season.
But our success is measured by more than just victories and championships. Our nearly 400 student-athletes have also reached unprecedented heights in the classroom, and our #TeamToledo community has continued to come together and embrace a commitment to our program that is critical to helping us reach our dreams. This level of success speaks volumes about the kind of student-athletes we have in our program, as well as the coaches and staff who support them as they pursue their dreams! MAC Champions!Â
Let's hear it for our latest MAC Champions, our men's and women's tennis teams and Barend Botha from Men's Golf!
- Men's Tennis: The Rockets won the MAC Championship title and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament with a dramatic 4-3 victory over Western Michigan at the MAC Championship Tournament, their first MAC title in 50 years. They went on to make their first-ever team appearance in the NCAA Championships. Pawit Sornlaksup, who finished the season with a 43-match winning streak in singles play, was named MAC Player of the Year for the second straight season. Al Wermer was named MAC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.
- Women's Tennis: The Rockets won the MAC regular-season championship with a perfect 10-0 league record. Cassie Alcala was named MAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, while Tracy Mauntler was named MAC Coach of the Year.
- Men's Golf: Barend Botha won the MAC Championship title and qualified for the NCAA Regionals as an individual, becoming just the fourth Rocket ever to do so. Botha posted a school-record 70.5 stroke average this season and was named the MAC Golfer of the Year. Barend is just the fourth Rocket ever to earn First-Team All-MAC honors three times.
 |
 |
 |
The brilliance of Al and Tracy, and the incredible fight displayed by our gifted tennis student-athletes, was amazing to watch all season. Their championship, combined with championships in the fall from women's cross country and football, and winter MAC titles from men's and women's basketball, helped us double our previous record. Congratulations to Barend and all our Rocket champions!
BEST ACADEMIC YEAR EVER
I share it often that while many of you recognize the incredible athleticism displayed by our young men and women, what we are most proud of is who they are as people and how equally well they perform in the classroom. ?This year our Rockets continued to set an incredible standard of excellence. This spring, our student-athletes achieved a record semester grade point average of 3.472, with 77 earning perfect 4.0 GPAs and more than 80 percent above a 3.0. Coming off a previous record 3.401 GPA last fall, there is no doubt that our student-athletes achieved the best academic year in school history!
I firmly believe that we should give every student-athlete the best opportunity to leave this university with a degree in one hand and a championship ring on the other. Earning your college degree should be the ultimate goal for every Rocket. This May, we celebrated the graduation of 51 Rockets at Spring Commencement. There is no prouder moment for me than seeing our student-athletes walk across the commencement stage at Savage Arena and join the ranks of graduates of this great University.
We would also like to give a special THANK YOU to our University President Dr. Gregory Postel, Associate Dean Dr. Terribeth Gordon-Moore and Dean Dr. Mark Merrick for providing impromptu graduation ceremonies for our men's tennis and softball graduates. Our student-athletes weren't able to attend the University's ceremonies due to athletic schedule conflicts, and they really appreciate you for going above and beyond for them.
 |
 |
 |
#TEAMTOLEDO
We often talk about the power of Team Toledo, and we are deeply appreciative of the new and existing partnerships that have led to new opportunities for our student-athletes and university. In addition to the many hours of volunteer work performed by our student-athletes this year, the entire department, including our coaches and staff, partnered with the wonderful people at the Art Tatum Zone for a day of service on April 19, otherwise known as "419 Day". It's our way of celebrating the commitment of Toledo Athletics to being a vital part of Team Toledo and serving this community that supports us.? Â
Â
The Toledo community is also coming together to help us develop our Toledo Athletics Strategic Plan. Recently, we hosted a retreat at Savage Arena that was attended by 75+ leaders in the community, the University and the Athletic Department. ?In addition, former Duke/Notre Dame AD Kevin White joined us for a broad ranging discussion about the landscape of college athletics. One of the biggest takeaways from our retreat was a discussion on how we better tell our story – locally, regionally, and nationally. Dr. Kevin White had this to say: "You're having great success, and unless I got my nose on the internet, I wouldn't have known all of that," he said. "I just didn't know. How come I didn't know? Shame on me. But, quite frankly, shame on all of you. You need to become good storytellers." This quote and other notes about our retreat and value proposition can be found in a recent Blade article from Dave Briggs.
With the over 300 responses we received from the survey we shared last month and the incredibly valuable discussions that took place during the retreat, we will develop a strategic plan that will provide a bold roadmap for the bright future of our department. Look for future announcements about our Toledo Athletics Strategic Plan later this summer.
 |
 |
 |
Finally, on the topic of community events, I would like to invite you all to come to campus on Saturday, July 1st to watch the Italian Bowl at the Glass Bowl. The Italian Bowl is the championship game of the Italian Federation of American Football. This will mark the first time in Italian Football League (IFL) history that Italy's national championship will be played outside of Europe. We are proud to support the Italian Bowl organizers as they bring this international competition to our university campus and the Toledo community. I hope you can come out for what should be a fun game and cultural experience. For ticket information, be sure to visit Italianbowlusa.com.
BRAGGING RIGHTS….
I'd like to recognize these fantastic accomplishments from the past month:
Football:Â Congratulations to Desjuan Johnson, who was selected in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by the LA Rams on Saturday. Johnson was the 259th?and final player drafted overall, thus earning the title as "Mr. Irrelevant." Desjuan is the ninth Rocket to be drafted during Head Coach?Jason Candle's tenure as head coach, going back to the 2017 draft.?
Campus Ink: We were excited to announce a partnership with Campus Ink recently. Campus Ink is our official NIL Licensee who will host a merchandise store for Toledo student-athletes featuring jerseys, shirzees and other licensed apparel. This will give Rocket fans the opportunity to purchase merchandise with their favorite Toledo player's name and number and is expected to begin in August.Â
Baseball: Jeron Williams was named MAC Player of the Year, the second conference player of the year in the history of the baseball program. He was one of six Rockets to earn postseason awards from the MAC, tied for the most ever in school history (2010 & 1984). Toledo ended its season at Fifth Third Field against archrival Bowling Green in front of 2,869 fans, the highest attendance in the three years since the Battle of I-75 headed Downtown Toledo. Â
It's truly an exciting time to be a Rocket! While your support of Toledo Athletics has helped us achieve our historic success, I am confident that we have only scratched the surface of our potential. As we look forward to continued success in 2023-24 and beyond, I want to thank you for joining us on this incredible journey and for coming together as #TeamToledo.
This Community. This University. This Athletics Department.
Together, we will accomplish the "impossible."
Go Rockets!
Players Mentioned
