ROCKETS OPEN CAMP WITH GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Coach Tricia Cullop and her staff welcomed 16 student-athletes onto Bob Nichols Court for the first day of basketball practice this past Monday and judging by the enthusiasm of the group it should be quite a season.

Last year the Rockets won the MAC West crown enroute to posting a 25-9 overall record. But this year the stakes are much higher as the team gears up to make a serious run at the MAC championship, and garner that treasured trip to the post-season NCAA Tournament, the crown jewel of success in the conference.

Returning to the fold for one last go-round with the Midnight Blue and Gold are seniors Melissa Goodall and Jessica Williams and, according to Cullop, there is a sense of urgency for them to finish at the top of their game and go out as champions. Goodall and Williams, along with junior Courtney Ingersoll were elected team captains this fall and their leadership skills are evident even in these early days of preseason practice.

The 6-2 Goodall began practice in the best physical shape possible after a summer of training for, and participating in a grueling triathlon, the 2010 Sylvania Sprint. Last season Goodall averaged 12.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in conference play and she is eager to surpass those totals this coming campaign.

With just one true point guard on the roster the past two seasons Williams has been forced to share some of those duties to spell that position during the games. This year, if things pan out, the 5-8 Westerville, OH native will be able to devote all of her attention to playing the shooting-guard position and concentrate on putting up points from the perimeter where she was the team leader in 3-point field goals (76). Also looking to see playing time behind Williams are sophomore Riley McCormick and junior transfer Haylie Linn. McCormick was used sparingly last season, but like just about every returning player, she worked very hard in the off-season to improve her game and is looking impressive early on. Linn brings some Big-10 experience to the floor (Indiana University) and, at 5-11, she can play on the perimeter as either a guard or wing forward. Both players are streak shooters and when they find the net, they find it often. Rocket old-timers might remember the late John Brisker of the men’s team many years ago, and his no-arc jumpshot. Linn’s shot will remind the graybeards of that former Rocket.

Naama Shafir returns for her third season as the Rocket floor general and the conference assist leader is ready to take up where she left off. Shafir is now in her third year of playing point guard and she has started in all 65 games since donning a Toledo uniform. She does so many things so well on the floor and is, please pardon the cliché, truly the straw that stirs the drink in Savage Arena.

Also ready to step in at the point are freshman Janelle Reed-Lewis and redshirt freshman Andola Dortch. If the 5-4 Reed-Lewis is able to grasp what is expected of her, she will give Cullop a valuable backup for Shafir who logged in almost 32 minutes of playing time per contest in 2009-10. Reed –Lewis has a number of playground moves in her repertoire that should delight the Toledo fans. Dortch is still feeling some of the effects of having had to undergo a pair of ACL repairs during the last 12 months but she has been cleared to take part in most of the drills.

Toledo’s third tri-captain junior Courtney Ingersoll can play on the wing and will get some serious consideration for starting at the small forward position. One newcomer to watch is sophomore junior-college transfer Anna Sonka. She has good height (6-0) for a wing player and is also deadly from outside the 3-point arc. Sonka will need to work on her defensive skills, but she seems to improve with every practice.

On the inside Toledo is blessed to have several skilled players who can score and rebound underneath. Aside from Goodall, sophomores Yolanda Richardson and Lecretia Smith are battle-tested and ready to vie for a starting job. At 6-2, Richardson is a shot-blocking machine having led the team with 52 rejections last season and she is also a fierce rebounder. Smith is like a bulldog on the court and despite her 5-9 frame corralled 117 rebounds last year while averaging just 12 minutes of playing time. Also figuring prominently in Cullop’s plans are a pair of newcomers, 6-2 junior-college transfer Kaneesha Lee and 6-1 freshman Mariah Carson. Both players have good low-post skills but they are still adjusting to the speed of Division-1 college basketball.

One player who has not yet participated in practice is junior-college transfer Sarah Clark. The Owens College product has been sidelined with injuries since before the beginning of the school year. She has had a hip pointer and is now recovering from a pelvic stress fracture which will keep her on the shelf for a few more weeks. When healthy, Clark has the necessary ball-handling skills to play either guard or wing forward.

Also participating in practices are a pair of big transfers, 6-1 Brianna Jones and 6-3 Kyle Baumgartner. While prepping at Toledo Central Catholic High School Jones was rated as the 43^rd best senior in the country before taking her game to the University of Illinois for a year. Baumgartner, an All-MAC honorable mention selection at Akron University last season chose to leave that school and walk on at Toledo without a scholarship. She is paying her own tuition this season. Both Jones and Baumgartner must sit out this season per NCAA transfer rules.

There is no doubt that the seven returning veterans can play. If the newcomers can learn to play up to Tricia Cullop’s standards, it looks as if another “banner year” is in the works at John F. Savage Arena beginning in November.