Thursday, March 1, 2007
OU basketball coaches take top Mid-Con honors
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| Oakland University’s women’s basketball Head Coach Beckie Francis |
Oakland University’s women’s basketball Head Coach Beckie Francis and men's basketball Head Coach Greg Kampe received the 2006-07 Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year accolades. Francis is honored as the Coach of the Year for the second time in her career, but for the first time since the 1999-2000 season, after leading Oakland to its best conference winning percentage in school history. Kampe also is honored as the Coach of the Year for the second time in his career (1999-2000) after guiding Oakland from a seventh-place finish a year ago to second place this season.
The female Golden Grizzlies posted the biggest improvement in the conference standings from last season, winning six more games and finishing five seeds higher in the conference tournament. She also guided OU to a 7-0 record on the road in Mid-Con play, marking just the second time in league history that a team has gone undefeated away from home. Francis’ squad leads the Mid-Con in rebounding offense (38.1), assists (17.0) and steals (10.1).
In addition, OU players Nicole Piggott and sophomore Jessica Pike were named to the all-conference first team. Oakland was the only squad to have multiple first-teamers. Melissa Jeltema and Hanna Reising were named to the conferences All-Newcomer Team.
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| Oakland University’s men’s basketball Head Coach Greg Kampe |
Picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll, the Golden Grizzlies' men's team has made a six-game improvement from a year ago. Oakland also tied the school record for wins as a Division I program under the leadership of Kampe.
OU sophomore guard Erik Kangas was named to the all-conference second team; junior center Shawn Hopes was named to the honorable mention team and freshman guard Johnathon Jones made the All-Newcomer Team.
The men, who are the second seeded team, will take on seventh seeded Western Illinois at 9:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 3. The number one seeded women’s team will take on eighth seed Centenary at 1 p.m. EST. A tournament win would secure an NCAA Division I tournament berth for either team.
For more information, visit the OU Athletics Web site or check The News @ OU for updates.