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Women's Cross Country
Women's Basketball
Women's Soccer
Women's Swimming & Diving
Women's Volleyball
Men's Cross Country
Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball
 Announced today by Head Coach Rusty Loyd, the Illinois Tech men's basketball program has received a signed National Letter of Intent from prospect Thomas (TJ) Bevilacqua from Mineral Ridge, OH.
Bevilacqua is a 6-6 wing player that just completed his senior season at Mineral Ridge High School in Eastern Ohio and was chosen as First Team All-League, First Team All-County, Second Team All-Northeast Ohio, and Honorable Mention All State. This season Bevilacqua averaged 18.3 points and 7.9 rebounds on a Rams team that went 9-13. For his efforts, Bevilacqua was also named Trumbull County Division III Player-of-the-Year and Team MVP.
"TJ is an excellent shooter," Loyd said. "He is a well-rounded player who should create some mismatches for our opponents. He can post up smaller players and bring bigger players out to the perimeter."
Bevilacqua is the son of Tom and Stephanie Bevilacqua. He plans on studying Business at Illinois Tech this fall.
 Illinois Tech head coach Rusty Loyd has a couple of additional reasons to celebrate. The Scarlet Hawk’s coach has landed a pair of backcourt performers in Robert “Andre” Boney of Columbia (Mo.) and Kyle Corbin of Tipp City (Oh.).
Boney, a 6-2 guard, and Corbin, also a 6-2 guard, both signed with the Hawks on Friday (May 2). Boney is a transfer from Southern Illinois – Edwardsville who played his high school ball at Webster Groves in St Louis, while Corbin is finishing a stellar career at Tippecanoe High School in Northwestern Ohio.
"I'm excited that Andre and Kyle have chosen to join the Illinois Tech family," said Loyd, who just finished his second season as the coach at Illinois Tech. "They're very good players, they're very good students and they both bring a unique skill set to our team."
Boney averaged 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, while helping Webster Groves to a 26-4 record his senior year. He decided to attend Southern Illinois – Edwardsville to pursue an education in Engineering, but decided to transfer to Illinois Tech because of the basketball and educational opportunity.
"Andre is a very athletic player who can impact the game both offensively and defensively," noted Loyd.
 Corbin comes to the Illinois Tech program after a incredibly successful high school career. The guard averaged 23.9 points and 6 rebounds, while leading Tipp to a 15-8 record. He was named Central Buckeye Conference Co-Player of the Year, 1st Team All-District, 1st Team All-Dayton Area and played in the North South All-Star Game. Over his career, he accumulated 1873 points along with 528 rebounds.
"Kyle combines a high level of skill with tenacity that very few players bring to the floor," stated Illinois Tech’s head coach.
Boney and Corbin will join three other recruits, 6-9 Ian Sisson of Middleville, MI, 5-10 Andy Heiney of Houston, TX, and 6-3 Mike Ricciardi of Buffalo Grove, IL.
"We're thrilled to have these five new players in our program. They all fit well in our system and each is committed to team success," added Loyd.
 Announced today by Head Coach Rusty Loyd, the Illinois Tech men's basketball program has received a signed National Letter of Intent from prospect Mike Ricciardi from Buffalo Grove, IL.
Ricciardi is a 6-3, 195 pound wing player that just completed his senior season at Buffalo Grove High School in Buffalo Grove, IL and was chosen as an all-area selection as well as being chosen as an all-conference in the highly competitive MSL-East.. This season Ricciardi averaged 12 points and 9 rebounds on a Bison team that went 20-9 and was knocked out of the sectional semifinal by eventual state runner-up Zion Benton. In that game, Ricciardi led the Bison with a 25 point performance.
"Mike is one of the toughest players I have ever seen," Loyd said. "Because of overall lack of size on his team, he was asked to guard taller players in almost every game and he did a great job of limiting those players effectiveness. I expect him to come in next year and bring that same toughness to our program."
Ricciardi is the son of Laura and Frank Ricciardi. After completing high school with a 4.43 GPA, he plans on studying Computer Science at Illinois Tech this fall.
 Illinois Tech men's basketball coach Rusty Loyd has announced that Andy Heiney, a 5-10, 160-pound guard from St Thomas High School (Houston, TX) has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Illinois Tech and play basketball for the Scarlet Hawks beginning next fall.
"Andy is a player that comes from an extremely successful high school program and we hope he can bring some of that success with him to our program. Andy plays the point guard position and we are excited about the skill set and leadership that he brings to our program."
Heiney, who played for Coach Neil Lamanack at St Thomas, averaged 4 points and 4 assists for the Eagles this season. The Eagles won their 9th State Championship overall by taking the TAPPS 6A title this season by a final of 51-50. Heiney helped lead the Eagles to a 25-11 overall record.
Andy was also a standout student at St Thomas where he maintained a 3.7 GPA. He plans on studying Mechanical Engineering at Illinois Tech.
Ian Sisson, a standout player from Thornapple Kellogg High School in Middleville, MI, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Illinois Institute of Technology, head coach Rusty Loyd announced today. Sisson, a 6-foot-9, 225-pound post player joins the Scarlet Hawk incoming freshmen for the 2008-09 season.
"Ian is a strong, athletic and explosive player who has a tremendous amount of potential," Loyd said. "He comes from an excellent high school program at Thornapple Kellogg and competed on a very competitive team this season. We are always excited to bring in new players to our program and feel that Ian will be a great fit at Illinois Tech."
One of the top post players in Michigan, Sisson enjoyed a senior season where he averaged 10 points, six rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. Sisson was also a standout student at Thornapple Kellogg where he maintained a 4.15 GPA. He plans on studying Architectural Engineering at Illinois Tech.
Women's Basketball
, a sophomore transfer from Missouri Valley College, has committed to the Illinois Tech Women’s Basketball team. Najarian is a 5’9” guard, originally from St. Charles, Illinois
Women's Volleyball
| Val Zulevic |
Chicago, IL |
Mother Mcauley High School |
| Kayla Heller |
Dixon, IL |
Dixon High School |
| Erin Beardsley |
Anchorage, AK |
Robert Service High School |
Women's Soccer
Kevin Peacock, head coach of the Illinois Tech women’s soccer team, has announced the National Letter of Intent signings of eleven student-athletes to his 2008 roster. All will don the Scarlet Hawk colors beginning this fall.
Coach Peacock and his staff covered the map in search of what is expected to be the biggest and strongest class in the programs history. Peacock inked players from ten different states; California, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, New York, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas.
The class of 2012 includes; Grace Durbin (Tulsa, Oklahoma), Kay Durbin (Tulsa, Oklahoma), Lauren Wissman (Kettering, Ohio), Lauren Walters (Pueblo, Colorado), Noel Deis (Corrales, New Mexico), Amanda Smith (Memphis, Tennessee), Heather White (Austin, Texas), Colby Payne (Healdsburg, California), Samantha Cosenza (Crawfordsville, Indiana), Angela Khermouch (New York, New York), and Ashlie Ingold (Redford, Michigan).
 Grace Durbin
Coach Peacock: “Grace is a fantastic soccer player and has a game to back it up. She's an extremely intelligent player who can play as center or wide midfield. Grace is coming to us with an impressive high school and club soccer background. She is a fierce competitor with great passion to succeed. Grace is the twin sister of teammate Kay and they seem to play extremely well together, it will be exciting to seem them in action together for us next fall. Grace has the potential to have huge impact on our program."
 Kay Durbin
Coach Peacock: “Kay, like her twin sister, is a midfield player who is very technical, has a solid understanding of the game and is an extremely good athlete. Kay again has an exceptional high school and club soccer background. She is a young lady who has all the qualities required to be an excellent player for us this year. I hate to repeat myself but I am really looking forward to seeing Kay and Grace play together in our midfield.
 Lauren Wissman
Coach Peacock: Lauren is a fantastic player with a brilliant appetite for the game. She comes from one of the best clubs in Ohio, Ohio Galaxies. She has been in some big tournaments and this experience will help adapt to the collegiate game. Lauren can play defense or defensive midfield but has the ability to play several other roles. She is going to be an invaluable player for us next fall.
 Noel Deis
Coach Peacock: “Noel comes to us from one of the best youth soccer clubs in the nation Rio vista. She is very tough defender with the unique ability to play either fullback position. She is a reliable player who reads the game really well. Noel has a great passion for the game. She is going to be on the field a lot for us, I think she has the ability to be a great player. "
 Colby Payne
Coach Peacock: “Colby is an aggressive and solid defender who has is great a shutting down key players. Colby arrives at Illinois Tech after playing club soccer in California for Santa Rosa Blizzard. She is going to add an experience to our defense and is a quality signing.”
 Lauren Walters
Coach Peacock: “Lauren is another player with a solid background of playing high school and club soccer. She's a forward who can play as a target player. She’s a tough competitor, who plays with a tremendous amount of energy and passion. She will be a important member of our team this year.”
 Sam Cosenza
Coach Peacock: “Sam is a forward player with great potential. She works hard and has played a lot of youth soccer, which has helped her develop and progress. She will offer us options up top. She's an athletic girl who can run all day long. Sam also works very hard and continues to develop her game so we're excited for her continued growth.”
 Heather White
Coach Peacock: “Heather is an athletic Goalkeeper who is great shot stopper. She is a great addition to our program and I’m excited to welcome her aboard. She has outstanding club soccer experience that should make her transition to the college game an easy one.”
 Amanda Smith
Coach Peacock: Amanda will compete right away for a starting role in the defensive unit. She has excellent physical abilities, including very good speed and will be capable of playing both centrally or fullback with a gritty, ball winning attitude. In addition Amanda possesses a strong throw-in that will be utilized in attacking play.”
 Angela Khermouch
Coach Peacock: “Angela has an excellent work ethic and is aggressive. She can play as a defender or midfielder but can cover a variety of positions if need be. She will add to the great defensive presence we will have next fall. Angela has a great focus and determination that will help make the shift to the college level.
 Ashlie Ingold
Coach Peacock: “Ashlie is a very athletic forward that will do some impressive things for us offensively. Not only does Ashlie have excellent foot skills, she has a positive attitude and will contribute a lot to our forward line next fall. Ashlie comes to us with an impressive goal scoring record at high school.”
Final Word:
Coach Peacock: “This is an extremely talented recruiting class that will hopefully take the program to next level. I honestly believe it’s the best recruiting class in the programs history. I have high expectations this year. Combining this group of freshmen with the returning players will give us the extremely competitive environment. We will have a total of 26 players on the roster that is the biggest squad of players we have ever had. I am going to have selection headaches but it’s a good problem to have. It’s the type of setting we need if we are to compete in the CCAC. The team chemistry we had last year was one of our strong points. If we have this kind of team cohesion again and we have the mental strength to cope with the competition within the squad we will have a great season. I believe we will have the quality to move up the ladder again, hopefully causing some major upsets along the way! I am really looking forward to the new season.”
The Scarlet Hawks women’s soccer team has high hopes heading into the 2008 season. Illinois Tech, who had its best season in the programs history last year, is returning almost everyone, having only lost three players from last year’s team. Key players returning include junior captain Erica Delgado who finished the season with 8 goals and 12 assists. Also returning are seniors Lydia Benger, Anne Nadler, Lauren McClelland, Emily Moore, Carly Stanford, Sara Wilde, and Hannah Zwibelman. “These six seniors have been the backbone of program for the last three years, and their experience will helps us immensely,” stated Coach Peacock.
Combine that with one of Coach Peacock’s most talented recruiting classes and the Scarlet Hawks have the potential to have a major impact in the CCAC in 2008.
Women's Swimming & Diving
 Morgan Curran, a Pennsylvania State Swimming Finalist from Wilson High School in West Lawn, PA, has signed a National Letter of Intent to swim at Illinois Institute of Technology, head coach Rob Bond announced today. Curran, an IM/Breaststroke specialist will join the women’s team as a freshman for the 2008-09 season.
“We are thrilled to have Morgan coming to the program next year. I expect her to have a large impact on our national team right away.” said Coach Bond. “She provides excellence in the IM events, while also allowing for some flexibility in many other events. Morgan has the potential to swim any event we need, though most of her focus will be on the IM and Breaststroke events.”
As a four year letter winner for Wilson High School, Morgan has qualified for the AAA PIAA state meet a number of times. She swam the breaststroke leg on the 2008 3rd place Medley Relay before placing 11th in the IM and 17th in the Breaststroke as an individual as part of Wilson’s 4th place team finish. Just as successful out of the water, Curran carried a 3.8 GPA and will be studying Pre-Med at IIT.
 Melanie Koto, an All State swimmer from Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the women’s swim team at Illinois Tech in the fall of 2008 head coach Rob Bond announced today. Koto, a freestyle sprinter, will join the team as a freshman for the 2008-09 season.
“Melanie comes from a very strong high school and club team with a great deal of championship experience. At the Illinois High School State Meet, she swam to an 11th place finish in the 50 Free, an 18th place finish in the 100 Free and was on the 11th place 200 Free Relay. These swims helped Stevenson to a 3rd place team finish.” Coach Bond said. “This big meet experience is going to be important to Melanie, as we are going to look for her to anchor our relays and immediately contribute to our national program.”
Melanie also brings a great deal of academic success to the program. She carried a 4.0 GPA at Stevenson and will be enrolled in the Pre-Med program at IIT.
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| Athletic Director Eduardo Serafini, School Director Thomas Tunny, Hawks Swimming Coach Daniel Teodoro, Julia’s mother Inës Duarte and Julia Duarte signing the letter of intent to swim at IIT |
Julia Mazzoni Duarte has signed a National Letter of Intent to swim with the Illinois Tech Swim Team Coach Bond announced today. Duarte is a breaststroke specialist and will join the team as an incoming freshman in the fall of 2008.
“Like many of our other recruits this year, Julia brings a wealth of major meet experience to the program. She has swum at the Brazilian National Meet and I look for that experience to prepare her for competing in the NAIA National Meet.” said Bond. “She has the talent to come in and score points for us at the NAIA National Meet right away and her progress over the past 2 years has shown that she is continuing to get stronger and faster. I look forward to working with her over the next four years to help that trend continue.”
Julia will be studying engineering at IIT.
Coach Bond announced today that Andrea Zuniga, a native of Caracas, Venezuela, has committed to Illinois Tech. Zuniga will come in as the team's top backstroker and joins the program as a freshman for the 2008-09 season.
Andrea has consistently been in the top 5 swimmers for her age group in Venezuela and has recently moved up into the top 10 nationally for all ages in the backstroke events. She trains with the Emil Friedman team, which is the top program in Venezuela with 16 national titles over the past 25 years. Andrea is also quite accomplished in the classroom. She ranks 5th in her class of 104 students and maintains a high GPA. Andrea will be studying Architecture at IIT.
"I look forward to the opportunity to work with Andrea. Her contributions to the program will be immediate. We can expect her to play a major role on our national team right away." said Coach Bond. "We have, once again, brought in a swimmer with a great deal of experience at a high level of competition. I expect this freshman class to be the best in school history and I don't worry about them feeling any pressure from that expectation. All of the girls have shown the ability to perform in a very competitive environment."
Men's Cross Country
 Phil Theisen, A State Qualifier for Saint Mary’s Catholic Central High School in Monroe, MI has signed a National Letter of Intent to run Cross Country at the Illinois Institute of Technology, head coach Phil Kopinski announced today. Theisen, the team MVP in 2007-08 helped lead Falcons of St. Mary’s to a Regional Championship this past fall, and he has also competed in track and field for three years.
“Phil is a relative newcomer to the distance running world and his personal accomplishments thus far suggests that He has a huge upside,“ Kopinski said. “I believe that Phil will be able to step in and be a contributor from his first day on campus. He is both talented and dedicated. Those two attributes make for a solid student-athlete.”
Theisen is finishing out his senior year at Saint Mary’s where he has maintained a 3.2 GPA. He plans on studying Architectural Engineering at Illinois Tech.
Women's Cross Country
 Emily Kraemer, A Spring Valley graduate has committed to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology this fall and plans to compete for the Lady Hawks Cross Country program announced head coach Phil Kopinski today. Kraemer the Hall High School Red Devil record holder in the 800meter run, and A NCIC All Academic team member in both cross country and track will add depth to an already solid program.
“I believe Emily to have tremendous potential. She comes to us from a solid program and possesses great character,” Stated Coach Kopinski. “Emily has the talent and self discipline to develop into a solid top seven performer. I look forward to guiding her college training and progress after the college adjustment. With the right approach and patience she will continue to improve.”
Kraemer has finished out her senior year at Hall High School where she graduated Valedictorian and maintained a stellar 5.2 GPA. She plans on studying Architecture at Illinois Tech.
 Madeline Jensen, Two-time State Qualifier and multiple school record holder for the Panthers of Greendale High School in Greendale, WI, has signed a National Letter of Intent to run Cross Country at the Illinois Institute of Technology, head coach Phil Kopinski announced today. Jensen is a four-year varsity runner for both cross country and track and field. During her tenure with the Panthers cross country program Madeline has twice earned All-Conference honors, Academic All-State honors and was team Captain for three seasons.
“Madeline is an extremely motivated and talented student athlete.” Remarked Kopinski. “I believe Maddy to be an immediate impact type of student athlete. She has the drive and experience to run with our top 7 this fall. I expect she will make the transition to college running quickly and be a big part of the programs future. We are fortunate to have such an outstanding student athlete.”
Jensen currently maintains a 4.0 GPA at Greendale High School, and intends on majoring in Chemical Engineering at Illinois Tech.
If you have any suggestions for the athletics department please email them to: athleticsuggestions@iit.edu.
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