DePaul Blue Demons News

After supporting the Blue Demons during their years at DePaul, the graduating seniors have an opportunity to purchase full season tickets at a reduced Young Alumni rate this week and throughout the summer. Each $50 deposit for 2010-11 Young Alumni basketball season tickets will enter a drawing for a Cubs rooftop later this summer.

DePaul cross country and track and field head coach Pat Savage announced the addition of two student-athletes to 2010-11 roster today, as Chris Miedema and Rebecca Adamcheck both signed a National Letter of Intent. The pair joins six others members of the Blue Demon's incoming class that heads to Lincoln Park at the end of the summer.

The best and the brightest gathered at the Rosemont Convention Center Friday night to celebrate another memorable season in the annals of DePaul athletics. Nearly 450 student-athletes, coaches, staff members and DePaul supporters attended the 2009-10 Athletics Awards Banquet commemorating eye-opening performances and accomplishments.

For the second season in a row, DePaul men's track and field standout Brad Millar was named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District team as announced by CoSIDA. As a member of the 10-athlete team for District 5, he is eligible for the Academic All-America recognition.

A California connection and a link to Florida have resulted in the enhancement of DePaul's soccer programs. Tina Estrada has been named a full-time assistant coach with the women's program after following DePaul coach Erin Chastain from Santa Clara. Hobie Hare has been named a full-time men's assistant coach after coming to DePaul from Florida Gulf Coast.

The DePaul women's basketball team celebrated the 2009-10 season at the team's annual banquet on Tuesday evening. Juniors Sam Quigley and Felicia Chester shared the team's Most Valuable Player award as the program celebrated its eighth straight and program's 15th overall NCAA Championship appearance.

The DePaul men's and women's track and field team ended its run on the road to the NCAA Championships today in the preliminary rounds hosted by the University of Texas. A program-best three Blue Demons will continue on to the finals in Eugene, Ore. on June 9-12.

The smile on his face let you know how Eugene Lenti was feeling about his softball team's eight-game winning streak. "I'm just trying to stay out of the way," Lenti said as his Blue Demons prepared for their 5 p.m. Tuesday showdown against Missouri Valley Conference leader Illinois State in Normal.

Two of the key components in DePaul's eight-game winning streak were honored by the BIG EAST Conference on Monday. lt;br />Freshman Bree Brown was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week after going 3-0 with a 1.23 earned-run average. Sophomore third baseman Lynsey Ciezki was selected for the Honor Roll after batting .600 last week with five RBI and four runs.

DePaul Athletics is celebrating the legacy of letterwinners with the creation of the Letterwinners Plaza and Champions Courtyard west of Cacciatore Stadium.

The No. 30 DePaul women's tennis team took home the BIG EAST Conference second place trophy after falling to No. 5 Notre lt;br />Dame, 4-0 on Sunday at Notre Dame's Ecks Tennis Pavilion. Sunday's showdown was a rematch of the 2009 Championship lt;br />which also saw the Irish claim the BIG EAST's automatic NCAA berth while it will make tournament for the 17th time.

The season-high winning streak is at eight---and counting. Behind superb pitching, terrific defense and another offensive outburst, DePaul cruised past USF 8-0 in six innings Sunday to sweep the three-game, BIG EAST Conference series.

The DePaul men's tennis team came up just short in its upset bid over No. 64 William and Mary on Sunday at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The Tribe topped the Blue Demons 4-3 to improve to 17-9 while DePaul slips to 7-16. The Blue Demons return to the Lakeshore Athletic Club on April 17 and take on rival Marquette at 2 p.m.

The No. 26 DePaul women's tennis won its sixth consecutive match and fourth straight BIG EAST Conference match with a dominating 7-0 win over Rutgers at Marquette's Helfaer Tennis Stadium on Sunday. The Blue Demons head to South Bend next weekend for a neutral site match with Marquette on April 16 and have a rematch with No. 6 Notre Dame on April 17.

The Blue Demons travel to Jonesboro, Ark. for the Red Wolf Classic hosted by Arkansas State University. The 14th annual edition of the tournament is set for April 12-13 at RidgePointe Country Club.

When none of DePaul's coaches came to pre-game batting practice on Sunday, Alex Morocco knew exactly what that meant. "The message was clear: 'If you're not going to listen to us, figure it out for yourselves.'" Morocco said. lt;br />All that figuring resulted in some big, crooked numbers as the Blue Demons drilled Villanova 11-2 in five innings at Cacciatore Stadium.

The DePaul men's and women's track and field teams concluded this weekend's action, competing in both the Sun Angel Track lt;br />Classic and the Chicagoland Championships. While James Waller picked up his first-ever BIG EAST Conference Championship lt;br />qualifying mark in Chicago, Terah Cheatham, Melissa Fraser, Alanna Kovacs, Tonderai Tomu, Joe Strawder and Tim Nedow lt;br />recorded top-five finishes in Arizona.

Michael Furci moved into the top 10 with a one-over 72 on Tuesday to lead DePaul to a tie for fifth at the C&F Bank Intercollegiate. Furci was followed by Greg Doherty and Ben Westley in a group at 24th place.

The DePaul men's tennis team heads to Florida for three spring break duals this week. The Blue Demons begin their week in DeLand Florida at No. 70 Stetson on Tuesday, and then play BIG EAST Conference foe No. 72 USF on Wednesday in Tampa before they close out the week at No. 75 Central Florida on Saturday.

Michael Furci carded a 73 and Ben Westley fired a 74 to lead DePaul in the first round of the C&F Bank Intercollegiate in Williamsburg, Va. The final 18 holes will be played on Tuesday morning at the Kingsmill Golf Resort.