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TINA'S TAKE - JUNE 2015
The temperatures are rising here in Las Vegas and with the annual arrival of summer, it's a great time to reflect on the past year for your Rebels. The 2014-15 season at UNLV Athletics brought much success, both academically and athletically, along with some other major accomplishments and milestones.
In the classroom, six of our sports programs attained a perfect APR score and all of our teams have remained eligible for postseason competition based on the academic criteria set by the NCAA. In addition, 83 of our student-athletes were named to the Dean's List for Fall 2014; 107 made the Dean's List for Spring 2015; and 117 student-athletes earned Academic All-Conference honors from the Mountain West and WAC.
Athletically, we are extremely proud of our teams that advanced to NCAA Championship postseason play: men's golf, women's golf, men's soccer and men's swimming. Soccer and swimming also won their respective conference championships. In addition, volleyball had a record-setting season and the Rebels made it a perfect 3-0 in the Governor's Series presented by NV Energy and sponsored by Barrick Gold, with another victory over UNR.
Some of the other major highlights from the past year include the appointment of our new football coaching staff and head coach Tony Sanchez is drawing unprecedented interest in the program as he prepares for the 2015 season. Also, construction is underway for a new, state-of-the-art baseball clubhouse, which was made possible by the Marnell family's incredible generosity, along with other donors.
I would like to again congratulate coaching icon Jim Reitz, who led UNLV's men's & women's swimming and diving program for 35 years, on his recent retirement. And speaking of legendary coaches, we are still mourning the loss of one of the all-time greats in college athletics earlier this year with the passing of Jerry Tarkanian. If you weren't able to attend Tark's Tribute at the Thomas & Mack Center in March, you can watch it here.
If you have been by the Thomas & Mack Center lately, you can see that the building is undergoing renovations, so Pardon Our Dust! In the months ahead, we will be updating you on the improvements that are being made during this major project involving our signature facility.
All of us at UNLV Athletics hope you have a safe and wonderful summer and we look forward to seeing you in the fall.
GO REBELS!
Tina Kunzer-Murphy
UNLV Director of Athletics
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Purchase Your Season Tickets Today
One of the most important ways you can show your support for UNLV Athletics is by becoming a season-ticket holder. As a season-ticket holder, the support you provide is of benefit to student-athletes throughout our entire intercollegiate athletics program, and we greatly appreciate your participation!
Season tickets for Rebel Football and Runnin' Rebel Basketball are on sale now. To buy, please call 702-739-FANS (3267) and for all UNLV Athletics ticket information, click here.
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Men's Basketball Signs Another Highly Ranked Recruiting Class
Last year, head coach Dave Rice and the rest of the Runnin' Rebel coaching staff signed the No. 5 recruiting class in the country. This year, they have brought in another stellar class (ranked No. 10 in the country), which is led by 7-foot center Stephen Zimmerman, who chose to stay home and attend UNLV. Other incoming freshmen include Jalen Poyser and Derrick Jones.
Zimmerman is a McDonald's High School All-American and ranked as the 10th-best player in the class of 2015, Poyser was the top-rated player in Canada, and Jones is the nation's top dunker and ranked as the 27th-best player in the class. Other newcomers to the 2015-16 roster include Ike Nwamu, a senior transfer and all-conference player from Mercer, and Tyrell Bellot-Green, a JC transfer from Hill College in Texas. Both Nwamu and Bellot-Green are eligible to play this season.
In addition to the young core of returning players from last season, the Runnin' Rebels are looking forward to redshirts Ben Carter and Jerome Seagears being eligible to play this coming year.
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#TheNewEra Of UNLV Football Is Underway!
There is a different buzz around the football program under head coach Tony Sanchez. The full campaign for the 2015 Rebel Football season hasn't been launched, but several elements have including the hashtag #TheNewEra and this recent promotional video. It's tough not to get fired up about this season after watching it and we think you will agree.
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Summer Camps In Session
A number of youth summer camps are in full swing at UNLV, but there are plenty still to come. Be sure to check out the camps page at UNLVRebels.com, which has links to all the information for those interested in participating.
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Follow The Rebels
Get all of the up-to-the-minute information, photos, video and more by following UNLV Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and on the official athletics website UNLVRebels.com.
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Other News & Notes
Recent graduate Dana Finkelstein, who left UNLV as the winningest women's golfer in school history, recently won her first professional tournament. She also is this year's UNLV nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year ... UNLV Athletics would like to send congratulations and good luck wishes to the Hodge Family as they choose to serve this great nation while raising wonderful kids. All Rebels can be proud of former UNLV football leader Sidney Hodge and his wife, Natiyah. Read about their story here in the Las Vegas Review-Journal ... Former Rebel women's soccer defensive standout Jenny Ruiz (now Ruiz-Williams) became the first player from UNLV to appear in a Women's World Cup Contest this month. Ruiz played for Mexico and you can read about her here ... UNLV also would like to wish former Runnin' Rebels Rashad Vaughn and Christian Wood the best of luck in today's NBA Draft, which will be televised live on ESPN starting at 4 p.m.
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