Thursday, August 18
Women's Basketball
Cincinnati State names Harris women's basketball coach
After leading the Cincinnati State Technical & Community College Lady Surge to the NJCAA national tournament last season, Theresa Check has decided to step down from coaching and focus on her duties as Director of Athletics.
Cincinnati State President Dr. O'dell M. Owens has named associate head coach Ron Harris to lead the women's basketball program on an interim basis for the 2011-12 season.
Harris has been associated with the Cincinnati State program since 2006, and has served as Check's assistant and director of recruiting since her arrival at the college in 2008. Together, Check and Harris led the Lady Surge to back-to-back Ohio Community College Athletic Conference championships in 2009 and 2010 and the National Junior College Athletic Association Region XII championship and the national tournament in the 2010-11 season.
"We were fortunate to get Theresa to come out of retirement to coach at Cincinnati State for as long as she did," Dr. Owens said. "I'm glad she's going to be here to continue our winning traditions in our athletic program. And I'm delighted that we have someone of Ron's caliber ready and willing to step up and lead the women's basketball program this year.''
Check came to Cincinnati State after a 17-year run as head coach at Central State University, where she compiled a 387-109 record as head coach before stepping down to concentrate on her duties as athletic director there. At Cincinnati State, she has helped build a program that in the past two years has seen four of its five teams play their way into national championship tournaments. This year, for the third consecutive year, the Cincinnati State athletic program was named winner of the OCCAC All-Sport Award.
Harris, for his part, is a familiar presence on the women's basketball circuit in Greater Cincinnati.
Within the AAU orbit, Harris coached the U-16 Cincinnati Royals from 2001 to 2005, U-17 Cincinnati Knights from 2005 to 2009 and is currently coaching the U-16 A-Game Athletes. In his AAU coaching career, Harris has an overall record of 147-53 - with 80 percent of his players going on to play in college.
Since 2006 Harris has been an assistant coach and director of recruiting for the Cincinnati State women's program. During his tenure at the college, the Lady Surge have gone 107-46 overall, with a conference record of 53-13. He was promoted to associate head coach at the start of the 2010-11 season.
"Coach Harris was always there for anything we needed as a program," said Check. "His dedication and hard work have been one of the main reasons our teams have had such great success over the years."
During his time at Cincinnati State, Harris has developed seven All-Region players, seventeen All-Conference Players, three OCCAC Players of the Year, two NJCAA All-Americans and two WBCA All-Americans. Nine players from the women's program have gone on to play at NCAA or NAIA institutions since Harris's arrival.
A 14-year military veteran who retired with the rank of sergeant, Harris earned associate degrees in business management and marketing management from Cincinnati State in 2008. He continued his education at Tiffin University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in organizational management in the spring of 2011. Harris earned cum laude status in his pursuit of all three of his academic degrees.
Harris is a member of the Women's Basketball Coaching Association, Phi Theta Kappa and Cincinnati State's Black Male Initiative. He resides in Cincinnati with his wife Paulette.
Tuesday, August 16
Women's Soccer
Cincinnati State ranked 13th in the NJCAA pre-season soccer poll
The Cincinnati State Technical & Community College women's soccer team is ranked 13th in the NJCAA Division I women's pre-season soccer poll. The Surge finished last season 13-3-0 and were runner-up in Region XII. This year there are six teams in the Region competeing in women's soccer and the first NJCAA Region XII Women's Soccer Tournament will be held October 29th and 30th at Delta College.
Friday, August 12
Women's Soccer
Schoolcraft ranked 10th in NSCAA pre-season poll
The Schoolcraft College women's soccer team is ranked 10th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's pre-season poll. The Ocelots finished last season with a 17-4-1 record.
Schoolcraft College finished 4th in the National last season after winning their third straight Region XII women's soccer title. This fall the Ocelots will compete with Jackson Community College, Delta College and Kellogg Community College for the first ever MCCAA Women's Soccer Championship.
Wednesday, August 3
Women's Volleyball
Owens CC is ranked eight in pre-season volleyball poll
The Owens Community College women's volleyball team, fresh off last year's National Tournament apperances is ranked eighth in the NJCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Pre-Season poll. The Express finished last season with a 42-9 overall record and were the OCCAC and NJCAA District E Champions. Grand Rapids Community College is ranked 15th in the poll. The Raiders, who also qualified for Nationals last year, finished with a 38-3 overall record and were MCCAA and NJCAA District F Champions. Last year's MCCAA Eastern Conference Champions Oakland Community College is ranked 19th in the pre-season poll. The Raiders finished with a 35-7 record and were runner up to Owens CC in the District E Tournament. Muskegon Community College is in the others receiving votes category in the poll. The Jayhawks were 35-9 overall last season. Owens Community College will host the NJCAA Division II Nationals on November 17-19 at the Toledo, OH campus.
Monday, August 1
Men's Soccer
Cincinnati State ranked second in pre-season soccer poll
The Cincinnati State Technical & Community College Men's Soccer team is ranked second in this year's NJCAA Division I Men's Pre-Season Soccer poll. The Surge finished second in the nation last season with a 22-3-0 record. Schoolcraft College is ranked 10th in the pre-season poll. The Ocelots finished runner up in the NJCAA Region XII soccer tournament and finished with a 17-4-1 record. The Region XII soccer champion will be crowned on October 30th at Owens Community College.