The Ohio Northern football team received votes in the 2017 D3football.compreseason poll, released on Monday.
This marks the 14th time in the last 16 seasons that the Polar Bears have been been mentioned in a national poll.
A year ago, Northern was ranked No. 22 in the preseason D3football.com poll.
The Polar Bears went 5-5 overall, tied for fourth in the OAC with a 5-4 mark in 2016.
Ohio Northern returns 12 starters, seven All-Conference honorees and 34 lettermen from last year's squad and will open its 2017 season on Sept. 2 at Adrian (Mich.) under 14th-year head coach Dean Paul.
(Editor's note: Who will Richanne Mankey be rooting for? She is president of Defiance College. She is an ONU graduate, former ONU vice president, an ONU alumni award recipient.)
The Polar Bears will take on the Yellow Jackets at 7:30 pm to open the season.
From there, Northern will compete in the Mount Saint Joseph Tip-Off Classic where it will take on Washington (Mo.) on Nov. 25 and Case Western Reserve on Nov. 26.
The home portion of the schedule will begin on Nov. 29 as ONU plays host to Alma (Mich.) at the ONU Sports Center at 8 pm.
Ada High School senior, Melina Woods, plays on Elite VBTC 17 Black, which recently won the 44th AAU 17 Premier Junior National Volleyball Championship held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.
Elite claimed the title from among the 104 teams in its division after defeating MVA (Michigan) 17 Black in the championship match in three sets (16-25, 25-18, 15-8). During the four day tournament, Elite also beat teams from Virginia, Texas, California, North Carolina, Colorado, Illinois and Kentucky.
The Ohio Northern women's basketball team is set to open its 2017-18 season on Nov. 17-18 at the North Park Tip-Off Tournament under the guidance of 17th-year head coach Michele Durand.
The Polar Bears will open the season against area-rival Bluffton on Nov. 17 at 7:30 pm at the North Park Tip-Off Tournament.
Northern will also compete on Nov. 18, with the opponent to be announced at a later date.
After traveling to Defiance on Nov. 21 and Ohio Wesleyan on Nov. 25, ONU will open its home schedule as it plays host to Case Western Reserve on Nov. 29 at 5:30 pm.
Ada Icon sports writer, Cort Reynolds, recently had two articles accepted for posting on national sports websites. (www.thesportshaven.com and www.celticblog.com)
The Sports Haven article's content is on how to improve major sports with rule and schedule changes.
The Ada Community Tennis association will hold its 11th annual summer youth tennis program on July 10-12.
Registration forms are available at the Ada Pool, Ada Library, Liberty Bank, and Quest Bank and by e-mailing Scott Wills ([email protected]).
The program is for kids ages 4 and up and no tennis experience is needed. Ages 4-6 will play from 5:30 - 6:15, Ages 7-10 from 5:30 - 6:30, and ages 11 and up from 6:30 - 7:30.
Please contact Scott Wills regarding registration and questions at 419-302-9828 or [email protected]
