Folcik Hired As Assistant Coach At Gannon

Big Rapids, Mich. - Former Ferris State University women's basketball All-American Rachel Folcik, who served as a student assistant coach for the Bulldogs the past two seasons, has officially been hired as the new assistant coach at Gannon University located in Erie, Pa.

Folcik will replace Meredith Baugher, who resigned June 7 to accept an assistant position at NCAA Division I Evansville.  The announcement was made by GU head coach Cleve Wright.

Gannon, which formerly was a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) during Folcik's playing career at FSU, finished the 2010-11 season with a 13-13 overall record and 5-9 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) mark. The Lady Knights have recorded a .500 record or better in five consecutive seasons and 11 of the last 13 overall.  They reached the NCAA-II Final Four in 2009-10 under Wright's direction.

"We are very happy to have Rachel join our coaching staff," said Wright. "She was a great post player for Ferris State and one of the best in the GLIAC during her playing days. She is a relentless worker and I have no doubt she will be an excellent coach here at Gannon."

As a student assistant the past two years with the Bulldogs under head coach Tracey Dorow, Folcik provided assistance with on-court instruction, working primarily with the post players. In addition to being Ferris State's camp director, she was involved in all aspects of recruiting and helped recruit several student-athletes ranked in the Michigan Girls Basketball Report (MGBR) Top 25. Her duties also included team travel arrangements, visiting team accommodations, scouting reports and film breakdown.

Dorow's sister, Andrea Bloodworth, formerly served as an assistant coach at Gannon under Wright before moving onto the Division I level as an assistant coach.

Folcik initially spent one season as a professional player in Portugal following her collegiate playing career. She led Clube Desportivo da Povoa in scoring and rebounding while averaging 40 minutes per game during the 2008-09 season. Her performance helped secure one of 12 spots in the league's All-Star Game.

A 2007-08 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team recipient, Folcik twice picked up All-America Honorable Mention honors on the hardwood for the Bulldogs and was named to both the NCAA Division II State Farm Coaches' and Women's Division II Basketball Bulletin Honorable Mention All-America Teams following the 2007-08 campaign. She was also both a Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region First Team selection along with being named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Region 4 First Team covering the Great Lakes Region as a senior. Folcik was honored as an All-GLIAC North Division First Team pick and a GLIAC North Division All-Defensive Team selection for the second-straight year in her final campaign.

Folcik concluded her FSU career listed second in school history with 1,705 career points and was only 16 shy of tying Lucy DeMartin's school-record total of 1,721 points at FSU. The 6-1 Folcik posted a school-record 677 career made field goals and is listed second with 793 rebounds all-time at Ferris State. In 2007-08, Folcik was the squad's leading scorer (19.5 ppg) and rebounder (8.3 rpg) despite missing the last two regular-season games with an injury. She reached double-figure scoring in 25 of her 27 contests while posting 12 double-double (points & rebounds) efforts. The 2006-07 NCAA Division II Kodak/Women's Basketball Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-American was named to the All-Great Lakes Region First Team in both of her final two collegiate campaigns.

Folcik finished her final season ranked second in the GLIAC in scoring (19.5 ppg.) along with tied for second in free throw percentage (.833) and third in rebounding (8.3 rpg.). She totaled 81 double-figure scoring games in 113 career contests as a Bulldog player. Also, Folcik scored 20 points or more 12 times in 2007-08 with three games of 30 points or more.

As a junior in 2006-07, Folcik led the Bulldogs to a school-record 23 wins (23-9) and the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen. Folcik's 241 made field goals and 602 total points that season were both school single-season marks while her 261 rebounds was the second-highest seasonal figure in FSU history. The two-time team captain, who averaged a team-best 18.8 points per game in 2006-07, scored in double-figures 27 times as a junior and notched 13 double-double (points & rebounds) performances. Folcik also averaged a squad-best 8.2 rebounds per game in 2006-07. She finished the year listed second overall in scoring and fifth in rebounds among the GLIAC's overall leaders while ranking second in both field goal (.555) and free throw (.860) percentage.