Press Release

JUNE 8, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: RUDY YOVICH. SID
260-481-6646

IPFW Women’s Volleyball Announces 2004 Newcomers

Fort Wayne, IN- The IPFW Women’s Volleyball program announces its 2004 list of newcomers.

The Mastodons graduated three seniors (Kirsta Solberg, Nicole Ray, and Sarah Leffers) after they rolled to stellar 22-10 record and ranked 79th of 311 NCAA Division I volleyball programs in 2003. The newcomers include incoming freshmen Peachy Jankowski (5-8/Libero/Fraser, Mich.), Cynara Martins (5-10/Outside Hitter/Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and Jenny Cole (5-10/Outside Hitter/Fort Wayne, Ind.) and transfer Erika Leitzke (5-7/Setter/HustiSford, Wisc.).

Peachy Jankowski (5-8/Libero/Fraser, Mich.)
The starting opposite for the State of Michigan Class A champion Fraser High School, Peachy signed a National Letter of Intent and will play libero for the Mastodons. She earned First Team All-State and All-Academic recognition. She ranks among the top three percent of her graduating class and plans to major in either Foreign Language or Business. Jankowski is playing for Fraser Volleyball Club and is the daughter of Teresa & Ken Jankowski.

“Peachy will bring excellent ball-control and a good volleyball IQ to our team,” IPFW head coach Kelley Hartley Hutton said. “For that reason she has an outstanding chance of seeing the floor. And, since she’s a good jump server too, I am tickled that the libero will be permitted to serve next year.”

Cynara Martins (5-10/Outside Hitter/Belo Horizonte, Brazil)
Martins played for Sparta Volleyball Club in Brazil, not coincidentally the same Club that current IPFW-stand out junior middle hitter Fabiana Souza played for. Martins graduated from Centro Educational Mineiro (High School) and intends to major in Engineering. She is the daughter of Altamiro and Maria Imaculada Martins.

“Like most of the South American players we see, Cynara has excellent ball control and incredible court vision. She’ll be a solid outside for us because she will score points using a full repertoire of shots. Academically, she has already showed us that she is motivated and serious about earning a degree from IPFW,” Hartley Hutton stated.

Erika Leitzke (5-7/Setter/Hustisford, Wisc.)
Leitzke is a transfer from Troy State where she was the starting setter and owns the Trojan record for assists per game. She led the team with 1,179 assists in 2003, was first on the team in service aces (37), and third on the team in digs (248). She is an Elementary Education major and the daughter of Lowell and Ruth Leitzke.

“Erika is one of those student-athletes we all want on our team,” coach Hartley Hutton said. “I believe that her maturity and work ethic will be contagious, and IPFW is fortunate that she wanted to get a little closer to home to finish her collegiate career. IPFW Volleyball (men’s and women’s) has a rich history of outstanding setters and I know that was something she considered.”

Jenny Cole (5-10/Outside Hitter/Fort Wayne, Ind.)
Cole earned First-Team All SAC for Northrop High School and was named All Area and to the North/South All-Star match. She was voted Northrop’s Offensive Player of the Year and received the team’s Defense Award. Recently, Jenny helped the Fort Wayne Volleyball Club (Coached by IPFW Assistant Volleyball Coach Steve Florio) qualify for Junior Nationals, to be held in Texas at the end of June.

“Jenny’s been to IPFW camps and matches for years…. she loves IPFW Volleyball and we love that she wants to be on our team. Her defensive spirit and skills could help her earn court time this fall”

~Dons~