HR0751 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, When the 2005 season concluded, the girls volleyball team of Breese Mater Dei High School, the Lady Knights, again earned their way into the upper echelon of Illinois girls volleyball teams; and

WHEREAS, The Lady Knights' accomplishments in volleyball were achieved by hard work, in practices and in games, by team members from each class and in each playing position; specifically, the squad included: two seniors, Amanda Rickhoff (MH) and Whitney Voss (L), the team captains; three juniors, Larissa Huels (S), Ellen Huelsmann (L), and Becca Lamb (OH); seven sophomores, Katie Becker (OH), Megan Gebke (L), Jessica Hemann (MH), Erin Kasson (OH), Jamie Loepker (OH), Kayla Schroeder (OH), and Lindsay Winkeler (S); and three freshman, Cortney Crocker (L), Morgan Dall (MH), and Laura Thole (OH); and

WHEREAS, In his twenty-ninth year as the Breese Mater Dei girls volleyball coach, Fred Rakers notched another winning season in 2005 with a record of 35 wins and only 5 loses, thereby improving his overall coaching record at Breese Mater Dei to 846 wins, 157 losses, and 5 ties, for an overall winning percentage of .839 in the 1008 games of the Lady Knights that he coached; and

WHEREAS, In guiding the team to another excellent season, Coach Rakers was joined on the bench by Assistant Coach Erin Kopec; and

WHEREAS, Throughout the season, the Lady Knights were heartened, home and away, by support from their loyal fans; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois High School Association's (IHSA) Class AA Girls Volleyball Tournament began with teams from 284 high schools across Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The Lady Knights steadily advanced in the tournament and garnered a Regional title at Marion, a Sectional title at Salem, and a Super-Sectional title at O'Fallon; and

WHEREAS, On November 11-12, 2005, the IHSA held the State Final Tournament in Class AA Girls Volleyball in the Redbird Arena at Illinois State University; and

WHEREAS, In the quarterfinal round of the IHSA tournament, the Lady Knights valiantly battled the Joliet Catholic Academy Angels for the right to advance to the semi-final round, but the Lady Knights, after outlasting Joliet Catholic Academy by a score of 27-25 in the first game, fell to the Angels in the next two games; and

WHEREAS, The Mater Dei Lady Knights concluded another excellent season with a record of 35 wins and only 5 losses; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the Lady Knights from Breese Mater Dei High School on their impressive volleyball season and participation in the quarter-final round of the IHSA Class AA Girls Volleyball Tournament; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Lady Knights Head Coach Fred Rikers as an expression of our esteem.