Gottschlich and her friends, Christa Davies, Jane Higgins, Debi Martin, and Devonne Daniel, were notified about 10 days before the show that this was going to be the special Halloween episode and that costumes were mandatory.  

"Very quickly I put my thinking cap on and decided that there are five of us going so how are we going to pack for a costume party?," Gottschlich said.  "I knew we were going to be packing tennis shoes, so I thought how about a basketball team. I made a couple phone calls and got hooked up with an equipment manager (UD Equipment Manager Tony Caruso) and he got us everything we needed."

In addition to the official University of Dayton women's basketball jerseys and shorts, the "Senior Flyers" also added their own touches of flair.  They each had Dayton Flyer temporary tattoos, NCAA towels, as well as long blue socks with basketballs on them.  They even had a mini Dayton basketball to complete the look.

The fun was only getting started with these five. When they arrived at the studio, their costumes were an instant hit.

"When we got there, there was a long line of people in costumes, and people started coming up to us, saying how they loved our costumes, and one lady thought we were the actual Flyers," Gottschlich said.   "People were stopping us on the street saying how much they loved the Flyers.  Even the guard letting people into the studio said his son was looking at Dayton, so we like to think we did a little bit of recruiting while we were there."

Once inside the studio itself, the Senior Flyers got a welcome surprise, as they were chosen to sit in the front row for the taping of the show.  On top of that, Rachael Ray's special guest was none other than Ohio native and Food Network personality Guy Fieri.  

Fieri was instantly drawn to the Dayton women, and according to Gottschlich, he was making a fuss over them for the whole show.  By the time it came down to awarding the prizes for top costume, the Senior Flyers were unfortunately not eligible because it was an individual award, and there were five of them.  This fact didn't deter Fieri from rewarding his favorite studio guests.

"Guy really loved us, he really wanted us to win," Gottschlich said.  "He was making such a fuss over us, so after the show was done taping he ran back to Rachael Ray's kitchen, opened a drawer and got out these utensils.  He handed each one of us an individual piece of equipment and said 'here is your prize, you need something.'"

Even after the show, the Flyers were an attraction.  According to Gottschlich, they were stopped on the streets in Manhattan, and were asked for a photo op with a woman and her husband.  It is pretty apparent that the Senior Flyers made quite the impact during their time in the Big Apple.

Looking back on it, even after all of the adventures, this one will always stick out a little more in the mind of Gottschlich.

"We're just a group of ladies that like to have fun, and for nearly 15 years we've taken a trip together," she said. "We always do something fun, but this trip will always be special.  It was lots of inquiries, lots of comments and lots of fun."

To see the Senior Flyers on the Rachael Ray Show, be sure to tune into ABC on Thursday, October 31 at 12 p.m. ET in the Dayton area. Please check your local listings to see when the Rachael Ray Show airs.

Written by Dan Whitaker, UD Athletics Communication Student, Class of 2015