EASTERN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS POINTS of PRIDE Sept
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EASTERN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS POINTS OF PRIDE Sept. 28, 2014 Men’s Cross Country Head Coach: John Goodridge Eastern Michigan University’s men's cross country team completed its most demanding meet of the season thus far, earning a 17th-place finish at the Notre Dame Invitational, Oct. 3. The Eagles went up a formidable field, as all 24 teams competing were regionally ranked while 10 programs sat among the nation's top-30. Junior harrier Willy Fink paced the Green and White once more in his second performance of the season, taking 25th in the Blue Race with a mark of 23:49.70. The meet was won by Mason Ferlic of EMU's neighbor down Washtenaw, who led the No. 19 Michigan Wolverines to a victory with 97 points. The course, though slated as a five-mile race, was cut about 200 meters short due to heavy rainfall affecting the ground prior to the meet. Fink was followed by another Eagle making just his second appearance of the season, as Lahsene Bouchikhi nabbed the only other top-50 finish for the Green and White after taking 39th in 24:02.50. Two weeks will pass before the squad takes on a new field, as they will travel to Terre Haute, Ind. for the Indiana State Pre-National Invitational. The meet will serve as a chance for the Eagles to run the same course that will be used at the 2014 NCAA Championships, hosted by Indiana State University. The first race of the day will start at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18. Women’s Cross Country Head Coach: Sue Parks Eastern Michigan University’s women's cross country team saw tremendous improvement from the previous season at the Notre Dame Invitational, Oct. 3. In 2013, the Green and White took 15th in the unseeded Gold Race. This year, the Eagles competed in the elite-level Blue Race and finished 11th with 309 points. No. 12 New Mexico handily won the overall title with 49 points with a margin of 74 points over North Carolina State, and boasted the overall winner in Charlotte Arter. Arter finished in 16:09.30 before a flurry of runners battled for the next six spots. In the mix with the frontrunners was Victoria Voronko who finished sixth in 16:20.60. Voronko showed immense individual improvement on the course, cutting over one minute off her mark from one season ago. The Eagles will take two weeks off in preparation before another nationally-touted competition. The team will travel back to the Hoosier State for the Indiana State Pre-National Invitational, Oct. 18. As it has done in year's past, the meet will serve as a chance for the Eagles to run the same course that will be used at the 2014 NCAA Championships. The first race of the day will start at 11 a.m. EASTERN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS POINTS OF PRIDE Sept. 28, 2014 Football (1-4, 0-1 MAC) Head Coach: Chris Creighton The Eastern Michigan University football team suffered a 31-6 loss to the University of Akron Saturday afternoon, Oct. 4. The Eagles (1-4, 0-1 MAC) scored the game's first touchdown, but the Zips (3-2, 1-0 MAC) rattled off 31 unanswered points in the first Mid-American Conference game of the season for both teams. In his second start as an Eagle, senior quarterback Rob Bolden orchestrated a 78-yard touchdown drive on EMU's first drive of the game. The Orchard Lake, Mich. native found Tyler Allen in the corner of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown pass that gave Eastern the early 6-0 lead. For the game, Bolden finished with 185 yards through the air on 17-of-29 passing. Allen led the EMU receiving corps with a personal-best five catches for 52 yards that included the 18-yard touchdown reception. Out of the backfield, Darius Jackson caught a pair of passes for 39 yards, including a 32- yarder, for a new career high. Kris Strange chipped in with a 25-yard catch, the longest of his career. The career days continued for the Eastern receivers as Kray'shawn Brewer made the first three receptions of his career for 10 yards. On the ground Bronson Hill and Ryan Brumfield paced the EMU rushing attack with 34 and 25 yards, respectively. Defensively, freshman safety Jason Beck tallied a team-best and career-high 10 tackles. After more than a month on the road, Eastern Michigan returns to "The Factory" for a homecoming contest Saturday, Oct. 11, against the University at Buffalo. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3. The game will be the 87th Homecoming game in school history. Men’s Golf Head Coach: Bruce Cunningham Eastern Michigan takes a week off before returning to action Monday, Oct. 6, at Firestone Intercollegiate. The two-day event concludes Tuesday, Oct. 7, at Firestone Country Club near the University of Akron campus. Women’s Golf Head Coach: Sandy Wagner Eastern Michigan University sophomore Kelsey Murphy finished Saturday's second round of the 2014 Nittany Lion Invitational trailing Penn State's Ariana Coyke by nine stokes. However, by the time all the scores had been recorded Sunday at the PSU Blue Course, the Plymouth, Mich. native had rallied to leapfrog the rest of the field to capture medalist honors with a career-best 218 (77-73-68). Columbia's Monique Ishikawa finished just one stroke back at 219 (74-76-69) followed by Akron's Frida Fougberg and Coyle in third with a 220. Murphy notched five birdies during the round for the lowest 18-hole round of her career. Her blistering score of 68 is tied for the second lowest single-round tally in program history, as she joins Catherine Fortin (2004-08) as the only other Eagle to record a sub-69. Additionally, the individual title is not only the first of her career and also the first by an Eagle since Sarah Johnson finished tied for the top spot at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational, Oct. 30-31, 2012, Wahuawa, Hawai'i. As a team, the Eagles moved up the leaderboard to finish in ninth place with a three-day total of 919 (313-309-297). EMU's final round tally was tied for the fourth lowest team total on the day. Columbia held on to win the tournament with a final round 296 to finish with a 894 (297-301-296) while Yale was just one shot back at 865 (296-303-296). Head Coach Sandy Wagner's crew continues the fall portion of the schedule at the Hoosier Fall Invitational, Oct. 17-19, in Noblesville, Ind. EASTERN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS POINTS OF PRIDE Sept. 28, 2014 Women’s Rowing Head Coach: Kemp Savage The Eastern Michigan University rowing team completed its first race of the season at the Head of the Oklahoma on the Oklahoma River Saturday, Oct. 4. EMU kicked off the season with a strong start, improving from last year's times in both the Varsity 8+ and the Varsity 4+ boats. The Eagles' Varsity 8+ squad finished in 11th overall in the morning race with a season-opening time of 14:42, qualifying for the night sprints. The Varsity 4+ team, led by coxswain Savannah Theise, placed 15th overall, crossing the line at 16:59, while the second Varsity 4+ boat the Green and White put in the water placed 19th overall with a time of 17:22. The Eagles picked up a fifth-place finish in the Varsity 8+ 500m race with a time of 1:50, while the Varsity 4+ team also grabbed a fourth-place finish with a time of 2:05 in the 500m dash under the stadium lights. Eastern Michigan will be back in action Sunday, Oct. 12 when it heads to the Head of the Grand in East Lansing, Mich. Women’s Soccer (6-4-1, 2-2-0 MAC) Head Coach: Scott Hall The Eastern Michigan University soccer team saw its five-game unbeaten streak come to end Friday night, Oct. 3, as the University of Akron claimed a 2-1 decision over the Eagles at FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet Field. The setback was the first Mid-American Conference loss of the season for EMU (6-3-1, 2-1-0 MAC), and the Zips (5-5-1, 1-2-0) improved to .500 on the season. On a night where rain poured down for the entire contest, the Eagles pressured the home team but had a hard time finding the goal. Akron scored once in each half, and Angela Vultaggio recorded EMU's lone goal in the 81st minute. In Eastern's first penalty kick of the season, the senior netted her team-leading sixth goal of 2014.The Green and White nearly doubled up Akron in shots, 23-12, blasting nine shots on goal. On the other side of the pitch, MAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Week Megan McCabe(6-2-1) made two brilliant saves. Playing in a constant downpour for the second-straight game, the Eastern Michigan University soccer team fell 2-0 to the University at Buffalo Sunday afternoon, Oct. 5, at UB Stadium. Against one of the best defensive teams in the Mid-American Conference, the Eagles (6-4-1, 2-2-0 MAC) were held scoreless for just the second time this season. Buffalo (8-2-1, 4-0-0 MAC) scored once in each half as Julia Benati and Katie Roberts recorded goals for the Bulls.