Winter and Spring 2011 were two seasons of record-breaking performances and program-changing decisions in the world of Eastern Michigan University athletics.
It started with the women’s basketball team, who finished with a 24-13 overall record, including a win over Temple University. The Eagles set 16 single-season records over the course of their season. Under fourth-year head Coach AnnMarie Gilbert, the team became the first-ever No.5 seeded team to play in the
Mid-American Conference championship game after a win over No.1 seed University of Toledo.
The season was far from over at the MAC Tournament. After falling one win short of an NCAA Tournament bid, the Eagles were selected to play in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
With a 63-54 victory over the University of Michigan, the Eagles posted their first-ever post-season victory and continued on to the become the first team in program history to make it the sweet sixteen of a national tournament. The Eagles also played in the longest season of program history with a total
of 37 games.
For the men’s basketball team, a 9-22 record was all but something to brag about, and the 2010-11 season is one they would not mind putting behind them. On April 6, EMU announced six-year head Coach Charles Ramsey would be released from his contract, and one month later Rob Murphy was named the new head coach. Since then, the Eagles have hired three assistant coaches and have signed three transfer students.
For both the women’s and men’s swim and dive teams, the regular season was a long road, but they both made their presence known in the MAC Tournament.
The women posted a 2-6 overall record and finished in fourth place in the MAC Tournament. At the conclusion of the tournament, head Coach Buck Smith was named the 2011 MAC Coach of the Year, three Eagles were named First-Team All-MAC while one made Second-Team All-MAC.
For senior diver Lesley Vizurraga the season extended to the NCAA Division I Championship competitions. Vizurraga qualified for both the one and three meter boards after her performance at the NCAA Zone C Championships. In the end, she finished third in the one meter board with a score of 317.45 and 10th place in the three meter with a score of 274.20.
On the men’s side, a 4-4 record sent them into the MAC Tournament looking for their fifth consecutive championship. After three days of competition, the Eagles earned 685 points, good for second place.
Sophomore Jacob Hanson was named to the All-MAC First Team on top of being named 2011 MAC Swimmer of the Year. Along with him two other Eagles were named First Team All-MAC while five made Second Team All-MAC.
The records continued to be broken and awards continued to accumulate in the 2011 Spring Season as the baseball team posted a 37-22 overall record and took a trip to the MAC Tournament semi-finals where they fell 8-0 to Kent State.
Midway through the season, senior Zack Leonard took his 275th hit to pass Derrick Peterson for the top spot in program history. Leonard, along with Robert Wendzicki, both earned First Team All-MAC honors.
Less than one month after their season ended, two of the Eagles have signed professional contracts and will continue their baseball careers. Wendzicki will play with the Lake Erie Crushers and Tim Combs will join the Gateway Grizzlies.
The softball team finished with a 26-18 record, a large turnaround from their 19-30-1 record in the 2010 season. Sophomore Jenna Ignowski earned her first no-hitter of her career on April 2 against Western Michigan University.
After dropping their first two decisions in the MAC Tournament, the Eagles’ season came to an end, but five Eagles earned All-MAC Team honors, three First Team and two Second Team.
The EMU women’s track and field team fell just short of a MAC Championship as they took second place with 116.5 points, with Kent State coming in first with 117.5 points. The Eagles put four on First Team All-MAC along with one making Second Team.
From there, the Eagles took seven to the NCAA East Preliminaries. Of the seven, one made it to the NCAA Finals. Senior pole vault specialist Jessica Hemmingway cleared her first two heights on the first try at the nationals; however, she fell short on the third try and placed 12th overall. Hemmingway’s efforts did earn hear All-American honors.
Men’s track and field also had an All-American this season in Vanier Joseph. When tournament time came around, the Eagles earned a total of 112 points, taking fourth place.
Three Eagles earned First Team All-MAC honors while two earned Second Team. Terefe Ejigu was named the 2011 MAC MVP while Brycen Spratling was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer.
The Eagles placed six in the NCAA East Preliminaries, but none managed to advance to nationals.
The Athletics department as a whole during the 2010-11 season placed students in the categories of First Team All-MAC (33), MAC All-Tournament Team (6), MAC Scholar-Athletes of Week (12), Second Team All-MAC (27), MAC Athlete of the Week (27), Individual MAC Championships (925) and many more.
