EMU Lacrosse opens season with a clash against Notre Dame
The Eastern Michigan University women's lacrosse team began their second official season with a matchup against the No. 7 nationally ranked University of Notre Dame on Friday, Feb. 9, in South Bend, Ind., as the Eagles fell to the Fighting Irish, 21-6.
The reigning 2023 Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year Mackenzie Blackwell would pick up right where she left off as she scored two goals for the Eagles while redshirt freshman Kelsea Dague made some noise in her debut for EMU as she finished the match with two goals and two assists.
Dague wasn't the only one making their collegiate debut for the green-and-white as four true freshmen saw the field. Karly Low, Roya Khaleeli, and Kendall Nagle were the others to see action.
It marked the first-ever meeting between the two while it was also the first time EMU has faced an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent.
The Eagles are now 0-2 in season-opening games after last year's 18-4 loss to Niagara in EMU's inaugural game.
It's a little mix of good and bad as the Eagles set a new season-opener record for goals scored against Notre Dame with six, meanwhile the 21 goals given up to the Fighting Irish are the most points surrendered in the programs new history.
Next up, the Eagles will travel to Pittsburgh, Pa., for a matchup against Duquesne University on Thursday, Feb. 15, at 3 p.m.
EMU Track and Field's Paige Marchant sets new women's mile record to conclude three-meet weekend
The Eastern Michigan University track and field program had a busy weekend as the teams competed in three different meets on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 9-10. The Eagles would send athletes to Fayettevilleville, Ark., for the Tyson Invitational hosted by the University of Arkansas, Nashville, Tenn., for the Music City Challenge hosted by Vanderbilt University, and to Boston, Mass., for the David Hemery Valentine Invite hosted by Boston University.
EMU freshman distance runner Paige Marchant would have herself a career day as her performance in the mile run at the David Hemery Valentine Invite marked the fastest mile in EMU women's track and field history. Marchant clocked a 4:38.91 mile time, which broke a Canadian under-20 time that has stood since 2003, stands as the second fastest time in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) this season, and also marked her fourth program top-10 finish this year.
11 different Eagles notched personal-best records on Friday, with the women capturing seven and the men four. The Eagles also had three performances finish inside the program top-10 to go along with two first-place finishes and five top-three finishes.
On Saturday, the Eagles had 10 runners notch personal-best records with two top-three finishes and one program top-10 mark.
EMU men's basketball falls to UL-Monroe in MAC-SBC Challenge matchup
The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team took part in the second leg of the inaugural Mid-American Conference-Sun Belt Conference Challenge as they faced off against the University of Louisiana at Monroe where they fell to the Warhawks, 82-76.
Junior guard Tyson Acuff continued his streak of 10+ points as the Detroit native netted a game-high 29 points on seven made three-pointers, while freshman Arne Osojnik finished with a career-high 22 points.
Acuff's 26 consecutive games scoring at least 10 points are the most by an EMU player since 2000. He also notched his 11th game with at least 23 points as he stands as one of seven players in the nation with 11 games of 23-plus points.
Junior forward Jalin Billingsley chipped in 10 points and hauled in a career-high nine rebounds for the Eagles as he was just one rebound shy of his first career double-double.
With the loss, EMU moved to a 9-15 overall record on the season while UL-Monroe improved to 9-14 overall. Saturday's matchup marked the third meeting between the two as EMU trails the all-time series, 3-0.
Next up, the Eagles will return to Ypsilanti, Mich., on Saturday, Feb. 17, as they host Bowling Green State University inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. Tipoff will be at 3:30 p.m., and it will follow the women's game that is scheduled for 1 p.m.
