Tuesday Tidbits

Saturday, the EMU wrestling team competed in the Michigan State Open. No EMU wrestlers placed in the open division, but in the freshman/sophomore division, Vincent Pizzuto finished fifth in the 125-pound class and Justin Melick placed third in the 149-pound class. EMU will be right back in East Lansing this Friday, to compete against Michigan State in the Eagles’ first dual event of the year.

If the photos here weren’t enough for you, Kenneth Bailey has larger photosets from several recent games on his Michigan Exposures blog:

• Men’s basketball v Illinois-Chicago pre-game
• Men’s basketball v Illinois-Chicago game
• Men’s basketball v Illinois-Chicago post-game
• Football v Buffalo pre-game
• Football v Buffalo bald eagle pre-game
• Football v Buffalo game
• Football v Buffalo post-game 

Speaking of football, there have been several other items of interest this week. Our friends at the University at Buffalo blog Bull Run also recapped the game, and I think it’s always worth reading what the opposing team’s fans think. The Eastern Echo bemoans low student attendance numbers but offers no constructive ideas (“Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the football games will attract any more people than what they have been getting and even though the Eagles have a decent record, that fact doesn’t interest people enough to watch the football games.”) With eight tackles (two solo) and two sacks (one solo), EMU senior defensive lineman Brad Ohrman was named the MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week. For the season, Ohrman is EMU’s sack leader, with 4.5, and he also has an interception, a fumble recovery, and 43 tackles.

This is not really an EMU story, although it does now involve the Eagles, but it’s one that I’ve been following closely. While taking the field at Toledo two weeks ago, Northern Illinois freshman linebacker Jamaal Bass collided with a clarinet player in the Rocket Marching Band — apparently intentionally, because he changed direction and jumped into the clarinetist. Bass was initially suspended for one game (at Bowling Green), but after further investigation the suspension was extended to cover the two remaining regular season games, against Ball State and EMU.

Thursday night, EMU went to Muncie and beat Ball State 3-1, for the second time this year, but Saturday night the Eagles fell in five sets to Toledo. EMU ends the regular season at 21-10, and 9-7 in the MAC, good for fifth place. That means they open the MAC Tournament this Friday, in Geneva, Ohio (near the northeastern corner), against the fourth-place team, which is…Ball State. Since EMU has already beaten the Cardinals twice this year, both 3-1, I have to think the Eagles will have a good shot to advance to Saturday’s semifinal round, where they would face the winner of the Northern Illinois-Bowling Green match.

EMU’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams both lost to Oakland University on Saturday. For the men, it was the second straight loss to the Grizzlies, while the EMU women have now lost to Oakland four years in a row. Both EMU teams will now take a few weeks off from competition, heading into the EMU Invitational on December 2. Last week the Eastern Echo ran a profile on Briana Emig, who has qualified for the US Olympic trials as a freestyle distance swimmer, and they’ve also run a profile on Michele Gingher.

The Grand Rapids Press has a piece about Rob Murphy’s decision to apply for EMU’s men’s basketball head coach position. (“I had my reservations and hesitations, but it was such a perfect fit. I had to put my all into it.”) The Eastern Echo has a profile on J.R. Sims.