Female Scholar Athlete of the Week: Briana Emig, Eastern Michigan (swimming & diving)
Briana Emig (freestyle, Jr., 3.91, communications) clinched a pair of first place finishes in the Eagles’ win over Xavier this past Friday, Jan. 13. She won both the 1,000 and 500 Freestyle events with times of 10:18.58 and 5:08.29 in each respective event. Emig was also the top performer for the Eagles in their double dual-meet with host Cincinnati and the No. 19 ranked Cardinals from Louisville on Saturday, Jan. 14. The junior was the first EMU swimmer to complete the 1,650 Freestyle in second place with her time of 16:58.82, the fifth fastest time for that particular event in program history. Emig would also finish runner up in the 500 Free, completing the distance in 4:58.91. Her time in the 500 is the ninth-best in EMU record books.
The MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honor is presented to a MAC male and female student-athlete who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and performs well during the week’s competition. The winners are selected by a group of the conference’s faculty athletic representatives.
Other Female Nominees:
Bowling Green: Chrissy Steffen (basketball, guard, Jr., 3.54, AYA secondary sducation) averaged 15.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as the Falcons went 2-0 last week to remain undefeated in MAC play. Also averaged 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals, leading the team in the former and tying for the BG lead in the latter. Scored 18 points in the Falcons’ 61-49 win over Ohio on Thursday, adding three rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Scored 12 points in the Falcons’ 20-point win at Buffalo Sunday, with four boards, three helpers and two more steals. Shot 52.6% from the field on the week, and was 7-of-8 (87.5%) from the free-throw line. On the season, is averaging a team-leading 14.9 points along with 4.6 rebounds per game. Also leads the Falcons in both assists (2.2 apg) and steals (2.1 spg). BGSU is 14-3 overall and 4-0 in MAC action, and the Falcons have won 14 of the last 15 games.
Buffalo: Marissa Murphy (swimming & diving, backstroke/freestyle, So., 3.144, psychology) won the 100-yard backstroke (59.00) in UB's 126-93 victory over Niagara as the Bulls returned from a six-week layoff. Murphy also swam the backstroke leg of the victorious 200-yard medley relay (1:51.63). Against Binghamton on Saturday, she won the 100-yard freestyle in 53.59 as the Bulls rolled to a 155-85 win over the Bearcats.
Miami: Maegan O’Connor (swimming & diving, butterfly, Jr., 3.54, exercise science (minor: management and organizations))won two events on Friday vs. Cincinnati in a 184-111 victory over the Bearcats. O’Connor first captured the 200 butterfly in a time of 2:06.32. She then won the 100 fly in 56.51, nearly two seconds ahead of the runner-up. The Fishers, Ind., native also helped Miami’s “B” relay team take third in the 200 medley relay in 1:48.51, while swimming her fly leg in 25.21. She totaled 20 points for Miami, including nine points in each of her victories and two points in the relay.
Ohio: Juli Accurso (indoor track and field, distance, So., 3.87, french) had a strong weekend at Ohio Track and Field’s second indoor meet of the season, the Doug Raymond Invitational. The sophomore finished first in the 1000 meter run, setting a new program mark with a time of 2:56.45. She finished two full seconds ahead of the second-place competitor in the field of 27 runners.
Toledo: Yolanda Richardson (basketball, center, Jr., 3.163, recreation therapy) averaged team-highs in points (13.5 ppg), rebounds (7.0 rpg) and blocked shots (2.0 bpg) in two games last week. Richardson shot a squad-best 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the field and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from the charity stripe in 28.0 minutes per contest. She opened the week with 11 points, a game-high nine boards, three helpers and two rejections vs. Eastern Michigan on Wednesday. Three days later at Northern Illinois, Richardson contributed a squad-best 16 points, five caroms and two blocked shots. The Toledo native has now scored in double figures in three of the four MAC games in 2011-12, shooting a conference-best 68.8 percent (22-of-32) from the floor.
Western Michigan: Iris Campbell (indoor track & field, sprints and jumps, Jr., 3.67, nursing) helped the WMU track & field team win in convincing fashion at the Bowling Green Challenge. She took first place in the 600 meter run with the fourth best time in program history at 1:35.27. She also helped the 4x400 meter relay team to a first place finish with a time of 3:49.97 and won the long jump with a distance of 18 feet 7.25 inches. Campbell also took third place in the 60 meter hurdles to score points for the Broncos in every event she competed in.
Previous Female Winners
Week 1 (Sept. 9) Kristen Lynn, Toledo (soccer)
Week 2 (Sept. 16) Brigit Reder, BSU (soccer)
Week 3 (Sept. 23) Paige Roback, EMU (volleyball)
Week 4 (Sept. 30) Rachel Iaquaniello, EMU (volleyball) and Nicole Gyurgyik, Toledo (soccer)
Week 5 (Oct. 7) Brigit Reder, BSU (soccer)
Week 6 (Oct. 14) Skylar Chew, BSU (soccer) and Bailey Brandon, CMU (soccer)
Week 7 (Oct. 21) Toye Famodu, Ohio (soccer)
Week 8 (Oct. 28) Kristin Hoffman, NIU (Volleyball)
Week 9 (Nov. 4) Carla Johl, KSU (field hockey)
Week 10 (Nov. 10) Maddy Eccleston, BGSU (tennis)
Week 11 (Nov. 17) Cassie Farrell, Miami (volleyball)
Week 12 (Nov. 26) Trisha Krewson, KSU (basketball)
Week 13 (Nov. 30) Juli Accurso, Ohio (cross country)
Week 14 (Dec. 7) Briana Emig, EMU (swimming & diving)
Week 15 (Dec. 14) Tenishia Benson, Ohio (basketball)
Week 16 (Dec. 22) Courtney Osborn, Miami (basketball)
Week 17 (Jan. 11) Emily Pifer, Ohio (track and field)
Week 18 (Jan. 18) Briana Emig, EMU (swimming & diving)