EMU Earns First-Ever Jacoby Trophy as MAC's Top Women's Program

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CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) — Eastern Michigan University was awarded with the Jacoby Trophy as the top women's athletic program in the Mid-American Conference at the MAC Honors Dinner in Cleveland Wednesday night, May 27. The Eagles earned the honor for the first time in the 33-year history of this prestigious award. EMU's previous best finish was third in the 1990-91, 2001-02, 2010-11 and 2013-14 seasons.

Central Michigan University won the Reese Trophy in men's competition with Eastern Michigan taking sixth.

For the 2014-15 academic year, EMU women's sports programs won a MAC championship in women's indoor track & field. The Eagles also claimed a share of its second consecutive MAC West Division crown in women's soccer and came in second-place in both cross country, golf, swimming & diving and outdoor track & field.

"This is a tremendous milestone for our program after having won the Cartwright Award last year for the department's overall excellence," said EMU Vice President and Director of Athletics Heather Lyke. "This award is a tribute to the quality of coaches we have teaching our student-athletes and the type of students they recruit to Eastern Michigan to compete for our teams. Our women's programs have truly earned their recognition as the best in the Mid-American Conference. We are extremely proud of their work ethic and commitment to excellence in all that they do and congratulate them for this historic achievement."

The Green and White won the award thanks to outstanding performances by its perennially strong programs, as well as solid showings from its steadily improving programs.

EMU claimed the all-sports title with an average score of 9.41. The Eagles were the only team to finish with a score above 9.0 and topped the runner-up by almost a full point. Points are awarded based on each school's finish with the overall total divided by the number of sports sponsored by each school.

In indoor track, EMU's MAC championship was the program's fourth title. The Eagles won an impressive four events at the league meet as Head Coach Sue Parks earned Coach of the Year honors while freshman Jordann McDermitt was honored with the Most Outstanding Track Performance. In women's soccer, Eastern Michigan captured back-to-back MAC West Division titles for the first time in school history.

The Eagles earned their best finish in the pool since the 2006-07 season with the runner-up showing, while the golf team again took second-place with its league-most seventh runner-up finish in the past 13 seasons. Women's basketball finished with a 24-13 record (11-7 MAC) and earned an appearance in the Postseason WNIT Tournament, advancing to the "Sweet 16."

Senior Victoria Voronko claimed the MAC cross country champion title as the team posted its best conference finish since the 1991 season. With the victory, Voronko earned First Team All-MAC honors to become just the second Eagle to accomplish the feat.

In outdoor track and field, the Eagles finished with a runner-up finish after amassing 128.50 points for the best team finish since 2011. EMU volleyball finished tied for third in the West Division for its first top-three showing since the 2007 campaign. In gymnastics, first-year Head Coach Jay Santos led the Green and White to a 13-5 overall record en route to breaking the 195-point barrier on seven different occasions this season, earning Santos MAC Coach of the Year accolades.

Rounding EMU's 11 MAC sponsored sports, the tennis team tied for fourth in the MAC standings en route to advancing to the tournament semifinals. Softball posted a five-game improvement in the win column from last year while setting the all-time home run record with 41.

The women's trophy is named for former MAC Commissioner Fred Jacoby. Jacoby was the MAC Commissioner from 1971-82 and is credited with incorporating women's athletics into the conference structure.

On the men's side, EMU placed sixth in the Reese Trophy standings with an average of 7.16. The cross country, swimming & diving and outdoor track & field programs each posted MAC championship titles to lead the Eagles' effort. Meanwhile, the men's indoor track & field team claimed runner-up honors with golf collecting third for its best showing since 2011-12.

The men's trophy is named for former MAC Commissioner David E. Reese. Reese was the first-ever MAC Commissioner and served the conference from its inception in 1946 until 1964.

In total, EMU finished the year tied for the most MAC championships won as Central Michigan, Kent State University and the University of Akron each also posted four titles.

2014-15 Jacoby Trophy Standings
   1.   Eastern Michigan   9.41
   2.   Kent State   8.43
   3.   Miami   8.05
   4.   Western Michigan   7.95
   5.   Northern Illinois   7.65
   6.   Central Michigan   7.05
   7.   Buffalo   6.94
   8.   Akron   6.90
   9.   Toledo   6.30
   10.   Ohio   6.15
   11.   Ball State   5.57
   12.    Bowling Green   4.53

2014-15 Reese Trophy Standings
   1.   Central Michigan   8.33
   2.   Western Michigan   8.10
   3.   Akron   7.93
   4.   Toledo   7.83
   5.   Kent State   7.54
   6.   Eastern Michigan   7.16
   7.   Northern Illinois   6.78
   8.   Bowling Green   6.75
   9.   Ohio   6.00
   10.   Buffalo   5.58
   11.   Miami   5.21
   12.   Ball State   4.75

Eastern Michigan Athletics

EMU Earns First-Ever Jacoby Trophy as MAC's Top Women's Program

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