Oct. 5-6: Women’s golf at Oklahoma Intercollegiate Tournament
Tale: The Eagles will travel to Wichita, Kansas for their third tournament of the season. Hosted by the University of Oklahoma, the tournament will feature teams from across the nation including MAC rival, University of Toledo. Eastern Michigan will also get another shot at Texas A&M, a team nationally ranked within the top five. The Aggies placed third at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic shooting a -32 while the Eagles placed sixth shooting a program record 21 under 843. With Karen Tsuru and Savannah De Bock leading the way the Eagles will be up against some stiff competition that they most likely will see further down the line as the season progresses. This tournament will be another opportunity to get lower scores and once more climb the rankings, with the 2026/27 national rankings first being released later in October.
Tip: The Wichita Country Club features many holes that have doglegs due to the course moving in a circular motion. Golfers should shape tee shots carefully to avoid being blocked out on their approach. During the practice round, the golfers need to identify the dangers that face them on each hole: particularly Par-5s and Par-3s which feature bunkers or water and sometimes both. The team will need to be on their A-game to ensure a successful tournament.
Oct. 5-6: Men’s golf at Nemacolin Collegiate
Tale: Both golf teams are in action on Monday and Tuesday with the Men’s team headed Southeast instead of Southwest. Eastern Michigan will head to Farmington, Pennsylvania for the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational, hosted by West Virginia University. This will be another opportunity for the squad to climb up the rankings before the first National Scoreboard rankings are released during mid-October. In the previous tournament the Eagles were led by Arsit Areephun the fifth year transfer student who tied for third shooting a 7 under 209. This time Areephun will be up against Delaware, his previous team before transferring. With help from Joshua Hess and the rest of the Eagles squad, Eastern Michigan has another opportunity to compete at the highest level against some of the premier talent from across the country.
Tip: The course that the team will be playing on, Mystic Rock golf course, is known for serious elevation changes and blind spots. The course was created by Pete Dye, one of the most decorated golf course architects of all time. Dye is known for his deception, water hazards, and tiny greens. The 16th hole of the course is known to be a high-stakes gamble, which Dye is known for. Golfers should be increasingly cautious throughout practice play and should take as much time as possible to understand all the tricks and challenges that have been included in the course.
Oct. 8-11: Tennis at ITA Midwest Regional
Tale: Four days after participating in the Spartan Invitational, the Eagles will be traveling to Champaign, Illinois as one of 23 institutions participating in the ITA Midwest Regional Championships. They will face teams such as Northwestern and Notre Dame in single and double matches as players look to survive and advance, pulling themselves to top spot at the tourney.
Tip: With the Regional being played four days straight, the athletes will need to make time for rest and recovery, especially playing so soon after the Spartan Invitational. The courts that Eastern Michigan will be playing on are hard courts so the Eagle athletes must keep their balance and ensure that they are properly warmed up before competing. Hard courts provide a predictable, consistent bounce so athletes should take the time to adjust their play style to the court.
Oct. 9-10: Volleyball at Buffalo
Tale: After almost a week off, the Eastern Michigan Eagles are back on the road for their matchup against the Buffalo Bulls on Friday Oct. 9 and Saturday Oct. 10. This will be the team's first time this season playing the same team on back to back days as Buffalo will be Eastern’s fifth and sixth MAC matchup after taking on Central Michigan at the George Gervin GameAbove Center on Oct. 3. This time, the Eagles will face off against a solid Bulls squad that beat the University of Syracuse in three straight sets earlier this season. To win, the Eagles will need their two star first year players Nattie Slusher and Lina Givoni while captain and fourth year player Surabhi Srinivasan anchors the team, controlling both the tempo and play style.
Tip: EMU needs to make Buffalo work for every point. If the Eagles can consistently get good passes to their setter, they can keep their offense balanced and avoid becoming predictable. The Eagles need to keep rallies alive and wear the Bulls out as much as possible. Keeping the sets close will help take away some of the home court advantage. The Eagles need to start fast and keep the advantage as they try to remain aggressive through every point.
Oct. 10: Rowing against Wisconsin
Tale: Eastern Michigan women’s rowing will return home Saturday for a Small Boats Race against Wisconsin at the Boathouse at Ford Lake. The Eagles are coming off their Sept. 19 race against Michigan and will use Saturday’s competition as another opportunity to test themselves against high-level competition before traveling to Boston for the Head of the Charles on Oct. 17.
Tip: With the Head of the Charles coming up the following weekend, consistency should be the focus for Eastern. The Eagles will need to stay together through each stroke, maintain their rhythm and avoid giving Wisconsin easy opportunities to gain separation. A strong performance against an established program could give Eastern valuable momentum heading into one of the biggest races of the fall.
Oct. 10: Lightweight Rowing against Wisconsin and Michigan State
Tale: Eastern Michigan’s new women’s lightweight rowing program will continue its inaugural season Saturday when Wisconsin comes to Ypsilanti. The matchup comes just one week after Eastern’s first-ever lightweight rowing competition, marking another early test for a program that is beginning its first season as EMU’s newest varsity sport.
Tip: The biggest thing for Eastern will be staying focused on its own race. As a new program, the Eagles are still building experience and learning how they stack up against established lightweight programs. Rather than getting caught up in the opponent or the significance of the event, Eastern should focus on maintaining its rhythm, communicating well and finishing each race strong. This is another chance for the Eagles to establish what their program can become.
Oct. 10: Swim and dive green versus white meet
Tale: The Eastern Michigan swim and dive team will hold their annual Green vs. White meet to kick off the season as the team is split into two as they compete against each other to earn points and bragging rights over their fellow teammates before they get into the swing of competing against other schools. The team this year has a very even mix of newcomers and veterans meaning that this meet gives the opportunity to the veterans to step and help lead the team while also helping the newcomers deal with the expectations and high competition level that comes with swimming at the Division 1 level.
Tip: This is the one meet every season that the team can goof off and have a good time. It will bring everyone together and all the athletes may get to race in events they don’t normally specialize in and team up with people they usually don’t work with.
Oct. 10: Football against Akron
Tale: For their second straight road game the Eagles will make their way three hours south as they travel to Akron and take on the Zips. This will be Eastern’s third MAC game of the season taking on a struggling Akron team. Noah Kim and the offense should find lots of success on offense with Akron’s defense giving up an average of 32 points per game. This should fit nicely with the offensive success the Eagles have had this season.
Tip: Two years ago, the Eagles made the trip to Akron and made some costly mistakes allowing the Zips to get their second victory of the season after a 1-6 start. The Eagles need to minimize mistakes and take this game seriously because beating Akron is another step closer to the team's goals and everything they want to accomplish this season.
Oct. 11: Soccer against Miami
Tale: For the second straight game, the Eagles will play in Ypsilanti at Scicluna Field. They will be taking on an uncharacteristically struggling Miami Redhawks team that finished second in the MAC just a season prior. This will be Eastern’s sixth conference game marking the halfway point in MAC play. The Eagles look to continue their impressive run behind the magic of Ella Holland who continues her goalkeeping masterclass. On Sept. 29 she was named MAC goalkeeper of the week alongside defender Christie Fransen who also earned MAC honors. On Saturday at 1 p.m Eastern will continue the hunt for its first MAC tournament appearance since 2019.
Tip: Keep attacking. Miami is giving up over a goal a game so the Eagles must keep the Redhawks on their heels and on their own side of the halfway line. With a super goalkeeper and stout backline maintaining possession and keeping control, the game will be won by the Eagles continuing to attack a shaky and inexperienced Miami back line.
Oct. 11: Men’s basketball exhibition against Michigan
Tale: The Eagles are back! After a long off-season filled with excitement Eastern Michigan is going to get first crack at the reigning National Champions as they head just down the road to face the Wolverines at the Crisler Center. The Eagles will be led by first year head coach Billy Donlon who has already made his mark on the team with some exciting pickups in the transfer portal as well as managing to lockdown star returner Mo Habhab.
Tip: While the Eagles are facing the reigning national champions the Wolverines will be missing 3 key contributors from the championship winning squad. All three of whom went on to be top 15 draft picks in the NBA. To pace themselves against the competition the Eagles will need to play stiff defense, capitalize on mistakes, and keep legs fresh by getting every player some big game experience that could prove useful down the line. Eastern will have to wear down the Wolverines in order to keep the game close; they cannot let the Wolverines go on scoring runs similar to the ones they had during the 2025-26 season.
