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Sports

The Eastern Echo

Associate Athletics Director to Retire

By Jillian Seach · Monday, May 19, 2014

Eastern Michigan University’s longtime Athletics Administrator Dr. Melody Reifel Werner has announced she will retire at the end of June. Werner has acted as director for Eastern’s Department of Athletics for 18 years. Reifel Werner, who recently celebrated her 57th birthday, believes the timing is right to conclude her successful career in athletic administration.

Sunday’s 15-1 loss dropped the Eagles to 17-33 overall and 4-20 in conference play.

EMU suffers 15-1 blowout vs. CMU

By Jillian Seach · Monday, May 12, 2014

On May 11, in the final game of Mid-American Conference play at Oestrike Stadium for the 2014 campaign, the Eastern Michigan University men’s baseball team suffered a 15-1 loss to Central Michigan University. The Eagles (17-33, 4-20 MAC) took an early 1-0 lead before the Chippewas (32-20, 17-7) rattled off 15 consecutive runs.

The Eastern Echo

Men’s and women’s track compete at Toledo Invitational

By Jillian Seach · Sunday, May 11, 2014

The Eastern Michigan University men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in a few events at the Toledo Invitational in Toledo, Ohio on Friday, May 9. The Eagles had a strong showing at the event as many of the Green and White recorded personal-bests or came within close range of their record marks in the week before the 2014 Mid-American Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

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Men’s golf takes sixth at Rutherford Invitational

By Andrew Armbruster · Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Eastern Michigan University’s men’s golf team smashed their way into a sixth place finish at the Rutherford Invitational in University Park, PA. The Eagles were looking to improve after finishing in last place at the Kepler Intercollegiate tournament last weekend before they head to the MAC Championship in Carmel, Ind. The Eagles shot 881 as a team on the par 71, 7,202-yard Penn State University Blue Course, April 19-20.

EMU baseball team loses three games to University of Miami

By Drew Dood · Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The Eastern Michigan University baseball team (14-24, 2-13 Mid-American Conference) had a rough week at Oestrike Stadium, playing the University of Miami (18-20) in a three-game series and losing all three games, before picking up a win against Hillsdale University (13-27).

Eastern Michigan distance runner William Trice in the 3000m run during the EMU Triangular on 10 January at Bowen Field House.

Men's and Women's Track & Field divides, conquers

By Jillian Seach · Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Over the weekend, Eastern Michigan University’s women’s track and field team split up to compete in two different parts of the country. The Eagles took part in four events total. Three of the events took place at the Jesse Owens Track Classic in Columbus, Ohio and the other event took place at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. The EMU men’s track and field team competed in two separate meets this past weekend. On Friday, April 18 a duo of Eagles headed west for the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., while a small group of Eagles competed in the first rotation of the Jesse Owens Track Classic in Columbus, Ohio.

The Eastern Echo

Student-athletes may get unlimited meals

By Eugene Evans · Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The National Collegiate Athletic Association Legislative Council approved a few new “well-being rules” on April 15 that can be made final when the Division I Board of Directors meets Thursday.

Eastern Michigan head coach Rob Murphy calls out the play in the Eagles 61-59 double overtime loss to Northern Illinois Thursday in Dekalb.

Managing Editor, host of Eastern Echo Sports Podcast, names 2013-14 Eagles of the Year

By Al Willman · Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The school year is quickly winding down and with it ends an eventful year for Eastern Michigan University’s athletic teams. As part of my weekly appearances on E-TV’s Eagles Sports Update, I share my “Eagle of the Week” – a player or coach who stands out to me for their performances in the week leading up to the show. For this, the final issue of the school year (not counting the summer semester), I have compiled a list of my Eagles of the Year for all of EMU’s sports, as well as for some specialized categories.

Eastern Michigan first baseman Lee Longo delivers one of his two hits in the Eagles 4-3 10th inning win over Michigan Wednesday afternoon in Ann Arbor.

EMU baseball round-up for week of April 14

By Drew Dood · Thursday, April 17, 2014

The Eastern Michigan University (13-21 overall, 2-10 Mid-American Conference) baseball team wrapped up a five-game stretch with a 4-3 win in 10 innings over the University of Michigan on Wednesday. Their week started with a four-game home stand before going for a home-and-home set with Michigan that had the first of two cancelled due to snow Tuesday.

Eastern Michigan guard Darell Combs (25) scored 11 points in the Eagles 56-52 win over Northern Illinois Saturday afternoon.

Combs to transfer to IUPUI

By Eugene Evans · Thursday, April 17, 2014

Former Eastern Michigan University guard Darell Combs committed to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis on April 16. The 6-1 guard will have two seasons of eligibility remaining after sitting one year.

The Eastern Echo

What's on Tap

By Eugene Evans · Sunday, April 13, 2014

Monday 4/14 - No events scheduled Tuesday 4/15 - Baseball at the University of Michigan, 4 p.m. Wednesday 4/16 - Softball at Michigan State University, 5 p.m. - Baseball vs.

Eastern Michigan pitching coach Eric Peterson chats with Paul Schaak in the Eagles 5-3 loss to the Michigan State Spartans Tuesday night.

EMU baseball goes winless in its 5-game trip

By Drew Dood · Wednesday, April 9, 2014

The Eagles (10-19 overall, 1-8 Mid-American Conference) started the week on Wednesday with a loss to the University of Dayton (10-16) that was called off due to darkness after the seventh inning. EMU mounted a series rally, scoring all six of their runs in the last two innings, before falling 7-6.

Latest Podcast

Eastern Michigan University’s “Enlighten U” has been ranked the top mental health podcast in Michigan by FeedSpot, a platform that compiles blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, newsletters and other sites in one location.

“Enlighten U” is a podcast geared toward students who are experiencing mental health challenges. Melissa Thrasher, EMU's executive director of media relations and social media, and Lolita Cummings, an EMU public relations professor, serve as the co-hosts. Each episode is released around the 15th of every month and features a student or alum and a subject-matter professional.

Lolita Cummings in an interview with The Echo said that this is not the first time the No. 1 mental health podcast in Michigan has been awarded to "Enlighten U."

"We've been the No. 1 mental health podcast in Michigan from the very beginning," Cummings said. "I think it's an indicator of the fact that what we are trying to do, we are doing well, and that is important."

At the start of each "Enlighten U" episode, Cummings and Thrasher state that the "Enlighten U" podcast is an award-winning show.

"A couple of years ago, I won the best in PR for good campaign from Public Relations Society of America for the marketing and promotions program, because it's important that we get this, the word, out to everyone and about the podcast," Cummings said.

Thrasher and Cummings are both extremely proud of their podcast, but these awards and recognitions are not why they continue with it.

It is important to Cummings that she serves all of her students' needs. She noticed that before the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health of many of her students was declining. When the students came back after the pandemic, Cummings noticed that her students' mental health was even worse. Due to this, she began brainstorming with one of her students about how she could help.

"She [the student] said to me, 'We watched a lot of podcasts while we were off.' So I said, 'Okay, I don't know anything about podcasts, but I will meet you all where you are.' So that's where the idea came from," Cummings said. "I am able to not just serve their academic needs, but I'm also able to serve their mental health needs. And to get the feedback from them, that is really helping, and is everything to me because the students are the ones who tell us what issues are impacting the most. Those are the issues that we bring to the table at 'Enlighten U.'"

Cummings encourages students to not only watch and listen to "Enlighten U" but to also spread the word about the podcast.

"One of the things we want to do is get the word out about this podcast to as many people as possible, across the nation, across the world," she said. "The need is not limited to our campus — the need is universal; it is worldwide. My goal at this point is obviously to continue to produce quality shows that reflect the mental health challenges that students are facing, but also get it out to wider audiences so we can help more people."

For those who are interested in engaging with "Enlighten U," the podcast can be found on YouTube and Spotify.

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