2012 wmu football record book - Western Michigan University ...

68MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCEAll-America honors--Central Michigan’s Ben Bennett (184), KentState’s Nic Bedelyon (125) and Ohio’s Jeremy Johnson (285).In men’s cross country, Eastern Michigan claimed its 16th conferencechampionship, while the Eagles captured their 30th conferencetitle in men’s swimming and diving. The 30 championshiptitles for Eastern Michigan in men’s swimming and diving is aconference record. Western Michigan won its ninth conferencechampionship in men’s tennis, while Akron won both the men’sindoor and outdoor track and field championships.Kent State won its 20th MAC title in men’s golf and received its25th NCAA appearance. The No. 17 ranked Golden Flashes advancedto the match-play portion of the NCAA Championship andsecured the highest finish in school history by tying for fifth in thenation. Kent State sophomore Corey Conners earned HonorableMention by the GCAA.Women’s athletics continued to shine for the MAC this past year.The MAC had a total of five women’s basketball programs invited topostseason tournaments. Eastern Michigan claimed the MAC tournamenttitle and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, while BowlingGreen, Central Michigan, Miami and Toledo all received at-largeinvitations to the WNIT Tournament. The Toledo Rockets were thedefending WNIT champions and began the 2012 WNIT Tournamentwith wins over Detroit, Cincinnati and VCU before falling toSyracuse in overtime in the WNIT ‘Elite Eight’.In volleyball, the MAC had a record four teams receive bids tothe NCAA Volleyball Championship and finished with the highestconference ranking in RPI in conference history, finishing seventh.Central Michigan won the MAC tournament title and earned theprograms first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, while Ball State,Northern Illinois and Western Michigan each received at-large bids.Northern Illinois’ Kristin Hoffman was named to the AVCA All-AmericanHonorable Mention as well as the 2011 Capital One AcademicAll-America Division I Volleyball team.Ohio won its sixth MAC conference title in field hockey, while Toledoclaimed its fourth title in school history in women’s cross countryin record fashion. The Rockets scored a conference record-low33 points and won back-to-back conference titles for the secondtime in school history. Also in women’s cross country, Ohio’s JuliAccurso finished 36th at the 2011 NCAA Division I Championship,earning her All-America status.In women’s soccer, Toledo earned its fourth MAC tournament titleand lost to Marquette, 1-0 in overtime, in the NCAA Tournamentfirst round. A pair of Toledo’s women’s soccer players receivedaccolades with their selections to the 2011 NSCAA/NCAA Division IWomen’s All-Great Lakes Region Teams as junior defender NataliaGaitan was named to the second team for a second-consecutiveseason, while sophomore forward Rachel MacLeod was tabbed tothe third team.In women’s swimming and diving, Toledo won its second consecutiveMAC tournament crown and witnessed senior Laura Lindsayearning All-American honors for the second year in a row. KentState won both the women’s indoor and outdoor track and fieldconference titles. In softball, Miami won the MAC tournament title.Central Michigan won the MAC tournament title in gymnastics asthe Chippewas advanced to the NCAA Regionals, while runnerupKent State also competed in the NCAA Regionals. In women’stennis, Akron earned its first ever MAC tournament championshipand trip to the NCAA tournament. In women’s golf, Kent State wonits 14th consecutive MAC tournament crown and finished 16th atthe NCAA Tournament East Regional. Western Michigan’s KayleeImel was selected to play in the 36th U.S. Women’s Public LinksChampionship for the second consecutive year.From two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger(Miami University), NFL Defensive MVP James Harrison (Kent StateUniversity), five NFL Pro Bowlers (Philadelphia DE Jason Babin,Cleveland KR Josh Cribbs, San Diego TE Antonio Gates, PittsburghLB James Harrison, Green Bay WR Greg Jennings), British Openwinner Ben Curtis (Kent State University), World Series winningmanager Bob Brenly (Ohio University) and Olympic bobsled teammember Brock Kreitzburgh (University of Toledo), the Mid-AmericanConference continues to excel in producing leaders in the world ofathletics.History of the MACBased in Cleveland since July 1999 following a 15-year stay inToledo, Ohio, the MAC has established historic measurements inboth football and men’s and women’s basketball since moving toNortheast Ohio. The MAC was founded as a five-school league onFebruary 24, 1946 in Columbus, Ohio with Ohio, Butler, Cincinnati,Wayne State and Western Reserve admitted as charter members.The Mid-American Conference has 12 full-time schools and a 13th,UMass for football only beginning in 2012.In 1946 men’s basketball was the first competitive sport in theMAC, which now sponsors a total 23 sports. Women’s sportswere brought into the conference’s structure in 1980. For men,championships (11) are sponsored in football, basketball, baseball,cross country, soccer, swimming and diving, indoor track and field,outdoor track and field, wrestling, golf and tennis. For women,championships (12) are sponsored in basketball, softball, volleyball,cross country, field hockey, golf, soccer, swimming and diving,gymnastics, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field andtennis.2012 WMU FOOTBALL RECORD BOOK