Bowling Green State University Athletics
Harris Named MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week
November 20, 2001 | Football
Nov. 20, 2001
Cleveland, Ohio - Western Michigan's Carman Malone (volleyball) and Bowling Green's Josh Harris (football) were named the MAC Scholar Athletes of the Week on November 20, 2001.
Harris (So., 3.12, interpersonal communication, Westerville, Ohio) accounted for no fewer than six touchdowns in BGSU's come-from-behind, 43-42 win at Northwestern on Saturday. With the win, BGSU became the first-ever MAC team to defeat three opponents from BCS conferences in the same season (Missouri of the Big 12, Temple of the Big East, Northwestern of the Big Ten). Harris set a school record with 498 yards of total offense (breaking the mark of 471 yards, set by Brian McClure vs. Ohio in 1985). His total offense yardage is the second highest in the history of the MAC. Harris threw for three touchdowns, ran for two and caught one, to become the first player in NCAA Division I-A this season to rush for, pass for and receive a touchdown in the same game. Harris completed 30-of-47 passes for 402 yards, setting career bests in all three categories. He became just the second Falcon quarterback ever to throw for 400 yards in a game, just the fourth start of his career. He also rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns and caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Cole Magner. The six touchdowns that he was responsible for marks the third-highest single-game output in MAC history, and the most for a Falcon since Erik White accounted for seven against Ball State in 1994.
Malone (So., 3.79, pre-business, Muncie, Ind.) led the Broncos in kills in two MAC wins over the weekend. She had 17 kills (a team high), five digs and four blocks in a five-game win over Ball State. Malone notched 17 kills (another team high), 12 digs and two blacks against Northern Illinois, hitting .342. NIU and BSU were the top-two teams in the MAC rankings going into the weekend.
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 that week's competition. The winners are selected by one of the conference's faculty athletic representatives.
Female Nominees:
Bowling Green: Caty Rommeck (volleyball, Sr., 3.12, special education, Sterling Heights, Mich.) hit .326 with 4.91 kills and 3.00 digs per game, leading the team in all three categories, as the Falcons went 2-1 and earned the MAC's East Division title outright. She also led the team in blocks, with 0.82 per game. Rommeck hit .405 with 18 kills in a three-game win over Cleveland State. Rommeck had 20 kills and a .302 hitting percentage in a five-game win at Kent State that clinched at least a tie for the division crown. On the year, she has a .307 hitting percentage, and averages 4.63 kills and 1.41 blocks to pace the Falcons in all three categories. She leads the MAC in kills per game, ranks second in blocks and is seventh in hitting percentage. The Falcons are now 20-7 overall and 12-6 in the MAC. BGSU has won at least 20 matches in three consecutive seasons, marking just the second time in school history that has happened.
Buffalo: Larissa LaCour (volleyball, Sr., 3.13, management, West Islip, N.Y.) recorded a double-double with 45 assists and 11 digs in UB's season-finale against Ohio on Sunday. The senior completed the season with 1,009 assists, a total that ranks seventh all-time on Buffalo's single-season assists list. Additionally, her 9.61 assists per game average this season ranks third all-time in UB history. LaCour's 2,381 career assists place her fourth all-time, and her 6.962 career average is also the fourth-highest in Buffalo history.
Central Michigan: Desiree Eidson (basketball, Jr., 3.14, mechanical engineering, Bowling Green, Ohio) scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench in CMU's season-opening win over Tri-State. Her point total was two shy of her career high. Eidson led CMU to its first win in a season opener in four years.
Eastern Michigan: Stephanie Smiley (basketball, Sr., 3.08, therapeutic recreation Holt, Mich.) led the Eagles to the the 2001 Holiday Inn Express Eagle Classic title for the second straight year and earned Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. In the opener, Smiley tallied 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists against Cornell and then followed it up with 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the championship game against defending MEAC Champion Howard. Against the Bison, she was 8-of-13 from the field and 5-of-6 from the three-point line. For the week, she hit on 50-percent (14 of 28) of her shots from the field, including an outstanding 71.4-percent (10-of-14) from the three-point arc and dished out 13 assists. She also added a pair of steals and a pair of blocks in the tournament. With her 13 assists this weekend, she also tied LaTonya Watson for the school,s career record of 446 assists, with Smiley accompishing the feat in 21 fewer games.
Miami: Jennifer Eaton (volleyball, Jr., 3.78, psychology/pre-medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio) produced her fourth triple-double of the season, notching 13 kills, 14 digs and 11 blocks in a four-game win over Marshall. She owns the career record for triple-doubles with all four coming this year, including back-to-back triple-doubles in October. Eaton yielded an outstanding 2.29 blocks per game for the week, including a 2.75 block-per-game outing against the Thundering Herd. It was the fourth time this season she has attained 10 block assists. Against Buffalo she knocked down five blocks in three games to average 1.67 per game. In two key wins to lift Miami from the No. 6 seed entering the week to the No. 4 seed in this week,s tournament, she averaged a solid 3.00 kills per game and 2.71 digs per game in addition to her 2.29 blocks per game. She also served up aces in both matches. Last week she was also honored as a Verizon Academic All-District IV Second Team selection.
Male Nominees:
Central Michigan: David Webber (basketball, Sr., 3.22, English, Farmington Hills, Mich.) led CMU to a win over Tri-State in the season opener. Webber had team-highs of 26 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. The 26 points marked the 11th time he scored 25-plus points in a game during his career. Webber needs 13 more points to tie former NBA all-star Dan Roundfield for sixth place on CMU's career scoring charts. Webber was 10-for-17 from the floor and drained four three-pointers. The senior guard also scored 30 points in an exhibition win over Basketball Unlimited earlier in the week.
Miami: Ben Roethlisberger (football, Fr., 3.07, physical education, Findlay, Ohio) passed for 452 yards, becoming the first in Miami history to record a 400-plus yard passing game. He was 40-of-53 with three touchdowns and no interceptions. His 40 completions also are a single-game record at Miami. He generated 484 yards in total offense against the Warriors, rushing for an additional 21 yards. The redshirt freshman owns Miami single-season passing records for completions and yards and also owns Miami,s single-season total offense yards record. In just his first year, he currently ranks eighth on Miami,s career passing chart.
Toledo: Todd France (football, Sr., 3.97, mechanical engineering, Maumee, Ohio) kicked four extra points in the Rockets' 28-7 victory over Eastern Michigan to move into first place in career scoring among MAC kickers with 308 points. The win enabled Toledo to host the MAC Championship Game against Marshall on Nov. 30 and earn a berth in the Motor City Bowl. Earlier this year, he connected on a 55-yard field goal which set a school record in the Rockets' 41-35 win over WMU on Nov. 6.
Previous Winners: Previous Winners Female Week 1 (Sept. 5) Amanda Kulikowski, EMU (soccer) Week 2 (Sept. 11) Katie Kuzior, UA (volleyball) Week 3 (Sept. 18) MAC competition cancelled Week 4 (Sept. 25) Andrea Kremer, MIA (cross country) Week 5 (Oct. 2) Megan Ramey, WMU (soccer) Week 6 (Oct. 9) Jennifer Eaton, MIA (volleyball) Week 7 (Oct. 16) Frederika Girsang, WMU (tennis) Week 8 (Oct. 23) Allison Campbell, CMU (soccer) Week 9 (Oct. 30) Brianna Shook, UT (cross country) Week 10 (Nov. 6) Emily Nayes, MIA (swimming) Week 11 (Nov. 13) Caty Rommeck, BGSU (volleyball) Week 12 (Nov 20) Carmen Malone, WMU (volleyball)Previous Winners Male Week 1 (Sept. 5) Zac Derr, UA (football) Week 2 (Sept. 11) Thomas Hammock, NIU (football) Week 3 (Sept. 18) MAC competition cancelled Week 4 (Sept. 25) Andy Avery, UB (football) Week 5 (Oct. 2) Brian Godsey, MIA (cross country) Week 6 (Oct. 9) Bill Norberg, UB (soccer) Week 7 (Oct. 16) Ben Roethlisberger, MIA (football) Week 8 (Oct. 23) Brian Hallett, KSU (football) Week 9 (Oct. 30) Rob Turner, CMU (football) Week 10 (Nov. 6) John Bartlet, EMU (swimming) Week 11 (Nov. 13) Brian Godsey, MIA (cross country) Week 12 (Nov. 20) Josh Harris, BGSU (football)
