Month: January 2011

By Lindsay Regruto

Staff Writer

Despite a rocky start at the Cornell Invitational this past weekend, the women’s tennis team remains confident as it heads into spring duals tied for second in the preseason poll.

The Orange and Blue played against Army, Cornell and Binghamton to kick off the season. Lauren Lucido ’11 was the sole winner for the Bison on Friday, winning in straight sets to advance to the main draw in Flight A singles. Lucido has now won four consecutive singles matches since the women’s last showing at the Bucknell Invitational in October.

Elena Vidrascu ’14 and Lucido paired for the first time in Flight A doubles in a tough match against Binghamton on Friday. The pair played well and kept the match close but were unable to pull out the win, falling 9-7. With tough losses the first day, the Orange and Blue were able to see what aspects of their game needed work in preparing for the upcoming season.

“We played against three other good teams, and we got a handful of matches under our belt,” Lucido said. “We definitely have some things to work on as the season advances, but I think it was a good opportunity to get back into matchplay mode before we play our dual matches.”

Despite tough losses on Friday, the Orange and Blue were able to end on a positive note, winning two matches in the consolation round of the Flight B singles. Courtney Casey ’12 came out strong against the Army competition, winning the first set 6-2. After losing the second set 2-6, Casey fought back to win in the deciding tiebreak 10-7. Lauren Rottkamp ’11 also earned a victory for the Bison, defeating her Binghamton opponent 6-3, 7-5.

“We definitely have a lot of work to do, but the more matches we play the better our performance will become,” Rottkamp said.

The Bison will be back on the court at Pittsburgh today and at Duquesne tomorrow.

By Joe Ruby

Writer

The wrestling team lost to No. 18 Penn (6-3, 1-0 EIWA) by a 24-11 margin on Saturday afternoon at the historic Palestra in Philadelphia. Brantley Hooks ’11, Rob Waltko ’11, and No. 6 Kevin LeValley ’11 each posted wins for the Orange and Blue. The loss leaves the Bison 4-10 overall and 0-4 in the EIWA this season.

LeValley earned the first win of the day for the Bison, defeating Andrew Lenzi 11-3 for the major decision at 149 lbs. The win moved LeValley’s record to 22-1 and marked the 10th time he earned bonus points this year. In the next match, Hooks defeated Brad Wukie by an identical score, improving to 15-9 for the year and getting the Bison to within 12-8.

The Bison were almost able to continue the momentum at 165 lbs, as Corey Lear ’13 nearly upset No. 18 Gabriel Burak, ultimately losing 4-2 in the second sudden-victory period. Waltko kept the Bison’s hopes alive with a 7-4 decision over Harrison Coon, bringing the team score to 18-11 in favor of the Quakers, but Penn’s No. 6 Micah Burak was able to defeat Jay Hahn ’11 by a 5-2 margin to seal the match.

The Bison once again found themselves trailing early on, as the Quakers’ No. 19 Mark Rappo and No. 9 Zack Kemmerer won at 125 lbs and 141 lbs, respectively. The Bison were forced to forfeit the 133 lb slot for the fourth time this year. The losses moved the three lower-weight positions to a combined record of 11-31 in dual meets this season.

The next match for the Bison is tonight at 7 p.m. in Davis Gym. The Bison will host Lock Haven of the Eastern Wrestling League, who enter the match with a 5-8 record.

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

The men’s basketball team entered its contest on Saturday at Army on a nine-game winning streak, but it was the Black Knights who looked like the streaking team, scoring 90 points en route to a 20-point victory over the Orange and Blue. The defeat was only the second for the Bison since December, and it ended their quest for a perfect season in the Patriot League.

The Black Knights fired right out of the gates, showing the first-place, undefeated Bison that they had come to play. Tied at 17 eight minutes into the game, Army went on a 13-2 run for an 11-point lead, one the Orange and Blue would challenge but never overcome.

Army went into the locker room at the intermission with an eight-point advantage, having shot over 60 percent from the field.

“Army came out the gate shooting very well from three,” G.W. Boon ’11 said. “They also made a lot of hustle plays that we are accustomed to making, and that was the difference in the game.”

In the second half, the Bison traded baskets with the Black Knights, keeping the game close until the 10-minute mark. Army proved to be too much for the Orange and Blue, pulling away late for the 90-70 victory.

“They shot very well from the perimeter and were able to get these open looks in transition and from dribble penetration,” said Mike Muscala ’13, the leading scorer and rebounder for the Bison this season.  “We weren’t making the right defensive rotations, which left them a lot of open shots, and when they did miss, we didn’t do a good job of getting rebounds.  They played with more intensity than us from start to finish.”

Muscala controlled the paint on both ends of the floor for the Orange and Blue. On the offensive side, he tallied 20 points despite drawing many double- and triple-teams from the Black Knights.

Defensively, Muscala grabbed nine rebounds and recorded three blocked shots. His presence underneath the basket forced Army to shoot from the perimeter, which proved to be the difference in the contest.

Cameron Ayers ’14 registered 17 points, while Bryan Cohen ’12 and Joe Willman ’13 scored 11 each, but these individual performances were not enough to overcome Army’s potent attack from three-point range.

“In almost every Patriot League game that we had played up until the Army game, we were able to get off to a good start, and if the shots weren’t dropping, we were able to get defensive stops,” Muscala said.  “Every time we got something going for us on offense against Army, they answered on the other end, which we could never overcome.”

The Bison entered the Army game having won 13 of their previous 14 contests, including dramatic victories over Richmond, one of the nation’s best teams, and rival Holy Cross, thanks to last-second baskets by Muscala. The nine-game winning streak the Bison took into the contest versus Army had been the fifth-longest in the country.

The Orange and Blue begin the second round of Patriot League play Saturday night at home versus a Navy team they beat by seven earlier this season.

“The Army game was simply a bump in the road,” Boon said.  “We may not end up with a perfect conference record, but we still have the opportunity to be an excellent team.  It gives us a chance to highlight some of our weaknesses and attack those deficiencies in practice. Our team will only become stronger from the game at Army.”

By Rob Duffy

Editor-in-Chief

Since many readers of The Bucknellian likely did not closely follow Bison sports over winter break, here’s a recap of some of the most notable things that happened, and an explanation of why you should be excited:

5. Dec. 22 – The Bison men’s basketball team, playing strong as they have whenever they’ve faced a big opponent this season, nearly upset Boston College. Although the Orange and Blue eventually lost 84-80, the game was a thriller. The Bison, who led by as much as 17 in the first half, tied a school record with 15 three-pointers, also setting a record for the most threes Boston College has ever given up. The game showed that the Bison clearly have what it takes to play competitively against major conference opponents.

4. Jan. 2 – Mike Muscala ’13 took a long inbounds pass and hit a turnaround, fadeaway jumper from 16 feet as time expired to give the Bison a come-from-behind win at Richmond. It was the team’s biggest non-conference victory of the season, coming against a powerful Atlantic-10 Spiders squad that was at the time the only team to have defeated current-No. 11 Purdue.

3. Jan. 12 – The Bison dominated American, who had been picked in the Patriot League preseason poll to finish first in the league, 75-60 on American’s own court. Muscala had 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots for the Bison, who never led by less than 10 after the halfway point of the first half. The win showed that the Bison could successfully carry the hot streak they were riding into the league games that really mattered.

2. Dec. 30 – The men’s basketball team was not the only Bison squad to accomplish big things over the break. Kevin LeValley ’11 became the first Bison wrestler ever to win an individual title at the Midlands Championships, a prestigious event attended by this year by 44 teams. LeValley, who won his five matches by a combined score of 56-9, was at the time ranked third in the nation in the 149 lb weight class. He has since fallen to No. 6 after losing to current-No. 4 Mario Mason of Rutgers on Jan. 14, but his 22-1 record is still remarkable.

1. Prompted largely by the success of the basketball team, the University saw a huge surge in school spirit from its students and fans. The basketball team’s run was certainly worth getting excited about. In a 14-game stretch lasting nearly two months, the Bison only lost once, and even that loss was in a well-played match against a powerful opponent. Their nine-game winning streak was the fifth-longest in the nation, and their 6-0 Patriot League start put them solidly in front. As a result, the Sojka Psychos became more enthusiastic as they have in years, packing the stands and cheering loudly, even in games such as the team’s blowout of Colgate. Hopes were high that this team could return the Bison basketball program to glory. School spirit has made even the most insignificant games a true joy to experience.

The Bison’s win streak was snapped last weekend against Army, but as Bison fans, we must do everything we can to keep it alive, even if more setbacks come in the future. We must continue to be enthusiastic about our teams, no matter what might happen down the road. We should not limit it to just basketball or even basketball and wrestling, but should carry it into all Bison sports. As fans, whether the Bison win the Patriot League is largely out of our control, but the quality of our fan experience is up to us. If we can preserve the winning, hopeful, enthusiastic attitude we possess now, the season for all Bison sports will be worth remembering, no matter what the final scores or standings may be.