Category: Sports

By Scott Padula

Writer

The men’s swimming and diving team concluded its dual meet season by defeating Lehigh on the road Saturday, 191-107. The win gave the men their best record since the 2008-09 season at 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the Patriot League.

“It’s always a big meet when we face them. The last time we swam them at their pool they destroyed us, so it was really great to see how we came out swinging, and never let down until the meet was over,” said Mike Nicholson ’14. “A team like them if you give up any points, they can capitalize and make the meet a lot closer than we would have wanted, so luckily that didn’t happen.”

The Bison took first place in 14 of the 16 events. Eric Sokolosky ’12, Matthew Segar ’12, Christian Treat ’13 and Mike Nicholson ’14 led the charge, each capturing two first-place victories. Segar won the 200 and 500-yard freestyle, Treat took the 100 and 200 breastroke and Nicholson captured the 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley. Sokolosky won the 50 and 100 freestyle.”

Sokolosky also was part of the winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams, giving him a team-high four first-place wins. Other Orange and Blue winners on the day included Thomas Brown ’12, Taylor Harris ’12, Trevor Reitz ’14 and George Beatty ’15. Notable performances also came from Billy Krause ’13 and Ben Seketa ’15. Krause edged out Seketa for second place in the 200 individual medley, while Seketa finished second in both the 100 and 200 breastroke.

“We have been training very hard this year, and it is no surprise that our guys have performed so well.  It was very satisfying to go to Lehigh and beat them in their own pool after they did the same to us last year. We look forward to continuing our high level of intensity and improving as championship season draws near,” Evan Palumbo ’12 said.

The Orange and Blue end their regular season this weekend in Annapolis, Md. to compete at the Navy Invitational.

By Katherine Harris

Writer

Though the women’s track team fell just short of Duquesne University for first place overall, the team performed strongly on its home turf last Saturday in the Gulden Invitational. The Orange and Blue ended the day with 29 top-five finishes.

Two highlights of the day were first-place finishes by the Bison in both the 4 x 800 relay and the 400 meters. Jennifer Zymet ’14 earned her first gold medal of the year with the 400 meter victory.

“I’m happy with my individual performance for the most part, but there is definitely room for improvement,” Zymet said. “It’s a difficult task to double, triple or even quadruple in events with strong performance in each, but by the time leagues come around our bodies will be trained and strong enough to be able to compete in several events successfully.”

In the mile, Beth Braunegg ’14 broke five minutes for the first time in her career and moved up to sixth all-time in program history. Emma Rice ’15 entered her first top-10 list with a time of 8.04 in the 60 meter, tying for ninth all-time. In the pole vault, Autumn Schellenberger ’14 beat her personal best 10-10 and tied for eighth all-time.

Sarah Bella ’12, who placed third on the all-time list last year, clinched second place with her first throw of the year over 45 feet. Rebecca Misko ’12 grabbed fourth in the event and kept her place of sixth in program history.

“I was happy with my performance, although I do believe I have a lot more to prove before the winter season is over,” Bella said. “I was really impressed with the effort and determination that the team showed yesterday and I believe that with more confidence and training the team will be hard to beat in the upcoming Patriot League Championships.”

The Orange and Blue will continue to prepare for the Patriot League Championships this weekend with the Bison Open & Multi and the Penn State National Invitational.

“It was a pretty good meet for us. However, I feel as though we need to work on our confidence level and get a little tougher to fight for every single place and point. We left some points on the board that we should have got and allowed a very good Duquesne team to beat us here at home,” head coach Kevin Donner said. “It was a great experience to help us work on our weaknesses as we prepare for the Patriot League Championships next month.”

By Andrew Lichtenauer

Contributing Writer

The men’s track and field team claimed both MVP honors in its first scored meet of the season last weekend in Gerhard Fieldhouse. Patriot League Rookie of the Week Christian Lupica ’15 led the Orange and Blue, setting three program top-10 records in the team’s dominating victory over Shippensburg, Duquesne, Mount St. Mary’s, Towson and Saint Francis (Pa.).

Overall, the Bison finished with 241 points, beating out their closest competitor by almost 100 points.

Chris Sacks ’14 and Tom Barr ’12 earned the MVP honors for the Orange and Blue, claiming the meet’s Most Valuable Runner and Most Valuable Field Athlete, respectively. Both men won gold in two individual events apiece, Sacks in the mile and 4×800 relay and Barr in the weight throw and the shot put.

Lupica won the 60-meter hurdles in a personal-best 8.24 seconds, which moved him up to third all-time in program history. Lupica’s 22.32 seconds in the 200-meter dash put him eighth in program history, while his 7.08 seconds in the 60-meter dash put him sixth in the record books.

“I was really well prepared for this meet physically. As a team we have been on campus since Jan. 3 training really hard with two-a-day practices almost every day,” Lupica said. “The coaching staff decided that instead of running in a meet two weeks ago we would just have the weekend off and train through for the Gulden Invite. Because of that, my legs felt really fresh and I was able to capitalize off all of the work we put in while we were on campus over the break and run competitively in multiple events.”

Four more Bison won individual events in the meet. Daniel Markwalter ’13 took gold in the pole vault, Jason Brown ’13 in the high jump, Dustin Horning ’13 in the 800 meter run and Jordan Donaldson ’12 in the 500 meter run.

“The fact that we were able to win the meet by so much really shows our strength as a team which hopefully will continue on for the rest of the season through the championship meets,” Lupica said.

The Orange and Blue return to competition at both the Bison Open & Multi and Penn State National Invitational this weekend. 

By Chris McCree

Sports Editor

Profile:

Elizabeth Porcellio

Junior

Free/Breast/IM

Hometown: Fairport, NY

Major: Neuroscience

 

Career Bests:

100 IM:  1:02.13

200 IM:  2:03.84

100 free: 53.65

200 free: 1:52.43

100 fly: 58.52

 

During a dominant 189-111 win at rival Lehigh on Saturday, Elizabeth Porcellio ’13 led the women’s swimming team with three individual event wins in the 200-yard freestyle, 100 fly, and 200 IM, and was a member of the first-place 400 free relay team. Starting her day with a three-second victory in the 200 free, Porcellio carried the Orange and Blue to their second victory over the Patriot League rival Mountain Hawks in as many years. Porcellio posted a career-best time of 58.52 in the 100 fly despite having not swum the event all season. Due to her dominating performance, the junior swimmer was awarded Patriot League Female Swimmer of the Week honors.

A two-time member of the All-Patriot League Second Team, Porcellio has made a huge impact on the Bison since arriving in 2009. She currently ranks in the top five in Bison history for the 200 free, 100 breast, 200 breast, and 200 IM. She has also emerged as a strong team leader this season.

The women’s squad finished its dual meet schedule with a league record of 4-2 and has just one meet remaining before Patriot League Championships.

By Scott Padula

Writer

Few swimmers break records. Even fewer swimmers break records this early in the season. Kelly Pontecorvo ’14 defied these odds by breaking records in the 1,000 and 1,650 yard freestyle at the Bison Invitational on Nov. 18-20.

“Kelly is the most competitive swimmer I have ever met. Every swimmer I know puts 100 percent effort into all of their races, but she is the only one I know who races every lap of every practice,” teammate Mike Nicholson ’14 said. “We jump in the pool at 6 a.m. for warm up and she is a force to be reckoned with. While everyone is trying to wake up, she is already pounding out laps like it’s the middle of a big race.”

“She has an incredible desire to always touch the wall first and it shows in every race she swims,” he continued. “Her getting those records a couple of weeks ago were only the beginning. With her attitude and the way she practices I can see more huge time drops in the future. She is truly an incredible swimmer who just doesn’t have an ounce of quit in her body.”

Pontecorvo entered the final day of the Bison Invitational with a second place finish in the 500-yard freestyle and a goal of winning the 1,650-yard freestyle. Pontecorvo won the event and broke the record with a winning time of 16:45.08. Her finishing time beat the record set by Jamie Chakany ’12 in 2009 by more than three seconds. Pontecorvo also set the 1,000-yard freestyle record when her split time of 10:08.09 in the 1,650 moved her atop the list.

“Kelly is not the type of swimmer who takes out her event fast and tries to hold a lead,” Marshall Lambert ’14 said. “She simply stays focused and waits for her competitors to tire. That’s what makes her such a threat in the distance events. Her intense determination in the middle of a grueling mile always gets her to the finish first.”

The Orange and Blue will need Pontecorvo to continue her dominance as they prepare for a dual meet against La Salle in Philadelphia this weekend.

By Katherine Harris

Writer

As the holiday season quickly approaches, winter sports seasons are set to begin and anticipation is rising. Two teams more than ready to represent the Orange and Blue this season are the men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams.

While both of the Bison squads have performed very well in the past few outdoor track and field seasons, the teams often do not place quite as well in their indoor competitions against fellow Patriot League opponents. This year, the Orange and Blue hope to change that pattern, focusing on the Indoor Patriot League Championships that they will be hosting on campus in February.

“Although the programs are structured for great success during the outdoor spring season, we do believe we have enough talent and depth to make a run at a couple league titles this winter,” head coach Kevin Donner said.

The women’s squad is entering the season with hopes of bringing home the title. Though they’ve won the past three outdoor titles, they have struggled a bit more in the indoor arena, claiming only one of the last three championships. This year, the team’s top opponent will be a strong Navy squad. The Orange and Blue hope to challenge them as they push towards the spring season as well. Some top team members to watch include Stephanie Fulmer ’12 in distance and Sarah Bella ’12 with the shot put.

“The women’s track and field team is looking to do big things this coming indoor season. We have our sights set on winning a Patriot League Cup and have the advantage of hosting the Indoor Championships this season to do so,” Fulmer said. “We will be faced with the challenge of competing against a very solid Navy team, who just recently won the Cross Country Championships in a close 53-56 loss.”

The men’s team is also headed into their season, looking at Army and Navy as their top opponents in their quest for the league title. The Bison have won the outdoor track and field championship the past two years, and are hoping for strong performances from all of their top members in the winter as preparation to continue their outdoor streak. Some notable team members to watch will be Ted Heitzman ’12 with the javelin, Justin Hicks ’13 in sprints and Robert Arent ’12 in hurdles.

As they head into their opener this weekend, all will be watching to see the Orange and Blue start off their season. 

By Chris McCree

Sports Editor

 

Profile:

Cameron Ayers

Class: Sophomore

Position: Guard

Height/Weight: 6′ 5” / 203 lbs

Hometown: Blue Bell, Pa.

Major: Undeclared

 

Statistics:

Games: 3

Minutes/game: 30.4

Points/game: 13.3

Assists: 7

Rebounds: 9

3-pt. percentage: 61.5

 

After opening the season with two tough losses to Minnesota and Vanderbilt, the men’s basketball team has reeled off five straight victories behind the play of starting point guard Cameron Ayers ’14. During the TicketCity Legends Classic at Sojka Pavilion this past weekend, Ayers led the team to three wins and a tournament title. Over the three-game stretch, Ayers averaged a solid 13.3 points per game, including a career-high 20-point performance during the team’s 87-50 victory over West Alabama. His most significant contribution came during the team’s championship matchup against Morehead State, where he hit a tiebreaking three-pointer with just 1:47 left on the clock.

This season, Ayers has been given the difficult task of taking over the starting point guard role from Darryl Shazier ’11 and has performed well thus far. He leads the team in floor time and is just one of four Bison averaging 10 or more points per game. After a successful 2010-2011 season, ending in a Patriot League title and NCAA tournament berth, the Orange and Blue have high expectations this year and currently stand at 5-2 following this weekend’s three wins. The team faces a tough road in the coming weeks, including a big matchup at No. 4 Syracuse on Dec. 20, before it starts Patriot League play in January. As an emerging leader of the team, Ayers will play a crucial role in the team’s future successes and has complete faith in his team’s ability to win on the highest level.

“We can play with anyone in the country if we play within ourselves and do what we need to do to be successful,” Ayers said. “We have a really close group of guys that want to win and know how to win. We are a family that really wants to be successful.”

By Andrew Arnao

Writer

The men’s wrestling team went 0-3 at Northeast Duels in New York last Saturday, losing to Maryland, Eastern Michigan and Northern Iowa. The Bison faced seven ranked individuals and won just five bouts overall.

“We obviously did not have a good day at the Northeast Duals,” Austin Miller ’15 said. “It wasn’t the fact that we lost three matches, just that we did not go out and wrestle to the best of our ability.”

The Orange and Blue faced No. 11 Maryland and failed to win a decision, falling 40-0 to a Terps squad that featured ranked competitors, including No. 2 Josh Asper. Against Eastern Michgan, Alex Pellicciotti ’14, in the 141-pound weight class, defeated Corey Phillips 10-4, while Jamie Westwood ’14 defeated Mike Curby 5-3 in the 184-pound class. 

During the 27-12 loss to Northern Iowa, Stephen McPeek ’14 recorded the team’s only pin of the day in 5:51, marking his first pin of the season. Miller and Derrik Russell ’13 also each won a decision.

“We had the expectations to beat Northern Iowa in our last match but fell short due to some injuries and some of our team not being able to wrestle,” Westwood said. “The teams that we are wrestling are a very good measuring stick for us because we have such a young team with more than half our lineup including freshman; [and] they are getting the experience they need for the upcoming season and years to come.”

After the meet, the Bison stand at 0-4 on the season. The Bison will host Michigan State tomorrow in Davis Gym  at 7 p.m., and then head off to the Penn State Open on Sunday.

“This was not our best performance but is a great tool to test how we respond next weekend against Michigan State,” Russell said. “We are looking to have a very solid week of preparation and we are all eager to get back on the mat this Saturday in Davis.”