Author: Andrew Arnao

Categories
Softball Sports Women

Softball pitchers dominate

Thomas Walter

Senior Writer

Dana Nielsen ’16 was named Patriot League Pitcher of the Week and Amanda Fazio ’16 earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors as the women’s softball team swept Lafayette last weekend, recording three shutouts in four games and reaching .500 in Patriot League play to move into fourth place in the Patriot League standings. After splitting a doubleheader against Saint Francis (Pa.), the Bison are now 14-25 overall and 6-6 against Patriot League rivals.

Fazio and Nielsen got things started on April 13 with two dominating performances that resulted in one-hit shutouts for both pitchers. In game one’s 4-0 victory, Fazio took a perfect game into the seventh inning and faced the minimum, when the only runner to record a hit was thrown out at second base by Mariah Midyette ’16. Fazio recorded nine strikeouts, gave up no walks and has now thrown a shutout in three of her last five appearances. Fazio was backed offensively by Kristen Zahn ’15, who recorded three RBIs thanks to a two-run homer and a sacrifice fly, and Erin Cox ’15, who singled and scored on an error.

Nielsen followed up Fazio in game two’s 2-0 triumph with a dazzling effort of her own, allowing only a third-inning single and striking out 12 en route to her own complete game shutout. The offense supported Nielsen with a pair of RBI singles from Cydnee Sanders ’15 and Cheyanna Young ’16, scoring Cassie Greenhawk ’13 and Midyette, respectively.

“We feel like we are finally putting all the pieces together and getting the sweep helped us feel like all our hard work we’ve put in all year is finally paying off,” Nielsen said. “We just have to keep this momentum and I think we will continue being successful.”

On April 14, Fazio returned in game three with another gem, throwing 5.1 shutout innings and combining with Cindy Cherness ’16 for another 4-0 shutout. Three different Bison contributed RBIs to the effort, while Zahn led the team with two hits. The Bison completed the sweep with an 8-3 win in the night game, with Nielsen recording her second win of the series after allowing only one earned run and striking out seven in 5.0 innings. Cox and Midyette homered in the final game to help pace the Bison offensive onslaught.

“I think we have focused a lot this season on just taking the season one game, or even down to one inning and one out at a time,” Fazio said. “It is exciting thinking about playing in the tournament, but we have to put the work in now and focus on one inning at a time in order to have a shot at the tournament.”

The Bison finished up their slate for the week with two games against Saint Francis (Pa.) on April 17. The Orange and the Blue triumphed in the first game after coming back to win 4-3, but could not mount the same comeback as Saint Francis (Pa.) held on for a 5-4 victory in the nightcap.

Saturday was also Senior Day for the Bison, with Greenhawk, Mary Horton ’13, Bridget Gates ’13, Alex MacLean ’13 and Laura Sandford ’13 all being honored.

The Orange and the Blue will look to continue their strong play as they travel to face Army in another Patriot League series this weekend.

Categories
Men Sports Tennis

Katten sets m. tennis record

Lauren Boone

Senior Writer

The men’s tennis team fell to Army 4-2 on April 12, but managed to come back and sweep Lafayette 7-0 on April 14 and prevail in a 4-3 nail biter against Lehigh on April 15. The three-game home series was highlighted by Josh Katten ’13, who broke the school record for most careers wins with a singles victory over Lafayette.

Against Army, the No. 1 doubles team of Aidan Lynch ’14 and Evan Zimmer ’13 claimed the first victory of doubles play for the Bison, winning its match 8-4. To clinch the doubles point, the No. 3 team of Octavio Canibe ’15 and Kelly Morque ’13 won its match by a close score of 8-6.

Unfortunately, the Bison were not as successful in the singles play, where the Black Knights won all but one match. The lone Bison exception was Zimmer, who won in a close three-set match with a score of 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.

“It was a great first annual alumni weekend for the men’s tennis program,” Katten said. “Friday night against Army was a tough loss, but it was in front of a great crowd. The match could have definitely gone either way, and as a team we are looking forward to hopefully playing Army again at the Patriot League tournament.”

Against Lafayette, Katten broke the record for most career wins with a 6-1, 6-3 singles victory. Katten now holds a 152-93 career record, topping the program record previously held by Ryan Sandburg ’09 with a record of 150-113.

Katten and Nick Bybel ’16 gathered an easy 8-0 victory at the No. 2 doubles position early in the day. The No. 1 doubles team of Lynch and Zimmer pulled out an 8-5 victory, while the No. 3 doubles team of Canibe and Morque clinched an 8-4 victory. The Bison kept the momentum going into singles play, where all players won their matches in straight sets.

“The Lafayette match was a solid team sweep, and it was a very memorable moment when my friends arrived to see me break the all-time combined wins record,” Katten said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better moment, and it was great to do it at Bucknell with friends and family around to see it.”

The Orange and Blue played their last Patriot League regular season match against Lehigh. The Bison and Lehigh were neck-and-neck when Kyle Rosen ’14 clinched a singles victory, winning the match for the Bison.

The Bison dominated in doubles play. First off the court was the No. 2 doubles team of Bybel and Katten, who handily won its match 8-0. The No. 1 doubles team of Lynch and Zimmer as well as the No. 3 doubles team Canibe and Morque both won their doubles matches with a score of 8-4. The victory for Lynch and Zimmer increased their undefeated record to 7-0, which is the longest winning streak of the season for the Orange and Blue.

Despite the ease in doubles play, the singles competition proved to be much more challenging. Bison captains Katten, Morque and Zimmer all fell to their Lehigh opponents. Bybel was able to win his match 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1 singles, while teammate Canibe stayed strong to win his three-set match at No. 6 singles.

With the overall score tied at 3-3, all eyes were on Rosen as he competed in his No. 5 singles match. Rosen lost the first set 3-6, but he was able to fight back and win the last two sets 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the overall victory for the Bison.

With this victory, the Bison end their regular season play with a 13-7 overall record, and a 3-2 record in conference play. They will compete in the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 3 seed, starting Friday in Hamilton, N.Y.

Categories
Men Sports Track & Field Women

Webster, Joseph set new records

Eric Brod

Senior Writer

Competing on their home track, the Bison men’s and women’s track and field teams had strong performances at the Bison Outdoor Classic last weekend at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Both teams had several athletes place in the top 10.

On the men’s side, Luke Webster ’13 led the charge on April 13 in the field events. Webster broke his own program record in the discus with a throw of 172-1. In total, the Orange and Blue had four throwers place in the top 10 in the discus.

“One of the biggest factors in how everyone threw this week was the weather,” Webster said. “The warmer weather finally allowed for some good, consistent outdoor training which is pretty essential to a strictly outdoor event like discus.”

In the hammer throw, Leonard Joseph ’13 also set a program record, finishing first with a throw of 209-11 feet and was the only competitor to break the 200-foot mark in the event. Webster also finished fourth in the shot put with a throw of 52-4 3/4.

On the track, John Dugan ’15 finished fifth in the steeplechase in 9:13.34. Ray Holmes ’14 continued his strong outdoor season, finishing first in the triple jump with a distance of 48-11 3/4. Also on the track, Justin Hicks ’13 won the 100 m race in 10.74 seconds and finished fourth in the 200 m race in 21.42 seconds. Christian Lupica ’15 took second in the 200 m in 21.26 seconds. In the mid-distance events, Alex Jagelsky ’15 finished second in the 800 m race in 1:52.16.

On the women’s side, both the track and field athletes had strong performances. Erin Norris ’15 finished eighth in the javelin with a throw of 131-11 feet. Also shining in the field events was Abby Monaghan ’13, who finished fourth in the discus with a throw of 150-1.

Continuing on the strong performance, Emily Ando ’14 kept the Orange and Blue rolling, finishing in a tie for third in the pole vault, clearing a height of 11-8 1/2. On the track, Sasha Hornock ’13 finished sixth in the 100 m race in 12.49 seconds. In the 400 m race, Jennifer Zymet ’14 finished sixth in 56.56 seconds.

“Because of the stagger, it is initially difficult to determine how in reach you are of your competition,” Zymet said. “So your first 200 needs to be quick, because it’s too difficult to make up ground on your competitors if you start out behind.”

The teams will return to action Saturday when they host the Bucknell Team Challenge at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, starting at 9:30 a.m.

“As for our upcoming meet, there is going to be some good teams, such as Penn State, so we are looking to compete well,” Zymet said. “Coach [Kevin] Donner always says that when we compete well with good teams, our times and marks will show it.”

Categories
Lacrosse Sports Women

Women’s lacrosse wins three

Ajan Caneda

Copy Editor

It was a Senior Day to remember for the women’s lacrosse team as it came away with a hard-fought 10-9 victory against Holy Cross on April 13, earning its first Patriot League win since 2009. The Bison then concluded a solid week by defeating Saint Francis (Pa.) 9-7 on April 16 to earn their third straight victory. Seniors Ryan Wenk, Madison Hurwitz and Adrienne Wendling were honored before the Holy Cross match.

“I’m most proud about leaving this team and program on a better position for the future than what I came into. With so many great girls returning and such great coaches, the future of the program is very bright,” Hurwitz said.

After Holy Cross scored the game’s first two goals in the opening minutes, the Bison responded with four straight goals, including two from Wendling. Caroline O’Neill ’15 made a crucial save, leading to the team’s first possession. Wenk capitalized and dished an assist to Wendling for the Bison’s first goal of the match. Wenk’s tally at the end of the first half gave the Bison the 5-4 edge at halftime.

“Every play was about being as scrappy as possible and leaving it out on the field. Our connections on attack were flawless; I felt as though I heard Wenk to Wendling, Wendling to Wenk numerous times over the loud speaker,” Wendling said.

Holy Cross regained the advantage in the second half, posting two goals. Hurwitz was the catalyst for the offense, assisting Katelyn Miller ’14 and Cori Thielemann ’15 for two more tallies to steal the lead back. The duo of Wenk and Wendling concluded a 3-0 run for the Bison, as Wendling found Wenk for her second goal.

“As a senior unit, we were able to execute what each of us do best. Madison had numerous assists, Ryan was accurate in her shots and I was able to play solid D and maintain composure on attack,” Wendling said.

Holy Cross evened the score at eight with 12:35 remaining in the game. Hurwitz posted her only goal at the 11:05 mark, and Wenk dished the ball to Thielemann, who scored her second goal of the game, to gain a two-goal advantage for the Bison. After the Crusaders made it a one-goal game, the Bison came up huge defensively, as Miller made two critical defensive plays to seal the victory.

“Beating Holy Cross and our celebration on the field after just shows how much of a team we are–from the last girl on the bench to each and every starter–everyone wanted and played a part in that game,” Wendling said.

Against Saint Francis, the Orange and Blue carried a slight 5-4 lead into the half. The Bison scored three straight goals in the second half to open up their largest lead of the game. Kerri Althouse ’14 clinched the match after forcing a turnover that resulted in a goal for Miller. Wenk and Miller each finished with hat tricks, while Hurwitz dished four assists to pace the Bison offense. The team also held strong defensively, forcing 16 Saint Francis turnovers.

The Bison conclude their regular season Saturday when they face Marist in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. at 4 p.m.

Categories
Sports

Equestrian team makes strides as three members reach regionals

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

The equestrian team has quietly worked its way to a highly successful season, recently sending several of its riders to competition at the Regional, Zone and National levels.

The team competes in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (ISHA), which includes a mix of both club and varsity programs. The Bison compete in Zone 3, Region 1 of the ISHA. Other programs within this zone include local rivals such as Penn State, Gettysburg, Lebanon Valley, Susquehanna, Wilson and Dickinson. After a school year of showing within the regions, riders that have enough accumulated points qualify for Regionals, which take place in late March. The Bison sent three riders to regionals this year: Carly Riemann ’15, Kristen Ronca ’14 and assistant captain Morgan Manchester ’15. At Regionals, Riemann came in fourth, while both Ronca and Manchester qualified for Zones, finishing first and second, respectively.

At competition in Zones on April 6, Manchester finished in first place and became the first member of the program to qualify for Nationals in eight years. Ronca finished in third place, barely missing qualification for nationals.

On May 1, Manchester will compete against 16 other riders from both club and varsity programs for the national title in Harrisburg.

Categories
Golf Men Sports

Men’s golf fights to secure seventh place

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

The men’s golf team took on some tough competition this past weekend at the Manor Intercollegiate, playing at The Manor Resort Golf Club in Farmville, Va. The Bison jumped up two places following a strong final round to finish the tournament in seventh place.

The Bison were led all weekend by Schuyler Stitzer ’14 who shot sub-par scores of 71 and 70, respectively, in the final two rounds of the tournament. Combined with his first-round 78, Stitzer finished the weekend with a 3-over-par 219, placing him fourth individually at the event, only five shots behind the first place finisher.

Additionally, Dan Bernard ’13 shot a 76 in the final round and finished in 22nd individually. Peter Scialabba ’15 finished strong with a closing round 78, Nick Geissler ’16 shot a 77 in the second round and Billy Wright ’14 closed the tournament with his best round of 77.

After an opening round team score of 314, the Bison came back to finish the tournament with rounds of 300 and 301. This was the fourth-best finish of all participating teams and the final round score of 301 was the second-best score of the day.

The Bison will next be in action this weekend at the Navy Invitational, the final event for the team before the Patriot League Championship on April 27-28 at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa.

Categories
Sports Water Polo Women

Water polo splits last regular season games

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

After a long hiatus, the women’s water polo team swam back into action last weekend and finished off its regular season on the road against Mercyhurst and Princeton. The Bison topped Mercyhurst 14-6 on April 6, but fell in their regular season finale to No. 12 Princeton 14-5 on April 7. The Orange and the Blue concluded their regular season with a record of 5-15 overall and 2-3 in CWPA Southern Division play.

Against Mercyhurst, the Bison jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the first quarter, and continued to pile on goals in the second quarter to gain an 8-2 advantage by halftime. Though Mercyhurst’s offense picked up in the second half, the Orange and the Blue allowed no more than two goals during any quarter, largely in part to goalie Rena Heim ’14 and her 10 saves. Leading the offense for the Bison were Taylor Barnett ’15 and Hannah Sunday ’16 with four goals each, while Barbara Peterson ’15 also found the back of the cage twice.

The Bison found a more challenging opponent in Princeton, the eighth nationally-ranked team the Orange and Blue have faced in the past month. The Bison were able to grab a 4-1 lead over Princeton in the first quarter, and went into halftime with the score tied 5-5. The Bison offense would be held scoreless for the remainder of the match, while Princeton went on a 9-0 scoring streak to put the match out of reach. Leading the Bison offense this time was Julianne Valdes ’14, with two goals and one assist, while Heim recorded 10 saves for the second straight game.

Next up for the Bison will be the Southern Championships, where they will once again face top-seeded Princeton. The Bison will travel to Brown University for this rematch on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Categories
Sports

Mike Huffner up for Senior CLASS Award

Andrew Arnao

Sports Editor

The men’s lacrosse team is flying high, largely in part to big contributions from many different players. One such player is Mike Huffner ’13, who has provided outstanding defense throughout his four-year career as a Bison. In addition to his effort on the field, Huffner is an outstanding student and is one of the top student-athletes in his year. Because of his accomplishments, Huffner is one of 10 national finalists that have been nominated for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award.

To be nominated for this award, a student-athlete must be a senior in NCAA Division I (in this case, lacrosse) and must demonstrate excellence in four specific areas: community, classroom, character and competition. Huffner is the second Bison to be nominated for the award, following Mike Muscala ’13, who was nominated for the Senior CLASS Award in men’s basketball.

Huffner has already demonstrated his qualifications as a competitor. He has been a First Team All-Patriot League choice twice, and he was voted the league’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year for 2013. After missing most of his first year with an injury, Huffner became an integral part of the team during its championship run in 2011 and has never looked back since. He is currently a big contributor to a team that is ranked 11th nationally.

Huffner is also a Dean’s List student in biology and is planning on attending medical school next year. He was named to the Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse All-Academic Team and the Capital One Academic All-District At-Large Team last year, and is also a school tutor for biology and organic chemistry. Huffner also has a leadership role in the Bison Pals program and is a member of Colleges vs. Cancer.

Make sure to vote for Huffner up to once a day by either visiting the University’s Athletic website or the Senior CLASS award website!

Categories
Beyond the Bison Sports

Beyond the Bison: Sports News Across the Nation

Julian Dorey

Staff Writer

“Come at the king, you best not miss”

 

Rick Pitino can officially die a legend.

After Louisville finished a remarkable run to the 2013 NCAA National Championship against Michigan with an 82-76 win, Pitino’s career finally added its crowning achievement. Yes, the victory was even more important than Pitino’s election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame earlier in the day.

With a National Championship at Louisville, Pitino became the first college basketball coach ever to win a title at two different schools (Louisville and Kentucky). In addition, Pitino has already held the distinction of being the only coach to take three different teams to the Final Four (Louisville, Kentucky and Providence). Not bad for a guy working in an industry that boasts greatness in names like John Wooden, Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams.

What’s even more impressive is the way Pitino got the job done this year. Louisville’s roster was the ultimate “team.” They lacked major star power and “top-10” recruits.  Instead, players like Gorgui Dieng and Chane Behanan perfectly complemented a lightning-fast, feisty backcourt tandem of Peyton Siva and Russ Smith.

With its physical play as its calling card, Pitino’s team truly did the now-defunct Big East proud in its final season. No one outmuscled Louisville in the NCAA tournament and frankly, teams should have seen it coming after the Cardinals’ second half sheer domination and dismantling of Syracuse in the Big East Championship Final. In vintage Pitino fashion, Louisville time and again played with aggression and smarts. After all, that is what it takes to annihilate Duke in the Elite Eight and contain Wooden Award winner Trey Burke in the championship game.

But perhaps Pitino’s most impressive coaching accomplishment was how he helped his team deal with the horrifying injury to sophomore guard Kevin Ware in the Elite Eight game against Duke. When Ware went down, the nation gasped, and Pitino (who was standing right there) had to witness close-up the carnage of Ware’s shattered tibia.  Louisville players watched in horror as well. Some players fainted, others vomited and others cried.

As Ware cried over and over again to “just go win the game” as doctors and trainers tended to him, Pitino brought his team together and did what seemed impossible; he successfully got the players to clear their minds of a life-changing event, refocus and dominate Duke. “All we can do is win it for Kevin” was the way Pitino had to put it. The team responded and outscored Duke by 19 points in the second half.

Against Wichita State in the Final Four, the Cardinals found themselves coming off an emotionally-draining week after the Ware injury and trailing the Shockers by 12 in the second half. Pitino remained calm, and reassured his team that they could “flip the switch” and run away with another one. They did. And after another working-man’s victory against Michigan, Pitino’s stewardship of this 2012-2013 Louisville Cardinals team came to a thrilling end that was all too fitting.

Great coaches do great things, sometimes in the simplest ways. Pitino created a dominant team identity for the Cardinals early on in the season, but it was the way he handled his pure, human emotions at the end that helped them capitalize on it. It’s safe to say it now: Pitino is one of the very best to ever do it.

Categories
Lacrosse Men Sports

Men’s lax comes back to beat Army

 

Ally Boni | The Bucknellian Jackson Place '14 closely guards an attackman in a recent game against Penn State. The Bison came back from a 5-3 halftime deficit to defeat Army 9-8 this past weekend.
Ally Boni | The Bucknellian
Jackson Place ’14 closely guards an attackman in a recent game against Penn State. The Bison came back from a 5-3 halftime deficit to defeat Army 9-8 this past weekend.

Reed Dempsey

Staff Writer

In a crucial Patriot League matchup against Army on April 6, the No. 11 Bison rebounded from a 5-3 halftime deficit to squeeze out a 9-8 victory over the hosting Black Knights.

The Orange and Blue found themselves in a hole early, as Army rattled off two goals in the opening five minutes of play. Three minutes later, Thomas Flibotte ’16 would put the Bison on the board, cutting the deficit to just one.

The Orange and Blue offense gained possession at the beginning of the second quarter, where David Dickson ’15 found Chase Bailey ’13 to tie the game at two apiece. Dickson would then add a goal of his own to give the Bison their first lead of the day. The advantage wouldn’t last long as Army’s faceoff man won the ensuing draw, rushed down the field and scored just seven seconds later. Before the end of the half, the Black Knights added two more tallies to reestablish a two-goal lead. 

Down at halftime, the Bison knew they would need to turn it around, but never questioned their ability to do so.

“We weren’t at all in a panic mode. We knew that we were just about to break through on offense and the D was a couple of plays around from shutting them out,” Kyle Feeney ’13 said.

Army came out firing in the third quarter with a total of 11 shots. Solid defense in combination with three big saves from Feeney kept the Black Knights off the board. Meanwhile, the Orange and Blue kept busy with a second goal by Dickson to open the second half, followed by unassisted tallies from Peter Burke ’14 and Bailey. 

Army finally broke their scoreless streak at the beginning of the fourth period, tying the game at six. With a slashing call on Army one minute later, the Bison were able to take advantage of a man-up situation when Burke found Bailey to restore the Orange and Blue lead. Sean Doyle ’16 would score on an assist from Todd Heritage ’14 to put the Bison up two.

After the Black Knights cut the lead to a single goal, the Bison again found themselves in a man-up situation. The Orange and Blue would work the ball around before Doyle found Heritage, bringing the score to 9-7.

Army would add a man-up goal of its own at the 4:08 mark, but the Bison held onto their 9-8 lead over the final minutes of play, securing their 10th victory of the year.

The Bison look to avenge last year’s loss in a critical Patriot League matchup versus No. 18/19 Lehigh on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

“Last year it was a heartbreaker to lose to a team that took your stuff and beat you with it. I know a lot of guys are excited to get some revenge on them,” Feeney said.