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Baseball Men Sports

Baseball earns split in N.C.

By Eric Brod

Senior Writer

The baseball team opened its season by splitting a pair of games against Niagara and La Salle last weekend in Davidson, N.C. The Orange and Blue squad earned its first win of the season against Niagara 8-4 after falling in the season opener to La Salle 3-1. 

Against Niagara, Bob Donato ’12 ignited the offense with three hits and three RBIs. The Bison jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first off an RBI single by David Duffett ’12 and a sac fly by Matt Lamore ’12. After Niagara cut the deficit to 2-1, the Orange and Blue took control with a five-run fourth inning. Six of the first seven batters reached base to start. The big hit came from Donato, who smashed a bases-clearing double to extend the lead to 7-1.

“The count was 2-0 and I knew that the pitcher was going to give me a fastball and that’s what happened,” Donato said. “I put a good swing on it and it went down the right-field line.”

Dan Weigel ’14 was impressive in his first collegiate start, pitching seven strong innings, allowing only one unearned while striking out eight and allowing four hits.

“Since it was my first ever start for Bucknell, I tried to keep things pretty simple and just throw my game,” Weigel said. “I was lucky to have some great defense behind me on Saturday.”

Niagara added three runs in the ninth off All-Patriot League reliever Alex Cillo ’12.

Donato and cleanup hitter Travis Clark ’13, who finished two-for-four, produced five of the Bison’s eight hits.

In their season opener, the Bison fell in a tightly contested pitcher’s duel to the La Salle Explorers. Ryan Ebner ’12, Patriot League Pitcher of the Year for 2011, was solid in his season debut, allowing three runs (two of them earned) in 3.1 innings while striking out five. The Explorers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Bison quickly cut the deficit to 2-1 in the second inning. After Duffett led off the inning with a double, Brett Ashley ’14 singled, placing runners at first and third. With two outs, the double steal was on as Ashley stole second and Duffett scored on the rare steal of home. Ashley finished the game two-for-four as the only player on either team to record multiple hits. Relievers Dan Goldstein ’13 and Marcus Garone ’13 combined to pitch 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing only two walks and a single.

The Bison will return to action today when they travel to James Madison to begin a four game series against the Dukes. After the team’s strong end to the weekend, the club seems confident heading into the weekend’s four game series.

“We played extremely well against Niagara and will be carrying that momentum into James Madison,” Donato said. “Our pitchers were doing their jobs and the hitters were putting the ball in play. If we can continue to do that, then we will be a dangerous team in the Patriot League.”

Categories
Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis loses at Hofstra

By Alex Wagner

Assistant Sports Editor

The women’s tennis team dropped its match at Hofstra 6-1 on Saturday.

Five out of the seven Bison playing were first-years, which means that many of the players are still adjusting their games to the collegiate level.

“It’s a match we should have won, one of the easiest on our schedule this year,” head coach Rebecca Helt said. “We won’t go through the season making excuses.”

The brightest spot for the Orange and Blue in this humbling match was Jen Bush ’15, who earned her first victory of the season. She beat Bianca Derrick 6-0, 6-4 to give the Bison their only victory of the day.

“This weekend’s match against Hofstra was a very good learning experience for our team. The outcome of the matches is not a true reflection of how well our team is capable of doing, and we are all excited to keep improving,” Bush said.

Although the Bison dropped all three doubles matches, Lauren Boone ’15 and Lydia Colvin ’15 came the closest to victory. After an intense match that saw many momentum shifts, Boone and Colvin fell 9-8 to their opponents.

“Initially, we were playing really well; we stuck to our game plan, which was to be aggressive by finishing the points quickly at the net. However, we ultimately lost the match in a tie-break mainly because we lost focus and started to play tentatively,” Boone said.

Despite the temporary setback, things are looking up for the future.

“We have the talent, perhaps more depth than we’ve had in a long time, but we have to get tougher and shake the nerves if we are going to have a successful season,” Helt said.

The Bison look to bounce back quickly this weekend in Olean, N.Y. as they will play Niagara on Friday, St. Bonaventure on Saturday and Duquesne on Sunday.

 

Categories
Featured Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis rebounds

By Cooper Mead

Contributing Writer

After losing to Penn State last week, the men’s tennis team took down Hofstra 6-1 on Saturday in Quakertown, Pa. With the win, the Orange and Blue improved their spring record to 2-1 and dropped Hofstra’s record to 0-1. The win brings the team’s all-time record to 9-2 against the Hofstra Pride.

The Bison came out strong and won all three of their doubles matches. Early on, partners Kelly Morque ’13 and Josh Katten ’13 played well and set the tone for the other two doubles pairings, who also produced strong victories. Kyle Rosen ’14 and Scott Bernstein ’14 won their match 8-4 and Gregg Cohenca ’12 and Evan Zimmer ’13 came out ahead 8-6.

In singles, Cohenca continued his exceptional play and with his doubles win, he racked up career win numbers 100 and 101, extending his exceptional play during the start of this season.

“The Hofstra match is good preparation for our matches versus Niagara and St. Bonaventure this upcoming weekend,” Morque said. “It feels great to get a win under our belts and return to winning form after facing a tough Penn State squad. Everyone is looking forward to building off of our last win.”

Katten emphasized the importance of each match to the development of the team.

“We played well against Hofstra,” Katten said. “There are still incremental changes being made and as a team we are using these matches to keep on building and improving. The season is a process in which we want to peak during the conference tournament, so all the matches preceding are just necessary steps in order to be well positioned for the Patriot League Tournament.”

The Bison will look to add to their victories and continue their upward trajectory in Olean, N.Y. when they play Niagara and St. Bonaventure this coming Saturday and Sunday.

 

 

 

Categories
Sports Water Polo Women

Water polo goes 3-1 at home

By Scott Padula

Writer

The women’s water polo team went 1-3 last weekend during the Bison Invitational, beating Siena but falling to Brown, Wagner and No. 16 Hartwick.

The Orange and Blue started the tournament with a 13-7 victory over Siena but didn’t fare as well in their next three games. After falling to Brown 8-7 on Saturday night, the Bison closed out the tournament by losing to Wagner 9-8 and Hartwick 15-9. The Orange and Blue are now 3-5 on the season.

Against Siena, the Bison scored early and often, finding the back of the net eight times in the first two quarters. More impressively, the Bison played shutdown defense and prevented the Saints from scoring in the first 13:55 of play. During that time, Taylor Barnett ’15 led the Bison first half scoring barrage with three goals and an assist. Joining her with multi-goal performances were teammates Ariel Frankeny ’12 and Sayeh Bozorghadad ’15. In total, 12 different Bison received a point, while the team registered a season-high 22 steals. Orange and Blue goalie Brittany Connell ’12 also made a strong contribution with five saves in 32 minutes of play.

During Saturday’s nightcap, the Bison held a 2-1 lead at the end of the first quarter but were unable to stop the relentless Brown attack. The Bears scored four goals in the first four minutes of the second quarter and never looked back. Amanda Skonezney ’12 and Barnett led the Bison in scoring, netting three and two goals respectively, while Julianne Valdes ’14 and Hallie Kennan ’12 also had multi-point games with three and two assists respectively. Additionally, Connell was a wall for the Orange and Blue in goal, making a career-high 14 saves and shooting her career total above 200 saves. Before the game, the Bison honored their five seniors for their commitment and contributions to the program.

“I would say these close losses early in the season are good opportunities to learn from. We knew we could win all those games, and while we played our hearts out it just reminds us that we can and need to play a little harder to secure the win. We face most of those teams again and we are confident we can walk away with the win,” Valdes said.

After scoring four early goals against Wagner on Sunday, the Bison lost momentum as the Seahawks rattled off seven straight goals. Skonezney ended the drought with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Less than a minute later, Heather Smith ’14 scored to bring the Bison within one, but the Orange and Blue were unable to score another goal and send the game to overtime.

Kennan led all Bison in points with four assists, while Smith and Barnett each scored a pair of goals. Rena Heim ’14 was also strong in goal for the Bison with a total of seven saves in 32 minutes of play.

“This weekend was tough because all of our small mistakes piled together to create our losses,” Barnett said. “As a whole, we all just need to work on the little things this week in practice. But I think from the Wagner game this weekend we learned that even if we are up we can’t play down to their level.”

In the final game of the weekend, the Bison were unable to overcome a six-goal first quarter by the Hawks and a four-goal deficit going into the half. In goal, Heim recorded another seven saves in 32 minutes of action, pushing her total to a team-high 32 saves on the seasons.

The Bison will continue their busy schedule as they head to Princeton this weekend for the Princeton Invitational. The Orange and Blue will first play CWPA rival and host team Princeton before facing four MAAC opponents.

 

Categories
Featured Sports Track & Field Women

Women’s track earns 14th program title

By Katherine Harris

Writer

The women’s track and field team won the Patriot League Indoor Championships at Gerhard Fieldhouse last weekend, coming back from a 23-point deficit going into the final day of competition. The victory was the 14th in program history.

“I was absolutely thrilled with the team. I am so proud of everyone and I could not have asked for a better way to finish the indoor season,” Sarah Bella ’12 said. “Absolutely, having the championships at home was awesome. The energy from the crowd definitely helped the team and gave us the support we needed to go for the win.”

Bella led the way for the Bison as she grabbed their first victory of the weekend with a win in the shot put. Her 47’ 0.75’’ throw also put her second all-time in program history. Rebecca Misko ’12 also took fifth in the event for the Orange and Blue.

Emily Ando ’14 and Autumn Schellenberger ’14 took the top two spots in the pole vault while Alexandra Romanelli ’13 and Jessica Matsinger ’15 took second and fourth respectively in the triple jump.

Caroline Tolli ’13 and Beth Braunegg ’14 took first and third in the 1000 meters, and Tolli added a third-place spot in the distance medley and a fifth-place spot in the mile.

“I am so proud of our team,” Tolli said. “Everyone contributed in some way to these wins and we are all excited about accomplishing our team goal. To win a championship is special; to win both at home was simply incredible!”

The Bison also excelled in the 800 meters as Hana Casalnova ’14, Chelsea Lodato ’14, and Emily Waksmunski ’14 placed second, fourth and fifth respectively. Other highlights for the Orange and Blue included second-place finishes by Taylor Funk ’12 in the 60-meter hurdles and Sasha Hornock ’13 in the 60 meters, and a team 4×400 meters victory.

The Bison finished with 164 points, 40 points ahead of No. 2 Navy, and head coach Kevin Donner won the Coach of the Year award. The team kept an undefeated record of having won six out of six Patriot League Indoor Championships at home.

“Our ladies did an outstanding job staying focused throughout the entire weekend and recognized the big picture of a three-day meet.  Although we were behind by quite a few points after day two, we knew that Navy had completed their best events and that we were set up well for day three,” Donner said. “The cheering and crowd really helped our athletes and they will cherish this great accomplishment for the rest of their lives.”

Categories
Men Sports Track & Field

Men’s track ends championship drought

By Colin Fields

Writer

The men’s track team was victorious at the Patriot League Championships last weekend in Gerhard Fieldhouse. Led by Outstanding Track Athlete of the Meet Justin Hicks ’13, the Bison were able to hold off defending champion Navy and capture their first Indoor title since 1993. The Bison recorded six victories and edged out the Midshipmen by 8.75 points for the title.

Hicks propelled the Bison with two victories, one in the 60 meters and one in the 200 meters. Hicks’ semifinal time of 6.84 to put him into the finals broke a school record. Hicks then followed up with another stellar performance in the finals to record the first ever Bison victory in the 60 meters.

Hicks continued to put his name in the record books when he ran a 21.88 in the 200 meters, tying the Patriot League record which has stood since 2000. His time was also the fastest time ever run in Gerhard Fieldhouse.

Hicks also helped the 4×400 relay team to a fourth-place finish.

“Winning the Outstanding Track Athlete of the Meet is a great feeling.  It’s always good to know that hard work and dedication is paying off. I am very excited about my personal performances as well as the great team effort we saw over that past weekend,” Hicks said.

The Bison picked up a couple of key victories from defending champions Tom Barr ’12 in the shot put and Andrew Powell ’12 in the heptathlon. Barr defended his title with a throw of 55’ 6.25’’, breaking his own school record set at Youngstown State three weeks ago. Teammate and fellow thrower Leonard Joseph ’13 threw a career best 63’ in the weight throw to take gold. Barr finished second in the weight throw with a toss of 62’ 8.5’’. The Bison throwers accounted for 40 of the Orange and Blue’s 185 points.

“It feels pretty amazing to defend my title in shot put and it felt great to break the 55’ barrier. I have been fortunate to have a great group of men around me challenging me and pushing me to achieve my potential,” Barr said. “We are pushing each other every day and our results are showing it. Records are meant to be broken, and I hope that I have pushed and trained my teammates enough to break my record when I am gone.”

Powell posted a personal record time in the 60-meter hurdles and recorded the top mark in the high jump on his way to his heptathlon victory. The senior broke his own record in the heptathlon and racked up 18 points for the Bison.

Several Bison will participate in the IC4A Championships next weekend. The outdoor season begins March 31.

“If we won the indoor title, which is the harder one to win, we should dominate the outdoor championship,” Barr said.

 

Categories
Featured Sports Swimming & Diving Women

Bison take third in PL

By Lindsay Regruto

Senior Writer

The Orange and Blue claimed their first-ever gold medal finish in diving when Tara Bolye ’15 earned first place on the one-meter at the Patriot League Championship last weekend in Annapolis, Md. The overall success of the women’s diving team earned diving coach Errol Carter the Patriot League Diving Coach of the Meet award. The women’s swimming and diving team ended the three-day meet in third place behind Colgate and Navy with a score of 593 points.

“Patriots was an amazing experience, the atmosphere on deck was unreal,” Boyle said. “The whole meet was so exciting, and it was great to see how everyone’s hard work paid off.”

Saturday’s conclusion saw a number of new program top-10 times and records set. Kelly Pontecorvo ’14 broke her own school record in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:39.13. Kaitlyn Sweeney ’12 also set a new eighth-place mark in program history in the 200 butterfly, touching the wall at 2:06.84, with teammate Stephanie Koziol ’15 finishing close behind (2:07.32) to set a new ninth-place mark. The women ended the meet with a close third-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay, just two seconds behind second-place Colgate.

“I think as a whole, Saturday night was the most exciting, especially the 400 freestyle relays,” Pontecorvo said.  “Both our men’s and women’s teams pushed through until the very end and it was awesome to cheer on those relays right down to the very finish of the meet … When the goal is just to put it all on the line, it’s amazing to see what we can accomplish.”

By Friday the Orange and Blue had put themselves solidly in third place with a score of 363, 79 points ahead of fourth-place Army but 111 behind second-place Colgate. Sweeney came in eighth in the 100 fly to earn her team points. Lauren Perry ’15 (200 free), Emily Norton ’15 (100 breast), Kozial and Elizabeth Porcellio ’13 (400 IM) and Jennifer Brennan ’14 (100 back) all earned program top-five times.

“We saw some very fast swimming and spectacular diving on our women’s team, especially from our underclassmen,” Sweeney said. “As a veteran and captain, I was proud of the support the upperclassmen provided and how well the underclassmen prepared and performed … I think that we really stepped up to the challenge to put our best effort forward.”

Thursday was a strong start for the Orange and Blue. Katie Hetherington ’15 took second place in the three-meter dive while teammates Boyle and Tori Molchany ’15 followed with fifth and seventh respectively. Combined, the three earned 43 points for the Orange and Blue.

“It was cool to see how far the team had come this year because everyone has worked very hard,” Hetherington said. “I know from a diving standpoint that we all improved a lot this year and it’s going to be exciting to see how we do next year.”

The relays were also very successful on Thursday. The 200 free and 400 medley relay teams both swam for the sixth-best marks in program history in their respective events. In addition, Pontecorvo set the second-best time in school history in the 500 free (4:56.61). Seven athletes made it to the A finals of their events and three set new top-10 times.

“I was very pleased with the women’s swimming and diving team’s performance overall this past week at the Patriot League Championships,” head coach Dan Schinnerer said. “We definitely have made progress from last year both in scoring more points as a team and in closing the gap on the teams that placed in front of us … The women’s team is very young.  We only had one senior on our championship squad and I think our future is very bright.”

 

Categories
Men Sports Swimming & Diving

Men’s swimming take second place at League Championships

By Andrew Lichtenauer

Senior Writer

The men’s swimming and diving team earned runners-up honors to Navy last weekend at the Patriot League Championships in Annapolis, Md. With their second-place finish, the Bison have now finished in the top three at the Patriot League Championships seven straight years, falling a close second to Navy in four of the previous five years. The Mids have now won nine straight league championships.

Christian Treat ’12 led the Bison with a pair of silver medals in the 200 breast and 100 breast, posting the second-fastest time in program history in the 200. Ben Seketa ’15, Nate Frye ’12 and Matt Stevens ’13 joined Treat as the three other Orange and Blue swimmers to score in the event.

“Going into the meet, we had some high expectations as a team. Our goals, to beat Army and close the point gap on Navy, were not something that was going to come easy. But these goals were not decided the day of the meet,” Treat said. “At the conclusion of last year’s championship, the guys all had a desire to reclaim our spot in the conference. This is what carried us through the off-season, through summer training and right up to the last relay of the meet. We created a winning atmosphere right off the bat and this grew into something that we all wanted more than any individual accomplishment.”

Like Treat, Mike Nicholson ’14 collected a pair of silvers in the 200 and 400 IM events. After claiming the Patriot League title in the 400 IM last season, Nicholson fell four seconds short of Navy’s Justin Vagts to earn second.

Swimming in their final Patriot League Championship, Eric Sokolosky ’12 and Thomas Brown ’12 each earned top finishes for the Bison in the 100 free and 200 back, respectively. Both swimmers earned fourth-place finishes, with Sokolosky going 45.28 and Brown going 1:48.39 in their respective events.

“Our dedication to training both in and out of the water, as well as our intense mental focus, allowed us to achieve many of these goals at Patriots. Taking home the runner-up trophy was a very satisfying moment for us, and a product of our hard work,” Sokolosky said. “With perhaps the most dedicated and talented group of individuals in Bucknell’s history, the expectations of this particular men’s team were very high. We swam solidly all weekend, qualifying well in the preliminary sessions and scoring crucial points in the finals at night. Although there were several standout performers, I know a few of us would’ve liked to have been a bit faster.”

Despite falling to Navy, the Bison were able to climb past Army after losing to the Black Knights last season. A portion of the Bison squad will continue their season this weekend at the ECAC Championships in Annapolis, Md.

Categories
Basketball Sports Women

Bison fall in two league games

By Ajan Caneda

Writer

In the women’s basketball team’s final home game of the season, a last-second American three-point shot gave the first-place Eagles the edge they needed to come away with a 62-59 victory. Despite two second-half runs by the Bison, American kept its undefeated conference record intact.

Five ties and six lead changes in the first half kept the gap between the two teams within single digits. A three-point basket by guard Shelby Trotter ’14 broke a 17-17 tie with 8:40 left, but American ended the half on a 12-4 run that gave them a 29-24 lead at halftime.

The Eagles continued their balanced shooting and built a 10-point lead at the 15:10 remaining mark of the second half. The Orange and Blue answered as a three-point play by Felicia Mgbada ’14 sparked a 15-0 run for the Bison. Three-pointers by Shelby Romine ’14 and Rachel Voss ’13 capped the run. American regained control, taking a 59-52 lead with 2:43 to go, but the Bison fought back with another 7-0 run. With 14 seconds left, Alyssa Dunn ’13 hit two free throws that knotted the game at 59. But American nailed a buzzer-beating three-point shot that gave it the victory.

Dunn had 20 points and was eight-for-eight from the free throw line. Romine and Mgbada were also in double figures scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively.

On Senior Night last Saturday, the Bison’s winning streak stopped at three as shooting woes downed the Orange and Blue 49-38 against Holy Cross.

Both teams shot 20 percent from the field in the first half. After the Bison cut the Holy Cross lead to two with 7:55 left, the Orange and Blue went scoreless for the remainder of the half, allowing the Crusaders to gain a 19-12 lead to close out the first half.

“Unfortunately, you have shooting nights like those and I thought our defense was good enough to win,” interim head coach Bill Broderick said. “We held them under 50 points, but we simply just did not make enough shots to win the game.”

Holy Cross’s field goal percentage improved to 54.2 percent in the second half, allowing the Crusaders to build a 15-point lead in the early minutes of the half. Dunn scored a three-point play that capped a 14-4 run for the Bison, trimming the lead to five with 4:14 remaining. But shooting struggles sunk the Orange and Blue as the Crusaders closed the game with a 10-4 run, sealing the win.

Lindsay Horbatuck ’13 posted her third consecutive double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Dunn was the leading scorer for the Bison with 13 points.

“I think that we showed that we could make a comeback from a 15-point deficit against a good team and that we are never out of it when we fire on all cylinders,” Broderick said. “This game showed us that our offense is still a work in progress, which is understandable given the short amount of time that we have had to install our new system.”

The Bison close out the regular season at Navy on Saturday.

 

Categories
Basketball Men Sports

Men’s basketball ends win streak

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

After rolling off 10 consecutive victories in conference since early January, the men’s basketball team finally experienced defeat, losing back-to-back heartbreakers by one possession to the Lehigh Mountain Hawks and Holy Cross Crusaders. The two setbacks leave the Orange and Blue leading by just one game in the conference with two contests remaining.

“It was a frustrating way to lose,” said Mike Muscala ’13, the only Bison to score in double-figures in both games. “It will make us hungrier in the Patriot League Tournament.”

The Orange and Blue came out strong early in their match against Lehigh last Thursday, pushing ahead for a seven-point advantage just six minutes into the game. Unlike the rest of their Patriot League games up to that point, the Bison could not bury the Mountain Hawks after jumping out to a quick lead.

The nation’s seventh leading scorer, C.J. McCollum, who had been held to just four points in the first half by stingy defense played by Bryan Cohen ’12 and Cameron Ayers ’14, came alive in the second period, dropping 11 points to give Lehigh the boost it needed.

“I think we did a good job as a team defensively against him,” Cohen said. “The game plan was to try to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible and make his teammates beat us. Overall, we did a solid job defensively as we were able to limit his shots.”

With the score tied in the waning seconds and the ball in his hands, though, McCollum would not be denied. After a difficult offensive series for the Bison on the previous possession, the Lehigh star drained a three-pointer with a half-second remaining to break the tie and give the Mountain Hawks a dramatic 56-53 victory.

Less than 48 hours after the emotionally draining loss against Lehigh, the Orange and Blue had to travel over six hours to play at Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon.

Their physical and mental exhaustion were evident throughout the first half. Muscala registered the first basket of the game for either side, but it was the Crusaders who would break the game wide open early with a 17-0 run. All efforts for the Bison offense proved futile in the opening 20 minutes, as the team missed 14 consecutive shots and did not score for a span of more than eight minutes.

“Holy Cross jumped on us early,” Cohen said. “Once that happened, they got into a good rhythm offensively, which allowed them to knock down several tough shots. We also were not able to keep them off the offensive glass as they were able to get a lot of second chance points.”

The Orange and Blue sprung to life, though, in the second half. After the Bison trailed by as much as 19, an impassioned comeback brought them within two of tying the game. But time ran out on the Orange and Blue, who fell 54-52 for their second straight Patriot League defeat for the first time in over two seasons.

“What changed was our defensive intensity and focus,” Ayers said. “We didn’t let our offense dictate our defense and we outscored them by 16 in the second half. If we didn’t start out sluggish, we would have had the game easily.”

The regular season title and number one spot in the Patriot League Tournament are still in the Orange and Blue’s grasp. A victory over American on Thursday night (after this paper went to press) would clinch both for the Bison.

“We came out hungry against Lehigh and Holy Cross but fell short,” Muscala said. “I think there are things we can take from both losses that we need to use in our games moving forward.”