Author: cdm016

Categories
Men Sports Wrestling

Wrestling finishes 13th

Andrew Lichtenauer

Senior Writer

Orange and Blue wrestlers Austin Miller ’15, John Regan ’12 and Corey Lear ’13 became place winners in their respective weight classes on the final day of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships at Princeton’s Jadwin Gym on March 4. Miller earned the Bison’s lone automatic NCAA berth, finishing third at 125 pounds. Regan finished seventh at 157 pounds and Lear finished fifth at 165 pounds.

Regan posted a 2-2 record on March 3 and entered the next day of competition with just one opponent ahead of him. Regan ended up beating Troy Hernandez (Penn) 5-3 to take seventh place. Regan is now 20-12 this season, which marks his second career 20-win season.

Lear entered the day seeking a win in his first challenge to move on to the consolation finals (third-place match). Unfortunately, fifth-seeded Lear lost to third-seeded Marshall Peppelman (Cornell) 3-1. Lear then bounced back to defeat Mason Bailey (Navy) 6-2 in the fifth-place bout. Lear had a 3-2 record at the EIWA Championships, which adds to his career win total of a team-best 60.

Miller was the fifth seed in his bracket, earning his third-place finish with a 2-0 record on the second and final day of the EIWA Championships. He defeated Tyler Sackett (Navy) 12-6 to move on to the third-place match, and then beat third-seeded Billy Watterson (Brown) in a close match that ended 3-2. The top three finishers at 125 pounds earn an automatic NCAA berth, which means that Miller will be making his first career trip to the national tournament.

“Qualifying for nationals is definitely a big deal for me. I am very proud of that accomplishment,” Miller said. “However, it is only a stepping stone to being an All-American and, eventually, a national champion. No one will remember who was an NCAA qualifier in 2012 and I will not be satisfied with simply being a qualifier.”

Miller posted an impressive 3-1 record against four seeded opponents over the two-day championship. He defeated two individuals seeded higher than him and his only loss was to the eventual 125-pound champion Frank Perrelli. Miller is now 22-12 on the year and will enter the NCAA Championships having won 11 of his last 15 bouts.

“I wouldn’t exactly call my last part of the season momentum or anything even remotely related,” Miller said. “I have just begun to wrestle more consistently as the year has progressed. That is a result of practice and getting more accustomed to the college wrestling style. Besides, 11 out of 15 could, and should for that matter, be 15 out of 15.”

The complete NCAA field will be finalized March 7 when 40 additional at-large selections are added to the automatic qualifiers. The NCAA Championships will take place March 15-17 in St. Louis, Mo.

As a team, the Bison sent nine wrestlers to the EIWA Championships and finished 13th in team standings behind 12th-place Franklin & Marshall. Cornell won its 6th consecutive team crown with Lehigh, American, Penn and Navy rounding out the top five. In all six years since the wrestling program was reinstated, the Bison have had at least three placewinners at the EIWA Championships.

Categories
Sports Water Polo Women

Water polo drops two at Harvard

Lindsay Regruto

Senior Writer

The women’s water polo team opened the Harvard Invitational with a 14-5 win against George Washington on March 3 but could not sustain its five-game winning streak falling to Harvard 13-8 and Iona 13-11 later on.

In their contest against Iona, the Bison started off close with the Orange and Blue in the lead, 4-3, at the end of the first period. The Gaels had pulled ahead by one goal by the end of the third period. Julianne Valdes ’14 posted three goals while teammates Becca Shopiro ’12, Tara Murao ’13, and Taylor Barnett ’15 found the net twice.

Hallie Kennan ’12 had a career-high five assists and scored six points, the most by any player this year. Despite a powerful offense, the Bison couldn’t close the gap in the end. Rena Heim ’14 concluded the weekend with a total of seven saves moving her into fifth place on the program’s career saves list with a total of 238 saves.

“It was a close game throughout,” Valdes said. “Although it ended in a tough loss, we know what we need to work on as a team as well as individually in order to win games like that.”

Harvard proved to be a tough opponent and the Bison closed the day with a 13-8 loss. The Orange and Blue got off to a slow start with the Crimson pulling ahead 8-4 by halftime. The Bison outscored Harvard 3-2 in the third period but couldn’t catch up. Amanda Skonezney ’12, Barnett, Kennan, Morgan and Valdes each posted two or more goals for the Bison.

“I don’t think we lost to Harvard because we lacked the skill, we just lacked the confidence,” Kennan said. “We lost to them earlier in the season and I think that made us a little fearful when we crossed them again. What we need to remember is that we are a much different team than we were even just a month ago. Our strategies and skills have improved a lot from our practices and we have everything we need to beat a team like them.”

The Orange and Blue offense came out strong on Saturday outscoring George Washington in every period. By halftime, the Bison had taken a 7-2 lead over the Colonials. Valdes and Barnett had three goals each and Kennan and Morgan scored twice.

The Orange and Blue will travel to Bakersfield, Calif. on March 10 for the Roadrunner Invitational. The Bison will face Azusa Pacific, Fresno Pacific, Long Beach State, CSU Bakersfield, Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara.

 

 

Categories
Lacrosse Sports Women

Women’s lax earns first win

Cooper Mead

Contributing Writer

After falling over the weekend to George Washington 15-7, the women’s lacrosse team recorded its first victory of the season on Monday, beating Presbyterian 21-8. With the split, the Orange and Blue took their record to 1-5 on the season.

During the victory, the team’s offensive effort was led by Emily Kookogey ’15 who scored a career-high five goals and two assists, while Katelyn Miller ’14 also played a massive role, contributing four goals, four assists and eight draw controls.

“We put together everything we learned from the past few games and came out strong on Monday,” Miller said. “Our high pressure defense caused a lot of turnovers and our attack had multiple people scoring, so everyone was a threat.”

Other major contributors players included Madison Hurwitz ’13 with four goals and three assists, Sophie Kleinert ’14 with three goals, Arriana Sajjad ’15 with a goal and two assists, and Ryan Wenk ’13 with two goals. Lindsay Ferro ’14 also tallied a goal and four assists, bringing her to seven handouts in the last two games.

After the Presbyterian Blue Hose scored a pair of goals just 2:21 into the game, the Bison tied it up quickly off two goals by Miller and Wenk. From there, the Bison went down 4-2 but finished the half with a 9-1 run and never looked back.

The Bison played extremely well on both sides of the ball all night and great ball movement allowed them to rack up 16 assists on 21 goals. On defense, the Bison held the Blue Hose to 11 total shots and only eight goals, a massive achievement considering Presbyterian had scored 35 goals over its last two games. The defense also held the Blue Hose to 9-for-22 on clears and forced 30 turnovers. Andrea Feldman ’14 and Alex Wallace ’15 each recorded four ground balls apiece, while Adrienne Wendling ’13 also had a great game with four draw controls, two caused turnovers, two ground balls and an assist.

Against George Washington, the team dropped a tough match, but Sajjad and Kookogey had stellar performances, scoring two goals apiece. Kleinert and Wenk also scored goals for the Bison along with Blair McDonald ’15 who scored her first career goal. 

The Bison were down 2-0 early in the game but cut the lead to one before the Colonials went on a 4-0 run. The Bison rallied and went on a 3-1 run but could not withstand George Washington’s offensive onslaught as they distanced themselves even further after the half and eventually emerged with a 15-7 victory. 

One problem that the Bison defense faced was their ability to clear the ball. They ended the day clearing only 12-of-25, while the Colonials were 15-for-17. Despite such difficulties, the Bison defense had reason for hope. Midfielder Miller caused six forced turnovers, tying the school record, and goalie Katherine Fraile ’14 had her first career start, tallying 10 saves.

With their first win under their belt, the Bison look ahead to their first Patriot League matchup of the year this weekend against Navy.

“I think this game made everyone realize our true potential as a team and as individual players,” Feldman said. “We really needed this win going into our first Patriot League game this weekend against Navy. I’m confident that we will do our best and give them a good game.”

Categories
Baseball Men Sports

Baseball takes two of three at home

Andrew Arnao

Staff Writer

The baseball team came away from last weekend’s opening home stand with a 2-1 series victory against Niagara, recording an 11-10 victory on Saturday followed by a series-clinching 4-3 win on Sunday. The team was led by outfielder Bob Donato ’12, who received the Patriot League Baseball Player of the Week award for the second week in a row.

“It was good to win another weekend series, especially since we did it without our best play,” head coach Gene Depew said. “The cold weather and wind made for challenging playing conditions and we did not play our best defense in the first two games on Saturday.”

The Bison, who are 6-3 overall, earned the victory in game one on Saturday when they scored six runs in the bottom of the fourth to come back from an 8-0 deficit. They scored off two Niagara errors and a two-RBI hit by infielder Carter Bumgarder ’13. Pinch hitter Scott Glass ’13 tied the game in the fifth, and the Bison added two more runs in the sixth.

“Our team came back from 8-0 down in the first game,” Donato said. “That showed us a lot about ourselves. The hitters made adjustments and our pitchers were throwing better. Not many baseball teams can do that.”

Niagara scored two runs in the seventh to knot the score at 10-10, which forced extra innings. After two scoreless innings by pitcher Alex Cillio ’12, Donato won the game in the bottom of the ninth with a dramatic walk-off home run.

“I thought we did a good job of putting together a solid team effort,” said first baseman Russell Seidell ’12, who had three hits in game one. “We had guys stepping up in key situations and getting the job done. I really liked the way our team stayed positive and upbeat even when we were down, and that enabled us to battle back from an eight-run deficit in game one.”

“This weekend showed how we are a team that never quits,” pitcher Dan Weigel ’14 said. “To come back and win game one after being down really proved the resilience of our guys.”

After a 17-4 victory by Niagara on Saturday night, the Bison bounced back in game three behind Weigel, who pitched 8.1 innings while allowing only three runs on eight hits. Weigel has been the Bison’s most effective starter so far this year, leading regular pitchers in innings (22.2), wins (3) and ERA (2.38). Second baseman Travis Clark ’13 led the offense with two RBI, and extended his team-leading hitting streak to nine games.

“Timely hitting was very important in our first victory on Saturday and a great pitching performance by Dan Weigel led us to another victory [on Sunday],” Cillio said. “If we can win two out of three without playing our best baseball, we are going to be really tough to beat when we’re playing our best.”

Donato finished the series batting .462 and became the first Bison player to win back-to-back Patriot League Baseball Player of the Week awards since 2004. He currently leads the team in home runs (4), hits (19), runs (12) and total bases (38).

The next stop for the Bison is in Florida, where the team will participate in the Russ Matt Invitational.

“We’re looking forward to playing seven games in seven days over spring break on our Florida trip,” Depew said. 

 

Categories
Softball Sports Women

Softball goes winless in West Virginia

Thomas Walter

Writer

The softball team got routed in each of their four games this past weekend in West Virginia, dropping to 2-5 for the season. Losing 9-1, 12-3, 15-0 and 13-0, respectively, the Orange and the Blue struggled to produce runs over the four games, but they still maintain their goal of winning the Patriot League title.

The Bison lack of runs was largely attributed to the lack of hits during the games. One bright spot for the Orange and Blue was Nikki Silva ’15, who recorded her first career RBI during the team’s first game of the trip.

“When the games are so one-sided like this weekend, we try and break our goals down into smaller ones,” Courtney Conover ’14 said. “We try to win each at bat rather than each inning or even take it pitch by pitch. We also try to take something away from the other team and limit their threats.”

Going into a tough stretch of games, where the team will be playing 10 games over a stretch of five days, both Conover and Meredith Dickson ’12 echoed that the team will be focusing on hitting.

“We really want to produce offensively and attack the ball,” Dickson said.

“For the spring break games, we are just trying to work together to make the team better as a whole and really focus on our hitting,” Conover said.

Up next for the Bison is Kissimmee, Fla. The team then will participate in the Delaware State Tournament on the weekend of March 24-25.

Categories
Men Sports Track & Field

Men’s track collects All-East honors

Colin Fields

Staff Writer

The men’s track and field team continued its superb season this past weekend at the IC4A/ECAC championships in Boston, Mass., finishing 12th out of 47 teams and amassing a school record of six All-East honors. Among those with All-East honors were seniors Robert Arent ’12 and Tom Barr ’12.

Barr posted a career best throw of 64 feet, 2.5 inches in the weight throw to win the event. Barr’s victory marked the first ever field event win in program history at the IC4A’s and the first IC4A win since 2007. Barr’s mark also moved him into third place all time in the weight throw. The senior has already broken the school record for the shot put earlier this season.

“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,” Barr said.

Arent finished fourth in the 400 meters and set a new school record with a time of 47.46 seconds. Arent’s earned All-East honors for the second year in a row. Christian Lupica ’15 broke the school record in the 200 meters, finishing in 21.58 seconds and clearing the old record by nearly two-tenths of a second. Lupica also received All-East honors for his 60-meter hurdle time of 8.11 in the semifinals, which ranks second in program history. The first-year went on to run an 8.20 in the finals to finish in seventh place.

“I’m really happy with how I’ve adjusted to running the hurdles in college and, thanks to Coach Hobson-Lynch, I’ve been really progressing with the new hurdle height and have already gotten my hurdle times back to what I was running in high school,” Lupica said. “Using the record books is a great ways to set personal goals for myself, and hopefully I can keep continuing to drop my time and help the team by scoring points in the process.”

Fellow first-year Alex Jagelsky ’15 also picked up All-East honors for his performance in the 1,000 meters. Jagelsky’s time of 2:28.11 gave him a sixth place finish. Andrew Powell ’12 continued his success in the heptathlon by scoring 5,012 points and placing eighth. Powell and Leonard Joseph ’13 rounded out the list of Bison All-East honorees.

The Bison return to action later this month at the Towson Invitational in Maryland on March 31.

Categories
Sports Track & Field Women

Women’s track impresses at IC4A Championships

Katherine Harris

Writer

This past weekend, select members of the women’s track and field team finished out the indoor season with a trip to Boston for the IC4A/ECAC Championships, where the women competed against the top athletes on the East Coast.

“It was a very up and down weekend for the women’s team at ECAC’s. Some of our athletes were on and others were off,” head coach Kevin Donner said. “There were some inconsistencies as well as some bad luck.”

While none of the Bison scored in the meet, there were many strong performances. Emily Liggett ’12 had an impressive final meet, shattering her career best in the 3,000 meters by almost eight seconds. Her performance exceeded her seed considerably and moved her into fourth in the school record books with a time of 9:50.93.

Hana Casalnova ’14 also broke the school record in the 1,000 meters. In the trials on Saturday, she recorded a time of 2:52.33. She unfortunately tripped in the final race on Sunday, but she still finished ninth overall and just missed out on contributing to Bison scoring.

Jennifer Zymet ’14 ran the 200 meters in 25.22 puts her as the third fastest in school history.

Many other members of the Bison also just missed qualifying times for the finals, including the 4 x 800 relay team. The distance medley relay team also broke the school record with a time of 11:59.78, barely missing the final qualifying time.

The Orange and Blue will now look to regroup as they begin to prepare for their outdoor season. Their first spring meet will be the Towson Invitational in Towson, Md. on March 31.

“I believe there was a little bit of a mental letdown after being so mentally high after winning the Patriot League title a couple weeks ago. We now need to regroup and get ready for the outdoor season,” Donner said. 

Categories
Basketball Men Sports

Joe Willman has breakout season

Scott Padula

Staff Writer

When you think of the men’s basketball team, the first players that come to mind are Mike Muscala ’13, Bryan Cohen ’12 and Bryson Johnson ’13. These three have always held key spots in the lineup. But one of the most unnoticed, yet integral, members of the Bison team this season has been Joe Willman ’13. This season, Willman has seen his minutes, points per game, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals all increase. At the same time, Willman has decreased his personal fouls and turnovers per game this season.

“Willman has been a key player since day one at Bucknell. He is a prototypical ‘4’ man who can score both inside and out,” head coach Dave Paulsen said. “He has become quite a weapon with his ability to knock down mid-range jumpers from anywhere on the court. Joe can score in every way, with dribble penetration inside and the 3-point line. In addition, he works well with classmate Mike Muscala when teamed together in the frontcourt.”

On the offensive end, Willman is a big, versatile player who knows how to use his body like a savvy veteran creating off the dribble from the wing. He moves well without the ball and utilizes screens to free himself. After the catch, Willman utilizes his great shot fake and quick first step to successfully drive to the hoop and assist others. Willman has increased his assists this season to 1.6 assists per game. What makes Willman a particularly valuable asset, though, is his size, length and range. Willman is 6’7” and has range out to 25-plus feet, allowing him to stretch the defense better than most. He can score in a variety of ways, hitting mid-range jumpers or going to the hoop with a quick dribble-drive. Willman’s points have increased to 10.8 per game while he has improved his efficiency, making 53.2 percent of his shots.

Willman is also a tough-minded defender. He plays with great energy on the defensive end and can cover guards or forwards. Willman’s length allows him to alter shots, make steals, and pull down rebounds. This season, Willman has seen his rebounds increase to 4.9 per game, while he has also recorded 0.6 steals and 0.5 blocks.

“Willman is a ‘throwback’ type player who loves to compete. He is a very smart player who picked up the Bucknell system quickly. As a senior next season, I expect him to be a leader and tremendous asset to the team,” Paulsen said.

 

Categories
Basketball Men Sports

Lehigh-Bucknell rivalry fueled by big games and matchups

Eric Brod

Senior Writer

The game remains fresh in the minds of the Bison faithful: tied at 53, the Bison’s undefeated league record on the line, and Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum in possession with 14 seconds left on the clock. He dribbles, seconds lasting an eternity, with the stout defense of Cameron Ayers ’14 in his way. As the clock moves closer to zero, McCollum, as all great players do, makes a slight crossover move to gain separation and drains the game-winning three. Silence fell over the Sojka Psychos as the Mountain Hawks handed the Bison their first league loss of the season, 56-53, avenging their 68-61 loss to the Bison earlier. 

“Obviously it was a tough loss the last time we played Lehigh. Of course we would like to win this rematch, but every time we go out we are doing our best to win,” Bryson Johnson ’13 said.

Though nothing may motivate a team more than revenge, the Orange and Blue could not erase the memories of the bitter loss at the Patriot League Championship on Wednesday night, falling to the Mountain Hawks in heartbreaking fashion 82-77.

In recent years, the rivalry between the schools has grown greatly with the tremendous success of both programs. Over the past three seasons, Lehigh has earned two Patriot League titles (2012 and 2010), while the Bison earned the other last season. On top of this, the two programs currently showcase the league’s two best players in Mike Muscala ’13 and the Mountain Hawks’ C.J. McCollum, who have combined for three Patriot League Player of the Year awards in as many years.

“They won the League my freshman year, and we won it this past year, so it’s definitely something that’s turned into a rivalry,” Muscala said. “I don’t really think it was a rivalry before I came here, but it’s been fun and we always look forward to playing them.”

Aside from their individual studs, both teams also have tremendous supporting casts. For the Bison, Joe Willman ’13 has emerged this year as a dynamic front-court scorer to complement Muscala and developed one of the most reliable mid-range jumpers in the league. Bryan Cohen ’12, the three-time Patriot League defensive player of the year, is the defensive stopper who also has a reliable offensive game and a knack for providing timely baskets. Johnson provides instant offense on the bench and has been one of the most dynamic three-point threats for any team.

Then, as in any rivalry, a tremendous individual rivalry exists to make it all the more interesting. In this case, a running bout has evolved between McCollum and Cohen. McCollum has had to fight and earn every point against arguably the greatest on-ball defender in League history. While McCollum did hit the game-winner in the last game, Cohen has held McCollum in check throughout their head-to-head matchups, holding him to only 13.5 points per game, well below his season average of 21.7. 

However, in this year’s Championship contest, McCollum got the best of the Bison, recording 29 points to lead the Mountain Hawks to their second NCAA tournament berth in three years. Unlikely to earn better than a 15-seed, it will certainly be interesting to see how McCollum and the Mountain Hawks fare against one of the elite teams in the country. 

Categories
Men Sports Track & Field

Athlete of the Week: Tom Barr

Chris McCree

Sports Editor

Player Profile:

Tom Barr

Senior

Thrower

Hometown: Ambler, Pa.

Major: Economics & Italian Studies

 

2011-2012 Statistics:

Meets: 9

First-place finishes: 10 (six in shot put and four in weight throw)

Season-best (shot put): 55′ 6.25”

Season-best (weight throw): 64′ 2.5”

After defending his Patriot League title in the shot put two weeks earlier, Tom Barr ’12 became the first Bison field event winner ever at the IC4A Championships this past weekend, recording a career-high 64′ 2.5” in the weight throw. Barr, who was part of a select group of Bison track and field members eligible for IC4As, bested his previous mark by five inches and jumped up to third all-time on the program record list during the opening day in Boston. Barr’s big win proved pivotal for the Orange and Blue squad who placed 12th in a field of 47 teams, their best finish since 2007. At the close of the two-day meet, Barr was one of six Bison athletes awarded All-East accolades.

Since joining the Orange and Blue as a first-year, Barr has shown continuous improvement throughout his career. The senior thrower has improved his shot put and weight throw distances by almost six feet over his four years and emerged as the squad’s most consistent thrower this season. During the nine meets that Barr performed in this Indoor season, he recorded at least one first place finish in his two events and will undoubtedly earn All-Patriot League honors for the second consecutive year.

With the indoor season coming to a close this past weekend, Barr and the rest of the Bison squad set their sights on defending as Patriot League Champions in the spring. The Orange and Blue are scheduled to begin their season on March 31 at the Towson Invitationals in Towson, Md.