Category: Men

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Men Sports Water Polo

Men’s water polo rank 14th in preseason poll

Alex Wagner

Senior Editor

The men’s water polo team ended last season on the cusp of a truly breakthrough performance. The Bison fell just short of competing in their first NCAA Championship tournament at the end of last season after a crushing 10-9 loss to St. Francis (N.Y.) in the Eastern Championship title game. A win in that game would have sealed their first trip to the NCAA’s in 27 years.

Despite the loss, the Bison have a lot to be proud of. Their second place finish at Easterns marked their best performance since 1993. They also performed well out of the pool, placing six athletes on the Collegiate Water Polo Association Scholar-Athlete team.

The Orange and Blue’s strong postseason run earned them the 14th spot on the NCAA national rankings, which is also where they will begin the 2013 season. They are ranked behind traditional West Coast powers such as the University of Southern California (USC) and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), but as far as East Coast teams, the Bison are ranked behind only one rival: St. Francis Brooklyn.

There should be little to no drop off in performance in the 2013 season for the Bison as they return with five starters. One of the most important figures will be Stefan Aleksic ’16, who led the Bison last year on the offensive front with 101 points as a first-year. He will be reinforced by a strong senior class of Julian Colina ’14, Jack Else ’14, Mike Kimble ’14, Stephen Norton ’14, Alex Nowlin ’14, and Andrew Somers ’14. Those six players bring a great deal of experience and fire power, combining for 388 career goals between them.

Perhaps the biggest question going into the new season for the Orange and Blue will be the ability of Keegan Williams ’15 to step into the starting goalkeeper role. He has spent his first two years on the team behind previous starter Matt Napleton ’13, who recently graduated and signed to play with Rari Nantes Savona, a team that plays in the highest division of the Italian League. Williams should be able to take what he has learned from Napleton and have a strong first season in goal.

The Orange and Blue will begin their 2013 season on Sept. 7 at the Navy Invite in Annapolis, Md. where they will play four games in two days.

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Golf Golf Men Sports Uncategorized Women

Men’s & women’s golf successful on and off the course

Emily Evancho

Assistant Sports Editor

Both the men’s and women’s golf teams ended their 2012 seasons on somewhat disappointing notes, with both teams showing potential for the upcoming 2013-2014 season.

In April, the men’s team landed fourth place in the Patriot League Championships behind Lehigh, Navy, and Army. Schuyler Stitzer ’14 was named to First Team All-Patriot League Honors after his effort in the championship, placing T-4th. Stitzer’s performance helped to bring his team to its fourth place finish, ending with a final combined score of 929.

The women’s team also swung high in its Patriot League Championship but narrowly missed first place by three strokes, dropping the championship to Lehigh. Bridget Wilcox ’14 finished the championship with a 22-over 232, earning herself a spot on the All-Patriot League Team along with her teammates Lauren Bernard ’14 and Kasha Scott ’14. Bernard also placed T-3rd in the Patriot League Championship, followed by Scott who ended her round in fifth place.

“We’re definitely excited to bounce back from a tough end to last season and take that Patriot League title back from Lehigh,” Jen Lee ’16 said.

“The season will be predicated upon how our upperclassmen lead our freshmen. We have some very talented freshmen who need some leadership and experience. If we get that coupled with sophomore and junior performance, then we may be extremely successful this fall,” Nick Geissler ’16 said.

Despite their endings, the men’s and women’s golf teams scored high in academics. In June, it was announced that six members of the women’s team, Wilcox, Scott, Bernard, Lee, Lexi Klein ’15, and Katie Mancino ’13, qualified for the Patriot League Women’s Golf Academic Honor Roll, requiring a minimum 3.2 GPA to be accepted. Scott and Wilcox were accepted to the five-member Academic All-Patriot League Team in May as well. For the men’s golf team, Stitzer was also accepted into the Patriot League Men’s Golf All-Academic Team in May.

Eager to begin both their academic and golf seasons, the men’s and women’s golf teams will swing into their seasons today. The men’s team will compete in the Colgate Invitational in Hamilton, N.Y. today and tomorrow. The women’s team begins its season today when they compete in the Bucknell Invitational.

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Cross Country Men Sports

McGowan paces men’s XC in first meet of the new season

Thomas Walter

Senior Writer

The Bison Open started and ended before any real competition could emerge for the Orange and Blue as Michael McGowan ’15 and John Dugan ’15 led the team to an easy win in the first meet of the year on home turf. The Bison finished the three-mile race with runners in the top nine positions.

McGowan finished in 14:42 and Dugan followed, finishing in 14:49.

“Last year I was injured so I didn’t live up to any of my expectations,” McGowan said.  “My individual expectations are First Team All-Patriot League and then to compete for a spot at NCAA regional. The win this past weekend was an important way to start the season.”

McGowan knows that he will have to run against teammate Dugan before the season ends.  Dugan, who finished second last weekend, competed for a spot at Nationals last season. He will be a good teammate for McGowan to compete with and measure himself against throughout the season.

As happy as McGowan was with his individual performance, he and the team realize it was an easy start to the season. The race was a mere 5k compared to the typical 8k or 10k runs that determine the success of season.

“When it comes to 8k and 10k you have to be used to running tired, but I think we need to learn how to run in packs better,” McGowan said. “Some of the guys who run shorter distances need to become more comfortable running the longer races in order for us to succeed.”

The Bison will travel to Penn State to run in the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 13.

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Men Sports Tennis Tennis Women

Men’s and women’s tennis look forward to upcoming season

Jen Lee

Contributing Writer

Both coming off of successful seasons, the men’s and women’s tennis teams have been preparing all summer to capture the Patriot League title this fall.

After only a few days of practice, the Bison are already looking ahead to their future matches and are preparing appropriately. Last year’s Patriot League Rookie of the Year Nick Bybel ’16, capped off his successful summer season with a singles and doubles victory at the UNCG ITA Summer Circuit Event in Greensboro, N.C. After finishing last year’s season on a strong note with a 6-0 victory over Bloomsburg, the Orange and Blue have their hopes set on winning the Patriot League Championship.

“We had one of our most successful seasons last year and we came up a little short,” Bybel said. “This year the guys have come back even hungrier for the Patriot League title, and I feel that our team is ready to claim it.” 

With the championship in its sight, the team is practicing hard under the guidance of its new co-captains, Aidan Lynch ’14 and Kyle Rosen ’14, and is ready to start its season off strong.

The women’s tennis team also has its sights set on a Patriot League Championship victory after a disappointing end to last season, falling 4-0 to Navy in the Patriot League semifinals. This year’s team is excited for the season, hoping the returning players, along with the new first-years, can carry them to victory.

“I think it will be a great tennis season since we have both returning players and a few new players,” Stephanie Pino ’16 said. “We look forward to a successful and fun tournament season.” 

The two-time co-captains Elena Vidrascu ’14 and Elizabeth Morgan ’14 look to build off the successes of last year and to earn themselves a spot in Patriot League history.

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Men Soccer Sports

Men’s soccer defeated at season opener

Ajan Caneda

Copy Editor

All-Patriot League player Chris Thorsheim ’16 posted two first-half goals for the men’s soccer team in its season opener on Aug. 30, but Canisius pulled off a stunning comeback and came away with a 3-2 overtime victory at Emmitt Field.

Thorsheim scored his first goal in the 24th minute, as Austin Lenart ’17 won the ball in the middle of the field and delivered his first collegiate assist to Thorsheim, resulting in a highlight reel 30-yard goal that landed in the upper left corner of the net. The Orange and Blue pulled ahead further after Thorsheim stole the ball away and scored off the breakaway. Canisius shifted the momentum in its favor with a 30-yard goal of its own in the 40th minute.

“I thought how the goals were scored were far different from how the game was played, but that is soccer. Canisius controlled the early parts of the game and then we scored two quick goals from Chris Thorsheim. After the goals we started to play better and control things more. However, just before the half, Canisius took control of a team defensive lapse and scored to make it 2-1 at half instead of 2-0,” head coach Brendan Nash said.

In the second half, the Bison had a 13-5 shot advantage but were unable to convert on their attempts. Another goal by the Golden Griffins in the 63rd minute brought the game to a 2-2 standstill. The Orange and Blue had several chances at the go-ahead goal, including attempts from Justin Galiani ’17 and Jesse Klug ’16, but the Canisius defense protected the tie heading into overtime.

“The problem in the beginning of the second half was our lack of energy. We came out unorganized and it came back to bite us. After they scored their second goal we woke up and created quite a few quality chances. Unfortunately we were not able to capitalize on them,” Thorsheim said.

Canisius completed the comeback in the sixth minute of overtime, nailing a difficult goal in the far post to steal the win.

Goalie Mike Lansing ’16 finished the game with three saves. The Orange and Blue held a 22-15 shot advantage, but it was Canisius’ lone shot in overtime that clinched the match.

“I think that our ability to create chances was one of the major positives we can take from this game. I think our outside backs were great offensively and defensively during this game as well. Our ability to get wide and start the attack with them looks promising,” Thorsheim said.

The Bison continue their homestand this weekend, as they face Buffalo tonight at 7 p.m.  followed by a match against La Salle on Sept. 8 at 2 p.m.

“The biggest positive was the size and energy of our home crowd. Holmes Stadium can be a great place for our students and community to show their school spirit. Friday night it was a great atmosphere. We hope that trend will continue for our next three home games next week,” Nash said.

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Bison Athlete of the Week Lacrosse Men Sports

Bison Athlete of the Week: Sam Grinberg

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

Sam Grinberg ’15 found himself in a unique position in the men’s lacrosse game against Colgate on April 20. Trailing 7-5 in the second half to the Raiders, Grinberg, the number two goalie for the Bison, was called into the game by head coach Frank Fedorjaka to replace Kyle Feeney ’13, the 2012 First Team All-Patriot League goalie.

The Bison began the game in impressive fashion and took an early 4-1 lead in the contest, an important one for the Patriot League Tournament seeding, and seemed poised to put it away early in the second half. Colgate was not ready to give in so easily and opened the second half on a 4-0 run. With no momentum and the once seemingly assured victory slipping away, Fedorjaka decided to replace his star goalie with Grinberg, a backup who had played 29 minutes and recorded one save for the Bison this season. This bold move was made to inject some energy into the team and turn the tide to gain the victory.

Fedorjaka’s risk paid off as Grinberg put on a spectacular performance in the final 22:07 of the contest. In this span, Grinberg stopped six shots, including five in the fourth quarter, while allowing only one goal. His presence in the net also created that spark Fedorjaka had hoped for and less than two minutes after the switch, the Bison scored two quick goals to tie up the game. These goals represented the beginning of an 8-1 run that broke open the game for the Bison, who never looked back.

For his great work under adverse conditions, Grinberg was named the Patriot League Goalie of the Week. The 13-8 victory for the Bison locked up the No. 2 seed in this week’s Patriot League Tournament and also tied the team with Duke and Cornell for the most wins in Division I men’s lacrosse. The Bison will begin their Patriot League Tournament today against third-seeded Army.

Hometown: New York, NY

High School: Hotchkiss School (Conn.)

Height/Weight: 5-8/185

Stats:

Games this year: Four

Total number of minutes played: 51:47

Goals against average: 6.95 goals per game.

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Baseball Men Sports

Baseball suffers setback vs. Army

Andrew Arnao

Sports Editor

Andrew Andreychik ’16 provided the baseball team with its lone victory against visiting Army last weekend, throwing a four-hit shutout following three Bison losses to the Black Knights. The Bison also dropped two games at St. Bonaventure on April 23, despite another fantastic pitching performance from Xavier Hammond ’15.

Looking to salvage the four-game series, Andreychik took the mound following game three on April 21, and delivered with a gem. In the 5-0 Bison victory, Andreychik struck out eight and walked only one, facing just five batters over the minimum. Backing Andreychik on offense was right fielder Joe Ogren ’16, whose two-out double gave the Bison a 4-0 lead in the third inning, as well as RBI hits from second baseman Travis Clark ’13 and first baseman Rob Krentzman ’15.

The Orange and the Blue played their first two games against Army on April 20, marking their first home games against Patriot League opponents this season. Starting game one for the Bison was Bryson Hough ’15, who gave up seven runs (five earned) in the eventual 7-0 loss. Hough surrendered nine hits in 6.2 innings of work, while also striking out four and walking none. The offense sputtered behind Hough with only three Bison recording a total of four hits against Army’s Chris Rowley, the reigning Patriot League Pitcher of the Year.

Looking to get the Bison back on track, Dan Weigel ’14 delivered an outstanding performance in game two, pitching nine innings while allowing only three runs (two earned) on six hits and striking out eight. The Orange and the Blue fell in a 2-0 hole after Army scored twice in the second inning, but a bases-loaded walk from third baseman Carter Bumgardner ’13 in the fifth and an RBI single by catcher Justin Meier ’14 in the sixth knotted the score at 2-2. The score remained tied until the 10th inning, where Army finally got to Weigel and relief pitcher Max Kra ’16 for three runs. The Bison were unable to rally in their half of the tenth, and dropped their second game to Army by a final of 5-2.

“The Army series was a bit of a tough weekend for us,” outfielder Matt Busch ’13 said. “I think we came out kind of flat in the first game and then couldn’t find the big hit in the next two.”

Game three on April 21 also turned out to be a tough one for the Orange and the Blue as they once again lost in extra innings, this time 3-2. Similar to game two, Army took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, and the Bison tied it up 2-2 thanks to a pair of RBIs from Bumgardner. As the game went into extras, starter Dan Goldstein ’13 gave up his third run of the game in the eighth inning, but the Bison could not return the favor in their half. Goldstein still recorded a complete game, allowing 10 hits and striking out four in eight innings of work.

Following the Army series, the Bison hit the road to face St. Bonaventure in a doubleheader. The Orange and the Blue were blasted for 10 runs in game one, with Krentzman driving in right fielder Corey Furman ’14 for the lone Bison run in their 10-1 defeat. Game two featured a near no-hitter from Hammond, who came within two outs of the impressive feat. Unfortunately for the Orange and the Blue, a one-out single in the seventh ended the no-hit bit, and St. Bonaventure rallied for three runs to walk off against the Bison 3-2.

Currently fourth in the Patriot League standings, the Bison will host Lafayette this weekend in their final series of the season.

“We have Lafayette [this] weekend and that will be big for us,” Busch said. “We need to come out strong for all four games and get headed in the right direction for the playoffs.”

Seniors will also be honored prior to game one, which will begin at noon Saturday at Depew Field.

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Lacrosse Men Sports

Men’s lacrosse comes back in 13-8 victory

Reed Dempsey

Senior Writer

The men’s lacrosse team travelled to Hamilton, N.Y. on April 20 to face the Colgate Raiders. Four assists from David Dickson ’15 and an 8-1 second half run propelled the Bison to a 13-8 win and secured the second seed for this weekend’s Patriot League Tournament.

Sean Doyle ’16 opened the day’s scoring with an unassisted tally at the 9:54 mark, but the lead only lasted for two minutes as the Raiders added a goal of their own to level the contest at one.

Doyle again found the back of the net, sparking a three-goal Bison run that included goals by Ryan Joseph ’15 and Thomas Flibotte ’16. The 4-1 lead would hold for just a minute as Colgate scored with just under two minutes left in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, the Raiders took advantage of a man-up situation, following a pushing call against the Bison, pulling the game back within one. As time was winding down in the first half, Kyle O’Keefe ’13 took a feed from Alex Spring ’16 and fired off a shot that crossed the goal line as time expired, bringing the score to 5-3 in favor of the Bison.

In the opening eight minutes of the second half, the Orange and Blue surrendered four straight goals and the lead.

“We had some unforced turnovers during that stretch which we really could have limited. Some Colgate defensemen made a couple of nice plays and picked off a few passes … we just weren’t moving our feet hard enough and it cost us for a little,” Dickson said.

Head coach Frank Fedorjaka then pulled his all-league goalie, Kyle Feeney ’13, in favor of Sam Grinberg ’15. Grinberg was no stranger to this move, having replaced Feeney in a win against Drexel a year ago, making 11 saves and leading the Bison to victory.

“When I first got in, we were down 7-5, and I basically told the defense that we had Colgate where we wanted them,” Grinberg said. “The whole season we have battled back from deficits, so even after giving up four straight, I think the team was still confident that we would make a run and take the lead back.”

In the minutes following the switch, Doyle reignited the Bison offense off of a Chase Bailey ’13 feed, before Tom Black ’14 added a goal of his own on an extra-man opportunity, tying the game at seven.

Colgate then found the back of the net on its first shot against Grinberg, but the Orange and Blue defense then settled down, limiting the Raiders to just seven shots during the final period of play, and Ryan Gutowski ’13 dominated faceoffs down the stretch.

On the offensive side of the field, the Bison exploded for six goals, including two from Bailey and individual tallies from Todd Heritage ’14, Peter Burke ’14, Doyle and Flibotte.

“[The team] just got back to the basics and started to play loose but also with a sense of urgency,” Dickson said. “We ran a few set plays that worked beautifully and then our offense just started to flow.”

During that final 8-1 run, Dickson tallied four assists. Dickson ended the night with 42 assists total this season, a new Bison single-season record.

With the win, the Bison secured the second seed for this weekend’s Patriot League Tournament and will face Army Friday at 4:30 p.m. in Bethlehem, Pa.

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Men Sports Track & Field Women

Records fall for track & field team

Emily Evancho

Staff Writer

The men’s and women’s track and field teams both had a successful weekend at the Bucknell Team Challenge on April 20. Along with the men’s first-place and the women’s second-place victory in the team standings, both teams also broke school records, including women’s Kim Nagotko ’15, who claimed school records in the 100 and 200 meters, and men’s Christian Lupica ’15 and Luke Webster ’13, who broke their records in the 110-meter high hurdles and discus, respectively.

“Both the men’s and women’s team had a very competitive meet between the other big schools that were there and the weather conditions,” Nagotko said. “Regardless of it all, we performed our best and proved to ourselves and the Patriot League that we are ready and nothing is going to get in our way of us bringing home two championships.”

The men’s team captured its fifth consecutive team title at the Bucknell Team Challenge, overshadowing second-place Penn State by 179 points. Lupica ran home with victories in the 400-meter hurdles (55.11 seconds), and in 110-meter high hurdles, with a record-shattering 13.96 seconds. Justin Hicks ’13 also excelled with wins in the 100 and 200 meters. Webster threw past his own school record in discus to land a mark of 172-3. Kevin Keller ’15 also dominated in the long jump with a mark of 23-10 1/4.

“Our jumps and sprints are very dangerous. We have the potential to do something that’s never been done before,” Keller said.

The women’s team placed second in the team standings with 128 points, falling behind only Penn State by 95 points. Bison victories came in the distance events from Caroline Tolli ’13 finishing first in the 800 meters (2:12.42). Tolli also helped to pull the win in the 4×800 with a final time of 9:56.81. Abby Monaghan ’13 grasped the third Orange and Blue triumph for the women’s team in discus 150-5. Nagotko also finished third overall in the 100-meter (12.05), and second in the 200-meter with 24.59 seconds. Sasha Hornock ’13 seized the third spot behind Nagotko in the 200-meter.

“This was a great weekend for all athletes across the board. Men and women had outstanding performances,” Hicks said. “As our Patriot League Championships are quickly approaching, our team is excited for a great meet and it’s showing through all of our great times and marks. Hopefully we can continue our success and carry this speed into the Patriot Leagues Championships.”

The men’s and women’s teams will compete again in the Penn Relays and Bloomsburg Maroon and Gold Invitational this weekend. After these events, both teams will move on to the Patriot League Championships beginning on May 3 in Bethlehem, Pa.

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Men Sports Tennis

M. tennis goes 1-1 at PL Tourney

Lauren Boone

Senior Writer

The men’s tennis team travelled to Syracuse, N.Y. this past weekend for the Patriot League Tournament. The third-seeded Bison swept the Lafayette Leopards 4-0 on April 19, securing their seventh consecutive trip to Patriot League semifinals, where they fell 4-3 in a close match against second-seeded Lehigh on April 20.

As during the regular season, the Bison quickly won the doubles point against Lafayette.  No. 1 doubles team Aidan Lynch ’14 and Evan Zimmer ’13 won their match 8-2, while Octavio Canibe ’15 and Kelly Morque ’13 ultimately secured the doubles point with a victory at No. 3 doubles 8-4. Nick Bybel ’16 and Josh Katten ’13 also won their doubles match 7-2.

The Bison carried the momentum into the singles play, with Zimmer, Katten and Canibe all defeating their opponent in straight sets to claim the overall victory for the Bison. Bybel, Morque and Kyle Rosen ’14 also secured wins for the Bison, but their victories did not factor into the final score.

Although they were able to defeat Lafayette in the quarterfinals, the Bison fell in a highly competitive match to the second-seeded Lehigh Mountain Hawks. The Bison defeated the Mountain Hawks 4-3 during regular season play, but Lehigh managed to get their revenge.

No. 1 doubles team Lynch and Zimmer lost their match 8-4, while No. 3 doubles team Canibe and Morque pulled out an 8-3 victory. In the final doubles matchup, the No. 2 team of Bybel and Katten fought hard, but dropped the match 9-8 (3), giving Lehigh the doubles point.

In the singles play, the Bison were unable to make up for lost points. Bybel won his No. 1 singles match 6-2, 7-5. Morque fought a three-set match but ultimately came out on top (3-6, 7-5, 6-4) at the No. 2 singles spot. Zimmer easily won his No. 3 singles match, recording a score of 6-2, 6-4. Katten lost his match 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 singles. Rosen also lost at the No. 5 singles position 7-5, 6-3. Finally, Canibe lost the No. 6 singles position in a close three-set match 2-6, 7-6, 6-4. 

The Bison concluded their season on April 24 with a 6-0 win at home against Bloomsburg. None of the Bison lost any match ups, as the Orange and the Blue finished with a 15-8 record. Though the Bison will be losing Katten, Morque, and Zimmer, a young core of talent will hopefully allow the men’s tennis team to improve on their record next year, as well as take a step closer to the ultimate goal of winning the Patriot League Tournament.