Category: Sports

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

Categories
Baseball Men Sports

Baseball takes three games from Navy

 

Heather Oros | The Bucknellian Travis Clark '13 gets a hit in a recent game. The Bison split their two games against Navy on Saturday, then swept their doubleheader on Sunday.
Heather Oros | The Bucknellian
Travis Clark ’13 gets a hit in a recent game. The Bison split their two games against Navy on Saturday, then swept their doubleheader on Sunday.

Katherine Harris

Senior Writer

The baseball team continued its Patriot League season last weekend with two doubleheaders at Navy and came out on top, winning the series 3-1.

The Bison started off the weekend slow on offense, falling 2-1 in the first game of their April 6 doubleheader that went 11 innings before a decision. Bryson Hough ’15 had a strong day on the mound pitching nine innings and allowing just one run, but the only offense the Bison could muster was an RBI hit by Carter Bumgardner ’13, one of his two hits on the day.

The offense found its groove in the second game of the doubleheader, which ended in an 8-4 victory for the Bison. Dan Weigel ’14 threw eight innings while allowing three runs and striking out seven, and Bumgardner continued his strong offensive day with two RBI’s, helping the team build a 7-0 lead in the first four innings.

The Orange and Blue continued their momentum into the second day of the series, winning both games of the doubleheader 3-1 and 16-10, respectively. In game three, Dan Goldstein ’13 pitched a complete game with only six hits allowed, while Corey Furman ’14, Travis Clark ’13 and Joe Ogren ’16 each contributed an RBI.

Things got a little more interesting in game four. Andrew Andreychik ’16 pitched a solid seven innings, allowing just one run in the third inning and five hits overall. Bumgardner and Clark both had home runs in the second game as the Bison offense broke out, scoring four runs in four separate innings. A nine-run ninth inning by Navy kept the Bison on their toes, but Max Kra ’16 came in to get the final out and seal the doubleheader sweep.

The Bison will continue to try to improve their 4-4 Patriot League record with a four-game series at Lehigh this weekend.

Categories
Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis beats Colgate

Emily Evancho

Writer

The women’s tennis team fell to Towson 6-1 on April 4, with Elena Vidrascu ’14 and Maria Cioffi ’16 recording the Bison’s only two victories. The Bison were able to bounce back from this loss with a 4-3 win over Colgate on April 6, their first Patriot League victory of the season.

In doubles against Towson, Cioffi and Vidrascu secured the only doubles triumph for the Bison with an 8-4 win. The Orange and Blue’s other doubles teams were not as successful.  The team of Jen Bush ’15 and Lydia Colvin ’15 swung into a defeat of 8-4, while Sam Madnick ’16 and Stephanie Pino ’16 were also overpowered by their Towson counterparts (8-3).

The Bison had the same turnout in singles matches. Cioffi came close to pulling in a victory for the Orange and Blue, but couldn’t maintain her lead in the super tie-breaker, finishing the match with a 10-5 defeat. Vidrascu brought the team its only victory with a 6-1, 7-6 triumph, helping to prevent a shutout by Towson.

The Orange and Blue refused to be fazed by the loss and came back strong in the next match against Colgate. The doubles teams of Cioffi/Vidrascu and Bush/Elizabeth Morgan ’14 pulled in the doubles points with dual victories while Cioffi and Vidrascu both clinched victories in their singles matches. Pino raked in a two-set tiebreaker and came away with a 6-4, 7-6 victory, clinching the win for the Orange and Blue.

The women’s tennis team will return home this weekend for its next two matches. The Bison will host Army Saturday at noon and Lafayette on April 14 at 10 a.m.

Categories
Softball Sports Women

Softball opens series against Colgate with shutout win

Thomas Walter

Senior Writer

The Bison travelled to Hamilton, N.Y. on April 6-7 to play four games against Patriot League rival Colgate. A fantastic effort from pitcher Amanda Fazio ’16 gave the Orange and the Blue a 7-0 victory in game one, marking the first win against the Raiders since the 2010 Patriot League Championships. The Bison could not match their success in game two as they fell 3-2 in extra innings. The Bison also lost both games of the doubleheader on April 7 by final scores of 4-2 and 8-5.

Fazio dominated game one, and recorded her second straight start without allowing any earned runs. Colie Escobar ’15 got the Bison on the board with a two-run homer in the second, and Fazio never let the lead slip away. Also adding RBI’s for the Bison were Cassie Greenhawk ’13, Cydnee Sanders ’15 and Erin Cox ’15. The Bison also got off to a quick start in game two thanks to an RBI double by Sanders, but the Raiders responded with two solo home runs. Though Courtney Conover ’14 tied up the game with an RBI single in the fifth, Fazio gave up a lone run in 3.2 innings of relief to give the game to the Raiders.

The Bison led early in games three and four, but both leads slipped away as Colgate came back to win each game. Escobar led the offense on April 7 by going 2-2 with another home run and a double, while Cox, Sanders and Mary Horton ’13 all recorded multi-hit games. The two losses moved the Bison’s record to 2-6 in the Patriot League, and 9-24 overall.

“So far our record hasn’t shown what we all would like to see, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t improving. Every game this year, I can see how much better we are than last year,” Escobar said. “We have the talent, we just need to regain the confidence and we are slowly making that progress. This weekend against Colgate showed us we have the potential to win any Patriot League game. As long as we continue to stay focused and keep playing our hardest, we will be successful.”

The Bison will look to earn some much-needed wins and leap up in the Patriot League standings as they host the Lafayette Leopards this weekend in another four-game series.  The first pitch will be thrown Saturday at noon.