Category: Sports

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Tennis Women

Women’s tennis solid at home

 

Chloe Chou | The Bucknellian
Maria Cioffi ’16 and Elena Vidrascu ’14 show their strong team dynamic. They have been a strong doubles team in every competition this season.

Ajan Caneda
Copy Editor

At the Bucknell Invitational last weekend, the women’s tennis team had a solid tournament, taking home the singles crown, the first tournament title of the season for Elena Vidrascu ’14, while Jen Bush ’15 and Stephanie Pino ’16 were runners-up in the doubles final. Colgate, Mount St. Mary’s, Villanova and Bloomsburg joined the Orange and Blue in the three-day tournament.

“This was with no doubt the best tournament weekend I’ve had since coming to Bucknell. I played my usual game this weekend, but the key to my success was that I played the sort of game that my opponents don’t like,” Vidrascu said.

On the first day of action, five Bison players won their first round singles matches, including Lydia Colvin ’15 who defeated Aida Diop from Bloomsburg, 6-1, 6-1, and Maria Cioffi ’16 who won, 6-2, 6-2, against Bloomsburg’s Michelle Perez. Vidrascu, Bush and Pino also picked up first-round victories.

In doubles action, Colvin and Alyssa McAndrew ’15 lost a hard-fought match against Tori Smyth and Allison Kruse from Villanova (8-6), while Bush and Pino dominated Colgate’s Alex Petrini and Jennifer Ho 8-1. The Orange and Blue also picked up consolation victories as Christie Schneider ’15 and Elizabeth Morgan ’14 defeated Bison teammates Claudia Silvers ’15 and Sam Madnick ’16 8-4, while Cioffi and Vidrascu beat a Bloomsburg pair 8-3.

The Orange and Blue continued their success on the second day of the tournament, as Vidrascu and Cioffi moved on to the singles semifinals. Vidrascu was successful in her semi-final match, defeating Mikelle Mancini of Villanova 6-3, 6-2. Unfortunately, Cioffi lost to Villanova’s Tori Smyth 6-2, 6-0.

Bush and Pino advanced to the doubles final with a win over Mount St. Mary’s Carly Landini and Liz Rossi (8-4).

“This was only the second time Jen [Bush] and I have played doubles together and I feel that with each match we are playing better as a doubles team. Our style of play suits each other and we work well together on the court,” Pino said.

On the final day of the tournament, the Orange and Blue appeared in both finals and consolation matches. After dropping the first set 6-1, Vidrascu bounced back to win the second set 6-4 and the eventual tiebreaker 10-8, as she secured the singles title. She and Cioffi also picked up a doubles win against teammates Morgan and Schneider.

“In my final match of the tournament, I lost the first set 6-1 pretty quickly. I remembered how I played against the previous two girls in the tournament and started to do the exact same thing, and it worked,” Visdrascu said. “This win has boosted my confidence tremendously, because I have finally realized the game that I need to play against all types of players.”

The Bison look to continue their strong play as they travel to Philadelphia for the Saint Joseph’s Invitational this weekend.

“Going into the St. Joe’s tournament this coming weekend I will focus on playing well, going for my shots and working on strategy and play,” Pino said.

Categories
Soccer Sports Women

Women’s soccer wins blowout

 

Wilson Hunt | The Bucknellian
Chelsey Garkowski ’14 takes a shot. She scored four goals against Canisius, which ties a program record.

Ajan Caneda

Copy Editor

Forward Chelsey Garkowski ’14 scored four goals that powered the women’s soccer team to a 5-0 victory against Canisius on Sept. 21. Garkowski is the third Bison player in program history to have a four-goal performance and she is one of four players in Division I soccer this season to score four goals. The win marked the Orange and Blue’s largest shutout of the season.

“Chelsey is a great player. She works hard and fights for every ball. She deserved that game and all those goals,” forward Cassie Denger ’15 said.

In a half that featured 21 Bison shot attempts, Garkowski showcased her powerful offense. The Bison got off to another quick start, as Taryn Boucher ’13 delivered a pass up the right wing to Garkowski for the first goal in the seventh minute. Despite 10 saves by the Golden Griffins, the Bison attack was too much to handle, as Bridget Gilmartin ’14 dished an assist to Garkowski for another goal in the 16th minute. Garkowski nailed her third straight goal off an assist from Courtney Nelson ’15 to bring the score to 3-0 at the half.

“We played really well on Friday, and on offense we had great combinations and were able to find the back of the net,” forward Kayla Yee ’13 said. “Chelsey had an amazing game with four incredible goals, and our defense was solid and kept them off the scoreboard.”

Nelson picked up right where she left off in the second half, launching a cross-pass to Yee, which led to the fourth Bison goal in the 56th minute. Garkowski, who had eight shot attempts, capped off an incredible performance as Nelson had her third assist in the game on a chip pass to Garkowski, who found the back of the net in the 62nd minute.

“Our team worked together to win the ball and give our forwards the opportunity to go towards goal. We are so ready to start league play and show everyone in the Patriot League what we are all about,” Denger said.

It was an offensive driven game as the Orange and Blue outshot Canisius 29-20, but the Bison defense prevented the Golden Griffins from finding the net. Goalie Sandita McDermott ’13 secured her fifth shutout of the season with six saves in 68 minutes of action. Jessie Ashworth ’16 finished out the game with a save of her own. Head coach Ben Landis played all 22 field players in the win.

The Bison start Patriot League play at home against Colgate tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. The Orange and Blue will also travel to Penn State on Oct. 2 to face the Nittany Lions at 7 p.m.

“Overall, we are playing great soccer and I still think we can be even better. I know we are all excited for Patriot League play and to start with a win against Colgate,” Yee said.

Categories
Sports Volleyball Women

Volleyball loses two

Katherine Harris

Writer

Last weekend, the women’s volleyball team started its Patriot League season on the road, falling to both Lafayette and Lehigh.

The Bison traveled to Lafayette on Sept. 21 to face off against the Leopards in their Patriot League season opener. While the team lot in four sets, many individuals still had powerful performances on the night. Defense was strong for the Orange and Blue, with Karen Campbell ’16 racking up six blocks, while Kebah Edoho ’13 and Amanda Hall ’15 had five each.

Morgan Mientus ’14 and Claire Healy ’16 put up 24 and 10 digs for the Bison, respectively, while teammate Kat Tauscher ’13 contributed a career-high 12 to go along with 21 assists. Right behind her on offense was Meghan Wentzel ’16 who recorded 17 assists that day.

“We didn’t start out playing strong on Friday,” Healy said. “Our mentality going into the game against Lafayette was that we had it in the bag, but we learned the hard way that we should never go into a match too comfortable.”

The next day was a quick turnaround for the Orange and Blue as they traveled to Lehigh for a match the next afternoon. While the squad posted a strong offensive performance to win the first set, it could not duplicate the effort for the rest of the game, losing 3-1.

Once again, defense was strong for the Bison, with Jessica Serrato ’14, Edoho and Campbell each recording five blocks. Edoho also put up 10 kills on the day, keeping her streak of solid performances intact. Teammates Mientus and Tauscher were also consistent, earning 16 digs and 25 assists, respectively.

“This weekend we got off to a slow start against Lafayette. We unfortunately could not put our preparation into action and didn’t play at our level. However, by the start of our game against Lehigh on Saturday, our team had a whole new mentality which showed in the first three sets of the match,” Serrato said. “While we didn’t pull out the win, we left with a sense of what we are capable of in terms of both physical ability and team dynamics going forward in the league.”

The Bison will regroup and prepare to face their next Patriot League opponent, Army, as they travel to West Point, N.Y. for their match tonight at 7 p.m.

Categories
Beyond the Bison Sports

Beyond the Bison: Sports News Across the Nation

 

Courtesy of nhl-red-light.si.com
Donald Fehr, the NHL Players’ Association’s representative, addresses the press at a news conference.

Julian Dorey
Writer

Just when you thought the National Hockey League had learned its lesson, it struck again.

After seven years of tirelessly rebuilding a sport crushed by the lockout of 2004-05, the league has decided it is necessary to walk down the potentially long lockout road once again. Last week, after a summer of ultimately meaningless talks between the league owners and the Players Association, the owners officially locked the players out.

Why?

When the 2004-05 lockout washed out the entire season, the NHL lost TV sponsorship deals, millions of dollars and millions of fans. It has taken game-enhancing rule changes, exciting new features (like the Winter Classic) and tireless effort from everyone involved with the NHL to bring hockey back within range of its pre-2004 popularity.

Now the NHL is willing to throw all that work away for a few dollars and cents. Frankly, the numbers, demands and disagreements don’t even matter. In the end, everyone involved with the league is making a ton of money and that’s never going to change. What does matter is the stigma the league is willing to create.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. The fans aren’t going to be fooled twice. They are going to look at this situation and see a bunch of prima donnas who can’t figure out how to get along and split millions of dollars fairly every few years.

It may only be September now, but with the lockout officially underway and no urgency emanating from either side to sit down and negotiate, this work-stoppage seems like it could last a while.

The Players’ Association’s representative, Donald Fehr, used to be the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. His hard-line tactics have been notoriously scrutinized for years–and he does not appear to have outgrown them.

On the other side, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has been running the business since 1993 and has never allowed intense discontent from NHL players to faze him. Much like Fehr, Bettman’s attitude has always been “my way or the highway.” The head-butting that could ensue between the two faces of the respective parties has Vegas booking better and better odds that the season could be cancelled. Again.

The overarching outside opinion is that these guys need to do themselves a favor and get a deal done quickly. Just don’t count me in as being optimistic about that happening.

Categories
Men Sports Water Polo

Water polo goes 1-2 at North/South

Scott Padula
Staff writer

On Sept. 15 and 16, the men’s water polo team competed in the North/South Tournament, going 1-2 on the weekend. The Bison defeated host team Harvard 11-3 before losing to No. 20 St. Francis 7-6 and No. 13 Princeton 13-9. The Orange and Blue are now 4-5 on the season.

The Bison coasted to an easy victory against the Crimson, thanks in part to a tremendous defensive effort. In the first half, the Orange and Blue scored six goals while holding Harvard scoreless. The Bison carried their momentum into the second half, outscoring the Crimson 5-3.

Matt Napleton ’13 was great in goal throughout, allowing a mere three goals with 10 saves in 32 minutes of play. Brian Barron ’13, Alex Nowlin ’14, Andrew Somers ’14 and Stefan Aleksic ’16 each found the back of the net two times. Nowlin added three assists to lead the team in points with a total of five.

In the final game of the invitational, the Orange and Blue fell to the highest-ranked east coast team Princeton 13-9. The game was competitive throughout, with the Bison leading in the first quarter 2-1 and taking a 4-4 tie into the intermission. The Tigers were too much for the Orange and Blue in the second half, particularly the third quarter, scoring five times without allowing a single Bison goal.

Mike Kimble ’14 scored a career-high five goals, while Jack Else ’14 provided a season-high five ejections. In goal, Napleton recorded 10 saves in 32 minutes of action. His effort on the weekend earned him the honor of being the CWPA’s Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week.

The Bison will now shift their focus to conference play by traveling to face Navy, George Washington and Johns Hopkins this weekend.

Categories
Football Men Sports

Bison football training, diet regiment

Sami Shein

Writer

The Bison football team is stronger than ever due to their rigorous summer training and diet regimen.

After numerous players participated in voluntary summer workouts, the entire team reported to campus to start football training camp on Aug. 7. It was not hard for the Orange and Blue to get back into the swing of things since every teammate pushed himself over the summer.

“During camp, we are on a tight schedule that includes practicing, working out, meetings and meals. Our nutrition is monitored to maintain or change our weights so that we will be most effective when we are out on the field,” co-captain Beau Traber ’13 said.

“Our schedule was tough. A typical day was waking up at 7 a.m. and pretty much going to meetings, lifts and practices until curfew. We also had breaks throughout the day to eat and rest,” co-captain Joseph Francis ’13 said.

There was no unified diet for the team, but some players who needed to lose or gain weight for their position were advised to eat certain foods. The players tried to eat about 4,000 calories per day and hydrate as much as possible to feel energized and strong.

The Bison enjoy their intensive training schedules and are not intimidated by the workouts because the training is fairly similar to years before. Since they know what to expect, they set goals in order to improve.

“Everyone’s attitude was focused on taking it day by day and not worrying about what we had to do next,” Francis said.

“This year, camp went well, and we attribute that to all the hard work we have put in since the end of last season,” Traber said.

Due to all their discipline and dedication, the Orange and Blue feel more than ready to take on their opponents this season.

Categories
Sports

Bison Athlete of the Week: Mayowa Alli ’14

 

The Bucknellian Archives

Alex Wagner

Sports Editor

Player Profile

Mayowa Alli ’14

Lanham, Md.

Political Science

Season stats:

Six starts in seven games

522 minutes played

Two goals

One assist

Mayowa Alli ’14 and the men’s soccer team enjoyed a great weekend in the Class of ’98 Invitational, which they co-hosted with Penn State. They defeated Adelphi and Albany by a combined score of 11-0 to win the tournament. Alli, who starts in the center of the defense, anchored a unit that only allowed three shots on target all weekend, none of which resulted in goals. His strong defensive presence earned him the title of Patriot League Brine Defensive Player of the Week.

But Alli’s contributions to the Orange and Blue extend beyond simply just shutting down other teams’ offenses. He is a strong attacking threat himself, as proven last weekend. In the game against Adelphi, he picked up an assist after Jonathan Grad ’15 headed in his long throw-in, which has come to be a special weapon for the Bison. Alli became an even bigger part of the attack against Albany, when he scored the game’s first two goals, both off of headers.

“I think we were so successful this past weekend due to the fact that we were excited to finally play at home, and the entire team’s contribution to each game. The fan support was great; we honestly fed off the crowd’s energy. And our depth off the bench was awesome. Every single guy was given a chance to play and made the best of their opportunity,” Alli said.

Last season, Alli scored seven goals and earned First Team All-Patriot League honors and Second Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region. His performance last weekend is certainly an indicator that there are more great things to come from him this season.

Categories
Beyond the Bison Sports

Beyond the Bison: Sports News Across the Nation

 

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Julian Dorey

Writer

“Lambs to the slaughter here.”

Enough is enough. The story that wasn’t supposed to be a big deal is now one of the biggest deals.

The National Football League’s replacement referees are single-handedly making a mockery out of America’s most popular sport.

You can’t blame them. They’ve been put in an unwinnable situation. In fact, you should give them some props. They have voluntarily subjected themselves to national jeering by signing on to help the NFL owners get through their ridiculous penny-scratching labor dispute with the real refs: the pros.

It’s time for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to save these guys from continued embarrassment and, more importantly, it’s time for him to do something smart for a change. I’m not sure I can remember a commissioner in one of the four major sports who was as unpopular as Goodell has become through the past few years.

This debacle certainly has not helped.

Let’s take a step back for a second. Who ever thought we would actually be picketing to get the NFL refs on the field? Isn’t there an old saying that the zebras are always the fans’ least favorite players? Yet here we are, begging them to come back.

If and when they return this season, everything will probably return to normal. Fans will quickly transition back and rid their minds of the blip that was the 2012 NFL Referees Association lockout. They’ll intensely scrutinize the very professionals they banged the doors down for. Every holding call against their team will be met with a complaint, and there will be no such thing as a pass interference penalty on their team’s defensive backs.  But despite it all, fans will eventually get over just about every call against their team, and they’ll all be able to turn on the games every Sunday without their first thoughts being about the guys who aren’t there to win or lose.

Once the season is over, plenty will reflect on replacement refs with disdain. But it will simply be a very small wound in an incredible nine-plus decade old NFL history book.

Regardless, let’s hurry up and get out of this situation while it’s still a small wound. God forbid this turns into a season-long nightmare culminating with a Super Bowl result that leaves fans wondering if the champions won fair and square or whether they were benefactors of terrible officiating.

Right now, I’m watching games like the Broncos-Falcons Monday Night game that featured players hitting referees, veterans taking advantage of the “just don’t call anything that’s going to be controversial” attitude of most of the replacement refs and middle-school referees calling billion-dollar NFL franchises “red,” referring to the Falcons.

The NFL is too popular to have its headlines dominated by guys who aren’t playing, coaching, managing or owning. This “replacement ref concept” that is reminiscent of an officiating version of the Gene Hackman and Keanu Reeves’ film, “The Replacements,” should be nothing more than a decent idea for a daytime TV movie on Lifetime, not an actual course of action for the highest-grossing professional sports league in America.

Just for our viewing sanity, the madness has to end, and soon.

Categories
Football Men Sports

Football falls to No. 13 Delaware

Courtesy of Athletic Communications
The Bison attempt to take control at the line of scrimmage. Unfortunately, the Bison were unable to overtake the Blue Hens after a strong first half, falling 19-3 to end the game.

 

Eric Brod

Senior writer

Head coach Joe Susan returned to his alma mater, Delaware, last Saturday, and despite a hard fought effort from the Bison, they were unable to get past No. 13 Delaware in a 19-3 defeat.

The Blue Hens’ offense was averaging 40 points per contest, but the Orange and Blue defense held the Blue Hens from getting a touchdown during their first three trips inside the Red Zone. However, Delaware kicker Sean Baner tied their school record with four field goals.

The Bison’s score came from the first play of the second quarter on a 21-yard field goal by Sean Cobelli ’14. The field goal finished a 13-play, 80-yard drive led by quarterback Brandon Wesley ’14, who was stopped four yards short of the goal line on a third-down play.

By the end of the first half, the Bison had an offensive yard advantage over the Blue Hens, 174-132, but found themselves trailing 6-3 at the half. The Blue Hens pulled away in the second half behind running back Andrew Pierce, who rushed for 101 yards on 21 carries. 

“We need to eliminate negative yardage runs. This puts your offense off schedule when it comes to down and distance. We also had some pre-snap penalties,” Susan said. “Against a team like Delaware, you must be right in both of these instances.”

Despite the loss, the Bison showed why they are considered one of the most improved teams in the Patriot League and why they are serious contenders for the league title this year. The defense was led by linebacker Evan Byers ’15, who tied a career-high 10 tackles, and safety Ryan Morgan ’14 added in nine. Sean Sellers ’14 led the defensive line with 1.5 sacks, one of which resulted in a 15-yard loss on a third and goal for the Blue Hens early in the game.

“Our defense played hard the entire game. We knew that we would have to challenge Delaware by defensive front movement and both linebacker and secondary pressure,” Susan said. “We limited their big plays, which can change the score quickly. We attacked their offensive line and that was a key throughout.”

On offense, Wesley completed 21 of 37 passes for 197 yards, and Jeremiah Young ’13 led the rushing attack again with 11 carries for 44 yards. It was also a milestone for wide receiver Victor Walker ’14, whose six catches for 74 yards put him over 1,000 receiving yards in his career.

“We came out of the game healthy. That is critical as we move into league competition. Our team is focused on doing what it takes to win,” Susan said.

The Bison will look to rebound tomorrow in their home opener against Lafayette. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

“I would like to send a personal message to the Bucknell students and faculty: please come to our game this Saturday. The game is televised nationally on CBS Sports Network. Please join us and support your team,” Susan said.

Categories
Field Hockey Sports Women

Field hockey breaks even

 

The Bucknellian Archives
Tayler Siegrist ’13 moves the ball away from pressure. Her goals on Saturday helped the Bison in their victory against Towson.

Andrew Arnao

Senior writer

In two home games, the field hockey team defeated Towson on Sept. 15, shutting out the Tigers 6-0, and fell to Ohio State 3-1 the next day. Forward Kiersten Sydnor ’16 earned her third Patriot League Rookie of the Week award, while goalie Erica Perrine ’14 snagged the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week award for the second time this season.

“After stumbling a bit against Columbia and St. Francis (Pa.) last weekend, the team’s mindset going into this weekend was to get back into the rhythm we had at the beginning of the year,” Perrine said. “We established a theme of being ‘relentless’ and to never stop fighting for every ball, regardless of whether or not we were winning or losing.”

The defense did just that in the first half against Towson, not allowing a single shot on goal. The Orange and the Blue had 10 shots in the first half, and broke out for five of their six goals in the second half, led by two goals apiece from Sydnor and defender Tayler Siegrist ’13. Perrine finished with two saves and her third career shutout.

“Saturday’s game against Towson was an exciting one, especially because it was our first shutout,” Sydnor said. “Our defense was exceptionally strong, as was our offense. We were able to capitalize on our offensive corners on Saturday, which I think accounted for half of our goals.”

The same offensive breakout proved difficult against Ohio State, as the Bison were unable to score until Siegrist knocked in a penalty stroke with only 13 seconds remaining. Ohio State eventually triumphed, but there was controversy over whether the third Buckeye goal crossed the goal line. The defense put up an impressive display once again, led by Perrine and her season-high 13 saves.

“We were extremely excited to play a Big Ten team, but along with that excitement came nerves in the very first few minutes of the game,” Siegrist said. “Once we realized that we were just as good as them though, things turned around.”

“Unfortunately, I think there were a couple of bad calls that went in Ohio State’s favor and a couple of key moments that we failed to capitalize on that could have been game changers. Throughout the entire game, the team never gave up,” Perrine said. “Ohio State was a bit more challenging, but choosing to battle rather than accepting defeat was our mindset, and we were able to hold them off for much of the game, generating our own shots and goal-scoring opportunities.”

The Bison (5-3) return to action this weekend with two home games against nationally ranked Michigan tomorrow at noon, and Temple on Sept. 23 at 2 p.m.