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Softball wins opening game of season

By Lindsay Regruto

Staff Writer

The women’s softball team started the Kickin’ Chicken Classic with a bang last weekend in Conway, S.C., shutting out James Madison in its first game. However, the Bison were unable to continue the momentum, dropping the remaining games to Coastal Carolina, Saint Joseph’s and James Madison in a second match-up.

The first game of the day on Friday saw the Bison defeat the Dukes of James Madison 4-0. Advancing into scoring position with the help of her teammates, Mallory Lyons ’14 was the first to score on a wild pitch in the second. Sam Rollandi ’11 tripled down the right line in the seventh to give the offense one last push. Elyse Colmenero ’11 and Lauren Fry ’11 walked to load the bases with all three runners scoring by the end of the inning.

The Orange and Blue defense remained strong the entire game led by Alex MacLean ’13, who allowed only two hits and struck out six. MacLean now totals 98 career strikeouts.

“Our first game against James Madison proved to be very exciting,” Alison Ford ’11 said. “We were able to push some key runs across the plate and were able to play solid defense behind a great pitching performance from Alex MacLean.”

Friday’s second game proved a bit harder for the Bison in a match-up against Coastal Carolina. With both teams displaying solid defense, the third inning ended with goose eggs across the board. The Chanticleers were the first to put runs on the board managing three in the top of the fourth with one more following in the sixth. Kathryn Wilkinson ’13 singled up the middle to end the no-hitter. Colmenero followed later with a double down the line for an R.B.I. The Orange and Blue were unable to rally and fell 4-1 at the end of the day.

Saturday opened with the Bison facing Saint Joseph’s, who came out strong, scoring two runs off the bat in the first and two more in the third and fourth. Dickinson singled up the middle in the second in an attempt to jump-start the offense, but the Bison were stopped until the fourth when Caryn Connors ’14 scored after coming in to pinch fun for Ford. With three up and three down in the sixth, the Orange and Blue were able to hold the Hawks at four until the seventh inning when Saint Joseph scored four more runs. The Bison made a comeback in the seventh with four runs of their own but were unable to close the gap, falling 8-5 to the Hawks.

Despite the loss, the Bison had success at the plate individually. Meredith Dickson ’12 had her second career multi-hit game going 2-3 with a run. Lyons went 2-2 at the plate with an R.B.I, and Fry, Alicia Wheeler ’12 and Ford all drove in runs.

“Although there are still things we need to work on, it is exciting to be playing as a senior with the talent and potential that this team has,” Ford said.

The Bison faced a second match-up with Coastal Carolina in their second game on Saturday. It proved to be anybody’s game with zeros across the board going into the top of the fourth until the Chanticleers managed two runs. The Bison held Coastal Carolina at bay with a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth. Rollandi and Laura Sandford ’13 had back-to-back singles in the sixth to try and close the deficit, but the Orange and Blue couldn’t bring anyone home and fell 2-0 to the Chanticleers.

The Orange and Blue faced James Madison once again in the last game of the tournament. The Bison defense came out strong with MacLean setting down the first six batters. The Hawks were able to break past the Bison defense by putting a run on the board in the third. The Dukes managed a three-run lead going into the sixth.  The game ended with a 4-0 loss for the Bison.

“I think this weekend was a great learning experience for our team,” Colmenero said. “We know what we need to work on and we’ll continue to get more comfortable with each other on the field as the season goes on.”

The Bison will be back on the field this weekend in the Longwood University Tournament in Farmville, Va.

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Women’s track places second in meet

By Joyce Novacek

Writer

Sasha Hornock ’13 and Sarah Bella ’12 won gold medals to help the women’s track team place second at the Patriot League Indoor Championships last weekend in Annapolis, Md.. Navy prevented the Bison from defending their title from last season, scoring 157 points compared to the Bison’s 117.

Hornock won the 60-meter dash, earning the first gold medal of her career. Also on the track, Jennifer Zymet ’14 placed second in the 400 meters and third in the 200.

In throws, Bella placed first in the shot put with a throw of 44 feet, 3.25 inches. Teammate Rebecca Misko ’12 took silver in the shot put.

Hornock and Bella were named first-team all-league, while Zymet and Misko earned second-team honors.

“Our focus going into the meet was for every person to score. We can only take 32 people to the Patriot League championships, so every person and every point counts,” Hornock said.

Many more Bison stayed true to their focus and earned points for the team. In the 60-meter hurdles, Taylor Funk ’12  and Jamie Leacock ’11 placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Both set new career-best times, and Funk broke nine seconds for the first time in her career.

The Orange and Blue had success in the jumps as well. Rebecca Frey ’11 earned bronze in the pole vault, and teammate Emily Ando ’14 finished in fourth. Casey Krause ’11 and Alexandra Romanelli ’13 earned third and fourth in the triple jump, respectively. In the long jump, Krause placed ninth with a season-best jump.

In the last 13 years, the Bison have either placed first or second at this Championship meet. In years when the Bison have failed to come in first, the Midshipmen have won every time.

“I’m proud of the team. Although it’s disappointing getting second, we competed with heart and Bucknell had great performances overall,” Hornock said. She also commented that this meet is a motivating force for the outdoor season.

“I believe the team performed well, but we are definitely still hungry for more. I think the team will use the outcome of this meet as a motivator to go after the spring championship title,” Bella said.

After a two-week break the Orange and Blue will travel to Boston for the ECAC Championship meet on March 5-6.

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Sacks ’14 sets Bison first-year record

By Colin Fields

Contributing Writer

The men’s track team finished third in the team standings at the Patriot League Championships this past weekend in Annapolis, Md. Chris Sacks ’14 became the first first-year student in Bison history to win two events in his first championships, also claiming Rookie of the Meet honors. Andrew Powell ’12 also took first place in the heptathlon on Saturday, his second heptathlon victory of the year. Robert Arent ’12 also broke the school record in the 60-meter hurdles.

The Bison went into the final day in second, trailing Navy by seven and leading Army by 14. The Orange and Blue were the best of the non-academy schools, finishing with 151 points. The Bison finished well ahead of fourth-place finisher Lehigh, who totaled up a mere 46.5 points.

Sacks was victorious in the 4×800 relay with teammates Christopher Boyd ’11, Jordan Donaldson ’12 and Clayton Smith ’11. The team’s time of 7:34.15 was good enough for a close victory over Colgate. The time also set a record for the Wesley A. Brown Fieldhouse.

Sacks’ second victory was not as close. The first-year student blew away the competition in the 1,000 meter run by a full two seconds. Sacks’ performance this past weekend helped him pick up First Team All-Patriot League honors.

“Going into the championships, I was nervous because Patriot Leagues is the most important part of the season. However, at the same time I was confident due to a great deal of preparation that went into getting ready for the meet,” Sacks said.

Powell also had a big weekend for the Bison. Powell won the high jump, long jump and 60-meter hurdles on his way to heptathalon gold. His total of 4,967 points was enough for second place in the Bison record books. Powell picked up his third win in the heptathlon and his second win this season for the Bison.

“I am really looking forward to the championship meet as it really brings the team together. Instead of everyone chasing individual marks like during the season, the one goal everyone can unite under this weekend is to beat the other teams. I’m also hoping to break the school record in the hurdles,” Arent said.

Arent did not disappoint in the 60-meter hurdles. He joined teammate Marlon Woods ’11 in the finals of the event and ran 8.13 seconds in the prelims, which was just one-hundreth of a second shy of the school record. The next day Arent had a breakout performance and smashed his previous record by five hundredths with a time of 8.07, a new school record. Arent joined Sacks and five other teammates on the First Team All-Patriot League squad.

The Bison will be competing in the IC4A Championships in Boston, Mass. on March 5 and 6.

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Lady Bison finish meet in third place

By Mike Wolf

Writer

The women’s swimming team capped a great season this past weekend with an overall third-place finish in a tough Patriot League championships. The three-day championship meet took place in the Kinney Natatorium between Thursday and Saturday. This achievement marks the 11th straight year that the Bison have finished in the top three in the Patriot League.

The Bison had five separate top-five places over the course of the championships. Colgate finished first by over 100 points, winning its third Patriot League Championship in four years. Navy, the defending champion, took second place with a total score of 760. The Orange and Blue ended with a total score of 581.5 and held third place by a solid 250 points.

Emily Wright ’14 had a great showing over the course of the weekend and finished second in the 50 free and 100 free on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Wright’s 100 free time of 51.24 seconds was good enough to put her fourth all-time in the Bison record books.

Another first-year, Kelly Pontecorvo, helped the team by placing third in the 1,650 free with a time of 16:50.89. That time was the second-best time in program history and a personal best by four seconds.

The final event on Saturday was the 400-free relay in which Wright, Pontecorvo, Elizabeth Porcellio ’13 and Kaitlyn Utkewicz ’14 combined for a season best 3:27.75. They completed the meet on a positive note with a third place finish, also the third best time in Bison history. Porcellio also contributed with two fifth place finishes in the 200 breast stroke and 200 IM, and a sixth place finish in the 200 free.

The women’s swimming team’s season is finished but a few individuals have the opportunity to participate in the ECAC Championships this weekend, which will officially end the season.

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Nicholson ’14 finishes great season

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

Mike Nicholson ’14 transcended his team’s third-place finish in this past weekend’s Patriot League Championships in Kinney Natatorium, setting new school records in the 200 and 400 meter individual medleys. Navy won the championship for the eighth consecutive year.

“Getting a team record [at Bucknell] is a huge honor considering all of the great swimmers that have swam here,” Nicholson said. “Winning the 400 IM was probably the biggest thrill of my life.”

Nicholson’s record-breaking performance in the 200 IM secured him third place in the event, but by winning the 400 IM, he became the first first-year in four years to win an individual event in the Patriot League Championships.

Thomas Brown ’12 set another school record in the 200-meter backstroke. In the prelims he swam a record time of 1:48.04, coming in third for that event. In the finals, he finished in second with a 1:48.95.

Matthew Segar ’12, Christian Treat ’13, Trevor Reitz ’14 and Eric Sokolosky ’12 combined to break a third Bison record in the 400 free relay. With a time of 3:00.87 the team came in second place.

Overall, in the three-day championships, the Bison recorded program top-ten times in an outstanding 17 events.

The series of top-ten records did not help the team compete with Navy, who beat the Bison by 490 points. Navy finished the meet in first by far with 1056 points. The battle for second was much more competitive, Army finishing in front of the Bison by 37.5 points. Army finished with 603.5 to the Orange and Blue’s 566.

“Our main goal heading into the meet was to beat Army for second place,” Nicholson said. “Our meet was far from a failure though. We saw many team records drop, on both the swimming and diving sides of the meet, and we ravaged the top-10 lists in many events.”

The winter season for the team as a whole ended this past week, but the ECAC Championships will take place this weekend for those swimmers privileged enough to qualify.

The team will be motivated in future seasons by the results of the championships. “Getting third was definitely a disappointment, but I know it will only motivate us in the spring and next year to make sure we don’t lose to those kids again,” Nicholson said.

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Baseball looks to win league again

By Eric Brod

Senior Writer

To say the Bison’s run through the Patriot League Tournament last year, which that ended in a league championship and NCAA tournament berth, was unexpected would be an understatement. After an up-and-down 2010 regular season that saw the Orange and Blue finish with an underwhelming 25-35 record (7-9 in league play), the team rode the MVP performance of first baseman Doug Shribman ’11 to a Patriot League Championship.

Despite the losses of Andrew Brouse, Ben Yoder and B.J. LaRosa, the Bison return poised for another run at the league title. Much of the team’s success lies on Shribman, who was named to the Louisville Slugger All-American third team for the preseason. Last season, Shribman exploded for 21 home runs and 62 R.B.I.’s while hitting at a stellar .359 clip. During the tournament, he took his game to another level, belting seven home runs and driving in 16 runs in only six games.

Shribman feels that his dedication to preparation will be crucial for a repeat performance this season.

“You just have to continue to work hard and be ready for any pitch that could come at any time,” Shribman said. “It doesn’t really matter what pitch is coming because you still have to swing at good pitches to hit and take advantage of those opportunities. If you are working hard and maintaining your swing, then it doesn’t really matter how the pitcher throws to you.”

Also returning for the Bison are outfielders Drew Constable ’11 and Bob Donato ’12. The pitching staff also returns with a solid core, led by right-hander Jack Boehm ’12 and Dylan Seeley ’11.

Seeley believes the pitching staff is well-suited to help lead the team back to the NCAA tournament.

“As a pitching staff our goal is always to give our team a chance to win every game, and I believe we are very capable of that this year,” Seeley said. “Last year’s postseason run can give us a lot of confidence going into the year. A bunch of guys got good experience and pressure situations and were successful. Hopefully, that success will give us confidence to start off the season.”

The Orange and Blue will be tested early in the season. Today they travel to face James Madison in a four-game series, and next weekend they will compete against a tough Richmond Spiders team. League play begins April 2, when the Bison will host Lafayette for a four-game, two-day series. Regular season action concludes for the club with a four-game series against Army, and the Patriot League Tournament is set to kick off on May 14.

With a lot of expectations and accolades surrounding the 2011 Bison baseball team, anything short of an NCAA tournament berth will be considered a major disappointment.

“We just have to continue to work hard through the rough times, which inevitably come with any baseball season, and not let a rough game or two bring us down even farther,” Shribman said. “Last year we started playing poorly and it affected us for far too long mentally, so this year we have to do a better job of relaxing and just playing the game like we know we can.”

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Cohenca ’12 pulls off big win

By Chris McCree

Writer

The men’s tennis team dropped its third straight contest on Sunday night, losing to Penn State in University Park, Pa. Taking on a very talented Nittany Lion team, the Bison lost all three doubles matches and managed to win only one out of six singles matches. However lopsided the match may have been, the program took an important step forward as it saw Gregg Cohenca ’12 claim the team’s first singles victory against Penn State since 1986.

Coming off of a tough 7-6, 7-6 loss against Duquesne University last weekend, Cohenca won a grueling three-set thriller against Penn State’s No. 1 singles player Bryan Welnetz. Unfazed by losing the first set 5-7, Cohenca bounced back and won six straight games in the second set to even the match. His second-set momentum carried over into the third and he was able to knock off Welnetz 10-6 for the Bison’s one and only victory of the day. With the victory, Cohenca was named the Susquehanna Valley Limo Bison Athlete of the Week.

“It is important for us to take the positives out of a match, and seeing Cohenca compete at such a high level is very powerful,” Mark Malloy ’11 said.

Penn State was able to claim the remaining matches in decisive fashion. Other than Cohenca, the Bison were not able to win a set off of the Nittany Lions. The only other close match was the No. 3 doubles match, in which Josh Katten ’13 and Kelly Morque ’13 fell to Penn State’s Harry Seaborn and Bryan Welnetz by a score of 8-5.

Cohenca attributed the team’s struggle to pure intimidation.

“Going into this match we knew we were facing a strong and talented team,” he said. “I think we all started off the match a little nervous and that translated into us playing passively.”

Despite the score, the team doesn’t seem too discouraged by the loss.

“As a whole, I feel that the team competed at a high level. With Penn State being the best team we face all year, it is important for us to take away the positives from the match. We were aggressive at the net in doubles and applied pressure on our opponents in singles,” Malloy said.

The Bison will try for their first win of the season tomorrow as they play host to Georgetown at the West Branch Tennis Club in Williamsport, Pa. At this point in the season, the Orange and Blue seek to use Cohenca’s big win as a rallying point.

“He sparked a flame in our team,” Malloy said. “We can use his match as inspiration for our future ones. Each player on our team needs to bring more to practice and, as a result, will be better prepared for better teams in the future. I think that with more energy throughout our whole team, we will play at a much higher level come Saturday.”

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Women’s tennis loses

By Lindsay Regruto

Staff Writer

Despite a desire for revenge, the Bison women’s tennis team fell to Binghamton 7-0 in its second match-up against the Bearcats. With the loss, the Orange and Blue’s record dropped to 0-4 for the spring season.

“We’re having a bit of a rough start, but nothing really unusual for this time of the year,” Head Coach Rebecca Helt said. “We start off playing some of the strongest teams in the region and we look to those matches to identify where we need to work in terms of our overall match play.”

Even with a rough start, the Bison didn’t go down without a fight. Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 put up a fight in the second set of her singles match but ultimately fell 6-3, 7-5 to her Binghamton opponent. Lauren Rottkamp ’11 and Elizabeth Morgan ’14 gave Binghamton the toughest time at doubles but could not pull out the win, falling 8-5.

The Orange and Blue will have some time off the court to focus on the upcoming half of the spring season.

“This time of year we’re still making adjustments in the line-up, adjustments in our doubles teams, and just looking to get everyone healthy for the second half of the spring season,” Helt said.

The Bison will be back March 5 in New York against St. Bonaventure.

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Lady Bison win two huge games

By Eric Weiss

Senior Writer

The women’s basketball team got back to its winning ways this week, downing Holy Cross 68-52 at home on Saturday and then beating Lafayette 46-34 in a defensive struggle at home on Wednesday.

With a tape-to-tape win against the Crusaders, the Bison demonstrated just how dominant they could be. The trio of Rachel Voss ’13, Shelby Romine ’14 and Felicia Mgbada ’13 led the scoring attack for the Bison, all tallying in the double digits for points.

The first half of the game was all Bison as the Orange and Blue dominated play on both sides of the ball, never allowing Holy Cross to get into a rhythm. Early in the second half the Bison had built a solid 21-point lead, and the game looked all but put away.

“Some games you make everything while some games you don’t. Our game against Holy Cross just happened to be a great shooting night for us,” Voss said.

Holy Cross went on a 10-0 run and was able to narrow the score to 57-48. But Romine helped stem the tide though with a three-pointer of her own to silence the Holy Cross rally.

After the dust settled, the Bison came away with the win and some impressive statistics, making the Holy Cross game one of the best in their season. Voss ended as the points leader with 14, but Romine and Mgbada were both close on her heels with 13 each.

At home against Lafayette, the Bison built a comfortable lead of 9-0 in the first half and never looked back. The closest the Leopards would come to regaining the lead was 12-7 just minutes later, but the Orange and Blue built a comfortable 16-point lead with just under five minutes to go in the first half.

In the second half it was the same story for the Bison as they built a 21-point lead with just over 11 minutes to go in the contest.

Higham was the leading scorer for the home team, netting 11 points and 14 rebounds. The point totals were well spread for the Bison with almost all players seeing significant action.

The Orange and Blue will use these two games as building blocks as they head toward the Patriot League tournament, peaking at exactly the right time.

“At this point, our focus is finishing top four in the league in order to secure a home game in the first round of the tournament,” Voss said.

To accomplish this goal, the team’s next  three games will be critical. The Bison play at home against Colgate tomorrow, and on the road at Lehigh and at Army next week.

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Men’s basketball continues to roll

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

Despite conceding an 11-point lead with four minutes to go, the men’s basketball team took advantage of a dominating performance by Bryson Johnson ’13 and fought back hard in overtime, outlasting a tough Lafayette Leopards squad, 74-69, on the road in Easton, Pa. on Wednesday night. The victory gives the Orange and Blue their 10th conference win of the season and leaves them one win or one American loss away from clinching the Patriot League regular season title.

Johnson had a career night, scoring 30 points, including five three-pointers and a perfect 11-11 from the free-throw line. Off the bench, Enoch Andoh ’12 added two key baskets down the stretch in overtime to pull away from Lafayette.

“It’s always a great feeling to be able to give your team a nice spark off the bench,” Andoh said. “Everyone, starters and reserves, kept their composure tonight. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to help us win with a couple of clutch buckets.”

Early on, Lafayette seemed unfazed by a Bison team that had a two-game lead in the Patriot League and had blown out most of its conference opponents. The Leopards scored the first five points of the game and held the advantage until the eight-minute mark in the half. The Bison and Leopards traded baskets for the rest of the first period, until a three-pointer by Johnson gave the Orange and Blue a five-point lead at halftime.

“Lafayette is a very well-coached team that when they execute their offense they are a very hard team to guard,” Bryan Cohen ’12 said. “The keys to winning this game [were] to really disrupt their offensive flow and motion offense by having great ball pressure and preventing the ball from entering the post. We had great practices this week at guarding their offensive sets and we [felt] very confident going into [the game].”

The Orange and Blue opened the second half with the first seven points, extending the advantage to 12. But every time the Bison jumped out to a big lead, the Leopards had an answer. Down by 11 late in the second half, Lafayette charged back with an 11-0 run to tie the game with just over a minute to go. Two missed free throws by Mike Muscala ’13 and an off-the-mark three-pointer at the buzzer by Johnson pushed a game that had seemed out of reach into overtime.

In overtime, Lafayette picked up right where it left off with a three-pointer in the first 10 seconds of the extra period. But three free throws from Johnson and the two baskets in the paint by Andoh sparked the Bison to a hard-earned victory over a tough conference foe.

“Going into Easton, we all knew that we had a big game ahead of us,” Andoh said. “But we were able to focus defensively, contain their key players and squeak out another road win.”

With the win, the Orange and Blue move within one game of securing home court throughout the Patriot League tournament. Despite the second-ranked American Eagles also winning Wednesday night, the Bison only need to win one of their final three games or the Eagles to lose just one to earn the regular season conference crown.

Looking to secure the regular season league championship, the Orange and Blue head to Colgate on Saturday for their final road game of the year. The Bison are looking for the same success that helped them beat the Raiders by 27 the first time they faced each other this season.

“It definitely feels good to be close to wrapping up the number one spot going into the conference tournament,” Cohen said. “However, it is only a stepping stone for our bigger goal of winning the Patriot League and going to the NCAA tournament. We are playing well as a team and we feel very confident going into the final stretch of the season.”