Category: Sports

By Andrew Lichtenauer

Contributing Writer

Matthew Segar ’12 led the Bison in the pool on Saturday with two individual wins in the men’s swimming and diving team’s first home meet of the season. The Orange and Blue defeated American 208-76 and Lafayette 207-77 but lost to defending Patriot League Champion Navy 186-101.

Segar had two of the team’s three individual victories, winning both the 200-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle. He clocked in season-best times of 1:42.20 and 4:47.96, respectively.

“Navy has always been the top team to beat in the league, and all week my coach stressed that good teams race hard regardless of the competition. I just got really excited to swim them and wanted to see what I could do,” Segar said.

Captain Michael Volpe ’11 locked up the Bison’s third individual victory in the 100-fly, finishing with a season-best time of 51.82. Volpe beat out teammate and runner-up Taylor Harris ’12 in this race by more than a second.

“Being at home definitely had a huge impact on our performance. We didn’t have a bus ride to worry about or have to get used to a different pool,” Volpe said. “We had home ‘field’ advantage and used that to our benefit. Having parents and friends in the stands being loud was also a great contribution to our excitement,” he said.

The Bison’s fourth win came in the 200 free relay, where Harris, Christian Treat ’13, Bryce Suchomel ’13 and Eric Sokolosky ’12 took first place for the Orange and Blue, beating runner-up American by more than 2.5 seconds.

As the men look ahead to Patriot League championships in February, they have used their first few meets to determine expectations and goals for the rest of the season.

“The first few meets of the season are used as stepping stones for Patriot Leagues,” Volpe said. “As training gets more intense, we use early meets as a gauge of where we are and how we are progressing toward our goals for the end of the season. These meets give us a way to measure against where we were last year and at previous meets and see how much we’ve improved.”

The Orange and Blue will be back in the pool to host Colgate at 1 p.m. Saturday in Kinney Natatorium.

By Joyce Novacek

Writer

The Bison field hockey season came to an end Friday when the team lost to second-seeded Lafayette 3-2 in the Patriot League Tournament semi-finals in Washington, D.C. Despite the loss, Kelly Bruvik ’11 and Corinne Raczek ’11 were named to the Patriot League Field Hockey All-Tournament team.

About eight minutes into Friday’s game, Bruvik assisted Mallory Smith ’12 score her first goal of the season, giving the Bison an initial lead of 1-0. The Leopards responded two minutes later with an unassisted goal and, after deflecting a shot after a penalty corner, pulled ahead with a 2-1 lead. Bruvik tied the score for the Bison before halftime with a goal assisted by Rachel Misko ’14.

Despite an evenly matched second half, the Leopards executed on a penalty corner, and that made all the difference. A score of 3-2 sent the victorious Leopards into the Patriot League Final, where they ultimately lost to the American Eagles 6-2. The Bison finished the 2010 season 7-12.

Goalkeeper Sarah Zargarpour ’12 made eight saves.

“It was a hard loss to take because, as a team, we work so hard throughout the year, and then it all comes down to 70 minutes of play. For them to score with only four minutes left was really hard. Also, we really wanted to get to the finals for our seniors, as it would be the last time they would have a chance to play,” Zargarpour said.

“Playing Lafayette is always a battle and unfortunately, it didn’t end in our favor this time,” Christine Weiss ’11 said. “We played some great hockey and had some fantastic opportunities that just didn’t go in.”

In addition to Bruvik and Raczek receiving all-tournament team picks, five members of the Bison field hockey team made All-Patriot League teams. Bruvik and Weiss were selected for first-team and Morgan Kauffman ’11, Misko and Tayler Siegrist ’13 were selected for second-team.

Misko also received the Patriot League Rookie of the Year honor, and Weiss was named the Patriot League Field Hockey Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

By Eric Weiss

Senior Writer

The women’s soccer team’s season came to an abrupt end at West Point, N.Y. last Friday when the team suffered a tough 1-0 loss in a Patriot League semifinal matchup against Lehigh.

Both teams relied heavily on their back lines to anchor their game plans. Throughout the first half both the Bison and the Mountain Hawks had opportunities but neither team could bury the ball in the back of the net. At one point it appeared Lehigh would take a 1-0 lead, but an offside flag negated a prospective goal.

In the second half the Bison mounted assaults on Lehigh continually and almost scored when the Mountain Hawk keeper appeared to fall back into her own goal after catching the ball. This attempt was waved off when a Bison player was called for a push.

“This game was going to be tight throughout. We knew we had to keep the pressure up in order to try and gain the upper hand,” Jules Harris ’11 said.

But a Lehigh attacker ripped a shot from the top of the 18 in the 60th minute for the one and only score.

The Bison out-shot Lehigh 13-5 in the second half, but the Lehigh goalie was able to deter all shots by the Bison, and the Orange and Blue swallowed the loss.

As the Bison heard the final whistle blow, seven seniors said their goodbyes to four years that may have been some of the best in Bison soccer history. Amanda Citron, Kelliann Doherty, Harris, Caitlin Holtz, Kelsey Johnson, Christa Matlack and Brooke Stokes completed their time at the University with 39 wins. They finished the regular season twice in first place and twice in second place.

“It was a pleasure to play with each and every one of my teammates; we will always cherish our time playing together,” Citron said.

By Chris McCree

Writer

The men’s water polo team upset host No. 15 Navy en route to a second-place finish at the Southern Championships in Annapolis, Md. this past weekend. Coming into the tournament as the fourth seed, the Bison advanced to the championship game but fell to No. 17 Princeton by two goals in the finals.

After an 11-7 victory over Mercyhurst in the first round earlier in the day, the Orange and Blue took down Navy 13-12 on Saturday for one of their most significant victories of the season. Coming into the tournament, the Bison had lost to Navy twice this season. The two teams were tied at halftime and close for the entire game, but with just over five minutes left to play, Howie Kalter ’11 sealed the victory for the Bison with his fifth goal of the game. The loss was a shocking blow for Navy, who previously had an all-time tournament record of 53-5 and had never lost to the Bison in the Southern Championships.

Overall, the team looked at the victory as the result of a combined effort by everyone involved.

“We did well because we made an effort to work for each other. For both our offense and defense, there was a lot of communication and we were able to stick with and effectively run our game plan. Everybody was enthusiastic when somebody stepped up and scored; it created a good atmosphere,” Paul Reamey ’11 said.

“We were able to prevent our opponent’s counterattack and forced them to take outside shots that our goalies could easily block,” Brian Barron ’13 said.

The Orange and Blue took their momentum into the final matchup against Princeton, but fell to the Tigers 8-6 after leading by two at the half. The Bison offense stalled in the second half of the game as they only scored twice in the third quarter and had no goals in the fourth. Barron was the team’s only multi-goal scorer with two goals.

The senior class propelled the Bison to win two out of their three contests as Richie Hyden ’11, Kalter, Reamey and Sean Coghlan ’11 combined to score 18 of the team’s 30 goals. Goalkeeper Miles Gilhuly ’11 was another significant contributor to the Bison success as he registered 19 saves over the three-game stretch.

In the end, the team’s second-place finish was not only historically important because it was the program’s best-ever performance at this event, but also because it qualified the Bison to play in the Eastern Championships, which the team will host the third weekend in November.

“To prepare for Eastern Championships, we just need to remember what has made us successful in the past, and each person needs keep working to make the other guys on the team better,” Reamey said.

By Mike Wolf

Contributing Writer

The volleyball team ended a three-game extended losing streak with a great game against a tough Lafayette team this past weekend. The host Bison swept the Leopards on Saturday after slipping in five games to Lehigh the previous day.

After a tough loss on Friday, the Bison recovered well as they dominated Lafayette on Saturday night. The Orange and Blue won the match in three quick sets 25-22, 25-19, 25-14.

The team had needed a change of strategy after the Lehigh loss, especially with playoffs coming next weekend.

“It was a wake-up call to how hard we’re going to have to work this upcoming weekend in order to make it to the playoffs,” McAhren said.

Following a close first game where a late run let the Bison pull ahead, the team took total control of the match and never looked back. The win put the Bison back in the running for the playoffs, as they now hold the final playoff spot.

Friday’s game was close until the very end as the Bison went to five sets in the match. The Bison alternated winning and losing sets until the match was split at two games apiece. In the fifth set a quick start by Lehigh left the Orange and Blue unable to get a streak together. The match was lost 17-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-18, 15-8.

Kyleigh McAhren ’12 and Heidi Kamp ’11 led the team with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. The Bison also made a positive offensive step with 13 aces, which was a season high, including five by Kristen Titley ’14.

Though the Bison put together a very solid four sets at the beginning of the match, they fell quickly behind in the fifth. Lehigh’s Paige Kruse started the set with multiple aces and the Orange and Blue found themselves down 6-0, a deficit from which they could not recover.

The Bison have two huge matches this weekend that will decide whether they make the playoffs. Friday’s game against Holy Cross is at 7 p.m. and is also Senior Night. Saturday’s game is at 5 p.m. against Army and is themed “Rock the House,” where masses of fans come to make the court as loud as possible.

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

After last year’s shocking loss to rival Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament opening round, the 2010-11 season could not come fast enough for the Bison men’s basketball team. The quick and surprisingly early end came just days after the Bison secured the number two seed in their conference and earned the right to play their first home playoff game since 2007.

With every new season come new goals, and this season is no different. Even though last season has come and gone, its bitter end still lingers for the Orange and Blue.

“The one aspect of last season that I will remember going into this season is the emotions I was feeling when Holy Cross defeated us in the Patriot League Tournament last year,” said Bryan Cohen ’12, the projected starting small forward this season. “It allows us as a team to realize that we have the ability to be there again this year, but also that we must stay focused and motivated to attack every day of practice with intensity.”

That focus and motivation to attack will be on display right away for the Bison as they face two major conference opponents in their first weekend of the season. The Orange and Blue travel today to Villanova, the sixth-ranked team in the nation, and on Sunday to Marquette, another Big East power. But even though the Bison take on a few of college basketball’s blue-bloods early in the season, the early games are not what the Orange and Blue are focusing on.

“There is no single game that is important this year,” starting point guard Darryl Shazier ’11 said. “We will build off of each game and look to get progressively better as the year goes on.”

“As a team, we’re very passionate about not looking ahead,” Enoch Andoh ’12 said. “We strive to take one game at a time, one possession at a time. Nonetheless, our ultimate goal is the Patriot League Championship and a March Madness berth. Each game until then is an equally important test on our long journey to success.”

Picked a close second behind American in the Patriot League preseason polls, the Bison return all five starters from a team that won nine conference games in 2010 and lose just one player who tallied significant minutes last season. Despite the appearance of having the same team, the 2011 roster is much different than last year’s team.

“The main difference between this year’s team and last is our depth,” starting shooting guard Bryson Johnson ’13 said. “Everyone on our team will be able to contribute this year and that helps when guys are having an off night.”

“I think the biggest difference this year is experience,” said Mike Muscala ‘13, this year’s starting center. “We had a young team last year and are still relatively young, but a lot of guys, including myself, were able to get that year of experience and go through the process. I think we then did a good job of using that experience in the off season to work on weaknesses that we discovered throughout our season.”

As it is every season, the goal for the Orange and Blue this year is to take home the Patriot League Championship trophy and advance to where only four other Bison men’s basketball squads have been before—the NCAA tournament. But with a tough conference and non-conference schedule, winning the title will not be easy this year.

“We plan to hoist up the Patriot League Championship trophy at the end of the year, but talk means next to nothing,” G.W. Boon ’11 said. “There is an old proverb that says, ‘All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.’ We have worked hard, so I know we will be have a great season. Now we just have to prove it between the lines once the ball gets tipped up.”

With the Villanova and Marquette games this weekend, the Bison will have to waste no time showing off all their hard work in the offseason and proving that they belong in the conversation for the Patriot League Championship.

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

On a windy pitch behind the University soccer stadium, the Bison rugby team beat Lafayette this Saturday 13-12 to win its first-round playoff game.

Coming off of a loss to Gettysburg the week before—the team’s only loss of the season—the Bison were determined to play hard.

“It was definitely the best game of rugby our team has played all season,” forward Harry Bradford ’13 said.

Early in the match, the Orange and Blue seemed to dominate possession, but they could not break through Lafayette’s defense.

“Our forwards played exceptionally well, I think; we dominated scrums throughout the entire game and we stole a bunch of opposing line-outs, which really helped us keep control of the ball during the game,” Bradford said.

The Bison struck first as back Jon Shaheed ’11 converted a field goal to give his team the 3-0 lead. Lafayette then scored a try to take a 7-3 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Bison tacked on another field goal to make the score 7-6. Lafayette added another try, but Bison forward Peter Haxton ’13 forced a missed two-point conversion to keep the score at 12-6. As the Lafayette kicker moved forward to kick, Haxton ran at him, causing him to miss.

Bradford then added a try for the Bison, giving the team the 13-12 lead that it carried to the end of the match.

Both teams racked up a large amount of penalties, and the Bison earned two yellow cards. Three Bison were injured: Trevor Kauffmann ’14 and Ryan Ward ’11 with concussions, and Ross McMonigle ’13 with a cut to the head.

The Bison hope to continue success next weekend on the road against The College of New Jersey.

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

Travis Nissley ’11, mechanical engineer and middle linebacker, is the second student-athlete in Bison history to be nominated as a finalist for the Campbell Trophy, which is awarded to the most deserving student-athlete in the nation.

Nissley currently carries a 3.96 GPA in one of the University’s most academically challenging majors and is a standout on the football field. He is a team captain and fifth on the team for tackles this season.

For his achievement, Nissley received an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship from the National Football Foundation. He will find out whether or not he is the winner of the Campbell Trophy Dec. 7 at the awards dinner in New York City.

The Bucknellian: What, above all else, has allowed you to be one of the 16 finalists for the Campbell Trophy?

Travis Nissley: I think I would have to go with my grades. If you look at the evaluation criteria that they evaluate the award on, it’s a combination of your scholastic performance, your athletic ability, your athletic performance and your leadership and maybe a few other things. I really didn’t think that I stacked up well enough overall, but I guess my grades brought me through to get to be a finalist.

The Bucknellian: What aspects of this process are you most looking forward to? Anything you are worried about?

TN: I’m not worried, but I’m really looking forward to the trip to New York City. I’ve never been to New York City, except to play Fordham, and I guess that doesn’t really count because you don’t get to go anywhere but the hotel and the field. The only other guy to make it to be a finalist from Bucknell, David Berardinelli, he e-mailed me, congratulated me and said that the trip to New York was one of the best experiences of his life. It should be really cool—I get to meet all those people that I would consider to be in a whole different league athletically and football-wise.

The Bucknellian: What does being nominated for this honor mean to you?

TN: It means a lot. I’ve worked hard over the last couple of years, but I’ve been blessed intellectually, too. It’s a huge honor to represent the school. It’s like a football win almost: when you win, you’re glad you won for yourself, but the glory goes to the school and to everybody who helped contribute to that win. It speaks to all my professors, my coaches, my parents, my family and friends who have helped me over the years. It’s great to be able to represent all those people and all the things that went into it by being named a finalist.

The Bucknellian: How do you find time between playing football and being a mechanical engineer?

TN: I’ve been very fortunate to be gifted intellectually, so I can do well on tests and that stuff without studying too much. As far as the time management aspect of getting homework and projects done, you just have to be focused. It’s tough sometimes when your friends want to do something fun and you have to go get work done. It’s more about being able to sacrifice fun stuff for what you want later on down the road.

The Bucknellian: Has football ever affected your ability to perform in the classroom or vice-versa?

TN: Yes and no. It affects it, but at the same time, you can’t let it affect it. When we go on the field for football, we have a thought box and we symbolically toss our thoughts into the thought box. It’s meant to symbolize that when you go out to the practice field you have to clear your head of everything. So I can have a really long day, be all stressed out because of school, but I can’t let it affect me. If you want to be a good player, you can’t let the school aspect influence it, and it’s the same way for school. Sometimes I’ll roll into class feeling ridiculously tired or beat up, and all I want to do is sleep, but if you want to be good in school, you just can’t let it affect you.

The Bucknellian: What first inspired you to become an engineer?

TN: Well, I grew up on a farm, so I’ve always been around machinery and that kind of stuff. My dad was into snowmobiles, so I grew up around snowmobiles, dirt bikes, four-wheelers, that kind of stuff. That’s one of my biggest passions, I love that, engines and stuff like that. I didn’t really know what real engineering was all about until I got to Bucknell, but it’s verified my initial interest in things that engineering is relative to.

The Bucknellian: How have your team and your coaches helped you in your academic pursuits?

TN: They help to keep me focused. The group of guys I live with all try very hard in school and help to keep me focused. It’s easier to stay focused when the people around you are focused. Every coach that I have played under here always stresses the importance of academics and an academics-first mindset.

The Bucknellian: What do you value more, your achievements in the classroom or on the field?

TN: I would definitely say on the field. It doesn’t come nearly as easily on the field. I’ve been very fortunate to be gifted intellectually, and I don’t think I’ve been gifted like that athletically. Athletically, I’ve always had to work very hard to achieve any success that I wanted. When I achieve on the field, it’s definitely a greater feeling than in the classroom. That’s not to take away anything from the intellectual achievements, though.

The Bucknellian: What do you see yourself doing with the rest of your life? How are both your academic and athletic pursuits at the University going to help you with this?

TN: The time management and being able to sacrifice what you want at the moment for what you want overall is going to be huge in life. There are a lot of things in football: leadership experience and life experience about toughness and discipline that help in the workplace. There is obviously no direct correlation—you don’t need to be tough in the workplace—but the concepts transfer. Obviously I’ve received a great education here. You put all this time into the training of being an engineer here, learning everything, and you get to a point where you just want to get out and do something with it. I don’t know exactly where I see myself. I don’t want to get a job that drives me like a slave, but I definitely want a job that challenges me intellectually, somewhere that I could be a leader, as well. I want a job that combines both the technical side of things and also leading people, some type of team environment where we are striving towards something.