Category: Women

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Cross Country Sports Women

Women’s XC successful in both weekend meets

Katherine Harris

Senior Writer

Women’s XC successful in both weekend meets

The women’s cross country team had a successful weekend, finishing 10th in the Coast to Coast Battle as well as winning the Husky Invitational.

The Bison traveled to Boston to compete in the Coast to Coast Battle hosted by Boston College on Sept. 27. The field of 14 teams included many strong programs from across the country, including four of the top 25 collegiate squads. The Orange and Blue were led by Kylie Pearse ’15, who recorded a time of 18:29 to secure the 59th position out of 146.

Pearse was followed closely by teammate Montana DiPietrantonio ’15, who finished 61st in 18:31. Catherine Scott ’17, Sarah Chandler ’17, and Zoe Gaston ’15 finished out the top five for the Bison, with Scott and Chandler both coming in at 18:55 and Gaston at 18:57. Their finishes contributed to the Orange and Blue’s 10th-place finish that day.

Another part of the Bison squad traveled to Bloomsburg University on Sept. 28 to compete in the Husky Invitational. Kate VanNess ’15 came in third with a time of 19:28.4 to lead the way for the Bison, while Beth Braunegg ’14 and Maddie Dulac ’15 followed right behind her in fourth and fifth with respective times of 19:39.9 and 19:41.3. Their performances contributed to the team’s victory, with seven out of the top 10 spots belonging to the Bison.

The strong performances over the weekend for the Bison led to recognition in the Patriot League weekly awards for one of the team members. Catherine Scott ’17 received the Female Rookie of the Week award for her 18:55 finish in the Coast to Coast Battle against some of the top runners in the country.

The team will compete tomorrow at Lehigh University in the Paul Short Invitational.

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Soccer Sports Women

Women’s soccer stuns Lehigh, beats Loyola for first conference wins

Doug Hendry

Staff Writer

Women’s Soccer Stuns Lehigh, Beats Loyola, for first conference wins

A two-goal first half deficit could not deter the women’s soccer team on Sept. 27, as it came back against Lehigh for a 3-2 overtime victory at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Sarah Bresette ’17 led the Bison with two goals, while tri-captain Liz Dwornik ’14 dished out three assists. On Oct. 2, the Bison’s winning streak continued with a 2-1 win at Emmitt Field against Patriot League newcomer Loyola (Md.).

Lehigh’s only two shots on goal in the first half ended up in the back of the net, and the Bison were unable to cut into the lead during the first half. With 45 minutes to go, the Bison entered the second half a new team.

“Going into the second half, we really just came out with the belief that we could turn things around. Every Patriot League game is so important and we knew we needed the three points that come with a victory,” Dwornik said.

Their first score came in the 57th minute, when Evelyn Nicinski ’15 redirected a header past the keeper. Less than seven minutes later, Chelsey Garkowski ’14 and Dwornik kept the pressure on the Lehigh goalie, and Bresette powered the loose ball into the net for her first goal of the game.

The Bison almost ended the game early, as Garkowski’s run up the right side led to a cross into the box in the closing seconds. Despite the pressure, the offense couldn’t finish, leading to the Bison’s third overtime match this season. It didn’t take long, as the Bison were able to end on the winning side this time. Bresette’s second goal was a far-post rocket from outside the 18. Bresette’s first multi-goal game, with the help of Dwornik’s career-high three assists, capped an amazing comeback and first conference win for the Bison.

“It felt so great to finally get an overtime victory,” Dwornik said. “This was one of the best experiences I have had since playing soccer at Bucknell. I honestly could not wipe the smile off my face even hours after the game had ended.”

Five days later, the Bison returned home for a match against Loyola (Md.). This was the first game between the Bison and Loyola as conference rivals. Loyola had not won in its past nine matches, and the Bison took control of the game through the first half. Cassie Denger ’15 had her left-footed shot go over the Loyola keeper after a beautiful long through ball by Nicinski. With less than four minutes in the half, the Bison took a 2-0 lead when Corey Tipton ’14 scored her first goal of the year after some chaotic play inside the box.

Loyola fought back in the second half, cutting the deficit to one goal, but couldn’t muster enough offense to defeat the Orange and Blue. The Loyola goalkeeper was busy all night, and the Bison earned its second conference victory.

Bresette earned Brine Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week, and the Bison (5-6, 2-1 PL) will travel to face American tomorrow at noon.

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Golf Sports Women

Women’s golf takes 13th in Nittany Lion Invitational

Claudia Silvers

Staff Writer

Women’s golf takes 13th in Nittany Lion Invitational

The women’s golf team headed to State College, Pa. to represent the Bison at the Nittany Lion Invitational last weekend and ended with a 319 third-round team total, putting them in 13th place.

Bridget Wilcox ’14 finished in the top-20 individually, posting rounds of 74-75-77. Her performance concluded four successful years at this tournament. Of her 10 career rounds on this particular course, Wilcox shot a 77.4 average, including her school-record of 69 in 2010. Also performing well was Ellie McGuire ’17, who posted 78-78-83, and Emily Timmons ’15, who posted 80-84-78.

“Ellie McGuire has had a really good start to the season for her first year,” Timmons said. “It was really nice to be able to bring the whole team to the tournament; we were able to bring three extra players to compete individually while we usually only have five players travel. This gave our freshmen really good experience playing in competitive tournaments.”

The other first-years were successful as well. In the last round of the tournament, Callie Nelson ’17 scored a career-best 80, while Emily Larson ’17 and Nicole Mischler ’17 both finished with 85.

Kasha Scott ’14, Lauren Bernard ’14, and Meghan Garanich ’16 scored 81, 83, and 89 respectively in the last round of the tournament.

“Penn State is always a very challenging golf course, so our scores were not quite as low as we had hoped for last weekend,” Timmons said. 

Despite the challenge, the good competition and courses will prepare the Bison for their next tournament, the Rutgers Invitational, on Oct. 14-15.

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Sports Volleyball Women

Volleyball suffers two losses to Navy, American

Emily Evancho

Assistant Sports Editor 

Women’s volleyball take two losses

The women’s volleyball team tried to dig deep this past weekend but faltered with two 3-0 losses against Navy and American.

“Every week is a battle in the Patriot League, and unfortunately we haven’t come out on top the past few weeks,” Rose Lewis ’14 said. “But our play against American, one of the top teams in the league, really showed our potential, and we hope to set that as a foundation moving forward to our games in the coming week.”

In the first set against Navy on Sept. 27, both teams passed the lead back and forth until Navy snatched five continuous points in the middle of the set, taking the lead at 10-5. The Bison could not hold back the Navy flood for long, eventually allowing the set to sink into Navy’s hands.

The Orange and Blue fought hard in the second set despite the growing power of Navy’s hitting strength, resulting in a 25-17 defeat. In the third set, the Bison continued to push but couldn’t pull through with a lead, eventually falling 25-20.

The Bison returned to the court on Sept. 28 to combat American in three nail-biting sets. The lead continually bounced from side to side in the first set with neither team allowing the other more than a two-point advantage. Despite three consecutive kills from Morgan Mientus ’14, the Bison fell 25-22 in the first set.

Not deterred by the loss of the first set, Kristen Titley ’14 stole the first point of the second set and eventually pulled the Bison to a 3-1 lead after two American errors. American would not go down easily, as the Eagles pulled out a 25-17 final score in the second set.

The Bison were determined in the third set, not allowing a 9-0 American lead in the beginning get them down. Erika Eastley ’17 and Jordan Walker ’17 helped trim American’s lead to 23-21 at the end of the set, but an American kill and Bison error finalized the set.

Titley registered a team-high seven kills, while Lewis completed 12 assists during the match and a service ace. Meghan Wentzel ’16 added 10 assists while Karen Campbell ’16 and Eastley both made four blocks. Kristen Parks ’17 had a match-high 14 digs in the game.

“While the team is not content with this past weekend’s results, I am proud of us because we were able to put up a strong fight against American on Saturday after losing to Navy on Friday night,” Wentzel said. “We have our work cut out for us, but I truly believe that we can take what we have learned so far this season and get the results we want.”

The Bison will challenge Lehigh tomorrow at 5 p.m. at their home court and Lafayette on Oct. 6 in Easton, Pa.

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Sports Volleyball Women

Women’s volleyball drops opening pair of Patriot League matches

Emily Evancho

Assistant Sports Editor 

The women’s volleyball team suffered a rough beginning in its first Patriot League volleyball matches, falling on the road to both Holy Cross and Army this past weekend with two 3-0 decisions.

“We had two tough matches this past weekend, but I think we played well, especially against Army, and I think now we just need to close out games,” Erika Eastley ’17 said. “I’m excited to see how that transfers to our matches this weekend.”

The Sept. 20 match against the Holy Cross Crusaders proved to be a problem more of endurance than of the Bison’s skill. The Orange and Blue easily established themselves early in each of the three sets, taking 10 points off the net without a problem. But at the end of each set the Bison ran out of steam, allowing the Crusaders to snap victory out of the Bison’s hooves.

Keane Brazda ’17 tallied a team-high 23 assists for the match. Other top players included Eastley and Jordan Walker ’17, who combined for 11 block assists, while Morgan Mientus ’14 recorded double figures in digs.

“We had a tough first weekend of Patriot League, and we really dropped the ball against Holy Cross,” Mientus said of the Holy Cross Match. “I think last weekend could be a blessing in disguise, and people may begin to underestimate us like we did Holy Cross. Being the underdog tends to be a positive thing in volleyball, so hopefully we can work extremely hard in practice this week and take Navy and American by surprise.”

The battle truly came on Sept. 21 in the Orange and Blue’s match against Army. The first set alone was finicky, pulling back and forth with six lead changes and 16 ties. With a 24-21 advantage late in the set, the victory seemed to be the Bison’s when Army snatched five points to take the lead. The second set was ultimately Army’s, but the Orange and Blue did not let the battle die. The third set was entirely the Bison’s until Army finally took the lead 21-20. The struggle ensued until Army was able to rip three points from the Orange and Blue, ending the match at 25-22.

“We didn’t start too well on Friday, but on Saturday, we played a great match against Army, and we’re really excited to play again this weekend to redeem ourselves,” Kristen Titley ’14 said. “Last weekend gave us a good idea of a few key things to work on this week in practice and we should be ready to go for Navy on Friday night.”

Confident and ready, the Bison will return to their home court to challenge Navy tonight at 7, and American tomorrow at 5 p.m.

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis continues to dominate

Claudia Silvers

Contributing Writer 

The women’s tennis team once again dominated the courts on Sept. 20-21 in its second home tournament of the fall season. The Bison faced competition against Villanova, Mount St. Mary’s, and Bloomsburg.

“I’m thrilled at the level we are competing at for this early in our year. We are not only playing solid tennis, but we are playing smart tennis, which is a very encouraging sign for later this year,” head coach Rebecca Helt said.

Off to a great start in both doubles and singles, the Bison placed a team member in the finals of every draw. Stephanie Pino ’16, Michele Urbinati ’17, and Jorie Fox ’17 all finished as champions of their respective brackets. Pino won all three of her Blue Flight singles matches in straight sets, never giving up more than three games. Pino ultimately defeated Villanova’s Nicole Coons 6-3, 6-0 in the finals.

Urbinati followed a similar pattern and did not drop a set in her White Draw singles matches, defeating Villanova player Conner Brewer 6-2, 6-2 in the finals.

Fox won the Gray Draw, recovering from a tough three-set match in the semifinals to triumph over Villanova’s Giana Mitchell 6-1, 6-2 in the finals.

Maria Cioffi ’16 played a tough match in the finals of the Orange Draw, dropping the first set 6-0. Although Cioffi fought back to win 6-2 in the second, she ultimately lost in a 10-8 supertiebreaker.

“I think as a team we had a solid weekend because we had someone in the finals of every draw, and a lot of the team has made noticeable improvement from the start of the season until now,” Cioffi said.

The Bison also experienced success in the doubles flights. They appeared in the finals of both doubles flights, clinching victory in the Doubles North Draw. The North Draw ended in an all Bison-final, with Cioffi/Urbinati beating teammates Pino/Lydia Colvin ’15 8-4. Fox/Melissa Parks ’17 ultimately lost to Villanova in the finals of the Doubles South Draw.

“After this weekend, I’m really excited about how far we’ve progressed in terms of doubles! We’ve come a long way after struggling to find good chemistry last year as indicated by the doubles final including two Bucknell teams,” Colvin said.

“Performing like this so early really allows us to put more focus on the smaller details that will help make us a better team. There’s no question we have the talent. Now it’s about measuring the desire to work harder on the small things that build championship caliber teams,” Helt said.

The women’s tennis team will finish its fall season with the St. Bonaventure Invitational on Oct. 4-6.

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Field Hockey Sports

Women’s field hockey beat Lehigh, fall to Delaware

Emily Evancho

Assistant Sports Editor 

The women’s field hockey team breezed past Lehigh in its Patriot League opener with a 4-1 home win over the Mountain Hawks on Sept. 21. The match on Sept. 22 proved to be more of a test, leaving the Bison eager to bounce back from their 4-3 loss against the No. 16 Delaware Blue Hens.

The Orange and Blue dominated the field in their match against Lehigh, refusing to relinquish control of the scoreboard for the last hour of the game. Kiersten Sydnor ’16 began the Bison’s lead swiftly with a quick strike into the goal only 9:51 into the game.

Amie Pritchard ’15 gave a strong performance on the right offensive side. Pritchard set up the second goal for the Orange and Blue by intercepting Lehigh’s pass attempt and then passing to teammate Rachel Misko ’14 for the goal. Not soon after the second goal, Abby Watson ’16 was able to get Leigh Hillman ’14 the opening for a third tally, bringing the score to 3-1 by the end of the first half. Lehigh succeeded with one goal but the triumph was short lived when Sydnor scored the Bison’s fourth goal of the game, sealing the win.

 The game against Delaware shaped up to be more of a real challenge. Hillman padded the scoreboard with a goal for the Bison in the first half after catching a rebound from Delaware, bringing the score to 2-1 nearing the end of the first half. But Delaware changed the situation in the final moments by adding a goal with 2:17 left in the half, making the score 3-1 heading into halftime.

The second half of the match was the true battle of the game, during which Cassie Lawrence ’15 scored the first goal of her career midway through the second half, pulling the Orange and Blue to a better stand at 4-2. With two penalty corners in the final minutes of the game, it was a hectic ending to a valiant struggle. As the clock ran down to 0:00, Delaware caused another penalty corner which Vickie Resh ’14 took advantage of by passing to teammate Liz Wills ’15, who dished an assist to Watson for the final goal of the game for the Orange and Blue, leaving the score at a dignified end.

The herd will return to its home field tomorrow at noon to compete against Colgate.

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Soccer Sports Women

Women’s soccer falls to Army in conference opener

Doug Hendry

Contributing Writer

Although the women’s soccer team put up a tough fight through a massive rain storm on Sept. 21 against Army at Emmitt Field, they couldn’t pull through and lost in double overtime 2-1. Chelsey Garkowski ’14 scored the lone goal for the Bison in their first conference game of the season.

“I think anyone watching saw that it was a very good game on both ends,” Sarah Bresette ’17 said. “Chelsey had a great goal to keep us in the game, and we went into overtime pumped up and ready. Obviously it was a tough loss, but a great game all in all.”

The Orange and Blue had just returned home from a pair of matches in Maryland and were looking to kick off conference play on the right foot. Army came into the match with a 4-3-1 record, including a 5-0 dismantling of Rhode Island in its last match. Looking to stop the momentum of the Black Knights, the Bison would have their hands full. Even more, the Bison would be without Evelyn Nicinski ’15, who was playing for Poland in a World Cup qualifier.

The first update on the scoreboard came on Army’s goal from the top of the 18 with less than four minutes remaining in the first half. The Bison had a few chances to put up a goal of their own, including Courtney Nelson ’15 who made a pair of long runs from defense. Yet the Bison trailed 1-0 after the first half.

The Bison had no problem getting the equalizing goal as Garkowski outhustled the defense and scored in the 47th minute. Garkowski is one of two players, along with goalkeeper Jessie Ashworth ’16, to start in all nine games for the Bison.

The Army squad would not give up that easily, as they took control of the final portion of regulation. The Black Knights, finishing with 22 shots, used effective corners as well as a barrage of crosses into the box, threatening to put the game winner on the board. Still, the Bison defense stopped everything in its way, forcing overtime.

It was a balanced battle for the majority of the game, but Army kept the ball throughout overtime. An Army player redirected an incoming cross right in front of the keeper for the final goal one minute into the second overtime period.

“Finishing out those games to clinch a victory requires us finding the inner drive for that final push, which is something that I feel we are so close to mastering,” Montana Paley ’17 said.

The Bison, now 3-6 (0-1 in-conference), will square off against Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa. tonight at 7 for another conference battle.

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Golf Sports Uncategorized Women

Women’s golf takes 13th in Yale Intercollegiate

Thomas Walter

Senior Writer

The women’s golf team traveled to New Haven, Conn. to play in the Yale Intercollegiate this past weekend. On the last day, Yale shot 290, giving them first place. The Orange and  Blue posted rounds of 316-317-321 to finish 13th in the tournament. Lauren Bernard ’14 and Bridget Wilcox ’14 led the team, both shooting in the 70s all three days of the tournament.

“This was our first appearance at the Yale Invitational in a number of years and we really enjoyed the challenging layout of the course. Individually, I remained constant, but made a few costly mistakes that prevented me from going low,” Bernard said.

Bernard shot 234 (77-78-79) to finish in a tie for 38th place, the best among the Bison’s five-player squad. Wilcox (79-77-79) was one stroke higher than her teammate. Kasha Scott ’14 shot rounds of 86-85-81.

Emily Timmons ’15 experienced a strong breakthrough round over the weekend.  Timmons shot 77 in the first round, improving on the 78 she shot at the Bucknell Invitational on Sept. 7.

Bernard continued her consistently strong play to start her senior campaign. In the two tournaments the Orange and Blue have played, Bernard has shot six rounds in the 70s.

“We are continuing to work on minimizing our costly mistakes and becoming more consistent throughout our rounds. Our main team goal is to win Patriot Leagues in the spring. We look at the tournaments leading up to the conference championship as stepping stones and learning opportunities to achieve our final goal at the end of the season, ” Bernard said.

The Bison are back in action this weekend when they travel to Penn State for the Nittany Lion Invitational.

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Field Hockey Sports Women

Women’s field hockey falls to Drexel, beats Penn

Katherine Harris

Senior Writer 

The women’s field hockey team split its matches this past weekend, falling in a 2-0 shutout at Drexel on Sept. 13 before rallying to defeat a tough Penn squad 2-1 at home on Sept. 15.

“The team is at a really great place at this point in the season. Every game we have taken steps forward and improved our game. We are playing at a high tempo and competing with top ranked teams,” Rachel Misko ’14 said.

The Bison entered play on a two-game winning streak, but were halted by a tenacious opponent as they traveled to Drexel. The game was a battle the entire way, with a scoreless board until there were just 16 minutes left in the game.

Drexel was able to secure the win as time ran down with another goal in the 65th minute. Goalkeeper Erica Perrine ’14 performed strongly in the net for the Bison, recording six saves as she held the opposing squad scoreless for the majority of the game.

“This week our team once again proved that we can keep up with other competitive programs. During our Friday night game against Drexel, we were able to hold possession of the ball and generate some great opportunities on cage. We tested their defense time and time again while holding strong against their offensive attacks. Unfortunately, some calls by the refs did not go our way, and Drexel was able to capitalize on those rare occasions,” Perrine said.

The Orange and Blue regrouped to face off against Penn in their first home game of the season. The team started off strong with a renewed sense of energy, outshooting its opponent 8-0 in the first half. Abby Watson ’16 took advantage of the pressure for the Bison, nabbing the first goal of the weekend for the squad.

While Penn was able to tie the score up with a goal only 49 seconds into the second half, Leigh Hillman ’14 broke the tie in the 53rd minute of the game with a goal on a centering pass from Maggie Murphy ’15. The Bison were then able to hold off their opponent for the rest of the game.

The Orange and Blue will compete again tomorrow when they start Patriot League play versus Lehigh at 11 a.m.

“By increasing our finishing toward goal and tightening our defense on breakdowns I am confident we will have a successful rest of the season and continue to improve our game,” Misko said.