The Bucknellian

By Eric Brod

Staff Writer

After the resignation of longtime women’s basketball coach Kathy Fedorjaka, assistant coach Bill Broderick has been named interim coach for the remainder of this season. Broderick is currently serving his second year on the coaching staff and most recently served as an assistant coach at Elon from 2008 to 2010 and Pittsburgh from 1998 to 2002.

While winless in the Patriot League, the team has played well since Broderick took over coaching responsibilities.

“There hasn’t been much adjustment because Coach Broderick was already a part of the program and kept things going very well,” Rachel Voss ’13 said. “However, the most difficult thing for the team immediately following Coach Fed’s resignation was handling the surprise and staying focused on the upcoming games.”

On both offense and defense, the players have responded positively to Coach Broderick, even if the results are yet to be seen in the win-loss column. 

“We’ve all responded so well to Coach B stepping in to the head coaching position,” Alyssa Dunn ’13 said. “We already had a great relationship with him, and he, Coach Langford and Coach Adams have really been doing everything they can to make the transition as seamless as possible. The entire team is focused on moving forward with the season and we are excited to see what lies ahead for us. 

“Defensively, we have been putting a lot of focus on maintaining constant full-court pressure on defense. Offensively, we’ve started utilizing a scheme that contains more motion-oriented sets that give us the chance to freelance and create the best possible shots for ourselves and our teammates,” Dunn said.

While the results do not yet show it, this young Bison squad has shown poise amidst great change and is primed for an improved finish to the 2011-2012 campaign.

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

Facing the toughest obstacle of its conference schedule, the men’s basketball team overcame an early six-point deficit to knock off the American Eagles 67-61 in a battle for first place in the Patriot League Wednesday night, after beating Holy Cross at home on Saturday 75-41.

Behind another double-double performance from defending Patriot League Player of the Year Mike Muscala ’13, the Orange and Blue kept their league record unblemished at 6-0.

“Beating American was a huge win for us,” Muscala said. “They’re a good team that always plays us tough, but I think we matched up well with them.”

The second basket of the game came on a three-pointer from Bryan Cohen ’12, which gave him 1,000 points for his career in his final season in a Bison uniform. Despite his offensive milestone, it was his lock-down defense throughout the contest that provided the spark the Orange and Blue needed to pull out a hard-fought victory.

After several conference games of being guarded tightly and struggling to get open shots, Bryson Johnson ’13 finally found his stroke from behind the arc, nailing three key three-pointers in the second half. Johnson finished with 13 points, second behind Muscala’s 21.

“Honestly, every game in the Patriot League is huge because we want to have sole possession of first place to host all the tournament games in Sojka,” Cohen said. “However, this was a pivotal game since the winner of this game holds the outright number one spot. We were definitely ready to battle on Wednesday night.”

Earlier on in the week, the Orange and Blue turned in maybe their most impressive showing of the season in a 75-41 victory over a fading Holy Cross Crusaders squad. Despite starting off the game cold on offense, the Bison found their stroke and stepped on the gas peddle, outscoring the Crusaders by 23 in the second half.

“The Holy Cross game showed we’re the best team in the league, and why we were unanimously picked in the preseason to repeat as champs,” said Brian Fitzpatrick ’13, who finished with nine points. “We came out of the second half focused to continue to dominate the game. We thought Holy Cross would come out with more energy, but that didn’t happen.”

The lopsided win was the widest margin of victory for the Orange and Blue ever against their bitter rival Holy Cross.

The story of the contest was the balanced offensive attack from the Orange and Blue. All but two Bison scored in the game and three, Cameron Ayers ’13, Cohen and Muscala, finished in double figures.

“Everyone played well against Holy Cross and what makes our team special and hard to beat is our collective unselfishness,” Muscala said. “I think it’s very important that we maintain that aspect of our team.”

Riding an eight-game winning streak, the Bison will travel to Navy Saturday night in a battle between the first and last place teams in the Patriot League. The contest marks the final match-up for both teams in their first go-around of conference play. Despite facing a team with no league wins, the Orange and Blue are remaining focused.

“We’re the defending champs, and we’re committed every day to winning the Patriot League again this year,” Muscala said. “The only statement we’re looking to make is at the end of the conference tournament, and we can’t lose sight of that.”

By Andrew Arnao

Writer

The wrestling team fell to No. 13 Lehigh 25-15 on Saturday, leaving the Orange and the Blue 2-11 overall this season and 2-1 in the EIWA.

Austin Miller ’15 won the first bout with a 7-3 decision at 125 pounds, raising his team-leading total of wins to 15.

“I thought our team wrestled well against Lehigh,” Miller said. “We improved, at least since our trip to Virginia earlier this month. There were some team points that we missed earning or gave up too easily in the match, including mine where I feel I should have picked up the major [victory].”

After Miller’s decision, victories came in sets of three. The Mountain Hawks rattled off three straight decisions to take an 11-3 lead. The Bison fought back with a pin by Corey Lear ’13, sandwiched between two decisions by John Regan ’12 and Stephen McPeek ’14, to take a 15-11 lead.

“[Austin] Miller had a great win at 125 pounds to get the ball rolling for the team,” Regan said.  “Corey Lear’s pin at 165 pounds was key for Bucknell to stay in the match with six points. McPeek at 174 pounds had a nail-biter and scored a takedown to win in the last 10 seconds.”

Lehigh managed to win the last three sets behind No. 4 Robert Hamlin and defending national heavyweight champion Zach Rey.

“Lehigh is very tough, year after year, and I think that was one of the best showings we have ever had against them, despite giving up a forfeit [to Hamlin],” Miller said.

The Bison are on the road to George Mason today and travel to Stillwater, Okla. to face Binghamton and Oklahoma State on Sunday.

“This upcoming week heading out to Oklahoma State will be an exciting experience,” Lear said. “It will give some of us a chance to wrestle some of the top wrestlers in the country. This doesn’t mean we are going to overlook George Mason, this will be a good match to pull together as a team and win.”

With just two wins to date, the Orange and Blue squad knows that it must capitalize on any opportunity to win.

“We should go into this weekend expecting to win all three of our matches,” Miller said. “If everyone puts together the best match of their life next Sunday night, we can win that dual match. If we don’t believe that we can win, we have no business even stepping on the mat.”

 

By Ajan Caneda

Writer

The women’s basketball team struggled this past week with back-to-back road losses to Holy Cross and American, dropping their record to 2-19 overall and 0-6 in Patriot League play.

At Holy Cross on Saturday, a 20-0 run in the first half allowed the Crusaders to pull away for a 70-53 victory against the Bison. Forward Felicia Mgbada ’13 scored the first basket of the game, but the Orange and Blue went scoreless for nearly 10 minutes after that initial shot.

The Bison had difficulty shooting, as they went nine for 28 from the field in the first half. Holy Cross also scored 26 points in the paint, finishing with 36 for the game.

Behind 39-22 at halftime, the Bison tried to chip away at the lead but were unable to overcome the deficit. Their shooting woes continued in the second half. The Bison went nine for 27 from the field while Holy Cross shot 13 for 23.

The Crusaders also outscored the Bison 20-2 in fastbreak points.

Rachel Voss ’13 scored a team high 17 points for the Bison. Alyssa Dunn ’13 added 10 points and forward Lindsay Horbatuck ’13 pulled down nine rebounds.

“It was an unfortunate loss for us and we didn’t put a full 40 minutes together. It was good to see some offensive success in some of our new sets,” Voss said. “Beyond their 20-point run, we played them in an even battle. It’s about making adjustments and playing for the whole game.”

On Wednesday the Bison fell to American 71-45. The game was close for much of the first half, but turnovers plagued the Orange and Blue. The Eagles finished with 38 points from turnovers for the game.

The Bison trailed 33-21 at halftime, and American’s bench kept the Orange and Blue from making a comeback in the second half. The Eagles outscored the Bison 35-8 in bench points and 36-16 in points in the paint.

Horbatuck had a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Guards Shelby Romine ’14 and Voss also scored in double digits, combining for 21 points.

The Bison shot 40.5 percent from the field and forced 14 turnovers against the Eagles.

The Bison will look to rebound when they return home to face Navy on Jan. 28 and follow that with a road test against Army on Feb. 4.

By Lindsay Regruto

Staff Writer

Elizabeth Porcellio ’13 won three individual events while Tara Boyle ’15, Tori Molchany ’15, and Katie Hetherington ’15 took the top three spots in both diving events to lead the women’s swimming and diving team to a 189-111 victory at Lehigh on Saturday.

“The diving team did really well against Lehigh. We all worked hard in practice in the week before the meet, which really helped us all to perform well … I’m really proud of the whole team,” Boyle said.

Porcellio was named Patriot League Female Swimmer of the Week and Molchany Female Diver of the Week for their efforts. The awards were firsts for both women this season.

Boyle, Molchany and Hetherington all scored above 235 in the one-meter dive. Boyle’s 249.74 places her fifth in program history. Molchany moved to eighth in program history on the one-meter with 236.24 and fifth on the three-meter with 255.30.

Porcellio took first in the 200-yard freestyle, 100 fly, and 200 IM, setting a career best at 58.52 in the 100 fly. Two other Bison posted multiple wins–-Kelly Pontecorvo ’14 in the 500 and 1,000 free and Lauren Perry ’15 in the 50 and 100 free.

Kaitlyn Sweeney ’12 also took first in the 200 fly. The meet ended with a victory in the 400 free relay by Marisa Taddeo ’13, Perry, Kaitlyn Utkewicz ’14 and Porcellio.

“It was a great way to end our dual meet season,” Pontecorvo said. “We left the seniors with a proud win and the entire team in a position to be excited about.”

“Times at this meet were not the main focus of our goals as we were tired and worn down from a hard week of training,” Sweeney said. “The fact that we raced well and met the challenge of winning the meet was a great way to end the season and hopefully a foretelling sign of our preparation for Patriots and ECACs.”

Overall, the women had victories in 11 of 16 events. The Bison finish their dual season 5-4 overall and 4-2 in the Patriot League. The Orange and Blue travel to Annapolis, Md. this Saturday for the Navy Invitational.

By Scott Padula

Writer

The men’s swimming and diving team concluded its dual meet season by defeating Lehigh on the road Saturday, 191-107. The win gave the men their best record since the 2008-09 season at 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the Patriot League.

“It’s always a big meet when we face them. The last time we swam them at their pool they destroyed us, so it was really great to see how we came out swinging, and never let down until the meet was over,” said Mike Nicholson ’14. “A team like them if you give up any points, they can capitalize and make the meet a lot closer than we would have wanted, so luckily that didn’t happen.”

The Bison took first place in 14 of the 16 events. Eric Sokolosky ’12, Matthew Segar ’12, Christian Treat ’13 and Mike Nicholson ’14 led the charge, each capturing two first-place victories. Segar won the 200 and 500-yard freestyle, Treat took the 100 and 200 breastroke and Nicholson captured the 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley. Sokolosky won the 50 and 100 freestyle.”

Sokolosky also was part of the winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams, giving him a team-high four first-place wins. Other Orange and Blue winners on the day included Thomas Brown ’12, Taylor Harris ’12, Trevor Reitz ’14 and George Beatty ’15. Notable performances also came from Billy Krause ’13 and Ben Seketa ’15. Krause edged out Seketa for second place in the 200 individual medley, while Seketa finished second in both the 100 and 200 breastroke.

“We have been training very hard this year, and it is no surprise that our guys have performed so well.  It was very satisfying to go to Lehigh and beat them in their own pool after they did the same to us last year. We look forward to continuing our high level of intensity and improving as championship season draws near,” Evan Palumbo ’12 said.

The Orange and Blue end their regular season this weekend in Annapolis, Md. to compete at the Navy Invitational.

By Katherine Harris

Writer

Though the women’s track team fell just short of Duquesne University for first place overall, the team performed strongly on its home turf last Saturday in the Gulden Invitational. The Orange and Blue ended the day with 29 top-five finishes.

Two highlights of the day were first-place finishes by the Bison in both the 4 x 800 relay and the 400 meters. Jennifer Zymet ’14 earned her first gold medal of the year with the 400 meter victory.

“I’m happy with my individual performance for the most part, but there is definitely room for improvement,” Zymet said. “It’s a difficult task to double, triple or even quadruple in events with strong performance in each, but by the time leagues come around our bodies will be trained and strong enough to be able to compete in several events successfully.”

In the mile, Beth Braunegg ’14 broke five minutes for the first time in her career and moved up to sixth all-time in program history. Emma Rice ’15 entered her first top-10 list with a time of 8.04 in the 60 meter, tying for ninth all-time. In the pole vault, Autumn Schellenberger ’14 beat her personal best 10-10 and tied for eighth all-time.

Sarah Bella ’12, who placed third on the all-time list last year, clinched second place with her first throw of the year over 45 feet. Rebecca Misko ’12 grabbed fourth in the event and kept her place of sixth in program history.

“I was happy with my performance, although I do believe I have a lot more to prove before the winter season is over,” Bella said. “I was really impressed with the effort and determination that the team showed yesterday and I believe that with more confidence and training the team will be hard to beat in the upcoming Patriot League Championships.”

The Orange and Blue will continue to prepare for the Patriot League Championships this weekend with the Bison Open & Multi and the Penn State National Invitational.

“It was a pretty good meet for us. However, I feel as though we need to work on our confidence level and get a little tougher to fight for every single place and point. We left some points on the board that we should have got and allowed a very good Duquesne team to beat us here at home,” head coach Kevin Donner said. “It was a great experience to help us work on our weaknesses as we prepare for the Patriot League Championships next month.”

By Andrew Lichtenauer

Contributing Writer

The men’s track and field team claimed both MVP honors in its first scored meet of the season last weekend in Gerhard Fieldhouse. Patriot League Rookie of the Week Christian Lupica ’15 led the Orange and Blue, setting three program top-10 records in the team’s dominating victory over Shippensburg, Duquesne, Mount St. Mary’s, Towson and Saint Francis (Pa.).

Overall, the Bison finished with 241 points, beating out their closest competitor by almost 100 points.

Chris Sacks ’14 and Tom Barr ’12 earned the MVP honors for the Orange and Blue, claiming the meet’s Most Valuable Runner and Most Valuable Field Athlete, respectively. Both men won gold in two individual events apiece, Sacks in the mile and 4×800 relay and Barr in the weight throw and the shot put.

Lupica won the 60-meter hurdles in a personal-best 8.24 seconds, which moved him up to third all-time in program history. Lupica’s 22.32 seconds in the 200-meter dash put him eighth in program history, while his 7.08 seconds in the 60-meter dash put him sixth in the record books.

“I was really well prepared for this meet physically. As a team we have been on campus since Jan. 3 training really hard with two-a-day practices almost every day,” Lupica said. “The coaching staff decided that instead of running in a meet two weeks ago we would just have the weekend off and train through for the Gulden Invite. Because of that, my legs felt really fresh and I was able to capitalize off all of the work we put in while we were on campus over the break and run competitively in multiple events.”

Four more Bison won individual events in the meet. Daniel Markwalter ’13 took gold in the pole vault, Jason Brown ’13 in the high jump, Dustin Horning ’13 in the 800 meter run and Jordan Donaldson ’12 in the 500 meter run.

“The fact that we were able to win the meet by so much really shows our strength as a team which hopefully will continue on for the rest of the season through the championship meets,” Lupica said.

The Orange and Blue return to competition at both the Bison Open & Multi and Penn State National Invitational this weekend. 

By Chris McCree

Sports Editor

Profile:

Elizabeth Porcellio

Junior

Free/Breast/IM

Hometown: Fairport, NY

Major: Neuroscience

 

Career Bests:

100 IM:  1:02.13

200 IM:  2:03.84

100 free: 53.65

200 free: 1:52.43

100 fly: 58.52

 

During a dominant 189-111 win at rival Lehigh on Saturday, Elizabeth Porcellio ’13 led the women’s swimming team with three individual event wins in the 200-yard freestyle, 100 fly, and 200 IM, and was a member of the first-place 400 free relay team. Starting her day with a three-second victory in the 200 free, Porcellio carried the Orange and Blue to their second victory over the Patriot League rival Mountain Hawks in as many years. Porcellio posted a career-best time of 58.52 in the 100 fly despite having not swum the event all season. Due to her dominating performance, the junior swimmer was awarded Patriot League Female Swimmer of the Week honors.

A two-time member of the All-Patriot League Second Team, Porcellio has made a huge impact on the Bison since arriving in 2009. She currently ranks in the top five in Bison history for the 200 free, 100 breast, 200 breast, and 200 IM. She has also emerged as a strong team leader this season.

The women’s squad finished its dual meet schedule with a league record of 4-2 and has just one meet remaining before Patriot League Championships.