Tag: athlete of the year

Categories
Lacrosse Sports Women

Female rookie of the year

By Ajan Caneda

Staff Writer

In her first game, against No. 5 Duke, first-year lacrosse player Arriana Sajjad ’15 proved that she could compete against the country’s elite. The game was only the first indication of Sajjad’s ability to be a force for the Bison.

Her offensive savvy and dedication in practice are admired by her teammates and head coach, Randall Goldsborough.

“She is constantly pushing her teammates to improve and perform which in turn helps her learn how to lead both on and off the field. She works extremely hard in each drill every day which has helped her become a very consistent player,” Goldsborough said. “I expect that she will be one of the top players in the nation before she graduates in three years.”

Sajjad certainly showed that she is ready to live up to that challenge when she faced Duke in her first collegiate game, scoring two of her team’s three goals against one of the formidable defenses in the country. In the Bison’s next game, she posted another two goals in a loss against No. 17 Penn State. Despite the losses, she gained valuable experience against two of the best teams in the country and solidified her spot in the starting lineup for the rest of the season.

“Arriana is not easily intimidated and lives for a challenge, even though she is one of the youngest accomplished players in our league,” Goldsborough said. “We played Duke, and she scored two goals against an All-American goalie and one of the top ranked defenses in the country. Since then, she has continued to gain confidence in her abilities and is one of the top players in the league.”

At this point in the season, Sajjad is the leading scorer on her team with 38 goals, along with 51 points, in 17 games. Her most impressive performance was against Liberty on March 21, where she posted a career-high six goals, including the game-winner in overtime. This, followed by a five-goal showing against conference rival American, led to her being named the Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week.

“Liberty was just an amazing upset and, most importantly, it showed us that we are truly incredible and strong when we play together as a team,” she said. “To come back from being down by nine and winning in overtime was a huge confidence boost for us, and that really showed how capable we are.”

Despite her individual accolades, she remains humble and remembers the guidance her coaches have provided, along with the bond she has with her teammates.

“My coaches and teammates, especially the upperclassmen, have been extremely patient with me when I made mistakes and unbelievably supportive of all my accomplishments, as they are with everyone on the team,” she said. “They have taught me a lot and made me into a more mature, team player. Also, I am incredibly close with my freshman class, and I could not be more fortunate and thankful to have come into a team with this group of girls. They are my support net and best friends and our friendship made all the difference in my transition.”

Teammate Katelyn Miller ’14 has recognized Sajjad’s emergence as a player and leader, which includes adding new dimensions to her already solid repertoire.

“In the beginning of the season, Arriana was playing only attack and was put in mainly a cutting position. Throughout the season she has been diversified by playing some midfield and being a double threat on attack by being a great cutter and driver,” Miller said. “I think she matured a lot through the first couple months and has been able to come up big in tight situations by helping in transition, winning the draw or taking it to goal when we are down.”

In the Orange and Blue’s game against Binghamton on April 14, she scored three times in her ninth multi-goal game of the season. Her efficient scoring stems from her consistent accuracy; she has a 77.2 shot-on-goal percentage. The effort she puts in practice is mirrored on the field, as she has also recovered 58 draw controls.

As the regular season concludes, Sajjad is looking towards the postseason and focused on continuing to improve. She remains optimistic about the direction the team is going in, while her motivation to compete in the Patriot League tournament fuels her sensational play.

“Our juniors and sophomores have really stepped up this season to fulfill this leadership role and they’ve done a great job so far handling all of us freshman. We also have a large incoming class to look forward to that will push us to become better, so it’s only up from here,” she said. “Personally, for the rest of the season and next year, I am looking to stay mentally strong and make smarter decisions with the ball on the offensive end. For next season I would definitely want to see us competing in the Patriot League Championships. That may seem like a little bit of a jump, but I know we’ll get there. That’s definitely my ultimate goal. We’ve improved so much this season and only continue to get stronger.”

Her work ethic and perseverance embody the prestigious Bison athletic tradition. Sajjad looks to accomplish a lot during her next three years, and she is on her way to becoming one of the best players, not only in the Patriot League, but in the nation.

Categories
Men Sports Wrestling

Male Rookie of the Year

By Scott Padula
Staff Writer

Throughout the year, Austin Miller ’15 has proven he is and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with on the wrestling team. In his first year of collegiate competition, Miller captured a team-best 22 victories, placed third at the EIWA Championships and became the first rookie wrestler for the Orange and Blue to qualify for NCAA Championships since 2009. On the year, Miller posted a record of 22-14 and separated himself as a top-of-the-line competitor for the Bison.

“Wrestling is a unique sport where there are numerous different aspects: mental, physical and emotional. Austin has done a tremendous job in figuring these areas of the sport out, and is an extremely confident individual. He has a bright future here at Bucknell, and will accomplish his goals of becoming an All-American and NCAA champion if he continues to build on the successes and failures he has had this past year,” team co-captain Joe McMullan ’13 said.

Time and time again, Miller proved to be a tremendous competitor, elevating his game to unparalleled levels when it mattered most. Notably, Miller won a pivotal match against ranked opponent Garrett Frey of Princeton by a score of 10-9. Miller’s win marked his first win over a ranked opponent and jump-started a  27-9 Bison victory. 

Later in the season, Miller went 3-1 versus four seeded opponents at the EIWA Championships. His only loss came in the semifinal round at the hands of Frank Perrelli of Cornell, the eventual EIWA champion of the 125-pound weight class.

One way in which Miller was able to achieve his tremendous success was through an unwavering determination to improve and develop into a more balanced wrestler. Every day, Miller entered the wrestling room with a commitment that was second to none.

“I put in a lot of extra hours in the wrestling room individually to prepare for competition just as most people put in many extra hours studying for a big test. In the end it was just the belief in what my coaches were telling me to do and the belief in myself to improve and get better every day,” Miller said.

Still, Miller attributes a large portion of the success he has experienced this season to the faith he put in his coaches. Through their tutelage, Miller was able to make a smooth transition from high school to collegiate wrestling and has improved his technique significantly since stepping on campus.

“I think most of my success was due to the transition that I made. I was able to make this transition by working a lot individually with my coaches. I tried my best to listen to everything they said and improve upon my lesser strengths which they pointed out. One thing my coach always says is to be a ‘student of the sport’ and I really did my best to accomplish that,” Miller said.

Although Miller achieved phenomenal success that any collegiate wrestler would be proud of, Miller is not satisfied. He claims that he has not reached his full potential in his young collegiate wrestling career. Miller’s unrelenting attitude matches that of a champion and his drive certainly serves as a primary reason why Miller was so successful in his first season.

If Miller continues to approach the sport with his unwavering confidence and strong work ethic, it is likely that he will add to his already impressive list of accomplishments. Already eyeing next season, the Orange and Blue faithful should expect nothing less than great things from Austin Miller as he looks to improve on a fantastic rookie season.

” I am very proud of Austin and all that he has accomplished during his freshman campaign,” said head coach Dan Wirnsberger. “His best wrestling is ahead of him because of his commitment and dedication for the sport he loves.  Austin is well deserving of this honor.”

Categories
Sports Swimming & Diving Women

Female Athlete of the Year

By Katherine Harris

Staff Writer

Women’s diver Katie Hetherington ’15 could have never anticipated the immediate success she would have when she first stepped into Arthur D. Kinney Jr. Natatorium this fall.

“I think I had a really great season and I accomplished a lot more than I expected to,” Hetherington said. “My only real expectation was to make it to Patriots.”

Because Hetherington was already a successful diver in high school before she arrived on campus, especially in the three-meter board, coaches knew that she was going to make a big impact on the diving program. Even they didn’t anticipate exactly how much of a splash she was going to make in the competitive waters.

“I knew she was going to be good, but I had no idea she was as good as she is,” diving coach Errol Carter said. “I knew she would be our next team record holder but had no idea it would all happen in her first semester.”

While it is often difficult for first-years to come into a program and succeed right away, standing out was not an issue for Hetherington, whose success in the pool was immediate. In fact, she was already breaking records in her first-ever collegiate meet this fall.

In the meet on Oct. 1, Hetherington outperformed not only the divers from opposing UMBC, but also a very talented group of teammates, diving her way into the school record books. Her score of 264.68 broke the one-meter board record for the Bison, and also created what she cites as one of her most memorable performances of the season.

“I was very nervous at the beginning of the meet because I expected a lot of myself, as I do every meet. Honestly, the possibility of breaking a record never crossed my mind. I was just hoping to not mess up too badly,” Hetherington said. “When I was told I broke the one-meter record, I was ecstatic. I would not have been more excited.”

And the success didn’t stop there by a long shot as Hetherington continued her first collegiate season. On Nov. 18, she broke the three-meter board school record at the Bucknell Invitational with a score of 285.05.

“[Hetherington] was in second or third place after the prelims and her score was within a couple of points of the record. I recall her saying, ‘I want to break that record.’ That night during finals, she shattered the record and qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Meet, the second [Bison] to do so in my time [13 seasons] as coach here,” Carter said.

By the end of the season, Hetherington had won both boards on five different occasions for a total of 13 overall wins. At the Patriot League Championships, a third-place finish in the 1m and a second in the 3m rounded out her impressive in-conference season.

Part of what has made Hetherington so successful in her career already is her willingness to learn and listen to what her coaches have to say to her. She has also supported her teammates in a sport where individual competition is very intense to say the least.

“She is not only a great athlete, but a great teammate as well. She is so humble, and she brings an energy to practice that is completely unique from everyone else on the team,” teammate Tara Boyle ’15 said. “It is way too hard to pick a best performance of hers from this season because she was so consistently successful all year.”

Hetherington’s scores also qualified her for the NCAA Zone “A” Diving Meet, a competition where the top four divers qualify for seeds in the NCAA Championships. The first-year represented the Bison as their solo competitor at the event, placing 41st on the 1m board and 36th on the 3m board with scores of 192.75 and 204.85 in the respective preliminaries.

“Katie’s such a strong competitor because she never lets herself get psyched out mentally.  She always keeps it positive and has so much fun in practice and at meets, making her not only a better diver but also an influential contributor to the team dynamic,” teammate Liz Porcellio ’13 said.

Even with all of this success as a first-year, Hetherington is far from satisfied. She has already set her sights on her goals for next year and hopes to take her impressive performances to new heights in her sophomore season.

“Next year my goal would be to qualify to Zones again and hopefully perform better there. I would also like to learn some harder dives to increase the difficulty of my list,” Hetherington said.

The first-year’s coaches are also excited at the prospect of her improving even more in the years to come. In the off-season, she will be working with them constantly to keep herself ahead of the competition, especially many of her own teammates who are working very hard to reach her level of success as well.

“I feel that if Katie gets over her hangups that many divers have, and starts to believe how good she can be, the sky is the limit,” Carter said. “She already has the dives and skill; we need to fine-tune some of those skills and get her tough dives consistently good. If her next few years are anything like this one, I see the records getting higher and higher and her doing better and better at the NCAA Zone meet and potentially getting close to Nationals.”

Categories
Football Men Sports

Male Athlete of the Year

By Alex Wagner
Assistant Sports Editor

To put it plainly, Bryce Robertson ’12 embodies what college football coaches look for in their players.  The cornerback and punt returner is an exceptional athlete with a strong drive to succeed, as well as a great teammate and leader on and off the field.  These qualities have made him a standout student-athlete over his four years, which has culminated in an outstanding senior campaign.

In his hometown of Reserve, La., Robertson was a football and basketball star at East St. John High School. Although he was certainly an accomplished player from an area with quality high school programs, it was not easy to tell what a huge role he would play during his time in Lewisburg.

Even for a casual fan, Robertson’s impact on the Orange and Blue’s football program is clear. His numerous accolades and statistics speak for themselves. He was named the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) Elite Defensive Back for 2011. He was an All-American selection by the Associate Press, The Sports Network, Walter Camp and Phil Steele. He was a First Team All-Patriot League selection, Academic All-Patriot League Football selection and a C. Dale Wolfe Recognition Award recipient, given to the most inspirational player on the team.

Robertson’s 13 interceptions in 2011 shattered the previous 24-year-old Patriot League record of nine. In fact, it is not uncommon for a whole team to have less than 13 interceptions during a season. His 184 interception return yards were a program record, which also helped him add up a career high 346 all-purpose yards in 2011. He was also tied for a team-high with six pass breakups.

These numbers are the work of a player who led the Bison defense that forced 39 turnovers, contributing to a +2.45 turnover margin per game, which led the nation.

But in reality, the awards and statistics don’t tell the whole story. Head coach Joe Susan paints a better picture of what makes Robertson such a special player.

“Bryce is confident in his ability, [which] is critical to being a cornerback at any level in football. He anticipates well. He is an explosive athlete and has very good strength for someone at his position. He has very good quickness, and good speed. He has very good hands [which] make catching interceptions a lot easier. He is fearless, a critical factor for a corner,” Susan said.

When speaking about what makes him successful, Robertson is quick to highlight three main factors.

“Firstly, the new coaching staff implemented a new defensive scheme upon their arrival. I embraced the challenge and did what I had to on and off the field in order to become the most productive player I could for the team. Secondly, the full support of my coaches also was monumental in my success on the field. Lastly, but definitely not least, the outstanding pressure that was produced by our defensive line and blitz schemes also added to what I was able to accomplish on the field,” Robertson said.

Any great player must learn to work well with and learn from their coaching staff, and Robertson certainly embraced the lessons of cornerbacks coach Chip Taylor, who Robertson says has been the most influential figure for him at the University.

“He was a good friend to me and some of the other guys on the team. He has taught me many things that I have assimilated into my game in order to become a more complete player, as well as many life lessons that I will keep with me throughout my life long after my tenure at Bucknell has ended,” Robertson said.

Although his play at cornerback has garnered him much attention, Robertson is also extremely valuable to the Bison as a punt returner. In 2011, he returned 18 punts for 140 yards.

“He was consistent as a punt returner and saved our team many hidden yards just by catching punts,” Susan said.

Despite the huge success he enjoyed during his final season, the going was not always easy for Robertson. He was hampered by a hamstring injury during his junior year, which meant that he had to commit to making changes so that he would be healthy for the 2011 season.

“He was an example for others in the weight room and in our running program. He was always willing to do extra work be it physical or mental, ‘student of the game’ work,” Susan said.

The extra work in the off season obviously paid off for Robertson and the Bison in 2011, when they saw an impressive five-win turnaround from the previous year.

Robertson’s favorite moments during the season were every time the team gathered after a win to sing their fight song. It is certainly gratifying when all of the work put in during practice and weight room sessions produces the desired goal.

Due to the confidence gained during this past season, Robertson plans to enter the 2012 NFL Draft.

“My plan after graduation is to chase the dream. It is not often that people get to actually make a living participating in a sport that they aspired to be a part of since they were a toddler. So it is truly a blessing that I have the opportunity to do so, and … I [intend] to take full advantage of it,” Robertson said.

Everyone in the Bison community certainly wishes him the best of luck in his journey to take his game to the highest level. But if that doesn’t work out for him, he has a promising backup plan as well.

“I would be more than happy to obtain a finance career and become a productive member of society, building off the foundation of a Bucknell education,” Robertson said.

Susan agrees that Robertson is prepared for life after college, wherever that may lead him.

“As a coaching staff we feel fortunate to have the privilege of coaching young men like Bryce. He is a very charismatic young man who has a great sense of people,” Susan said.

No matter what comes for Robertson in the coming years, the Orange and Blue will always be grateful for his huge contributions to the football program.

Categories
Sports

Female Rookie of the Year: Shelby Romine ’14

 

Shelby Romine '14 made an impact from her very first game, leading the Bison in scoring this year.By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

 

Playing in orange and blue was not even on first-year basketball star Shelby Romine’s radar in high school. Before she was recruited, she had never even heard of the University. What she has found since then is a place where she can immediately take control of a program, providing the most explosive force on her team, even as a first-year.

In her first year for the Orange and Blue, Romine, point guard of the women’s basketball team, started all 28 games, leading her team in scoring with 13.5 points per game, a full six points above the next-highest scorer on the team.

“Shelby had a tremendous freshmen year, making an immediate impact not only on our program, but on Patriot League women’s basketball,” women’s basketball head coach Kathy Fedorjaka said.

From her very first collegiate game, Romine made her presence clear. Against Rider in the opener, she was the highest scorer for her team with 17, leading the Bison to a 53-48 win.

This was not a rare occurrence. In the 28 games played this season, Romine led the team in scoring an astonishing 16 times, going for more than 20 five times. On Jan. 22, she led her team to a huge league win on the road at Colgate in overtime, dropping a dazzling 28 points. No other member of her team would eclipse that single-game mark in the 2010-2011 season.

“I was impressed immediately with her work ethic, skill level and level of conditioning, and she showed tremendous poise and confidence as a freshman,” Fedorjaka said. “She was a tremendous addition to our team in terms of giving us another strong ball-handler and lead guard, as well as a great scorer and creator on the offensive end of the floor.”

Offensively, one of Romine’s strongest aspects this year was her shooting. From beyond the arc, she was by far the most potent Bison shooter, hitting more than 40 percent of her shots. With 47 threes on the season, Romine finished more than 31 ahead of the next player on her team.

From the free throw line, she also posted team bests in percentage and shooting. Her percentage of .734 edged out that of her teammate Rachel Voss ’13 at .733. She outscored the second-place member of her team in free-throw points Joyce Novacek ’11 80-47.

Romine is more than just a scorer. As a point guard, she also led the team in assists with 101 and steals with 37.

Despite her incendiary individual statistics, Romine remains focused on the team as a whole.

“The most exciting moment of freshman year was being picked last as a team in the preseason polls but getting the fourth seed in the tournament,” she said. “It was so great to win the first round game and move on to the second round of the tournament. This experience will definitely help the team to get better next year.”

It was this kind of attitude that garnered Romine respect beyond the court, winning over both her teammates and her coaches.

“Outside of her production, Shelby is extremely coachable and was very well-liked by her teammates,” Fedorjaka said. “They had a great deal of respect for her and confidence in her on the floor.”

Romine navigated her first year of college basketball so well both on the court and in the locker room that it should come as no surprise that her most challenging obstacle this year came from outside the realm of athletics. At heart, this budding basketball superstar found the most difficulty in being away from home.

Holding family values close to heart, she found it difficult to be away from her family, especially during basketball season. According to Romine, her family has been a key component in all the success she has found.

“I think a huge factor that played into being successful during the season was the preparation I did in the summer months with my dad,” she said. “He was always willing to help me. Countless times I remember him leaving work early to go to the gym and shoot with me, and he’d even time my sprints. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am today.”

Clearly, Shelby’s hard work with her father has paid off. With only one year of college under her belt, she has already cemented herself not only as one of the most dangerous players on the Bison, but also one of the most explosive in the entire league. And with a strong work ethic and a generally positive attitude, she seems poised to achieve much more.

Categories
Sports

Male Athlete of the Year: Mike Muscala ’13

Mike Muscala '13 provided the champion Bison basketball team with a much needed big man this year.By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

To his opponents, both non-conference and in the Patriot League, he is a dominant man who won just about every award the conference had to offer in 2011. To the rest of the country, he is a YouTube sensation with a flair for the dramatic. To those closer to home, including the Sojka Psychos and all the fans who pack Sojka Pavilion for every men’s basketball home game, he is “Moose.”

But, to those who know him best, like senior point guard and floor general Darryl Shazier ’11 and the rest of his teammates, Mike Muscala ’13 is a great player both on and off the court. After arguably one of the most impressive individual seasons in program history, it’s hard for anyone around the country to make a case otherwise.

Coming to the team last year from Saint Paul, Minn., Muscala, just a sophomore, started right away in his first season in a Bison uniform, struggling at times and not always playing up to his fullest potential. His rookie year ended with a loss to Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament, a game in which he scored just nine points. For Muscala, those shortcomings were just more fuel to get better in the off season.

“Every player has weaknesses, but I try to improve my game and get better every day,” Muscala said. “I think my best attribute is my work ethic. I may not always score a ton of points, but I’ve gotten better at contributing to the team and being a presence on the court whenever I’m out there. I’m a very competitive person and hate losing, even in practice. I try to use that and turn it into motivation to get better.”

Before the season started, there were a lot of questions surrounding his role on the team. But it didn’t take long for those who followed the Orange and Blue to notice a difference in Muscala’s game. Inside the paint, Muscala had become a dominating force. In 2009-2010, bigger and stronger defenders would outwork him for points and rebounds, but this season, Muscala began to win those battles and assert himself down low. In the Bison’s 15 contests before the start of 2011, Muscala had five 20-point performances and another double-digit rebounding game.

One night a few days after New Year’s in Richmond, Va., the 2011 season would change for Muscala and the Bison. In the Bison’s final road game before the start of their conference schedule, the Richmond Spiders had pinned them to the brink with two seconds left and trailing by one after a costly Orange and Blue turnover in the final moments of the game. With a chance to ice the game, the Spiders inexplicably missed two free throws, opening the door for a miracle.

With the trust of his team and the coaching staff behind him, the Bison drew up one last play to go to Muscala. Executing the sequence perfectly, Muscala caught a full-court pass and buried a fadeaway jumper to beat Richmond by one.

“Hitting that shot was a surreal experience,” Muscala said. ”We battled hard the whole game and the circumstances towards the end of it that even made it possible were crazy. Joe [Willman ’13] had a great pass to me that shouldn’t be forgotten. Since that was our last non-conference game before we headed into league play, it definitely gave us a huge boost moving forward.”

In that moment, Muscala had taken his game and the rest of his team to the next level.

With the video of the Richmond shot plastered all over YouTube, Muscala had become famous beyond the inner circles of the Bison basketball community, and his performance failed to disappoint. In his second game after the shot, Muscala scored a career-high 33 points to go along with 10 rebounds in a blowout of second-place American.

Muscala’s encore performance to the Richmond shot came in the following game when, on national television, he drained another buzzer beater, this time against rival Holy Cross, which was enough to get him on ESPN later that night.

“It was really cool for us to see that SportsCenter put it on its highlights,” Muscala said. “But what was great about our team is that it didn’t make us complacent. We kept working hard in practice and guys really stepped up in some crucial games.”

With Muscala playing at his peak and the team continuing to work hard, the Bison tore through its Patriot League schedule, losing just once in 14 tries against conference foes. He scored in double digits in all but two games. In just a few weeks, he had become the most dominant player in the Patriot League.

His impressive play and continual focus on improving was not lost on his teammates or coaches.

“Mike puts his teammates over himself, which is very important in gaining the trust of your leader,” Shazier said. “He makes the people around him better because of his lead by example mentality. When Mike is going hard at whatever it is the team is doing, it forces everyone else to match his energy and work ethic.”

It wasn’t just his own team that had taken notice. Over the course of the season, Muscala not only garnered the respect of opposing players and coaches, his play also earned him the Patriot League Player of the Year award and First Team All-Patriot League honors to cap off an impressive 2010-2011 campaign.

“Winning Player of the Year was definitely a big honor that was a goal of mine heading into the season,” Muscala said. “However, it’s really reflective of the team and all the hard work we put in every day.”

Together, Muscala and the rest of the men’s basketball team showed off their hard work with three consecutive victories in the Patriot League Tournament, none of them easy, to claim a spot in the NCAA Tournament. In the semifinal contest against Lehigh, Muscala saved his team’s season with two free throws and a key defensive stop in the final seconds to preserve the victory. Against Lafayette in the title game, Muscala led all scorers with 18 points, helping bring the title home to Lewisburg. With his performance in the three tournament games, Muscala took home another piece of hardware—Patriot League Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

“Winning that game against Lafayette, on ESPN2, in front of a crowded Sojka, nothing can beat that,” Muscala said. “It was the most memorable moment of my life and something I will certainly always cherish.”

The season had been an unforgettable one for Muscala, and the win against Lafayette gave him one more opportunity to lead the Bison—this time to the NCAA Tournament versus the Connecticut Huskies. Even though the Orange and Blue struggled against the eventual-champion Huskies, the experience of the Big Dance was a memorable one.

“Playing in the NCAA Tournament has always been a dream of mine, and it was awesome,” Muscala said.

The experience, though, is not what will linger for Muscala. Like any true champion, what he will never forget is the stinging defeat that ended his season.

“The loss gave me a lot more motivation to continue improving my game in the off season and get us back there next year,” he said.

It should come as no surprise to Bison fans that Muscala is never satisfied, even when leading his team to the NCAA Tournament. He’s the player who never quits, the player whose energy is unmatched, the player who keeps working hard.

That’s the motivation that took him to new heights in 2011. And, surely, that will be the same drive that will bring out a whole new Muscala come 2012.