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Ted Wasko, Sports Information Office

BULLS BASKETBALL HEADS FOR ITALY
The University at Buffalo men's basketball team will become its first team to travel overseas when they head for Italy next month. The Bulls leave Buffalo for Rome on Aug. 16 and will remain in Italy until Aug. 26. The team will play in several tournaments during that time, starting in Bologna and also playing in Rimini. UB's competition will consist primarily of Italian club basketball teams.

"This trip gives us a chance for players to get some international experience," said Bulls head coach Tim Cohane. "It's a good cultural experience."

Under NCAA regulations, member institutions are allowed one trip overseas every four years to play international competition. Several other teams will be traveling through Europe this summer on foreign tours; however, UB will not be playing other American teams during the tour.

UB WRESTLERS HONORED BY NWCA
The UB wrestling team and heavyweight Todd Shaffer both received impressive honors for the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) this summer. The Bulls wrestling team finished 23rd in the nation with a cumulative grade point average of 2.707. That success in the classroom mirrored the team's accomplishments on the mat as coach Jim Beichner's team compiled a 10-4 dual meet mark.

Shaffer, meanwhile, earned a spot on the Honorable Mention All-Academic team. Shaffer, a four-year letterman in football at UB who had one year of wrestling eligibility, earned a spot on the team by virtue of his 3.50 grade point average while majoring in psychology and his 24-11 record on the mat.

Shaffer tied for the team lead with 10 overall pins and nine dual meet victories were third best on the Bulls. He was selected by the East Coast Wrestling Association Coaches as the first alternate to the NCAA Wrestling Championships and posted a 4.0 grade point average in the fall of 1995. He has been named to the Scholar-Athlete list seven times during his collegiate career at UB.

BUSCAGLIA, BEICHNER RECEIVE HONORS
A pair of University at Buffalo coaches recently received New York State Coach of the Year honors.

Sal Buscaglia, UB's women's basketball coach, and Jim Beichner, the head wrestling coach, each garnered New York State honors after outstanding campaigns this winter.

Buscaglia's Royals tied a school record for wins by compiling a 23-8 record and reaching the championship game of the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament. Buscaglia, a native of Buffalo, reached both his 350th collegiate win as well as his 100th victory at UB during the season. He currently has an overall collegiate record of 364-117 and is 115-55 as coach of the Royals, the winningest women's basketball coach in UB history.

This is the second time that Buscaglia has earned New York State Division I Coach of the Year honors. He was also feted after finishing the 1991-92 season with a 23-6 record. Buscaglia recently completed his sixth season at UB and his 19th collegiate season overall.

"An honor such as this is a reflection on our outstanding players and dedicated assistant coaches," said Buscaglia. "Twenty-three wins last season, along with 20-plus wins in four of the past five years is something I'm very proud of. Although it was disappointing coming so close to receiving a bid to the NCAAs, it truly indicated we are moving in the right direction."

Beichner, meanwhile, was named New York State Coach of the Year for all three divisions (I, II, and III). He inherited a program that had gone 6-56 over the previous five years and in his first season led them to a 10-4 dual-meet record and sent two wrestlers-Marcus Hutchins and Jason Wartinger-to the NCAA Division I Tournament.

The Cassadaga Valley High School graduate saw his team finish third in the New York State Collegiate Tournament and in third place overall in the East Coast Wrestling Association with a 5-2 dual-meet record. In addition, his team finished 23rd in the nation in cumulative grade point average as announced by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA).

Beichner had spent the previous seven seasons as the top assistant at the University of Pittsburgh before returning to Western New York. He was a two-time Division I All-American at Clarion University and recorded 126 career wins.

"For me this award is the culmination of a tremendous first season here at UB," said Beichner. "Awards like this are not possible without tremendous dedication from our student- athletes as well as my assistant coaches. I want to build a Top 25 wrestling program here at Buffalo as soon as possible, not only athletically but also academically. What we accomplished this season is a big first step towards that goal," said Beichner.

UB FOOTBALL UPDATE
Senior inside linebacker Craig Guest has been named a starting linebacker on the Bob Griese 1996 College Football Yearbook preseason All-I-AA Independent team.

Guest, who set school records for tackles in a game (29) and a season (161) last season, was one of three linebackers named to the team. He led the Bulls in six defensive categories last season: solo tackles (77), assisted tackles (84), total tackles (161), tackles for loss (15), fumble recoveries (2) and interceptions (2). Guest had double figures tackles in eight of 11 games last season and led all ECAC Division I-AA players (42 schools) in tackles per game (14.6). He earned first-team ECAC honors last season as well as honorable mention All-America honors from Football Gazette.

Freshman recruit Drew Haddad, a wide receiver from three-time Ohio state champion Cleveland St. Ignatius, recently earned one of his high school's most prestigious honors.

Haddad, who excelled in both football and basketball at St. Ignatius earned the Wirtz Award before commencement last month. The award honors legendary Athletic Director John Wirtz who helped mold St. Ignatius into a national power in both football and basketball. The award, which goes to the student- athlete who best exemplifies excellence both academically and athletically, went to Haddad over classmates headed to Notre Dame, Michigan and Ohio State. Haddad will join Geoff Panteck-his quarterback at St. Ignatius-at UB this fall.

Junior defensive end Hardy Mitchell, who missed all of the Bulls spring practices because of a torn muscle in his shoulder that required surgery, is ready to make a healthy return.

Mitchell was eighth on the Bulls with 46 tackles last season despite playing with the painful injury. He also had three quarterback sacks and eight tackles for loss. Mitchell, 6-5, 290, is spending the summer in Buffalo rehabilitating the shoulder and is nearly 100 percent with UB set to open fall camp on Aug. 10.

Season and single tickets are now on sale for UB football and can be purchased at the UB Center for the Arts Box Office, Ticketmaster locations or by calling 645-6666. Season tickets run from $28 to $87.