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Sports Recap
Jeff Hurst of the men's swimming team scored two individual victories and was part of a winning relay squad in UB's season-opener against Miami (Ohio). Hurst, a sophomore, won the 200 individual medley in 1:54.86 and later won the 200 backstroke in 1:55.04. He also swam the opening leg of UB's victorious 400 medley relay, which finished in 3:29.70.
Jenny Koeppel of the women's cross-country team earned Second-Team All-MAC honors with her ninth-place finish among 104 runners at the Mid American Conference Championships in Akron, Ohio. Koeppel, a junior, completed the 5K course in 17:50.3-knocking 17 seconds off her previous best time of the season-to become UB's first All-MAC honoree in women's cross country since joining the league.
Football
Toledo 56, UB 29
Staggering offensive numbers were the story on Saturday night in Toledo's Glass Bowl as the Rockets outgunned UB and walked away with a 56-29 Mid-American Conference victory.
Bulls' senior kicker Dallas Pelz had a banner night, connecting on a UB single-game record five-for-five on field goals. Quarterback Randall Secky also posted impressive numbers, completing 23-of-35 passes for 254 yards. Secky started in place of P.J. Piskorik, who missed the game because of a shoulder injury.
The Bulls will host 23rd-ranked Northern Illinois on Saturday in the home finale. Kickoff is 1 p.m.
Volleyball
Akron 3, UB 2
Central Michigan 3, UB 0
UB 3, Northern Illinois 2
A three-match stretch highlighted the week for UB. The Bulls dropped a tough five-game match at home to Akron on Oct. 29, and were swept by Central Michigan to begin a two-match road trip. The Bulls then rallied to beat Northern Illinois in five games on Saturday after dropping the opening two games.
The Bulls are now 10-16 overall and 4-8 in the MAC. The 10 wins mark the first time since the 1999 season that the Bulls have reached double digits in the win column. In addition, the four MAC wins ties the 1999 mark for the most league wins in a season.
The Bulls next host Ohio at 7 p.m. tomorrow in their final regular season home game of the 2003 season. The Bobcats currently stand atop the MAC's East Division standings with an undefeated 11-0 league mark and have won 19 straight matches. Buffalo then will hit the road for a match at Kent State on Sunday.
Soccer
WOMEN'S
UB 3, Cornell 2
UB wrapped up the regular season with a 3-2 win over Cornell at Berman Field on Oct. 29.
Following a scoreless first half, Jenny Dannecker tallied the first goal of the game when she scored off a pass from Emily Russell in the 47th minute. Cornell's Shannon Fraser then scored twice within a five-minute span to give the Big Red a 2-1 lead. Nicole Olszewski tied the game in the 72nd minute with her fifth goal of the season. Natalia Crofut was credited with an assist on the play. Olszewski returned the favor in the 79th minute as she set up Crofut for the gamewinner.
Making her second career start, freshman goalkeeper Jennifer Thompson made four saves to earn the victory.
With the win, the Bulls finish the regular season with an 11-7-1 record, the fourth time in the past six seasons that UB has reached double figures in victories.
Cross Country
Koeppel earns All-MAC honors at league meet
The UB cross-country teams raced in the 2003 MAC Championships on Saturday at the Mayfair Country Club in Akron, Ohio. UB's women took ninth overall in a field of 13 schools with 248 points, while the men's team placed 10th among the 12-team field with 264 points. Ball State's women (73) and Central Michigan's men (46) earned the team titles.
UB junior Jenny Koeppel earned Second-Team All-MAC honors with her finish in the women's 5K race. Koeppel placed ninth overall among 104 entrants in 17:50.3, knocking 17 seconds off her previous 5K best of 18:07.26 set in September. Miami's Andrea Kremer took the individual title in 17:16.2. The top six finishers earned First-Team All-MAC recognition, while the next six received the second-team honors. Koeppel became UB's first women's All-MAC honoree since the Bulls joined the league in 1998.
In the men's 8K competition, UB's top finisher was senior Joel Beatty in 50th place overall in 26:00.9 as 96 men crossed the finish line. Eastern Michigan's Gavin Thompson defended his title by breaking his own MAC record to win the men's race in 23:39.9, slicing more than 10 seconds off his previous record set last season.
UB will continue the postseason on Nov. 15 at the NCAA Northeastern Regional Meet, to be held in Boston's Franklin Park.
Swimming
MEN'S
Miami (Ohio) 135, UB 107
UB opened the 2003-04 season Saturday afternoon with a 135-107 loss to Miami (Ohio) in the Alumni Arena Natatorium.
Junior Mark Sy (established a new school record for the Bulls, winning the 200 butterfly in 1:52.56 to eclipse the old mark of 1:52.68 set in 1992 by Eric Balzhiser.
Sophomore Jeff Hurst scored two individual victories and was on UB's winning relay team. Hurst took the 200 individual medley in 1:54.86 and later won the 200 backstroke in 1:55.04. He also swam the opening leg of UB's victorious 400 medley relay, which finished in 3:29.70. Joining Hurst were junior Aviv Oren, sophomore Kevin Gatley and junior Jon Yarger. Oren was UB's only other event winner on the afternoon, taking the 50 freestyle in 22.29.
The Bulls will travel to Athens, Ohio for next Saturday's meet against the Ohio University Bobcats.
WOMEN'S
Miami (Ohio) 176, UB 124
UB 192, Ball State 108
UB split a pair of meets over the weekend, falling to defending league champion Miami (Ohio), 176-124, on Friday, but rebounding for a 192-108 victory over Ball State on Saturday. The Bulls are now 2-1 overall and 1-1 in MAC competition.
In Friday's meet, UB won six events in the tight contest, including three of the first four to take an early lead. The Bulls opened the meet with a victory in the 400 medley relay as the foursome of Abby Delia, Julie Marcotte, Kahla Walkinshaw and Jennefer Brankovsky finished in 3:57.22, nearly three seconds faster than Miami's top foursome.
Brankovsky and Delia then followed with individual event victories. Brankovsky won the 200 freestyle in 1:54.00. Delia touched first to win the 100 backstroke in 59.16. Later, Walkinshaw took both butterfly races, winning the 200-yard race in 2:05.95 and the 100-yard distance in 58.27. Brankovsky picked up her second individual win of the meet in the 200 individual medley, winning the race in 2:07.02, a quarter-second faster than Miami's Laura Armbruster.
Against the Ball State Cardinals, UB won all but one event, the 100 breaststroke as Brankovsky won three individual events and anchored a winning relay team to pace the squad. Brankovsky took the 200 freestyle in 1:55.29, then followed with a win in the 500 freestyle in 5:01.55 and capped the day with a win in the 400 individual medley in 4:32.67.
She also anchored the winning 200 medley relay team, swimming the freestyle portion, to a 1:50.84 clocking, Delia, Marcotte and Walkinshaw were the first three into the water for the Bulls in the event.
Three other Bulls scored double victories in individual events. Senior Jolie Pun took a pair of freestyle races, winning the 1,000 freestyle in 10:33.89 and then claiming the 100 freestyle in 54.35. Delia, a senior, swept both backstroke events, winning the 100 in 59.39 and the 200 in 2:06.49.
Walkinshaw, a freshman, swept the butterfly races, taking the 100 in 58.42 and the 200 in 2:06.13. Walkinshaw, Pun and Delia also swam the first three legs of the Bulls' victorious 800 freestyle relay. Freshman Frances Stephenson swam the final 200 yards as the Bulls won the race in 7:47.27.
Stephenson won the 50 freestyle in 25.16, touching out Ball State's Karla Bailey by two-hundredths of a second. Marcotte won the 200 breaststroke in 2:26.98.
The Bulls travel this weekend to face MAC rivals Marshall tomorrow, and Ohio on Saturday.