University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: October 2, 2003

Football

Akron 38, UB 21

UB played its finest half of the season but couldn't put the whole 60 minutes together in a 38-21 loss to Akron in a Mid-American Conference game on Saturday in UB Stadium.

Akron, which led 17-14 at halftime, scored three straight touchdowns early in the second half to send the Bulls to defeat in their MAC opener. UB is now 0-5 and 0-1 in conference play.

The Zips broke out on top after UB was stopped on its first possession and was forced to kick into a stiff breeze. Akron got the ball at the Bulls' 45-yard line and converted two key third-down conversions take a 7-0 lead.

On third-and-10, Akron quarterback Charlie Frye hit receiver Miquel Irvin with a 35-yard pass down the right sideline. Then on third-and-5 at the UB 10-yard line, Frye hit Mike Brake for the first touchdown of the game.

Akron extended the lead to 10-0 with 2:42 remaining in the first quarter on a 41-yard field goal by Jason Swiger.

After UB turned the ball over at its own 47-yard line on a reverse, senior free safety Mark Graham made a huge play, an interception—UB's first of the season—at the Bulls' three-yard line.

After UB moved the ball impressively out near midfield, it committed another turnover when quarterback P.J. Piskorik and tailback Dave Dawson mishandled a handoff.

The Bulls, however, came up with the biggest defensive play of the season, again by Graham. After sophomore Bryan Cummings had a blind-side hit on Frye and the ball popped loose, Graham tipped it once, then grabbed it and took it back 66 yards for UB's first defensive touchdown since the first game of the 2001 season. After Dallas Pelz added the extra point, Akron led 10-7 with 13:02 remaining in the first half.

The Bulls could not hold the momentum as penalties stopped their next drive—an illegal motion penalty wiped out a third down conversion. Akron built the lead to 17-7 on a 40-yard drive in six plays, capped by a four-yard touchdown run by Frye.

The Bulls rallied to make it 17-14 at halftime with one of their best drives of the year. Aaron Leeper got the Bulls in good field-goal position with a 30-yard kickoff return and UB marched the rest of the 50 yards in nine plays, capped by a five-yard touchdown pass from Piskorik to wideout Matt Knueven with 1:18 remaining in the half. It was Piskorik's first career touchdown pass and the first by a Bulls' quarterback this season.

Akron regained control to start the second half, driving 80 yards in seven plays with Bob Hendry capping the drive with a three-yard burst off left guard. The Zips put the game away on a huge third-and-11 play in the third quarter when Frye hit Matt Cherry with a 46-yard pass play to the UB 32-yard line. That key conversion allowed the Zips to finished off a 95-yard drive in nine plays on another two-yard burst by Hendry.

The Zips scored two more touchdowns before the Bulls answered back in the fourth quarter when junior tight end Brian Miller made his first career catch memorable with a seven-yard TD toss from Piskorik to cap a 72-yard drive in 11 plays.

The Bulls will travel to Central Florida for a league showdown against the Golden Knights in Orlando on Saturday.

Volleyball

Western Michigan 3, UB 1
Eastern Michigan 3, UB 1

UB opened the MAC schedule with a hard-fought, 3-1 loss to visiting Western Michigan Friday in Alumni Arena. The Bulls battled in 30-27 and 30-26 losses in games one and two before stealing game three by a 31-29 score. The Broncos put the match away with an easy 30-17 win in game four.

On Saturday, the Bulls battled with the MAC's top-ranked team, but came out on the losing end of a four-game match with the Eastern Michigan Eagles. The Eagles pulled out a 31-29 win in game one before the Bulls tied the match with a dramatic 32-30 win in game two. The Eagles ended the match with 30-17 and 30-21 wins in games three and four.

The Bulls (5-9 overall, 0-2 MAC) were at Canisius last night for a non-conference match before traveling to Miami (OH) for a match tomorrow. The Bulls will return home on Sunday to face Bowling Green at 2 p.m. in Alumni Arena.

Soccer

MEN'S

Siena 2, UB 1
Akron 2, UB 0

UB suffered a 2-1 loss to the Siena Saints on Friday night at RAC Field to open the homestand. A late goal by junior defender Cheick Diarra pulled the Bulls to within one, but UB was unable to tack on another to avoid the loss.

On Sunday, the Bulls dropped their MAC opener, losing 2-0 to the Akron Zips. The Zips, ranked 23rd nationally in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NCSA)/Adidas poll, notched a pair of first-half goals and then shut down the Bulls' offense.

UB, now 1-6-3, will return to action at 7 p.m. tomorrow when the Bowling Green Falcons pay a visit to RAC Field.

WOMEN'S

Canisius 2, UB 1
Akron 1, UB 0 (OT)

Canisius defeated UB, 2-1, on Friday night to snap an eight-game losing streak to the Bulls. It was Canisius' first win against UB since 1994.

Following a scoreless first half, Canisius' Cathleen Mulvey scored the game's first goal 22 seconds into the second stanza. Emily Russell tied the contest in the 81st minute when she notched her team-best seventh goal of the season. However, the Golden Griffins struck back just 28 seconds later on an unassisted goal by Marissa Ponzi for the game-winner.

On Sunday, the Bulls dropped a heartbreaking, 1-0 overtime loss to Akron at RAC Field. Despite outshooting the Zips, 29-14, the Bulls couldn't prevent Akron's Mirka Mohs from scoring the game-winner five minutes into overtime to give the Zips the victory.

The loss dropped UB to 5-5-1 overall and 1-3-1 in the MAC. After starting the season 5-2, the Bulls are winless in their last four. UB will next play at Marshall tomorrow night.

Cross Country

Men finish 15th, women take 17th at Meet of Champions

The men's and women's cross-country teams saw their toughest competition of the season in Saturday's Ninth Annual Br. John "Paddy" Doyle Iona Meet of Champions at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. The men placed 15th among 19 scoring teams with 408 points. The women's team scored 415 points to place 17th out of 18 scorers. Host Iona, ranked eighth nationally and first in the Northeast Region, won the men's meet with 37 points, while Princeton took the women's team title with 36 points.

Leading the way for the UB men along the hilly 8K course at Van Cortlandt Park was sophomore Andy Wigton who finished 29th overall among 158 entrants. Wigton completed the course in 26:25.2, cutting his season-best time by more than 14 seconds.

In the women's meet, contested at 6K, UB's top finisher for the third consecutive meet was junior Jenny Koeppel. Koeppel finished in 22:31.1 to place 16th overall among a field of 148 runners.

The Bulls will see another large field next weekend when they head to Bethlehem, Pa., for the Paul Short Invitational, hosted by Lehigh University.

Tennis

WOMEN'S

Kollarova wins singles title; Ortman and Nenova win doubles at Can-Am Tournament

UB won two of the three contested flight championships to complete the Can-Am Invitational Tournament at the UB Tennis Complex on Sunday.

Junior Michelle Kollarova won the B singles title with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Toronto's Qiuyan Tian.

The doubles team of sophomore Kristen Ortman and freshman Miglena Nenova claimed their title with a 6-2, 6-1 win over York's Natasha Kimberg and Miren Iribarren.

Niagara's Melina Matijevic defeated teammate Mariam Al-Shakarchy, 6-0, 6-2, to claim the A flight singles championship.

Kollarova advanced to the B flight singles title match with a 6-4, 6-1 win over teammate Lisa Wittman. In the other semifinal match, Tian defeated UB's Erica Zielinski in a 10-point third-set tiebreaker, 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.

Ortman and Nenova played three matches on Sunday, easily moving past Rosie Bell and Teresa Schirripa of Toronto, 6-1, 6-0, in the second round. After a rain delay of more than an hour, Ortman and Nenova breezed past Montreal's Isabelle Chrun and Catherine Ouiment in an 8-2 pro-set semifinal. The pro-set scoring was necessitated to accommodate Montreal's travel arrangements.

In the A singles flight, Katrin Fischer lost her semifinal match to Al-Shakarchy of Niagara, 6-3, 6-1, but rallied to defeat Niagara's Aditi Krishnan, 8-6, to claim third place.

The Bulls will host Cleveland State in their next match, scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Amherst Hills Tennis Club.

MEN'S

Bulls sweep titles at Can-Am Tournament

UB swept all three flights of the championship round in the Can-Am Invitational Tournament, which concluded Sunday at the UB Tennis Complex.

Freshman Mike Rockman picked up the A flight singles title while senior Rangga Prayudha took the B flight. The duo of Randy Rocchio and Nick Zieziula picked up the doubles title.

In the A singles semifinals, Rockman defeated Zieziula, 6-3, 6-4, while Toronto's Craig Mercer downed Alex Sautchenko of York, 6-0, 3-6, 10-8. Rockman then won a hard-fought final match against Mercer, 7-5, 6-4, which included several long baseline rallies between the two strong hitters.

In the B flight singles, UB's two entries downed Youngstown State opponents in the semifinals. Albert Alant defeated Kevin Schaffert, 7-5, 6-2. Prayudha needed a tiebreaker to advance past Brian Meek, winning 6-0 in the first set, then falling 6-3 in the second. Prayudha then took the 10-point tiebreaker, 10-3, to move into the title match. From there, Prayudha prevailed, downing his UB teammate in identical 6-2, 6-2 sets.

Rocchio and Zieziula combined to move past teammates Joe Popielarczyk and Mike Zappone by a 6-0, 6-1 score. Rocchio and Zieziula then handled Jay Barlow and Connor Casey of McMaster in the championship match, 6-2, 6-2. Barlow and Casey had advanced to the final following a 3-6, 7-5, 13-11 win over Niagara's Jason Ramos and Erick Garcia.