University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: November 4, 2004

Volleyball

Ball State 3, UB 0
Marshall 3, UB 1

The Bulls dropped a pair of Mid-American Conference matches on the road over the weekend. On Friday, UB was swept in a three-game match by Ball State, ranked eighth in the Mideast Region, 30-15, 30-19 and 30-16. Sunday, the Bulls fell to 13th-ranked Marshall, in four games, 30-23, 30-26, 25-30, 30-20. With the losses, Buffalo fell to 7-18 overall and 0-12 in the conference.

Against the Cardinals, UB failed to have a player reach double digits in kills for the third straight match, while it hit just .055 as a team with 24 kills on 109 attacks with 18 errors.

Against the Thundering Herd, Marshall took a quick 10-4 lead in game one, but the Bulls battled back to within one on two occasions, 18-17 and 20-19. The Herd, however, used five kills from five different players and capitalized on UB errors to close out the game with a 30-23 win. In game two, UB led by as many as six points, 12-6, early on before Marshall came from behind to take a 30-26 win.

UB took a close game three that was tied at 18-18 before sophomore Nikki Morzenti had back-to-back kills that put the Bulls ahead for good and closed the gap in the match to 2-1. Marshall then came out firing in game four, hitting .457 and using an 8-1 run to end the game at 30-20 and the match at 3-1.

UB returns home for its final two home matches of the season-against Toledo today and Miami (OH) tomorrow. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m.

Soccer

MEN'S

UB 1, Western Michigan 1

UB finished the regular season with a 1-1 tie against MAC opponent Western Michigan. The Bulls got on the board early Friday night in front of a good crowd for senior day at RAC Field. It was the first time the Bulls have scored points at home since a Sept. 6 match against nationally ranked Binghamton.

The Bulls got a goal in the 17th minute of play off a direct kick from senior Mirnes Biscevic. They kept that lead until the 42nd minute when Western Michigan converted on a direct kick of its own.

The two teams played a tough and physical game, with four yellow cards being issued, as well as 44 combined fouls.

The Bulls finished the regular season with a 7-7-2 record, including a 1-4-1 record in the MAC. UB will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., for the MAC Tournament. The sixth seed in the tournament, the Bulls will play Northern Illinois tomorrow.

WOMEN'S

UB 2, Cornell 1

Senior Arielle Korczykowski scored the game-winning goal seven minutes into the second half, as UB defeated Cornell, 2-1, in non-conference action at RAC Field on Oct. 26. UB completed the season at 7-11-1 overall and 5-6-1 in MAC play.

Korczykowski earned the goal after a throw-in by freshman Courtney MacVie found junior Natalia Crofut a few yards from the right side of the goal. Crofut headed the ball out, where Korczykowski kicked it in.

Korczykowski closed the year on a hot streak after sitting out seven games due to injury, accumulating two goals and an assist in her last three games. With her last goal, she became the third UB player to score 10 points on the season.

After the game, the Bulls played the waiting game to see if they would make the MAC playoffs. A tie in a match between Bowling Green and Toledo would give UB the final playoff slot. However, Bowling Green defeated the Rockets, 3-0, to take the eighth slot and end the season for the Bulls.

Cross Country

Koeppel wins MAC individual title

UB's women's cross-country team scored its best-ever finish at the MAC Championships on Saturday with a fourth-place showing. Senior Jenny Koeppel won the women's 5K race and earned First Team All-MAC honors.

UB's men took seventh place overall, an improvement of three spots from last year's 10th-place finish.

Kent State won its first women's championship, scoring 84 points to hold off second-place Ball State with 86 points. Central Michigan captured the men's championship for the third consecutive year, scoring 31 points among the 10 squads.

In the women's race, Koeppel completed the 5K course in 17:51.70, finishing seven seconds ahead of Ball State's Jill Scully (17:58.05). Koeppel and Scully, the two fastest runners in the MAC this season, broke away from the pack at the 3,000-meter mark, with Koeppel taking the lead shortly thereafter and not relinquishing it. Her time was her second-fastest of the season.

This is Koeppel's second MAC championship and first on the cross-country course. She won the 10,000-meter run at last season's Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

For the UB men, sophomore Dan McKenna was the top finisher in the 8K event in 26:17.20 to finish 26th overall.

Swimming

WOMEN'S

UB 154, St. Bonaventure 146

Buoyed by victories in four of the final five events, UB escaped with a 154-146 win over St. Bonaventure in non-conference action in Alumni Arena Natatorium. With the win, the Bulls remain undefeated at 2-0 while handing the Bonnies (2-1) their first loss of the season.

The Bulls trailed 111-96 with five events to go in the 16-event meet. UB then picked up four straight first-place finishes, worth 11 points each, to narrow the margin. Jennefer Brankovsky won the 500 freestyle in 5:07.94 to begin the comeback. Kahla Walkinshaw followed with a victory in the 100 butterfly in 59.43 to close the gap to 125-120 in favor of the Bonnies. Walkinshaw earlier had won the 200 butterfly in 2:07.78.

UB then scored a sweep on the three-meter diving board with Tracy Hoover topping the list at 260.25 points for six dives. Kimberly LaHaye and Miranda Matias followed in second and third, respectively, giving the Bulls their first lead of the night at 136-128. Brankovsky then scored a victory in the 200 individual medley in 2:09.22, giving the Bulls a 148-135 edge.

St. Bonaventure's 400 free relay team won the final event, but a pair of UB foursomes grabbed second and third places to secure the team win for the Bulls.

UB will open the MAC schedule with a weekend road trip to Miami (Ohio) tomorrow and Ball State on Saturday.

Crew

Bulls post top results at Head of the Fish

UB posted a first-place finish, as well as three second-place showings and a third-place finish, in the Head of the Fish regatta in Saratoga. UB was the highest-scoring collegiate entry at the event with 116.50 total points, placing third overall behind top squads from Saratoga High School and the St. Catharines Rowing Club.

The Bulls tallied one first-place showing, winning the Lightweight 4 race in 15:17.02, nearly 30 seconds ahead of second-place Saratoga High School.

UB also picked up second-place finishes in the Novice 8 and 4 races and the Lightweight 8 race. In the Novice 8 event, UB's "A" squad finished in 14:27.97, five seconds behind the winning squad from Syracuse (14:22.25) in a 38-team race. The Bulls also posted a 12th-place finish in the race with a "B" entry in 15:54.53.

In the Novice 4 competition, UB finished second in 14:44.20, behind only Greenwich Academy (14:27.11) as 39 entries took to the water. The Lightweight 8 was second in 13:14.33 to Saratoga High School's 12:56.86 in a seven-team race. UB posted two entries in the Open/Championship 8 event, scoring third- and a fifth-place finishes among 28 teams. The "A" squad was third in 12:35.79, trailing only Massachusetts (12:23.31) and Colgate (12:32.23), while the "B" team finished in 12:43.99, nine-tenths of a second behind fourth-place Williams.

The Bulls also had three entries in the Open/Championship 4 competition. The "A" entry was fourth in 15:03.86, with the "B" entry seventh in 15:22.59 and the "C" entry 11th in 15:35.10. There were 46 entries in the competition.

UB crews will complete the fall season with the Foot of the Charles races in Boston on Nov. 13.