University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: December 1, 2005

Basketball

MEN'S

Boston College 92, UB 63
UB 71, Jackson State 65
UB 66, Detroit 60

With a pair of victories in Las Vegas, UB improved to 4-1 on the season—its best start since the 1988-89 season—and finished 3-1 in the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational.

UB opened the week with a loss to 11th-ranked Boston College, 92-63, at the Conte Forum. The Bulls then scored six-point wins over Jackson State (71-65) and Detroit (66-60) in the final two rounds of the tournament to complete the week.

Against the Bulls, Boston College shot a sizzling 59.6 percent from the floor and forced 21 UB turnovers to hand the Bulls their first loss of the season.

On Friday, with the help of a 16-0 second-half scoring run, the Bulls erased a 10-point deficit and pulled away for a 71-65 victory over Jackson State.

In the finale on Saturday, Roderick Middleton scored all of his career-high 22 points in the second half to help lead UB to a 66-60 win over Detroit.

WOMEN'S

Auburn 70, UB 41

UB wasn't able to pull off the upset on Nov. 22, falling to Auburn, 70-41. The Tigers used their size to their advantage, outrebounding the Bulls, 41-34. Sophomore Barbora Homolová played her best game as a UB player, with a career-high 10 points in 20 minutes of play.

The Bulls kept the game close for the majority of the first half, but the Tigers went into halftime on a 10-2 run. Auburn increased the run in the second half to 17-4, all but crushing the chances of an upset.

The Bulls shot a season-low 25 percent from the field.

Wrestling

Bulls tie for second at annual Mat Town meet

Although there were only eight schools at the 30th Annual Mat Town USA

Invitational, UB still faced some stiff competition. But the Bulls posted wins against seven nationally ranked wrestlers to finish in a tie for second after compiling 138.5 points. UB posted a meet-high four champions and had six wrestlers reach the finals on Saturday.

Senior Kyle Cerminara (197 pounds) continued his path of domination en route to earning the Harris Lipez Most Outstanding Wrestler honor, as he ran his current winning streak to 14 matches. Three others joined him with titles, as junior Mark Budd (133 pounds), sophomore Dana Gingerich (141 pounds) and senior Harold Sherrell (heavyweight) each defeated a nationally ranked grappler en route to their championship.

Sophomore Mickey Moran (165 pounds) and senior Garrett Hicks (184 pounds) also reached the finals after going through a nationally ranked wrestler, helping the Bulls finish in a tie for second with Oregon and placing behind only 16th-ranked Indiana, which had 179 points, three champions and three runners-up to Buffalo grapplers.

UB will head to the prestigious Las Vegas Invitational, starting tomorrow, for a true measuring stick. The Bulls will compete with 50 NCAA Division I, II and III teams, as well as junior colleges.

Cross Country

Jezorski, Leonard earn Academic All-MAC honors

Two UB cross-country athletes have been named to the Academic All-Mid-American Conference teams as announced by the league office in Cleveland. Senior Jen Jezorski was named to the women's team, while junior Andy Leonard earned recognition on the men's side. Voting was conducted by the faculty athletic representatives of the MAC member institutions.

Jezorski, a speech-and-hearing sciences major with a 3.64 GPA, was UB's top women's runner throughout the season and was the Bulls' first finisher in all eight of her races in 2005. Jezorski earned All-MAC honors at the league championships with her 14th-place finish as she covered the 5K

course in a season-best 18:15.

Leonard, a mechanical-engineering major with a 3.43 GPA, had three top-15 finishes in 2005. He posted his personal-best 8K time with a 25:05 clocking at the Paul Short Invitational, placing 78th among 299 runners. Leonard also finished 23rd at the MAC Championships in 25:55 as UB's second finisher in the race.

Volleyball

Katie Weekley named to Academic All-MAC team

Senior Katie Weekley was named to the Academic All-Mid-American Conference team. Weekley is one of 16 players announced to the squad and one of just nine from last season's team.

Weekley led the UB team with 1.40 blocks per game, good for third in the MAC. She also ranked third on the team in kills per game at 2.77. Weekley notched a career-high 26 kills in a five-game win over Canisius on Oct. 5. She reached double-digit kills 14 times during the season and recorded a double-double against Kent State, with 14 kills and 10 blocks, in the 3-1 victory over the Golden Flashes. Her 162 total blocks rank fifth on UB's single-season records and Weekley's 1.40 blocks per game rank sixth.

A psychology major with a 3.83 GPA, Weekley served as co-captain of the 2005 team. She is also a member of the honor's program at UB.

Baseball

Folli earns spot on Wallace Watch list

Sophomore shortstop Mike Folli is one of 120 players who have earned a spot on the College Baseball Foundation's Wallace Watch list,

The Brooks Wallace Award is presented annually to the national college baseball player of the year. The 2005 winner, third baseman Alex Gordon of Nebraska, has signed to play professionally for the Kansas City Royals.

Folli is one of two on the list from the MAC, along with Miami (OH)'s pitcher Keith Weiser.

Folli has racked up honors since finishing his freshman season at UB, becoming the Bulls' first player to earn All-MAC honors—he was a second team honoree—before earning Collegiate Baseball's Louisville Slugger

Freshman All-American honors. This summer, he also was a participant in the Great Lakes Summer League's All-Star game.