University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: January 26, 2006

Basketball

MEN'S

UB 75, Ball State 64
Central Michigan 71, UB 61

Yassin Idbihi scored 23 points and tied a career-high 12 rebounds to help UB defeat Ball State, 75-64, in Alumni Arena on Jan. 18. Calvin Cage added 21 points, including the 1,000th point of his career and added six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

UB prevailed despite playing without starters Parnell Smith, who missed his third straight game with an injury, and Greg Gamble, who was forced to sit out while an academic issue was being resolved.

After the Bulls led for much of the game, Ball State took a 53-47 lead with 8:46 remaining. UB rattled off six straight points to tie the contest at 53 with 5:42 remaining. With the score tied at 58, a pair of Idbihi free throws gave the Bulls the lead for good with 4:01 left.

On Saturday, a sluggish start haunted the Bulls as they fell to Central Michigan, 71-61, in Alumni Arena. The loss snapped the Bulls' 13-game home winning streak.

UB (13-4, 3-3 MAC) made only five baskets in the first half and scored only 17 first-half points on a frigid 21.7 percent shooting from the floor.

The Bulls will host Ohio in a rematch of last season's MAC Championship game at 8 p.m. today.

WOMEN'S

UB 68, Akron 63
Kent State 73, UB 56

UB earned a 68-63 victory over Akron on Jan. 18 in Rhodes Arena, but was unable to build on the momentum and dropped a 73-56 decision at Kent State on Saturday. UB is now 7-9 overall and 2-3 in MAC play.

Against Akron, UB finished with four players in double figures, led by 20 from senior Brooke Meunier. Sophomore Stephanie Bennett added 17 points for the Bulls, all after the break as she went 5-of-10 from behind the arc.

After heading to the locker rooms up five, the Bulls went on a 17-7 run during the first seven minutes of the second half to take a 15-point lead, their largest of the game.

But the Zips crawled back into the game as Meunier and Heather Turner both got into foul trouble. The Zips used a 9-0 run to get within three at the six-minute mark and the game stayed within a five-point margin for the remainder of the contest.

The win was the Bulls' fifth on the road this season-the most victories away from Alumni Arena since the 2002-03 season, when they won six on the road.

However, that success on the road came to a halt as Kent State used a 14-0 run during a five minute stretch in the second half to defeat the Bulls, 73-56, Saturday afternoon at the M.A.C. Center.

The Bulls were able to run with Kent State, holding a slim, 35-34, lead at the 14:04 mark in the second half. Kent State then scored 14 unanswered points and held a 13-point advantage before Meunier broke the run with a layup.

UB tried to get back into the contest, but lack of depth cost the Bulls as only seven players saw action.

Wrestling

Budd, Hicks, Cerminara win New York State titles

Despite a tournament-high three individual championships, UB had to settle for second place to Army for the second straight year at the 37th Annual New York State Intercollegiate Wrestling Championship, held on Saturday at SUNY-Oswego.

The Bulls, who placed seven wrestlers at the tournament, came to the fringe of the championship this year, making a mad charge through the finals by winning three of their first four championship bouts, but thanks to a stalling call in the third period of the heavyweight finals, the Bulls not only lost the match, but the tournament, finishing with 134.5 points to Army's 152. Cornell (109.5), Columbia (97) and Ithaca (91) rounded out the top five in the 17-team field.

Still, UB earned three individual championships to increase its tournament record to 57 champions, as senior 197-pounder Kyle Cerminara and junior 133-pounder Mark Budd won their second titles and senior 184-pounder Garrett Hicks wrapped up his first.

UB will look to get back on the winning side of the dual-meet ledger at an Alumni Arena quad-meet at 9 a.m. on Saturday, featuring MAC foe Ohio, Delaware State and Division III Ithaca College.

Swimming

MEN'S

UB 107, Niagara 73
Ohio 125, UB 74

UB posted a 107-73 non-conference victory against Niagara on Jan. 18 in Alumni Arena Natatorium, but then fell to Ohio, 125-74 on Saturday.

Against the Purple Eagles, two Bulls earned double victories. Senior Jeff Hurst won the 200-yard individual medley in 1:58.31 and later followed with a win in the 100-yard freestyle in 47.68.

Also picking up a pair of wins was junior Luke Adams in the distance freestyle races. Adams won the 1,000-yard freestyle in 9:55.63 and later turned in a 4:44.08 clocking to win the 500-yard freestyle.

Senior Kevin Gatley won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:47.16. Sophomore Mike Hurst took the 200-yard butterfly in 2:00.57. Freshman Richard Shi won the 200-yard backstroke in 1:59.15. Sophomore Leandro Souza took the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:19.33.

The Bulls also won the 400-yard medley relay as Shi, Souza, Aaron Moessinger and Jeff Hurst combined to turn in a time of 3:39.00.

UB found the going tough at Ohio, dropping a 125-74 match. UB is now 2-3 overall.

Adams won two individual events and was part of a winning relay to lead the Bulls on Saturday. Adams took first place in the 1,000-yard freestyle in 9:40.90, less than two seconds off his lifetime best. Adams also won his signature event, the 200-yard backstroke, in 1:55.53 to lead the Bulls to a one-two finish in the race. Shi placed second in the race in 1:57.44.

Jeff Hurst also pulled out a first-place finish, winning the 400-yard individual medley in 4:12.31. He also finished second in the 100-yard freestyle in 47.95.

The Bulls will travel to St. Bonaventure for a non-league matchup at 6 p.m. today.

WOMEN'S

UB 120, Niagara 82
Ohio 133, UB 101

UB knocked off local rival Niagara, 120-82, in non-conference action on Jan. 18 in Alumni Arena Natatorium, but faltered at Ohio, losing to the Bobcats, 133-101 in MAC action. The Bulls are now 3-6 for the season.

Against Niagara, the Bulls opened the meet by winning the first eight races on the 13-event card. UB exhibitioned the final five events after clinching the meet.

In its first MAC head-to-head meet since Nov. 12, the Bulls dropped a close one to the Ohio Bobcats, 133-101, in the Ohio University Aquatic Center on Saturday.

Kahla Walkinshaw won her two single events, hitting the wall first in the 200-yard freestyle (1:56.00) and the 200-yard butterfly (2:06.86). Walkinshaw also led off in the 400-yard freestyle relay, along with Jennifer Raimondi, Olga Wojcik and Rachel Sorg, taking first place in a time of 3:38.20.

UB's other first-place finisher was junior Julie Marcotte in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:27.44.

The Bulls will host Bowling Green at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Indoor Track and Field

Teams place second at Cornell Challenge

UB's men's and women's indoor track teams both took home second-place finishes on Saturday at the Cornell Upstate Challenge.

In the men's meet, the Bulls totaled 164.50 points to finish second to homestanding Cornell's 295. UB's women scored 111 points, while Cornell took the team title with 295.

The UB men established two new qualifying marks for the IC4A Championships in March and improved on three others. George Fetchko scored a victory in the weight throw with a toss of 55-5.50 (16.90m) for a personal-best and IC4A mark. Freshman Rob McRae also established an IC4A qualifying mark by finishing second in the 500-meter run in 1:04.89.

For the UB women, Tina Villa won the shot put at 46-2.75 (14.09m), improving her ECAC qualifying distance and personal-best marks by more than a foot.

Three other Bulls won events, including a pair of personal-bests on the track. Kate Kohout won the 500-meters in 1:17.08, while Mary Veith won the 800-meters in 2:15.82, each improving on their best times. Jessica Lister won the pole vault at 11-5.75 (3.50m).

Freshman Caitlin Godin finished second in the high jump at 5-8.75 (1.75m) to earn an ECAC qualifying height and establish a new personal-best mark.

Both men's and women's teams will travel to the Penn State National Invitational this weekend.

Tennis

MEN'S

UB 6, Boston University 1
Brown 7, UB 0

UB opened the spring portion of the schedule with a pair of contests last weekend in New England. UB posted a 6-1 win over Boston University on Friday, but fell to Brown, 7-0, on Saturday. The Bulls are 2-1 in dual meet matches.

Against BU, the Bulls opened the match by taking two of three doubles showdowns. In singles play, the Bulls dropped just one of the six matches.

It wasn't as easy for the Bulls in Providence, as they fell to the Brown Bears, 7-0. In singles play, the Bulls were swept in straight sets in five of the six matches. Matt Kennedy, playing fifth singles, was the only UB player to avoid falling in two sets.

UB will be back in action on Feb. 5, traveling to West Point for matches with the host Black Knights and Binghamton.