University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: September 29, 2005

Volleyball

Kent State 3, UB 1
Ohio 3, UB 0

UB easily took game one, 30-19, but then dropped the next three games, 30-18, 30-27, 30-14, to fall to host Kent State by a 3-1 margin on Friday in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams.

The Golden Flashes finished the match with a .228 hitting percentage, compared to UB's .152, and scored 13 service aces compared to the Bulls' four. Buffalo had the advantage in blocks, 10-8.

Saturday night, the Bulls dropped a 30-16, 30-27, 30-16 decision to the defending MAC champion Ohio Bobcats in Athens. The Bobcats (12-2 overall, 2-0 MAC), who are receiving votes in the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Top 25 poll, extended the nation's longest active home-court winning streak to 31 matches with the three-game victory. UB evened its record at 7-7 overall and fell to 0-2 in the MAC.

The Bulls will continue their MAC schedule with two road matches this week, at Akron tonight and at Ball State on Saturday.

Soccer

MEN'S

UB 2, Colgate 1
St. Francis (PA) 1, UB 0

Down 1-0 at the end of the first half, UB pulled together a masterful comeback against Colgate Friday night with a 2-1 win at Van Doren Field. The Bulls' endurance proved to be the factor near the end of the game, as they outshot Colgate 9-3 in the second half.

The Raiders were called for a hand-ball in the box at the 76-minute mark, a violation that led to a penalty kick and one of the more exciting points in the game. Sophomore Lee Catchpole took the penalty kick, blasting a shot to the lower right corner and past the diving Colgate goalkeeper Doug Litvack.

With the game tied at 1-1, junior Andrae Clarke drew out the Raider keeper and hammered home the game-winning goal to the right corner.

On Sunday, the Bulls experienced their first defeat of the season-a 1-0 shutout by St. Francis. The Red Flash landed on top early in the first

half and never looked back, although the Bulls (8-1-0) battled tough to avoid being shut out for the first time this season.

The Bulls will face Canisius at 7 p.m. tomorrow in UB Stadium, then visit Boston University on Sunday.

WOMEN'S

Miami (OH) 2, UB 0
UB 1, Ball State 0

Miami University only got seven chances to take a shot on net against UB in the Bulls' MAC opener on Friday night at UB Stadium, but the RedHawks were able to put two balls in the back of the net to seal a 2-0 win over the Bulls.

UB outshot Miami, 8-7, and also held a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks, but could muster only three shots on goal.

On Sunday, sophomore Ashley Turner scored her first career goal in the third minute, helping to lift the Bulls to a 1-0 win against regionally ranked Ball State University in MAC action in UB Stadium.

After a corner from the left side by sophomore Katie Fage, senior Natalia Crofut won the kick and got the ball to Turner, who lifted the ball into the right side of the net, giving UB (3-5-1 overall, 1-1 MAC) the victory.

The Bulls will hit the road this weekend for matches with MAC foes Eastern Michigan tomorrow and Central Michigan on Sunday.

Cross Country

Women finish seventh, men place 10th at Penn State

The men's and women's cross country teams were in action Saturday at the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational. The men placed 10th among a field of 17 teams with 264 points, while the women took seventh in the 16-team race with 169 points. Host Penn State won the men's meet with 39 points, while Yale, one of the top programs in the country, won the women's meet with 34 points.

In the women's race, UB's top finisher was senior Jen Jezorski, who placed 15th among 201 racers. Jezorski completed the 6K distance—an additional kilometer more than what the squad has raced thus far in 2005—in 22:34.

In the men's race, sophomore Dan Giza crossed the finish line first for the Bulls in 27:28 to place 40th overall among 189 racers.

The teams will return to the Keystone State this weekend to participate in the annual Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University.

Tennis

WOMEN'S

Bulls enjoy successful run at Bowling Green Invite

UB enjoyed a successful showing at the Bowling Green Invitational last weekend, emerging as the top team at the tournament. UB netters claimed four of seven singles crowns and two of the three doubles titles at the event, which featured seven teams. There was no team scoring and several matches in the consolation brackets were not completed due to rain.

The Bulls swept flights three through six and the second and third doubles flights. UB's winners included Kristen Ortman at number two, Katrin Fischer at number three, Natalie Dean at number four and Tina Jacob at number five. Fischer combined with Miglena Nenova to take the number two doubles title, while Jacob paired with Andreea Novaceanu to claim the third flight.

Next up for the Bulls is the dual-season opener against St. Francis (PA) at 11 a.m. on Saturday at UB's University Tennis Center.

Wrestling

USA Wrestling ranks Cerminara sixth in freestyle

Senior captain and 2004 All-American Kyle Cerminara has been ranked sixth in the USA Wrestling 2005-06 freestyle rankings at 96 kilograms (211.5 pounds).

Cerminara, a member of the New York Athletic Club wrestling team, placed in a host of national events in 2005 to earn his sixth-place ranking, coming in third at the Canada Cup, sixth at the U.S. World Team Trials, and fifth at the U.S. Nationals. He also was the Northeast and Rocky Mountain region champion. He finished third in the 2004 East Region Olympic Team Trials Qualifier.

As he enters his senior year, Cerminara (197 pounds) is two wins shy of becoming just the third UB wrestler to reach 100 wins in his career and is 16 wins away from breaking Gary Cooper's (1998-03) mark of 113 career wins. In 2003-04, Cerminara set a school single-season record with 41 wins as he went on to place eighth at the NCAA Championships to become the first male All-American in UB's Division I era.

Cerminara and seniors Garrett Hicks and Harold Sherrell and junior Mark Budd were named team captains for the upcoming season.