University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: November 8, 2007

Football

Miami (OH) 31, UB 28

The resiliency of the 2007 UB football team was on full display Saturday afternoon at Yager Stadium in a battle for first place in the MAC East Division.

The Bulls rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit and nearly came all the way back from an 11-point fourth-quarter Miami lead before falling just short, 31-28, before 12,228 fans. UB remains in a first-place tie with Miami at 3-1 in divisional play and both teams have two MAC East games left. The Bulls will host Bowling Green on Nov. 17 in a critical game for postseason opportunities.

Quarterback Drew Willy set a school record with 33 completions in the game and nearly led the Bulls back to an improbable win. UB's last hopes were dashed when Willy was sacked and fumbled near midfield with less than two minutes to play.

The Bulls trailed, 31-20, with less than seven minutes to go when sophomore cornerback Kendric Hawkins crunched Dustin Woods for a three-yard loss on a screen throw. Miami kicker Nathan Parseghian missed a 35-yard field goal and UB had another chance.

The Bulls marched 80 yards in 16 plays—converting two fourth downs en route—with Willy completing a three-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Naaman Roosevelt, his second TD of the game. Willy then hit flanker Brett Hamlin for a two-point conversion to pull the Bulls to 31-28 with 2:54 left on the clock. That play was fitting as Hamlin—who had a career-best nine catches for 100 yards in the game—had three crucial catches on the drive, including a 23-yard catch and run to the Miami one-yard line.

UB's defense then forced Miami to punt in three plays, including a pass breakup by Hawkins on third down, and the Bulls got the ball back with 2:27 remaining.

The Bulls moved 25 yards in three plays, including a 16-yard pass to Hamlin, before the pivotal sack and fumble.

The defeat ruined a heroic effort by Willy, who completed 33-of-45 passes for 217 yards and a pair of scores. The other offensive star for the Bulls was sophomore tailback James Starks, who rushed for 148 yards on 19 carries and caught an additional nine passes for 40 yards. It was the third time this season Starks has been over the century mark. Starks sent shockwaves through the Yager Stadium crowd with a pulsating 92-yard touchdown run to give UB the early 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The touchdown run was the longest of Starks' career, the second-longest in school history and the longest in the MAC this season.

Defensively, the Bulls got huge games from a pair of true freshman: safety Davonte Shannon and linebacker Josh Copeland. Shannon had 14 tackles and a pass breakup, while Copeland, making his second career start, had a career-best 12 tackles. Larry Hutchinson added seven tackles, 2.5 for losses.

The Bulls also forced a pair of special-teams turnovers and punter Ben Woods, named a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award last week, averaged 43.6 yards per punt, including two downed inside the 20, giving him 20 for the season.

Basketball

MEN'S

UB 113, Buffalo State 48 (exhibition)

UB began its 2007-08 season with a 113-48 victory over Buffalo State College in Alumni Arena. UB forced 53 Buffalo State turnovers, which it was able to turn into 66 points.

The Bulls never trailed in the game and led by as many as 71 points with 2:49 in the game.

Thirteen Bulls players saw action, with 12 scoring.

WOMEN'S

Holy Family 50, UB 47 (exhibition)

UB began its 2007-08 season with a 50-47 loss to Holy Family on Nov. 1 in Alumni Arena. Holy Family led by as much as nine in the game, taking that advantage early in the second half.

The Bulls opened up their biggest lead of the game with 12:05 remaining in the first half on a layup by Barbora Homolová to make the score 9-5 in favor of UB. Holy Family then went on a 9-0 run to take a 13-9 advantage and ultimately took a 29-24 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Tigers extended their lead to nine until a 9-0 UB run, which was capped by a Stephanie Bennett three-pointer, tied the game at 33-33. Holy Family again gained a six-point advantage, but the Bulls went on to score six straight points and a layup by Homolová at the 12:59 mark of the second half knotted the game at 39-39. UB took its first lead since the first half on a Jessica Fortman three and extended the lead to 43-41 with a free throw from Heather Turner. However, Holy Family went on to score the next five points to take a three-point lead, one that it kept for the final 3:14 of the game.

Homolová, one of five seniors on the team, led UB with 14 points and recorded seven of UB's 13 blocked shots. Freshman Tieara Jones added three blocks and a point in her first collegiate action. Junior Jamie Schiebner recorded a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Schiebner went a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line. Schiebner and Bennett each had four assists for the Bulls.

The Bulls will begin their regular season at 2 p.m. on Sunday when they host Youngstown State.

Volleyball

Akron 3, UB 0

Toledo 3, UB 1

UB completed its five-match road trip with a 3-0 loss at Akron Friday night.

Akron took the match, 30-27, 30-28, 30-21, outhitting the Bulls .244 to .098.

The Bulls returned home for the first time in three weeks, but were unable to come away with a win, falling, 3-1, to Toledo on Saturday night.

Toledo took the match, 30-19, 31-29, 26-30, 30-22, outhitting the Bulls .207 to .097. Defensively, the Bulls had 10 total team blocks, including six block assists from freshman Kristin Bignell.

The Bulls will wrap up the regular season this weekend with two matches in Alumni Arena. UB will host Bowling Green at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Following that match, Alumni Arena will host the NCAA Men's Volleyball Preview to the Final Four. University of California-Irvine and Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne, who played in last year's NCAA Championship match, will square off at 8:30 p.m.

The Bulls will play their final regular-season match at 7 p.m. Saturday against Miami (OH).

Soccer

MEN'S

Hartwick 2, UB 1

Despite taking an early lead, UB lost its final MAC match, 2-1, to Hartwick. Justin Fredsell opened the scoring in the 10th minute, but the Hawks battled back to earn the road win.

The Bulls jumped out to an early lead when Dan Bulley set up Fredsell, who calmly slotted the ball past Hartwick goalkeeper Jeremy Vuolo to open the scoring 9:43 into the contest. Hartwick evened the match in the 40th minute. Jimmy Eichas nearly gave the Bulls the lead less than two minutes later, but Vuolo made the save.

Both teams came out strong to begin the second half and both had scoring opportunities. The best chance came for Fredsell in the 53rd minute, but again Vuolo was able to come up with the save. The Hawks took the lead in the 73rd minute when John Paul Boyle fired a shot past Bell to give Hartwick a 2-1 advantage. Once again, the Bulls nearly answered immediately following a Hartwick goal—less than a minute later, Bulley broke in on goal, but his shot sailed inches wide. Despite pushing the play for the game's final 15 minutes, the Bulls were unable to score another goal.

WOMEN'S

UB 3, Kent State 0

UB scored a lopsided victory over Kent State on Nov. 1, defeating the Golden Flashes, 3-0, in Buffalo.

Andrea Vescio scored two goals, while Ashley Turner added another. Brooke McCalla had two assists and goalkeeper Amy Coron earned her fifth shutout of the season.

The victory also served as the final coaching appearance for UB head coach Jean-A. Tassy, who will retire at the end of the year after 13 seasons with the Bulls. Tassy will leave UB with a record of 113-107-21.

The Bulls finished the season with a 4-6-1 record in the MAC (7-10-2 overall), narrowly missing the MAC postseason.

Earlier in the week, Vescio and senior Heidi Griffiths were named to the 2007 College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District I University Division Women's Soccer Second Team.

Cross Country

Veith named to Academic All-MAC Team

Junior Mary Veith has been named to the Academic All-MAC women's cross-country squad. Veith is one of 15 women's runners to earn the league recognition.

A chemistry major with a 3.679 cumulative grade-point average, Veith also was named to the Academic All-MAC Cross Country team in 2006, and the 2007 Academic All-MAC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field squads. She finished third at the recent MAC Cross Country Championships, earning All-MAC first-team honors.

Swimming

WOMEN'S

Miami (OH) 188.5, UB 108.5
Ohio 166, UB 129

UB dropped its MAC opener on Friday, 188.5-108.5, to Miami (OH) at the Corwin Nixon Aquatic Center.

The Bulls won six of the 16 events, with sophomore Andrea Lehner taking a pair of races. Lehner opened the meet with a victory in the 100-yard backstroke and later won the 200-yard individual medley.

Other winners in the pool for the Bulls included Caitlin Reilly (200-yard backstroke), Jordan Deren (500-yard freestyle) and Sam Palma (100-yard butterfly). Sophmore Meili Carpenter won the one-meter diving competition.

On Saturday, UB dropped a 166-129 decision at Ohio University.

Lehner won two individual events: the 200-yard freestyle and the 200-yard backstroke. Palma won the 100-yard butterfly, sophomore Kim Dale took the 400-yard individual medley and Carpenter won the 3-meter diving competition.

The Bulls also took the final event of the meet, the 800-yard freestyle relay.

UB will return home this weekend to host defending MAC champion Eastern Michigan at 4 p.m. tomorrow and Ball State at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Wrestling

Moran, Ragusa take titles at UB Open

UB opened the season Sunday at home in the fifth annual UB Open. Junior Mickey Moran and senior Mike Ragusa each won their weight classes at the nonscoring event.

Ragusa won four matches by a combined score of 62-19 on this way to capturing the 174-pound title. In the final, Ragusa defeated Don Ross of Clarion, 9-3. Moran also won his first four matches of the season en route to a UB Open victory in the 184-pound weight class. Moran pulled out a tight, 4-3, decision in the final over Andrew Silber of American International to take the crown.

In addition to the two champions, a trio of Bulls recorded second-place finishes. Senior John Cummings won three-straight matches to open the tournament before falling in the final at 165 pounds to Rick Schmelyn of Bloomsburg, 5-2. Redshirt freshman Jimmy Hamel also finished second, narrowly missing the title at 197 as he fell 4-3 to Jamie Luckett of Clarion in the final. Senior Jeff Parker won his first three matches in the 285-pound weight class before dropping a tight 2-0 decision in the final to Mike Spaid of Bloomsburg.

Along with Parker and Hamel, the Bulls had an additional place winner in each of those two weight classes. At 197, sophomore Jason Weber earned a fifth-place finish, while true freshman Robert Ryhal made an impressive collegiate debut with a fifth-place finish at 285. The Bulls had a pair of place winners at 157 pounds as well, with sophomores Tom Graff and Justin Hunt finishing in the top six. Graff earned fourth place, while Hunt finished fifth.

Senior Dana Gingerich recorded four falls en route to a third-place finish at 149 pounds. Sophomore Dan Bishop dropped a close, 3-1, overtime decision in his first bout of the day, but battled back with four straight victories to find himself in position to place at 125 pounds. Bishop fell in his final bout to place fourth. At 133-pounds, redshirt freshman Corey Greene won his first two matches before falling in the semifinals. Greene finished the tournament with a sixth-place finish.

The team will be back on the mats Saturday, competing in the Oklahoma Gold Classic in Brockport.

Crew

Bulls complete fall schedule at Syracuse Invitational

UB completed its fall season at the Syracuse Invitational on Saturday.

In the varsity eight race, the "A" crew finished third of 13 crews with a time of 17:22.5, just behind the top boats from Syracuse and Cornell. UB's "B" boat finished in sixth place, the "C" boat finished in eighth place and the "D" boat finished in 10th place.

In the varsity four "A" flight, UB's "B" boat finished in third place, less than two seconds ahead of the UB "A" boat. In the varsity four "B" flight, the UB "D" boat finished in fourth place, while the other three UB boats took places six through eight.

In the novice eight race, UB's "A" boat finished third. The "B" boat finished in sixth place and the "C" boat finished seventh.

The Bulls have wrapped up their fall season and will begin spring training in Oak Ridge, Tenn., in March.