University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: March 20, 2008

Basketball

MEN’S

Miami (OH) 69, UB 68

The men’s basketball team put forth a gritty effort and nearly advanced to the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, before losing 69-68 to the fifth-seeded Miami RedHawks in the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on Wednesday.

Rodney Pierce led the way for the Bulls with 16 points. John Boyer finished with a career-best 11 points, including three three-pointers. Max Boudreau had 10 points and nine rebounds. The UB bench had 43 of the team’s 68 points and outscored the Miami bench 43-0. Greg Gamble was UB’s only starter in double figures with 10 points.

The Bulls were dominant on the boards with a 44-25 advantage on the glass. UB had 19 offensive rebounds, to just four from the RedHawks. Along with Boudreau, Calvin Betts pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

Prior to the tournament opener, Andy Robinson was named All-Mid-American Conference Honorable Mention. The junior guard lead the team in scoring (13.1 ppg) and steals (53).

WOMEN’S

Toledo 53, UB 50

The women’s basketball team saw their 2007-08 season come to an end against the Toledo Rockets, falling, 53-50, in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at the Quicken Loans Arena.

Heather Turner and Jamie Schiebner both recorded double-doubles in the game, Turner with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Schiebner with 10 points and 12 boards. Stephanie Bennett had 10 points and a team-high four assists. Bennett also had five rebounds and five steals in the game. UB was unable to convert on a three in the game, snapping a streak of 120 straight games with a three-pointer.

Diving

Sophomores Meili Carpenter and Michael McDowell became the first UB athletes to qualify for the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships since the school moved into the top echelon of college athletics with their performances in the platform competition at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships.

Carpenter won the women's platform event with a 10-dive total score of 413.90 points. Earlier in the meet, she finished fifth on the one-meter springboard and sixth on the three-meter springboard.

McDowell was the second-place finisher in the men's event with a 12-dive total of 550.10 points. Earlier in the meet, McDowell posted a fifth-place finish on the three-meter springboard and a ninth-place finish in the one-meter competition.

For Sunday's platform competition, divers were allowed to take off from the five-, seven- or 10-meter heights, depending on which dive was being attempted. Zone A includes NCAA Division I programs from New England to Virginia.

Baseball

UB 3, Southern Illinois 2
UB 17, Trinity 11
Notre Dame 13, UB 1
Southern Illinois 9, UB 8
UB 2, Texas-Pan American 1

The UB baseball team won a pair of games in San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday, defeating Southern Illinois, 3-2, and Trinity University, 17-11. Bobby Pizzuto hit a grand slam in the win over Trinity. The win against Southern Illinois was Zach Anderson's second of the season and Steve Geltz picked up his first save of the year. Mike Stangroom pitched 2.2 innings in relief for the Bulls against Trinity, allowing just two hits and striking out three on the to his first victory as a Bull.

On Friday, the Bulls fell in their opening game of the Irish Classic to host Notre Dame, 13-1. Mancini had two hits and a run batted in for the Bulls in the loss. Chaz Mye started the game and took the loss for Buffalo, going 3.1 innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs. Chris Ciesla pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Bulls.

On Saturday, UB dropped a 9-8 decision to Southern Illinois. Brian Randazzo and Ciesla each collected three hits, but the UB bullpen couldn’t close the contest. Kevin McCall had two runs batted in for the Bulls along with a pair of hits.

The Bulls finished the tournament with a 2-1 win over Texas-Pan American late Saturday night. UB is now 5-11.

Softball

Kansas 9, UB 0
Kansas 12, UB 5
Louisiana Tech 8, UB 0

The UB softball team opened up play at the Kansas Invitational Softball Tournament, hosted by the University of Kansas on Friday in Lawrence. The Bulls opened day one of the tournament with a doubleheader against the Jayhawks, falling to KU, 9-0, in the first game and suffering a 12-5 setback in the nightcap.

Saturday’s contests against Louisiana Tech and Kansas were cancelled by the weather. The Bulls concluded play at the tournament on Sunday, falling to Louisiana Tech, 8-0.

Track & Field

The men’s and women’s track and field teams opened the outdoor schedule at the UNCW Seahawk Invitational. The UB men (172) finished second and the UB women finished third in the field of 11 teams.

In all, the Bulls picked up eight first-place finishes. Dan Giza won the men’s 1,500-meters in 3:59.27 and the 5,000-meters in 14:57.88. Mary Veith took the women's 5,000-meter run in 18:05.23 for the only other UB victory on the track.

The UB field athletes scored five wins. Senior Vanessa Roelofsen took the women's javelin throw with a toss of 46.72 meters to qualify for the NCAA East Regional Championships at the end of May in Tallahassee, Fla. Freshman Katie Weston finished second in the event at 42.50 meters.

Other women's winners in the field events included Tiffany Maskulinski in the pole vault with a final height of 3.70 meters and Fatimah Hill with a high jump of 1.70 meters. Caitlin Godin also finished with a high jump of 1.70 meters.

For the UB men, Loic Sebuharara won the triple jump at13.97 meters. George Fetchko led a strong contingent of men's weight throwers with a first-place finish in the shot put (16.17m).

Tennis

MEN’S

George Washington 4, UB 1

The men’s tennis team fell to George Washington University, 4-1, on Saturday afternoon at the St. Bonaventure Indoor Courts. Due to the limited number of courts, the match was called once the Colonials scored the decisive fourth point.

Nikesh Singh Panthlia and Octavian Stane scored a win in the number one match defeating Ryan Hunter and Mustafa Gencsoy, 8-5.

With only four courts at the St. Bonaventure facility, the teams agreed to start with the lower matches and play the number one and two matches when courts became available. UB won the number three match as Stane scored a straight-sets win over GW’s Elliott Daniels, 6-2, 6-4.

WOMEN¹S

Nova Southeastern 4, UB 3
UB 7, Youngstown State 0
No. 44 South Florida 7, UB 0

The women’s tennis team opened the spring break week of Florida matches with a 4-3 loss to Division II power Nova Southeastern.

The Bulls then swept Youngstown State, defeating the Penguins, 7-0, winning all six singles matches in straight sets and winning all three doubles matches.

UB met the 44th ranked team in the nation, but was unable to pull off the upset, falling to South Florida, 7-0. South Florida took all three doubles matches and all six singles matches.

Football

Bulls Announce 2008 Schedule

The success and expectations of the University at Buffalo football program has not gone unnoticed by the Mid-American Conference as evidenced by the Bulls’ 2008 football schedule, which was released last week.

The Bulls—who return 18 starters after earning a share of the Mid-American Conference East Division title in 2007—are scheduled to play a record six midweek games, including the first nationally televised game since Buffalo's return to Division I play. The Bulls will host MAC rival Miami on Nov. 4 on ESPN2, the first-ever nationally televised game out of UB Stadium. The Bulls will also appear on ESPNU in a pair of MAC East road games, at Ohio on Oct. 28 and at Akron in the Rubber Bowl on Nov. 13.

Buffalo will play two of its first three games of the 2008 season at home, opening the season on Aug. 28 versus Texas-El Paso of Conference USA. The Temple Owls come to UB Stadium on Sept. 13.

The Bulls’ two MAC West crossover games are a road game on Sept. 27 at two-time defending MAC champion Central Michigan and a home game versus Western Michigan on Oct. 11.

The Bulls will also host Army on Oct. 18 in a non-conference game during Homecoming weekend and Kent State in the regular season finale on Nov. 28. The six home games are the most Buffalo has played since moving up to Division I-A and the Mid-American Conference in 1999.

Other road games include trips to Pittsburgh of the Big East on Sept 6 and the Big 12's Missouri, which finished the 2007 season ranked fourth nationally, on Sept. 20. Buffalo will also travel to Bowling Green on Nov. 21. Game times will be announced at a later date.