While many of UB's varsity sports have been struggling to find prominence in Division I, several of the university's club sports have been flourishing in their respective leagues.
Roller Hockey
Not unlike ultimate Frisbee, roller hockey is club sport here at UB that many students are completely unaware of.
"The team started on a whim last summer. I decided that intramurals just didn't do it for me any longer, so I started calling up sponsors and league officials," said team president Mike Brennan. "Next thing I knew, it was six months later, and SUNY Buffalo was third in the nation."
Buffalo, with a 10-5 record in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Collegiate Roller Hockey League, made an impact at the regional competition March 8-10 in Harrisburg, Pa. by going 3-2 in the tournament before falling in the championship game. As a result, they were invited to play at the nationals in St. Louis, Miss. on April 6.
"Our style of hockey is unlike that of any team in our region. We are not the most skillful team, but we are by far one of the toughest," said Brennan.
In the round-robin playoffs, Buffalo manhandled first-round opponent Abilene Christian by a score of 5-0.
UB's next game against Binghamton was more competitive, but ended with the same result as the team notched a 2-1 win. Binghamton kept it close, but eventually succumbed to Buffalo's overpowering style of play.
The Wings, however, saw their run come to an end in the final four when they were up-ended by a tough Illinois State team, courtesy of a 2-1 score.
Women's Lacrosse
The surging women's lacrosse club went into action this past Saturday in what they called the "Buffalo Invitational." The tournament was held at Rotary Field on South Campus. Invitees included Slippery Rock, Grove City College and Michigan State. Ohio University was scheduled to attend but stayed home and forfeited due to a lack of players.
Buffalo, known as the Banshees, dominated Slippery Rock, posting a 13-2 score. They then went on to endure an incredibly challenging battle against rival Michigan State and eventually win their emotional senior day match-up with Michigan by a 7-6 score.
The Michigan State game was the last home game for the seniors Allison Cox, Deirdre Clark, Katie Monin and captain Jen Grandis.
Due to UB's outstanding play throughout the season, they have earned themselves a spot in the Women's Collegiate Lacrosse League playoffs, which will be held in Toledo, Ohio on April 27. Buffalo will face Toledo in their first game with the winner advancing to play Michigan later that day.
"We made it to the playoffs," said team president Kristen Swanson. "Our high level of dedication and persistence has finally paid off. Toledo, here we come."
Men's Lacrosse
The men's lacrosse club has been shooting their way through the competition all season long, and April 13 was no different as they upset the ninth-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies in a 8-7 overtime win in Blacksburg, Va.
It took the Bulls only 41 seconds to end the overtime period as freshman attacker Dave Stoller scored the game-winning goal on a feed from Jack Goldsmith.
Buffalo played a well-disciplined game, only accruing three minutes of penalties and capitalizing on Virginia Tech's penalty-prone play. UB scored three out of seven times on man-up opportunities, which came frequently due to the Hokies' 10 minutes and 30 seconds of penalties.
The Bulls started the fourth quarter up one, but Virginia Tech would respond quickly at 13:15 mark with a Blair Hoyt goal.
That turned out to be the only goal scored of the quarter, but with 12 seconds remaining a scuffle broke out in front of the VT bench, resulting in two Virginia Tech players ending up in the penalty box.
The win, along with two others on the same weekend in Blacksburg, propelled Buffalo to a No. 11 ranking on the USLIA Top 25 poll for April 17. The team is currently 10-3 on the year after a 13-6 home win on April 20 over Purdue. UB carries a 5-1 record in Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association play, with the playoffs coming up this weekend in Indianapolis, Ind.
Gymnastics
The UB club gymnastics team completed competition at the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs National Tournament April 5-6 at Ohio State University. The men's team placed 15th out of 19 competing schools, while the women finished 24th out of 29.
"We would have had more people competing, but due to various extenuating circumstances, they were unable to make it," UB gymnastics team president Dan Toner said. "All things considered, we did damn well."
Alex Cheng was the top men's finisher with a total score of 36.8, placing him 33rd of 89 competing gymnasts. Toner finished in 39th, and placed 7th in the parallel bars with a score of 8.95.
On the women's side, Jennifer Townsend took 65th of 191 competitors with a score of 29.6. Wendy Radlich finished 89th with 24.4 points. Tess Zabawa, who only competed on the balance beam (one of four events) due to wrist and ankle injuries, finished 179th, scoring a 7.15 in that event.
Texas A&M University won the overall men's team competition. The University of Texas took the women's team meet, but only by seven-tenths of a point over second place Miami of Ohio University.
The club is hoping to host the national meet next season, but it is likely to be held in Texas.
