While some students stayed home and slept in late over winter break, many UB athletes were still in season. The wrestling team struggled over the break despite a few strong personal performances, several track and field athletes set personal bests at Kent State and the men's swimming team scored a home win over Canisius.
Wrestling
Record before break: 0-1 overall, 0-0 Mid-American Conference
Current record: 1-7, 0-1 MAC
The UB wrestling team started off its winter break competition on Saturday, Dec. 11 in Jamestown. Sophomore Mark McKnight pinned Edinboro's Greg Sill with just 10 seconds left in the match. The only other win by a UB wrestler was in the 197-pound weight class by junior Harold Sherrell against Mike LaBella.
The team then traveled to the University of Delaware on Friday, Dec. 17 to compete in the Beast of the East Collegiate Invitational.
McKnight placed the highest for the Bulls, leaving the Carpenter Center with a second place finish. The sophomore made it to the finals in the 125-pound weight class but lost to Northwestern University's Josh Velez. Velez, who is ranked nationally, defeated McKnight 4-3. After his outstanding performance throughout the invitational, McKnight earned the MAC Wrestler of the Week award.
Sherrell, sophomore Mark Budd and freshman Scott Rendos all took third-place finishes in the invitational.
On Thursday, Dec. 30, the Bulls met their opponents at Alumni Arena for the second annual UB Open. Eleven UB wrestlers placed in the event with sophomore Patrick Lloyd and junior Garrett Hicks earning titles. Lloyd and Hicks both won their titles by defeating representatives from MAC opponents Ohio University and Central Michigan University.
Two red-shirt seniors who wrestled unattached, Kyle Cerminara and Greg Thomas, also took individual titles.
Buffalo then traveled to Columbus, Ohio on Jan. 8 for the Buckeye Duals. Even though representatives of the team had stellar performances, UB was unable to gain its first dual meet win. Buffalo was defeated by Tennessee-Chattanooga, 29-6, nationally ranked NU, 29-9, and MAC rival Northern Illinois University, 20-15.
McKnight, however, was able to wrestle his way to two wins, one of which was his 50th career win. McKnight's 50th win early in his wrestling career makes him the fastest non-transfer to get 50 wins since UB joined the MAC. McKnight won his match against NIU's Chad Vandervier.
Sophomore Jeff Parker also had two wins during the meet, one against TCU's Wes Taylor and one against NU's Scott Johnson.
The Bulls' final meet over break was held in Hampton, Va., the site of the Virginia Duals. UB faced California State-Bakersfield and North Dakota State on day one of the meet and Edinboro University on day two.
Buffalo went 1-1 on day one. The day started rough for the Blue and White, with the Bulls losing to Bakersfield, 33-9. Against the nationally-ranked Roadrunners, Sherrell posted a win against Bryan Travers in an 8-6 decision and freshman Dana Gingerich was able to pin Matt Schumm. Bakersfield won the remaining matches.
Success came later in the day in the consolation bracket when the Bulls defeated North Dakota State with a score of 25-15. UB came out strong, winning the first four matches, and persevered to win a total of six out of 10 matches. Gingerich and sophomore Jake Blowers each pinned their respective opponents.
On day two, UB faced Edinboro for the second time this season, and the results were similar. Edinboro defeated the Bulls 24-15 in the second round of the consolation bracket. McKnight and Hicks each brought their opponents to the mat and Sherrell earned his second decision of the year.
The Bulls will attempt to improve their record on Friday when they head to Oneonta for the New York State Collegiate Championships.
Track and Field
The UB men's and women's indoor track and field teams began their season just days before the start of the second semester.
On Jan. 15, both teams traveled to Kent State University to take part in the Black Squirrel Invitational. The men placed second out of three teams while the women placed third out of four teams.
Six victories were claimed by male athletes from Buffalo. Junior Todd Joki racked up 4,842 points to claim the top spot in the heptathlon competition. Joki beat out three Kent State athletes in the two-day, seven-event contest. Three Bulls stampeded their way to first place victories on the track. Senior John Flor finished the 3,000-meter run in 8:47.30, sophomore Brian Heim completed the 400-meter run in 50.09, and senior Steve Strelick was victorious in the men's mile in 4:21.11.
Four UB women were able to qualify for the ECAC meet in March at the same invitational. Senior Jenny Koeppel cut 11 seconds off of her best time in the mile and won the event in 5:00.26. Senior thrower Faith Thompson also had a remarkable meet, coming back from red-shirting the 2003-2004 season to win the weight throw with a toss of 59-2. Patrice Coney and Sarah Vance also qualified for the ECAC meet.
The team will continue its schedule on Saturday in Ithaca at the Cornell Invite. The meet is set to begin at 10 a.m.
Men's Swimming
Record before Break: 1-1, 1-1 MAC
Current Record: 2-2, 1-2 MAC
The UB men's swimming and diving team swam its way to victory in all 11 events against Canisius College, winning 132-61 in Alumni Arena's Natatorium.
Senior Jeff Hurst and junior Kevin Gatley each claimed two individual wins in addition to swimming on winning relay teams. Hurst won both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breaststroke and was the anchor leg of the 400-meter medley relay. Gatley dominated the freestyle races by winning both the 100 and the 200 individual races and also by being a part of the 400 medley relay.
Additional individual winners for the Bulls were sophomore Aaron Moessinger in the 100 butterfly, senior Mark Sy in the 100 backstroke, senior Evan McCormack in the 500 freestyle, sophomore Luke Adams in the 1,000 freestyle, and senior Jon Yarger in the 200 individual medley.
While the team was on the winning end against Canisius College, the Bulls were unable to defeat MAC rivals Ball State, losing 156-81. During the Saturday, Jan. 15 event held in Buffalo, UB snagged four wins, two of which were turned in by Sy.
Sy won both events by small margins, just .57 seconds and .54 seconds. Sy beat out Ball State's Jim Lullo in the 1,000 freestyle and raced his way to the wall in the 200 butterfly to finish before Ball State's Ryan Bowman.
UB's other two wins came in the 200 individual medley by Hurst, and in the 200-yard backstroke by Adams.
UB will continue its schedule today, Jan. 19, at 6 p.m. at Niagara.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
