Well, we're wrapping up the semester here at UB, and like every year, all the sports - college and professional - seem to dull down just in time for finals.
So to liven things up a bit, we here at The Spectrum bring to you the second annual Spectrys!
These are the most prestigious awards given out by any UB publication. With topics ranging from "Biggest disappointment" to "Best name," the Spectry's are sure to satisfy your need for closure within UB athletics so you can go home happy this summer.
Male athlete of the year
Candidates: Turner Battle, Mark McKnight, James Kingsley, Lee Catchpole
The MAC player of the year, Battle had a sweet final campaign while leading the Bulls to the MAC championship game. Battle finished the 2004-2005 season averaging 15.5 points per game, 4.4 assists per game and it remains likely that Battle will go down as one of the best men's basketball players to ever don the blue and white.
Female athlete of the year
Candidates: Heather Turner, Anna-Lesa Calvert, Jenny Koeppel, Faith Thompson, Andreea Novaceanu, Molly Schrantz
Dominating nearly every race she competed in this season, the Bulls' senior Koeppel of the women's cross country team was not only the MAC's individual champion but also represented UB at the NCAA Women's Cross Country National Championships in Indiana, finishing 56th out of 250 runners.
Top male newcomer
Candidates: Terrance Breaux, Datwan Hemingway, Lee Catchpole, Mike Folli
Making an immediate impact on the Bulls' front line, Catchpole was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas 2004 All-New York Region Third Team announced by the NSCAA. Despite a mid-season ankle break that forced Catchpole to miss nearly five weeks of the season, the British-born forward led the Bulls in goals with six and points, with 14 on the season.
Top female newcomer
Candidates: Heather Turner, Kelli O'Brien, Andreea Novaceanu
Heather Turner, the only freshman in the MAC to appear among the league's leaders in both scoring and rebounding, led the Bulls in scoring, averaging 11.1 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game. The fantastic frosh's success throughout the 2004-2005 season culminated with Turner being named the MAC freshman of the year.
Quote of the year
Candidates: Jim Hofher, "A UCF newspaper referred to us as Fluffalo."
Cedrick Middleton, "We played a bunch of times over the summer, I beat him once or twice." Followed by Roderick Middleton, "We play a lot over the summer, but he never beats me."
Reggie Witherspoon - "Its not Jim's and Joe's, its X's and O's."
Witherspoon's light-hearted antics are known pretty well throughout college basketball media, and this installment was the easy choice for winner of the "Quote of the year" Spectry. Witherspoon got a great laugh from the group of media personnel at that post-game press conference. Oh yeah, he also won 23 games this year.
Coach of the year
Candidates: Witherspoon, John Astudillo, Russ Crispell, Bill Beichner
It would be a little too easy to bestow this one upon Witherspoon, and besides, he got the "Quote of the year," he doesn't need coach of the year for the second straight year. This one will go to Astudillo, the coach of the men's soccer team. Though a melee of social mayhem that ensued in the fall regarding hazing, Astudillo remained rock-solid for the Bulls and when his leading scorer was out of action for five weeks, Astudillo was able to guide the Bulls to an eight-win season, multiplying UB's win-total from last year by exactly eight.
Most improved team
Candidates: Men's Soccer, Baseball, Men's tennis, Men's Basketball, softball
Sorry guys, but the ladies softball team takes the cake on this one. UB softball is a prime example of improvement, as four years ago the current seniors finished their freshman campaign sporting a 13-25 overall record. This season, the Bulls are thriving at 15-23, with the season still rolling. Buffalo has set itself up to make its first-ever appearance at the MAC Tournament - if not just win the whole thing.
Biggest disappointment
Candidates: Football, Women's basketball, Women's Soccer, the NCAA selection committee
Obviously, the big losers in the "Biggest disappointment" category are the members of the NCAA selection committee. After the loss to Ohio in the MAC finals, it's obvious that the Bulls would have done the Bulldance right into the big dance, but the selection committee quickly clogged any positive flow UB had going in its favor.
Biggest surprise
Candidates: Cheryl Dozier's firing, Jim Hofher's extension, two wins for Football, 23 wins for Men's basketball
Well, nearly everyone on campus was talking about a 20-win season for men's basketball at the start of the season, so when that happened nobody was really surprised. The same was basically being said of the football team. The event that took most UB fans by surprise had to be the firing of women's basketball head coach Cheryl Dozier.
The Bulls spent their second year in the bottom half of the MAC standings, but they showed a lot of promise throughout the course of the year. The play of the freshmen and transfer students was encouraging and led one to assume that given a few more years to develop those players, Dozier could have turned around the program.
Best name
Candidates: Barnard Onyenucheya ... no doubt
Can there really be any argument here?
Help wanted...
$1 to anyone who can produce any information regarding the "journalist" who is only known to his peers as "The Sports Vault."
