UB Athletics weekend preview

It's a big weekend for Buffalo athletics with Mid-American Conference titles and on the line for multiple teams and the football team playing its spring game. Here's a list of what's going on:

Football

The Bulls will play their annual Blue-White Game Saturday at 2 p.m. After graduating two strong defensive contributors in Steven Means and Willie Moseley, the Bulls have several spots to fill on the defensive side of the ball, which was the second-best in the conference last season. The game will feature a few position battles among the defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs.

Baseball

After dropping a mid-week doubleheader to Canisius (24-10, 4-5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) on Wednesday, the Bulls (18-16, 8-4 MAC) return to conference play, where they are still riding a hot streak. The Bulls host Kent State (18-16, 9-3 MAC) in a battle for first place this weekend. The Golden Flashes currently sit a game ahead of the Bulls in the standings. The first game is scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m. at Amherst Audubon Field.

Men's tennis

Buffalo will host Ball State (15-7, 4-0 MAC) and Northern Illinois (14-8, 2-2 MAC) on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, this weekend. The Bulls (9-7, 3-0 MAC) can clinch their second-straight regular season MAC Championship with a win over the Cardinals on Saturday. If the Bulls sweep, they will finish the conference season undefeated. Saturday's match against Ball State is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Senior Vusa Hove was named MAC Player of the Week this past week.

Softball

The softball team will look to continue its recent upswing while hosting Western Michigan (13-23, 4-6 MAC) and Northern Illinois (13-26, 3-7 MAC) this weekend. The Bulls (12-24, 5-7 MAC) finished last weekend 2-2. First pitch of their doubleheader with the Broncos on Friday is slated for 1 p.m.

Women's tennis

The women's tennis team will take a road trip west to take on Toledo (8-11, 2-4 MAC) and Eastern Michigan (8-12, 3-3 MAC). The Bulls (11-4, 2-4 MAC) currently sit in seventh place in the conference, but a pair of victories this weekend would give the Bulls at worst a three-way tie for sixth place. The match against the Eagles on Friday will start at 1 p.m.

Track and field

The track and field teams will split up this weekend, with some members traveling to Princeton for the Larry Ellis Invitational and some traveling to Cornell for the Upstate Challenge. Both teams have had a lot of success thus far in the season and will look to build off that in preparation for the MAC Championship Meet in Akron, Ohio, on May 9.

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