Sidelines

Barstad blistering for Bulls

Sophie Barstad of the softball team has been named the Mid-American Conference East Division pitcher of the week. This is the first time this year that a UB softball player has received this award, as well as the first time in Barstad's career that she has received the honor.

Barstad pitched in two games last week, winning them both. She pitched a three-hit shutout against Central Michigan on Wednesday, and also another complete game on Thursday, as the sophomore held Youngstown State to just one run. Basrstad finished the week owning a 0.54 ERA in her 13 innings pitched. The wins bring her overall record to 8-8 on the season while diminishing her ERA to 2.45, with 59 strikeouts.

Sweeping the state

Seventeen UB athletes were nominated for the SUNY Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete award and seven UB athletes - the most honorees among Division I SUNY schools for the second year in a row - ultimately walked away as winners representing the Bulls.

The SUNY Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete award is given to the top 73 scholar-athletes in 19 separate sports from all 31 SUNY schools and is divided among the Division I, Division III and NJCAA levels.

The award winners for the Bulls include: Turner Battle, Jennefer Brankovsky, Karen Corey, Jenny Koeppel, Miglena Nenova, Faith Thompson and Erik Zeppuhar.

Battle, from the men's basketball team, averaged 15.5 points per game and kept a 3.557 GPA. Brankovsky, a female swimmer, earned her second MAC Swimmer of the Year title, while maintaining a 3.645 GPA. Corey of the women's crew team has led the Lightweight 8 boat to an undefeated start in four races, while maintaining a stellar 3.943 GPA and Koeppel of the women's cross country team was the first UB runner to ever compete at the NCAA Cross Country Championship where she finished 56th out of 250 runners. Koeppel sports a 3.637 GPA.

Also, Nenova of the women's tennis team produced a 3.238 GPA while going 13-9 in singles so far this year and 12-11 in doubles as Thompson, a female thrower, posted a MAC record in the weight throw and was a first team All-MAC selection in addition to posting a 3.973 GPA. Finally, Zeppuhar of the football team was able to maintain a 3.424 GPA while anchoring the Bulls offensive line this year, in his fourth year as a starter.