Baseball (16-12, 7-4 Mid-American Conference) After having their home opener doubleheader against Niagara (10-21, 3-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) canceled Tuesday, the Bulls travel to Kent State (23-12, 9-3 MAC) this weekend for a three-game series.
This year's Bulls team will need to replace a player who had a strong voice in the locker room and doubled as the best shutdown cornerback on the team, and arguably the best in the conference. Senior corner Najja Johnson is one of the two 2013 first-team All-Mid-American Conference players (along with Khalil Mack) on the Bulls' defense who will not return due to graduation. With seniors like Johnson, Derek Brim and Okoye Houston no longer playing, the football team will rely on groomed veterans and young players to step into the defensive secondary. "You can't replace guys like Mack and Johnson, but you can learn and mimic their ethics," said junior cornerback Cortney Lester, who played across from Johnson for three years. Johnson led the team in pass breakups with nine and tied for the team lead in interceptions with three.
Baseball (16-12, 7-4 Mid-American Conference) After having their home opener doubleheader against Niagara (10-21, 3-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) canceled Tuesday, the Bulls travel to Kent State (23-12, 9-3 MAC) this weekend for a three-game series.
Last season, the Buffalo defense recorded 38 sacks and 90 tackles for loss. More than half of this production is no longer on the team - with no loss more notable than that of linebacker Khalil Mack. Starting defensive linemen Colby Way and Beau Bachtelle have also graduated.
10. Baseball sweeps Western Michigan
When former Bulls running back James Starks - the school's all-time leading rusher at the time - graduated after the 2009 season, it not only left a major hole in the backfield, but also marked the end of the career of one of the greatest athletes UB had ever seen. Little did Bulls fans know that the next great Bulls running back was already on campus: Branden Oliver. When Oliver was a freshman, Starks - now with the Green Bay Packers - told him he would break his records.
The women's tennis team's season has been filled with streaky performances. After splitting the first two games of its season, Buffalo went on an eight-game winning streak.
Last weekend against Central Michigan (22-14, 10-2 Mid-American Conference), senior pitcher/infielder Mike Burke set the program record for career-victories with 18.
The softball team has grown accustomed to seeing its seniors etch their names into the program's record book. Last week, senior pitcher Tori Speckman threw the school's third no-hitter.
The hitting won't let up at UB Stadium after the football team completes its Saturday morning practice.TheUB Rugby Football Club will take the field for an afternoon of fast-paced, competitive action with dreams of competing in the national tournament. UB will host the third of four series of the Empire Rugby Conference (ERC) sevens tournament Saturdayat 1 p.m.
Replacing one first-team All-Mid-American Conference player is hard. Replacing two is nearly impossible.
Baseball (13-12, 4-4 Mid-American Conference) The Bulls face Western Michigan (13-15, 4-5 MAC) in a three-game series this weekend at Monroe Community College's Tribune Field in Rochester.
Khalil Mack. Javon McCrea.Tori Speckman. Tori Speckman? Anybody who even remotely follows University at Buffalo Athletics has certainly heard of the first two names listed above.
Baseball (13-12, 4-4 Mid-American Conference) MVP: Mike Burke, senior pitcher/infielder Burke has made a major impact both on the mound and at the plate thus far this season.
Last season, Buffalo wide receivers combined for 147 catches, 2,090 yards and 19 touchdowns. One hundred nineteen catches, 1,716 yards and 17 touchdowns of that production came from departed wide receivers Alex Neutz and Fred Lee. "They'll be missed," said junior wide receiver Devon Hughes.
In April 2013, quarterback Joe Licata was in the midst of a fierce competition for the starting position with Alex Zordich when Licata injured his hip. The injury never went away, and he knew he'd get a post-season diagnosis he wouldn't like. "I was able to [play], so I wanted to [play]," Licata said.
With the whole squad watching, junior Sebastian Ionescu held the fate of the men's tennis team's match against Western Michigan on his racket with a winner-take-all third-set tiebreaker. In the game's final hit, Ionescu connected on a return volley.
In what was mostly a weekend the baseball team would like to forget, there was one moment that will go down in team history. After Central Michigan (19-12, 8-1 Mid-American Conference) swept the Bulls (13-12, 4-4 MAC) in a doubleheader Saturday, resulting in Buffalo's first loss in a regular season conference series since May 2012, Buffalo turned to senior pitcher/shortstop and staff ace Mike Burke on Sunday. Burke turned in an outstanding performance, hurling a complete game while allowing two earned runs and striking out five to improve his record to 4-2 with the 11-3 win.
Solutions by The State News
