The rowing team topped five crews to win the 2010 Colonial Athletic Association Championships on Sunday in Sandy Run, Va. Buffalo competed along with Northeastern, Drexel, George Mason, Delaware and Old Dominion in three events on the Occoquan Reservoir in pursuit of the CAA crown.
After recording consecutive losses against Ball State on Friday, the softball team looked to turn around the rest of their weekend when they took on the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks in just their third home game this season. The Bulls (14-24, 4-6 Mid-American Conference) started out strong as they took down the RedHawks (20-19, 5-5 MAC) in Saturday's opener at Nan Harvey Field, 4-1. Assistant coach Jessica Jones thought the Bulls performed well. "We played well against Miami in both games, and we actually had an opportunity to win the second game as well," Jones said. "Any time you're in both games, you have to be proud of your kids. Obviously we can do better, but we're improving every game." After a scoreless first inning, Buffalo struck in the bottom of the second. Senior pitcher Sharon Barr reached first base on a walk and she advanced to second on a single to right field by freshman infielder Alyssa Ward. Freshman infielder Andi Saucier then drove a single to center field to bring Barr home, giving the Bulls an early 1-0 lead. Miami answered back. Freshman Taylor Rice tied the game up with a homerun in the top of the third inning, however, the RedHawks would be unable to plate any more runs for the remainder of the contest. In the bottom of the third inning, freshman infielder Kristin Waldron singled down the middle. Freshman infielder Jessica Griffin followed up with a double to right-center field to drive in Waldron and regain the lead for the Bulls. Buffalo struck again in the bottom of the fifth as junior outfielder Candice Sheehan drew a walk to reach first before senior outfielder Kristen Gallipani came in to pinch run. Freshman infielder Ashley Bertot reached first on a fielder's choice and Gallipani moved to second. Both Gallipani and Bertot stole a base, putting two runners in scoring position. Gallipani then scored an unearned run on a fielding error by Miami's shortstop to put Buffalo up, 3-1. The Bulls finished off the RedHawks with a late homer in the bottom of the sixth. Saucier knocked one over the center field fence for her first collegiate home run to secure the victory. Barr pitched a complete game and earned her 12th win of the season. She struck out six batters over seven innings and allowed only three hits and one walk. Game two of the doubleheader began much like earlier in the day as the teams closed out a scoreless first inning. But the Bulls once again jumped out to an early lead following a solo home run by Barr in the bottom of the second. A series of wild pitches in the top of the third allowed the RedHawks to take the lead. Sophomore Daniela Torres hit a single down the middle to take first and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Sophomore Jordan McElroy took first on a walk before a second wild pitch moved each player ahead a base. Jones said that the RedHawks' runs were not a direct result of the wild pitches. "There were a lot of different factors that fell into [the RedHawks] scoring in that particular inning," Jones said. "Barr obviously threw a phenomenal day; she threw both games. With them scoring in that particular inning, they kind of had her number. She was trying to throw around them a little bit. It got away from our catcher and also they had some timely hits. It was just unfortunate that it moved the runners into scoring position at that moment." Miami junior Meghan Mawn brought home both Torres and McElroy with a double to left field to give the RedHawks a 2-1 advantage. Down one, Saucier started the fifth inning for Buffalo with a single to third base. Gallipani took first after being hit by a pitch and Bertot laid a sacrifice bunt to advance Gallipani and pinch runner Lindsay Hampton. Hampton was called out at home on a fielder's choice as Waldron took first base and Gallipani advanced to third. With two outs and two runners on base, the Bulls could not convert in their final at-bat. The RedHawks held on to the narrow 2-1 lead to seal the victory. Barr pitched another complete game and recorded five strikeouts for Buffalo. The Bulls face the Niagara Purple Eagles (11-13, 4-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) in a non-conference doubleheader today at Nan Harvey Field. Game one is set to get under way at 3 p.m. "Niagara is a hitting team, so we're going to have the pitchers do a pretty decent workout to make sure that they're prepared for hitting their spots and trying to shut down their defense," Jones said. "But our whole team is going to be focused on offense." E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com
The courts of Alumni Arena have never seen so much excitement or so much drama. Friday night, the men's and women's basketball teams came together for a friendly postseason game for charity. The men's team was playing for a cure for diabetes, while the women's team was playing for Rihanna's Battered Women and Children Fund. Both teams pulled out all the stops in an effort to earn bragging rights as the better Bulls basketball team. The men were confident that they were going to take the title, but they did not deliver as the women came out on top, 72-57. The men started out strong, taking a 6-0 lead off of back-to-back 3-pointers by senior guard John Boyer and senior forward Calvin Betts. A three-pointer by junior forward Jessica Fortman and a two-point jumper by sophomore guard Brittany Hedderson put the women right back in it with 16:41 left in the first half. Freshman guard Chrissy Cooper earned a chance to take the lead after Victor E. Bull, the referee for the night, called a foul on senior guard Sean Smiley. Cooper sank both foul shots to give the women a 7-6 advantage with 16:01 remaining. Senior guard Rodney Pierce attempted to regain the lead by driving in for a lay-up, but junior forward Kourtney Brown stripped him of the ball, much to the dismay of Pierce and everyone on the sidelines. "I couldn't believe it when she stripped me, but then again a lot of the things that happened in tonight's game surprised me," Pierce said. "The guys couldn't stop talking about that play at the end of the night. It's something that I won't live down anytime soon." The efforts of Brown, Hedderson, and Fortman allowed the women to dominate for the next five minutes. Freshman guard Abby Dowd knocked down a 3-pointer to cap off a 17-3 run. This gave the women a 13-point lead with just under 10 minutes to go in the opening half. Senior forward Max Boudreau began a 10-2 run for the men, scoring their next six points. Pierce and sophomore forward Mitchell Watt each contributed a bucket as well to bring the score to 26-19 with 4:55 to go. This was the closest the men would come for the rest of the game. The women continued to build on their lead, showing greater speed and agility than the men with every passing minute. They ended the first half ahead, 38-27. The men decided to approach the second half with fresh perspectives by putting some of their younger players in. The women mirrored this strategy and outdid the men, going with an all-freshman lineup. It paid off for the women as they continued to steamroll the men. Freshman forward Nytor Longar led in the annihilation. Longar blew past sophomore guard Dave Barnett and proceeded to drive hard to the basket for a slam dunk. The senior men looked on in awe, not knowing what to do next. "We've come back in some pretty tough situations before," Smiley said. "Things just didn't go in our favor. We came in thinking that we could easily beat the girls … I guess we just underestimated them." It didn't get better for the men from there as the women went on a 20-8 run over the next 10 minutes. With the score at 58-35 and 6:37 on the clock, the women enjoyed their largest lead of the game and were able to relax a little while the men tried to dig themselves out of a very deep rut. "We knew that we pretty much had the game in the bag at that point," Hedderson said. "So we just tried to keep doing what were doing and have fun." Though the men were able to score more in the second half, they could not get over the hump. Brown and Hedderson tied as the leading scorers for the women with 23 points apiece. Betts led the way for the men with 17 points, followed by Pierce and Boudreau with 15 and 12 points, respectively. The two teams plan on making this an annual event to benefit charities of their choice. E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com
While I sat in my apartment doing work Wednesday night, countless college students went out to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and I could have been one of them. I envied them all, at first. I could have put on my cutest green top, skinny jeans, a pair of heels and some mascara. I could have hit up Mojo's or The Steer with my friends. I could have shrugged off this column, my promotional writing assignment, and the fact that I have work at 8 a.m. on Thursdays, all for the sake of going out and getting wasted because it's St. Patrick's Day. But I didn't. And that was okay with me. I know that it's easy for many people I know to push work aside in favor of a little fun. I've been guilty of it before too, but not very often these days. After a six-hour shift and a three-hour lecture, I was almost ready to shirk all of my responsibilities so that I could have some fun. Almost. My roommate wanted me to finish my column as quickly as possible so that we could go out. The only problem was that even if I finished it, I still had work early the next morning. She suggested I call in sick, but I didn't want to leave my coworkers short-handed. I couldn't do that with a clear conscience. It's not my style. Besides, when you think about it, I'm really not missing out on much. Sure, a cute guy might offer to buy me a drink. We might talk for a while, possibly exchange numbers and then part ways on the promise that he will call or text me later. The thing is, I could care less whether or not the guy follows through. In fact, I'd prefer if he didn't bother. Why? It's a waste of both of our time. In general, I think the whole "college scene" has gotten old. I don't expect to, nor do I want to, meet someone after getting into the spirit of things with one too many Irish car bombs. Still, some find any and every reason to do just that. "Oh, it's [Labor Day, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Martin Luther King Day, etc.]. We don't have classes, let's get trashed!" "I don't feel like writing my paper now. Do you want to drink with me?" I cannot tell you how many times I've heard statements like these ones and shaken my head at them. I don't see the point of drinking excessively on a regular basis just because we're in college and because it's thought that this is our last chance to live it up before entering the real world. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying people can't let loose every once in a while, especially on St. Patrick's Day, a holiday that many often associate with drinking. Go ahead, raise a glass to the Irish. Make a few new friends for the night. I just wouldn't advise making a habit of it because everything you tried to put off will still be there the next morning – only now you'll probably have a headache as well. Why not save the money, time and energy? Maybe most people won't agree with me, or they won't care, or both. Maybe I'm alone in this stance, but after four years of the same old-same old, I'm ready for a new scene. I'm ready for the real world. E-mail: christy.suhr@ubspectrum.com
Senior wrestler Dan Bishop went to the Mid-American Conference Championships looking to win a MAC title to close out his four-year career as a Bull.
Senior guard Sean Smiley had a flair for the dramatic Saturday against Saint Peter's College. First, he made a poor out-of-bounds pass that led to a turnover and a Nick Leon game-tying 3-pointer with one second left in regulation.
The same dilemma arises every year around this time and it never gets easier.
Last Sunday, a record 106.5 million people tuned into Super Bowl XLIV to see the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints battle it out. Most people I know are neither Colts nor Saints fans, so the game held little personal significance for them. Still, they watched because they expected it to be a great game.
Solutions by The State News
