February was a disaster for the women's basketball team, which has now lost six of its last seven games. During the month, the team played in some close games, but none were closer than Saturday night's last-second heartbreak loss.
The women's tennis team got off to a blazing start when the season began, and they looked to continue its dominance in West Point and New York City over the weekend. While the matches started off promising with a win against Army, Columbia halted the Bulls in its tracks. On Friday, Buffalo got off to a strong start as the Bulls (3-1) downed Army (4-4), 4-3. The Bulls' No. 1 doubles team of senior Denise Harijanto and junior Aleksandra Petrova got the ball rolling with an 8-3 victory over the Black Knights' Annie Houghton and Kristin Beehler. Buffalo then clinched the doubles point as senior Diana Toia and junior Diana Popescu made easy work of Army's Michael Tollerton and Robie Verano, 8-1. With doubles play victory behind them, the Bulls focused on singles play to clinch the win over the Black Knights. Both Popescu and Petrova carried over momentum from doubles competition and got wins in their singles matches. Playing at the No. 2 position, Popescu defeated Erin Colston in the first two sets, 6-7 (4), 6-2, before Colston retired early in the third set down 1-0. Petrova then downed Beehler for a second time with a straight set decision, 6-2, 6-3. Freshman Tamara Markovic clinched the match for Buffalo in the No. 5 position with a straight set victory over Tollerton, 7-6 (3), 6-3. Head coach Kathy Twist was happy with her team's performance on Friday. 'Army is a tough opponent,' Twist said. 'I thought our girls played very well.' The Bulls' three-match streak came to an abrupt end on Saturday, however, with a tight loss to Columbia (3-5), 4-3. Once again the Bulls started off strong in doubles matches. At the No, 3 spot, Toia and Popescu started the evening with a convincing win over Natalia Christenson and Eliza Matache, 8-5. The No. 1 team of Harijanto and Petrova defeated Nicole Bartnik and Carling Donovan, 8-4, while the freshman duo Kira Golenko and Markovic completed the doubles sweep with an 8-7 victory over the Lions' Natasha Makarova and Chelsea Davis. Buffalo has earned doubles points in all four of their dual meets this season. Coach Twist attributed the success to the unselfishness of her players. 'The team that takes the doubles point wins a high percentage of the matches,' Twist said. 'Last year, we had [Harijanto] and Popescu paired together and they ended up ranked number seven in the East, but we struggled as a team in doubles play. I went to them and asked if they would break up for the good of team and they did with no problem. In the fall we worked heavily on doubles play and now it's paying off.' Despite sweeping doubles play, Columbia took four of six singles matches to clinch the victory. The only players that managed to pull out singles wins for Buffalo were Golenko and Toia. Golenko won the No. 4 match over Donovan in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (1), while Toia overcame Diana Shapoval in the No. 6 position, 6-4, 7-5. 'I thought the team fought well,' Twist said. 'We could've pulled this one out. We just have to do a better job of playing certain points better.' While Twist said she expects to win every match, a loss to a good opponent can only pay dividends for the Bulls before they begin conference play next month. 'We scheduled some very difficult matches early this season to help prepare us to win the Mid-American Conference,' Twist said. 'Tough matches help to expose strengths and weaknesses. We have to learn from this loss. I'm confident in the team's chances to win the MAC championship, but we're not taking things lightly. We're going to keep working hard to reach the next level.' The Bulls return home for a match against Syracuse on Saturday at the Miller Tennis Center. Start time is scheduled for 11 a.m. E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com
The men's tennis team went to Ithaca, N.Y. this weekend, looking to make history.
Greatness can be marked by a team's ability to respond to adversity. On Wednesday night, the wrestling team rallied from a disappointing loss in its first Mid-American Conference contest to defeat the Eastern Michigan Eagles (10-9-1, 0-2 MAC), 28-12. Senior Dan Bishop got the ball rolling for the Bulls (8-5-1, 1-1 MAC) as he pinned the Eagles' Greg Ebert in the 125-pound weight class for his 15th victory of the season. 'It's very important to get off to a good start in conference play,' Beichner said. 'I love that I have guys who want to go out there, set the tone and get us off to a good start.' Sophomore Kevin Smith, who is ranked 19th in the nation in the 133-pound weight class, earned a decision win over Eastern Michigan's Chris Jenkins. Smith currently has a record of 23-8 this season and is off to a 2-0 start in MAC contests. After a defeat in the 184-pound weight class, the reigning MAC Wrestler of the Week, junior Jimmy Hamel, earned the last victory of the evening for the Bulls by collecting a dominant decision over the Eagles' Travis Stanback in the 197-pound weight class. The win was Hamel's 23rd of the season. In his MAC debut, junior Brian Sheehan pinned Eastern Michigan's Nick Hendrick for his first MAC victory in the 174-pound weight class. Senior Andrew Stella and freshman Andrew Schutt also picked up decision wins, while 19th ranked John-Martin Cannon won a decision for his 19th win of the year. Several Bulls added to their impressive records and solidified their national rankings. Hamel earned MAC Wrestler of the Week honors to join Cannon, who won it last week, and sophomore Desi Green, who won the award for the week of Jan. 12. Beichner attributed the team's good fortune to the success of his athletes and their national rankings. 'To be ranked, you've got to beat opponents who are ranked,' Beichner said. 'Our guys have put in the hard work and have taken advantage of their opportunities.' Buffalo's win was overshadowed by a serious setback that could impair the team's MAC Championship aspirations. Green, who is ranked 16th nationally in the 149 weight class and has an overall record of 26-6, went down with a knee injury in his match against Eastern Michigan's David Pienaar. The status of Buffalo's top wrestler remains unknown, but Beichner did not seem optimistic that his star athlete would return this year. 'Desi has to go in and have the knee looked at,' Beichner said. 'Hopefully we can have him back by the MAC championships, but it's possible that we've lost him for the entire season.' The Bulls have some stiff competition in their upcoming matches including No. 20 Kent State and No. 7 Central Michigan. 'The key for us will be to remain healthy,' Beichner said. 'If we can stay healthy, then we will be just fine.' The Bulls will be competing in their final home match of the season against Central Michigan on Feb. 14. Start time is set for 1 p.m. E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com
Solutions by The State News
