SUNY Oneonta Athletics

Women’s Basketball (18-6/12-5)

Feb. 11th vs. Geneseo, L 48-60
SUNY Oneonta senior Erika Puffer (Unadilla, Unatego) scored 12 points off the bench to lead the Red Dragons, but visiting Geneseo took a road win last Friday 60-48. The Red Dragons entered the game as the No. 6 team in the latest NCAA East rankings.

Geneseo used a 17-2 run at the end of the first half to seize control of tonight’s contest. The closest Oneonta was able to get was three points in the first minute of the second half, but the Blue Knights essentially put the game out of reach with a 14-2 run to increase its lead to 15 points with 11 minutes remaining in the game.

The score was stuck on 2-2 for nearly 3:30 in the early going until Oneonta opened up a five-point lead with an 8-3 spurt fueled by back-to-back three-pointers by senior Rebecca Bucci (Marlboro, Our Lady of Lourdes).

After Geneseo cut Oneonta’s lead to two points at 11-9, Oneonta put together a second run of 9-2 to take a 20-11 lead with 8:52 remaining in the opening half.

Feb. 12th vs. Brockport, W 71-59
The SUNY Oneonta women’s basketball team got a boost from the bench last Saturday as the reserves combined to score 36 points in leading the Red Dragons to a 71-59 victory over Brockport in SUNYAC action. The visitors made it interesting during the final five minutes of the contest, but in the end, it was the Red Dragons that came out on top.

Leading the reserves on the day, tying her season high, was sophomore Gabi Regan (Troy, Columbia), who had 16 points in 19 minutes of play. She hit 6-of-9 from the floor including 3-of-3 from long distance to pace an Oneonta offense that shot 47 percent from the field.

Senior Puffer contributed 10 points and a team high seven boards in 20 minutes of action today while classmate Bucci added 10 points and a pair of assists.

Oneonta led by as many as twenty points in the second half, but had its lead cut to nine points at the two-minute mark on a basket by the Golden Eagles

Oneonta secured the win hitting 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch. The Red Dragons had a solid all-around game with 16 assists and 13 steals while committing only 11 turnovers.

Oneonta got off to a slow start today, but by the midway point in the first half, the Red Dragons hit its stride and began to pull away. Puffer and Regan ignited Oneonta off the bench combining for 20 points in the opening half of play. The Red Dragons’ bench outscored the Golden Eagles’ reserves 25-10 in the first twenty minutes.

Oneonta hit 57 percent in the first half while drilling five three-pointers including a pair by both Regan and Bucci.

Feb. 15th at Cortland, W 78-70
The SUNY Oneonta women’s basketball team went on the road last Tuesday and came away with a big SUNYAC win against its rival Red Dragons of Cortland 78-70. The win for Oneonta completed a season sweep of Cortland for the first time in recent memory during the regular season. Earlier this season, Oneonta defeated Cortland at home 80-72.

Leading four players in double figures in the victory was senior Bucci, who scored 15 points. Bucci fell two points shy of her season high of 17 points, which came in the first meeting between the two squads. Bucci, along with sophomore Kate Wilverding (Manalapan, NJ, St. John Vianney), hit three, 3-point baskets as Oneonta hit a total of nine from long range in the game. Wilverding scored 11 points, all coming in the first half when Oneonta took a 37-27 lead at the break.

Oneonta took the lead for on a Wilverding three-pointer at the 17:05 mark of the first half. The basket put Oneonta in the lead 7-6. Oneonta led by as many as 14 points in the first half when a jumper by junior Samantha Szkotak (New York Mills, New York Mills) put them ahead 34-20 with 2:43 left in the opening half. Szkotak finished the contest with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Cortland wouldn’t go easily as they battled back to tie the game at 50 apiece.

With the game tied at 54, Bucci drilled a three-pointer that jump started a 13-2 run that put the game out of reach for Cortland.

Freshman point guard Grace Schilling (Northport, Northport) rounded out Oneonta’s double digit scorers with 10 points.

Men’s Basketball (8-16/7-10)

Feb. 11th vs. Geneseo, W 64-62
SUNY Oneonta senior Troy Talbot (Brooklyn, The School for Legal Studies) led three Red Dragons in double figures with 18 points as the hosts held off a late charge by visiting Geneseo to win a SUNYAC contest 64-62. The win for Oneonta moves them closer to clinching a playoff spot in the conference with three games remaining.

Oneonta held a comfortable 31-18 lead at halftime and continued to have a double-digit lead with 14:13 to go in the contest when Talbot made a pair of free throws to give the Red Dragons a 40-29 lead.

The lead for the Red Dragons fluctuated between two and six points for nearly five minutes and stood at 63-59 with 23 seconds left after senior Shane Gillette (Hurley, Kingston) made 1-of-2 free throws.

Senior Brian Hooks (Cohoes, Shaker) made 1-of-2 free throws to give the Red Dragons a 64-62 lead with 14 seconds on the clock. Geneseo had a look from the top of the key, but shot it wide as time expired.

Oneonta shot 48 percent from the field in building its halftime lead. Hooks scored 11 of his 12 points in the first half, hitting 2-of-3 from behind the arc. The Red Dragons built its lead by converting eight Geneseo turnovers into 16 points.

Senior Derek Hahn (Youngsville, Sullivan West) recorded his tenth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Hahn leads the SUNYAC in rebounding and field goal percentage.

Feb. 12th vs. Brockport, W 76-68
The SUNY Oneonta men’s basketball team moved one step closer to a SUNYAC tournament berth last Saturday after upending Brockport 76-68. Seniors Hahn and Talbot led the Red Dragons offense with 23 and 25 points respectively. Hahn also recorded his 11th double-double of the season collecting 20 rebounds to go with four blocked shots.

Hahn scored 17 of his points after halftime when Oneonta overcame a nine-point halftime deficit. The Red Dragons shot a blistering 70 percent in the second half, hitting 14-of-20 shots from the floor. With his 23 points, Hahn also surpassed 1,000 points as a collegiate player having spent his first two years playing at SUNYIT before transferring to Oneonta.

Oneonta began its comeback at the 17:20 mark when senior Ryan Dare (Loudonville, Shaker) made a lay-up to make the score 41-33 in favor of the Golden Eagles. Dare’s bucket sparked a 13-0 run for Oneonta that put them in the lead for good. A pair of free throws by Hahn at 5:27 gave Oneonta a double-digit lead at 61-50. The Red Dragons kept making its free throws down the stretch to hold off a late surge by Brockport.

Talbot finished the game with a team high 25 points while classmate Hooks added 14 points including 11 points after halftime.

Oneonta held a clear advantage from the free throw line in the contest outscoring Brockport 28-11 including 11-of-14 for Talbot.

The two teams battled through the first twenty minutes of action exchanging the lead twice while being tied four times. The Golden Eagles created some breathing room after the score was tied at 10 apiece and built itself a nine point lead twice including at the end of the half 35-26. Talbot scored 14 of his points in the first half to lead Oneonta.

Feb. 15th at Cortland, L 59-81
Senior Hahn scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, but SUNY Oneonta fell on the road last Tuesday to its rival Red Dragons of Cortland. The loss for Oneonta drops them to 8-16 overall and 7-10 in the SUNYAC with one final game in the regular season to be played this Friday at home versus New Paltz.

Cortland jumped out early in this one, building itself a 16-point lead by the midway point of the opening half of play. Oneonta shot 37 percent to Cortland’s 63 percent in the first half as the hosts had a 45-25 lead at halftime.

Cortland led by twenty plus points for all but 13 seconds of the second half. They continued to hit shots from deep and finished the game shooting 55 percent, which included 9-of-17 from behind the arc.

Sophomore Terrence Parker (Queens, John Adams) came off the bench for Oneonta to score a season high 15 points for Oneonta.

Women’s Swimming and Diving

Feb. 9-12 at SUNYAC Championships
The SUNY Oneonta women’s swimming & diving team wrapped up its 2010-11 season last Saturday night as competition ended for the 2011 SUNYAC championship meet. When it was all over, the women found themselves in sixth place overall with 268 points.

Leading the women this year was sophomore Kristen Magliola (Shoreham, Shoreham Wading River) and freshman Melissa Erickson (Silver Spring, MD, Academy of the Holy Cross). The two combined to score 63 individual points and each was part of a record-setting 800-yard freestyle relay. The two joined with freshmen Kelsey Ward (Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls) and Lindsey Molfino (Jamestown, Jamestown) to swim of time of 8:17.75, which bested the old record of 8:20.10.

Magliola’s best finish was in the 400 IM where she came in fourth, swimming a time of 4:44.16. Her next best finish was sixth in the 200 back where she swam a time of 2:13.35. She broke her own school record of 2:12.38 in finishing ninth in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:12.14.

Erickson had two top-7 finishes in her initial journey to the championships. She finished fifth in the 1,650-yard freestyle in a time of 18:21.80 while taking seventh place in the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 5:22.67.

Men’s Swimming and Diving

Feb. 9-12 at SUNYAC Championships
The SUNYAC Oneonta men’s swimming and diving team wrapped up its 2010-11 season last Saturday night as competition ended for the 2011 SUNYAC Championship meet. When it was all over, the men found themselves in seventh place overall with 248 points.

Highlighting the three days of competition in the pool was the performance of rookie Ryan Walsh (Wingdale, Arlington), who captured a SUNYAC title in the 200-yard butterfly while finishing second in the 100-yard butterfly. In all, Walsh collected 49 points as an individual swimmer while contributing as part of three relays that competed.

In both his butterfly events, Walsh broke his own school records set earlier this season. He clocked a time of 52.10 in the 100 fly, nearly two seconds better than his previous record, while shattering his record in the 200 fly by nearly four seconds. His time of 1:57.74 was well below his time of 2:01.18, which he swam back in December.

Walsh was also a part of a record-setting 400-yard medley relay foursome that came in fourth place overall in a time of 3:35.35. He, along with classmate, Connor Vander Plaat (Chester, Warwick), and sophomores Alex Miller (Oneonta, Oneonta) and Alex Vaughn (Windsor, Windsor) lowered the previous record of 3:39.14 set back in 2007 at the conference championships.

Miller also contributed 40 points as an individual for the Red Dragons. He had three top-8 performances with his best finish being fourth in the 200-yard backstroke event where he swam a time of 1:56.67. He touched the pad in a time of 4:29.10 to capture fifth place in the 400-yard individual medley and was eighth in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 54.87.

The final top performer at this year’s championships was freshman diver Jermaine Miller (Elmira, Southside ), who contributed 22 points competing in both the 1 & 3-meter events. He led the field in the 1-meter event entering the final three dives before a failed dive cost him and he had to settle for sixth. In the 3-meter event he recorded a score of 412.30 to place ninth.

Women’s Track & Field

Feb. 11th & 12th at Boston University Valentine Invitational
The Oneonta State women’s track & field team competed on the fast track this weekend at the Boston University Valentine Invitational.
The highlight of the weekend for the women was junior Lauren Brunetto (Fishkill, Beacon) hitting the NCAA provisional time in the 800 meter run. Her time of 2:14.14 placed her 16th overall and 3rd in her heat. She currently stands 5th in the nation in Div. III.

Brunetto later teamed up with seniors Liz Maziejka (Fort Edward, Hudson Falls), Kristen Stein (Gloversville, Gloversville), and Kristan Catanese (Baldwin, Kellenberg memorial) to place 16th overall in the women’s 4x400 meter relay. Their season best time of 4:01.69 qualified them for the ECAC Championships.

Last Friday began with Maziejka, Stein, Catanese and classmate Connie Belkevich (Ticonderoga, Ticonderoga) putting together solid performances in the open 400-meter run. Maziejka’s time of 59.66 and Stein’s time of 60.48 qualified them both for the ECAC championships. Catanese finished in a time of 61.96 while Belkevich finished in 63.24. Belkevich also ran the 200-0meter dash running a SUNYAC qualifying time of 27.98.

Sophomore Lindsay Romaine (Holbrook, Sachem) was the lone Red Dragon to compete in the mile run. She hit the SUNYAC standard with a time of 5:25.62 placing 9th in her heat. Later in the day Romaine finished 4th in her heat in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:28.22.
Senior Celia Alterio (Amherst, Amherst) crushed her own school record of 10:37.69 in the 3000 meter run. She ran her personal best time of 10:34.28 qualifying her for the ECAC championships. Freshman Danielle Kennedy (Stony Point, Albertus Magnus) also ran in the event and finished in a time of 10:42.13 qualifying her for the ECAC championships as well.

Pam Ernst (Miller Place, Miller Place) was the final Red Dragon to compete in day’s events running in the women’s 5000 meters. Her time of 18:39.11 was a personal best by over 50 seconds and qualified her for the ECAC championships. Last Saturday, Brunetto, Maziejka, sophomore Carolyn Nasr (LaGrangeville, Arlington), and Alterio teamed up to run the distance medley relay. They finished with a time of 12:42.18 to place 22nd overall qualifying for the ECAC Championships.

Men’s Track & Field

Feb. 11th & 12th at Boston University Valentine Invitational
In the lone men's event last Friday, the foursome of sophomore Nate Weber (LaFayette, Tully), junior Sean Wren (Delanson, Duanesburg), and seniors Sean Daly (Weedsport, Weedsport), and Nick Pampena (King's Park, King's Park) competed in the men’s distance medley relay. The team placed 17th overall with an ECAC qualifying time of 10:11.73.

Last Saturday the men got their chance to compete against other top college and professional athletes.

Wren got the day started for the Red Dragons running the open 400. His time of 49.42 was a personal best putting him in the top five fastest times in the event for the men's track program.

Sophomore Dustin Cox (Pulaski, Pulaski) competed in two events during the day, the high jump and the 60 meter high hurdles. Cox tied for 5th in the high jump with an ECAC qualifying jump of 1.93 meters. While running a time of 9.02 in the hurdles placing 31st.
Sophomores John Longo (Endwell, Maine-Endwell) and Weber got their day started in the men’s mile. Both running in heat seven of 17, they worked together and both came away with personal bests and ECAC qualifying times. Weber crossed the line in 67th with a time of 4:20.05 and Longo was right behind in 73rd with a time of 4:20.53.

Later, they both ran in the 800 meter with Daly, Mark Gymburch (Rome, Rome Free Academy), Oneonta native Tim Greenberg (Oneonta, Oneonta), and freshmen Tom Haskins (Tully, Tully) and Brendan Whitney (Fishkill, Beacon). Weber again was the top Red Dragon in the event running an ECAC qualifying mark of 1:56.46 good enough for 54th place. Haskins, a high school teammate of Weber came out of a slower heat to run just as fast with a time of 1:56.69. Daly finished in 71st with a time of 1:57.33, followed by Whitney with a time of 1:59.38, Greenberg running 1:59.40, Longo at 1:59.91, and Gymburch running 2:00.83.

In the 5000 meters, sophomore NNick Madison (Oneonta, Oneonta) crossed the line in 53rd with a time of 15:28.83. Right behind was Pampena with a time of 15:33.15 good enough for 55th place.