SUNY Oneonta Athletics

Jan. 28^th vs. Plattsburgh, W 70-54

Junior Samantha Szkotak (New York Mills, New York Mills) led three players in double figures last Friday as SUNY Oneonta defeated visiting Plattsburgh 70-54 in SUNYAC women’s action. Sophomores Kate Wilverding (Manalapan, NJ, St. John Vianney) and Gabi Regan (Troy, Columbia) came off the bench to score 13 points each, both season highs.

Oneonta held a 10-point lead midway through the second half before starting its final push to win going away. A three-pointer by senior Rebecca Bucci (Marlboro, Our Lady of Lourdes) at the 4:33 mark gave the Red Dragons its largest lead at 67-49. Bucci had six points, three rebounds and a team high five assists in the game. As a team, Oneonta had 18 assists on 22 baskets and blocked nine shots.

Oneonta shot 55 percent in the first half in building a 45-36 lead at halftime. Szkotak hit 5-of-9 from the floor in registering 13 points in the opening half of play.  Regan scored 10 points in 10 minutes of action. The Red Dragons hit 6-of-12 from behind the arc for 18 of its 45 points.

Both teams’ benches scored 20 points in the first half. Plattsburgh had a 7-2 advantage on second chance points while Oneonta held a 13-7 advantage in points off turnovers.

Jan. 29^th vs. Potsdam, W 63-55

WIlverding picked up from where she left off last Friday night scoring a season and collegiate high 17 points in leading SUNY Oneonta to a 63-55 win last Saturday against SUNY Potsdam. Wilverding came off the bench to hit 6-of-8 from the field that included 5-of-6 from long range in 22 minutes of action.

As a team, Oneonta hit 10-of-19 from behind the arc to fuel the victory. Junior Madison Slagle (Rome, Rome Catholic) hit 3-of-6 from three-point range en route to 13 points in the contest.

Oneonta trailed once, 3-0, in the first minute of the game before scoring seven unanswered to take the lead for good. After taking the 7-3 lead, the Red Dragons kept piling it on the Bears, reaching a 10-point lead by the midway point in the first half. By the time the buzzer sounded to end the half, Oneonta had built its lead to 20 points at 38-18.

Potsdam made the game interesting scoring the first nine points of the second half to cut Oneonta’s lead in half in the first four minutes.

Oneonta built its lead back to 16 points twice after the two Bears’ runs during the remainder of the contest.

Junior Szkotak also reached double figures for Oneonta, finishing the game with 15 points.

Feb. 1^st at Oswego, L 47-58

Senior Mary Kate O'Connell (Altamont, Guilderland) and junior Szkotak scored in double figures, women’s basketball team was defeated by Oswego last Tuesday in the SUNYAC 58-47. The loss snapped a three-game win streak by the Red Dragons as they are now 15-4 overall and 9-3 in the SUNYAC.

O’Connell was the top scorer tonight with 11 points while Szkotak, this week’s SUNYAC and ECAC Upstate Player of the Week, added 10 points.

Both teams shot an identical 38 percent from the field in tonight’s contest. The difference was that Oswego (8-11/5-7) hit eight, three-point shots to Oneonta’s three from behind the arc.

A three-point basket by junior Slagle at the 8:07 mark of the first half gave the Red Dragons its largest lead at 18-13. Oneonta’s lead would not last long as the Lakers seized control of the game, closing the first half outscoring the Red Dragons 22-8 to take a 35-26 lead into halftime.

Oswego built its lead early in the second half to double digits and maintained it for most of the second half. Oneonta made a final push, but could only get as close as 51-45 with 3:28 remaining.

Jan. 28^th vs. Plattsburgh, L 59-75

Senior Troy Talbot (Brooklyn, The School for Legal Studies) scored 16 points, but host Oneonta fell at home last Friday to Plattsburgh 75-59 in SUNYAC men’s basketball action.

The visitors seized control of the game early in the second half as they turned a six-point halftime lead into a 17-point lead five minutes into the second half. Plattsburgh stormed out of the break with a 17-4 run to create the breathing room they needed.

Oneonta made a run at the Cardinals with nine unanswered points led by freshman Nick Sarchioto (Duanesburg, Bishop Gibbons) who came off the bench to score six points in under a minute. Classmate Dan Lee (Ballston Lake, Shenendehowa) capped the run with a lay up to make the score 69-59 with 53 seconds left in the contest. Plattsburgh closed the game making 6-of-6 from the charity strip for the final margin of victory.

Oneonta led 4-2 on a jumper by Talbot at the 17:21 mark of the first half. Plattsburgh then ran off 10 straight points capped by a free throw by senior Steve Thomas seven minutes later.

The Red Dragons cut the lead back to four points on two different occasions over the remaining 11 minutes of the opening half, but trailed by six points at halftime 28-22. Talbot led Oneonta with six points.

Jan. 29^th vs. Potsdam, L 58-61

Talbot scored 25 points to lead Oneonta last Saturday, but the Red Dragons came up short to Potsdam, 61-58.

Oneonta battled all the way back and took the lead 50-49 with 7:08 left in the game on a jumper by Talbot. It was the Red Dragons first lead since 11-10 at the 15:04 mark of the first half.

Less than three minutes later freshman Lee made a lay up to give Oneonta a 55-50 lead at the 4:44 mark.

Two quick baskets by Potsdam brought them right back to within one point with less than three minutes to go.

Oneonta’s final three points came from the foul line, which kept them in the lead, 58-54 until the final 1:16.

Potsdam hit a three-pointer, and then a lay up their next possession, gave the Bears the lead at 59-58.

Talbot had his shot blocked by Potsdam on Oneonta’s attempt to go ahead

On the ensuing inbounds play by Oneonta, Potsdam was able to knock the ball away and time ran out.

The two teams played a tight first half with four ties and three lead changes. The biggest differences in the opening half were points off turnovers and bench points both in favor of Potsdam. Potsdam scored 12 points off turnovers in the first half while outscoring the Oneonta bench 11-2. The visitors scored the final seven points of the first half to take a 33-26 lead into halftime.

Feb. 1^st at Oswego, L 70-81

Despite four players in double figures last Tuesday, the SUNY Oneonta men’s basketball team fell to Oswego 81-70 on the road in SUNYAC action. Senior Derek Hahn (Youngsville, Sullivan West) led the quartet of double digit scorers with 21 points to go with 11 boards.

Classmates Talbot, Brian Hooks (Cohoes, Shaker) and Shane Gillette (Hurley, Kingston) joined Hahn in double figures with 14, 16 and 12 points respectively.

Oneonta shot 54 percent from the field, but the Lakers shot 57 percent. The loss for the Red Dragons was its third straight while Oswego avenged its only conference loss to Oneonta two weeks ago in double overtime.

The hosts jumped out to a quick 15-5 lead in the first four minutes of tonight’s contest. The lead for Oswego fluctuated between six and 12 points during the first half. A Lakers basket with one second to go in the opening half gave them its largest lead of the half at 40-27, which they took to the locker room.

A basket by Hahn at the 13:27 mark of the second half cut Oswego’s lead to nine points at 52-43. The Lakers countered with 10 unanswered points to take control of the game with just over 10 minutes remaining. Oneonta never got closer than the final margin the rest of the way.

Women’s Swimming & Diving (3-3)

Jan. 29^th vs. Brockport, W 136-70 

The SUNY Oneonta women’s swimming & diving team ended its dual meet schedule last Saturday afternoon at home over visiting Brockport.

Freshman Chandler Shepard (Delhi, Delaware Academy) was the lone double event winner for the Red Dragons. She won both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle events. In both events, she swam a season best time.

Single event winners included sophomore Kristen Magliola (Shoreham, Shoreham Wading River) and freshmen Melissa Erickson (Silver Spring, MD, Academy of the Holy Cross), Lindsey Molfino (Jamestown, Jamestown) and Alexxa Poliachik (Niagara Falls, Niagara Wheatfield).

The men and women will now begin their taper in preparation for the SUNYAC championship meet. The event begins Wednesday, Feb. 9 and continues through Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Flickinger Center on the campus of Eric Community College.

Men’s Swimming  & Diving (3-3)

Jan. 29^th vs. Brockport, W 135-70

The SUNY Oneonta men’s swimming & diving team ended its dual-meet schedule last Saturday afternoon at home with a win over Brockport.

Highlighting the meet was a pool and school record in the 1-meter diving event set by freshman Jermaine Miller (Elmira, Southside). His 11-dive score of 469.60 broke the record of Oneonta State Hall of Famer, Jan Miller, who set the record back in the 1970’s. His score was also good enough to reach the NCAA provisional score for a third time this winter.

His six-dive score of 288.90 set an Oneonta pool record that was held by current diving coach, Mike Martinez. Miller was a double winner on the day, winning both rounds of diving to score 18 points.

Other double winners for the men included sophomore Alex Miller (Oneonta, Oneonta) and freshman Ryan Walsh (Wingdale, Arlington). Miller won both the 200-yard IM and the 500-yard freestyle events. Walsh won the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly.

Sophomores Lucas Hass (Wynantskill, Albany Academy) and Alex Vaughn (Windsor, Windsor) each won one individual event on the day to round out the group of event winners for the men.

Jan. 29^th at Oswego, W 22-21

Senior Brian Kramer (Hopkinton, MA, Hopkinton) and freshman Derek Wignall (Deposit, Deposit) pinned their opponents at 184 lbs. and 197 lbs. respectively to lead Oneonta to a 22-21 win last Saturday on the road at Oswego.

The Red Dragons trailed entering Kramer’s bout 18-10, but the back-to-back pins gave Oneonta a 22-18 lead entering the final bout at 285 lbs. Kramer recorded his pin in 3:16 over Kevin Shirley. Wignall wasted no time in pinning Kyle Sheridan in 24 seconds for his six points.

In the final bout, Oneonta freshman Stephen Provenzano (Islip, Islip) had to wrestle up to try and preserve the victory for Oneonta. Despite losing 8-2, he surrendered only three points, giving Oneonta the win.

Oneonta’s other winners today included David Broughton (Bethpage, Bethpage) at 149 lbs. by a pin and sophomore Frankie Provenzano (Islip, Islip) at 174 lbs. by a major decision, giving the Red Dragons its first 10 points.

Jan. 29^th at Class of 32’ Invitational at Colgate University, 3^rd place with 84 points

Junior Sarah Timmons (Schodack, Maple Hill) was back to true form winning the weight throw in convincing fashion. Timmons' heave of 14.82 meters was good enough for first, defeating the field of division I & III athletes. Later in the day she finished third in the shot put with a throw of 10.68 meters, for her second best throw of the season.

Sophomore Kacy Boburka (Binghamton, Chenango Valley) again had a huge day, hitting the NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the high jump, breaking her own school record, and hitting a new personal best height of 1.67 meters as she finished second in the event. She also had a personal best in the long jump with a leap of 4.99 meters good for third place.

On the track, senior Liz Maziejka (Fort Edward, Hudson Falls) showed her strength with solid performances in both the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. Her 8.33 60m run in prelim’s led her to a sixth place finish in the event. Later in the day she was the first Div. III athlete to cross the finish line in the 200m for a third place showing with a time of 27.06.

Senior Celia Alterio (Amherst, Amherst) cruised in her heat in the mile. Lapping other competitors, she hit an indoor time of 5:24.80 good enough for fifth.

Jan. 29^th at Class of 32’ Invitational at Colgate University, 3^rd place with 85 points

On the men's side, senior Sean Daly (Weedsport, Weedsport) added himself to the Red Dragons record book setting a personal best and school record in the 500-meter run. His time of 1:06.23 surpassed Fred Romer’s time of 1:06.28, which was back on Dec. 1, 2007.

Daly also teamed up with seniorTim Greenberg (Oneonta, Oneonta), sophomore Chris Cure (Altamont, Guilderland), and freshman Tom Haskins (Tully, Tully) to run a time of 3:26.16 in the 4x400 relay, which was the fastest time of any Div. III school while placing second in the event.

Senior Durell Cull (Rome, Rome Free Academy), in his first meet of 2011, came away with a big win in the 60-meter dash. Cull’s time of 7.01 barely missed the NCAA provisional mark of 6.97.

Junior Sean Wren (Delanson, Duanesburg) placed second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.10 bettering his qualifying time for the SUNYAC championships.

Freshman Ulysses Miles (Rochester, Fairport) took a first place finish in the triple jump with a leap of 12.41 meters, which hit the SUNYAC qualifying standard.