This week's stories:
Coach defines season as a success despite finish
By Matt Dougherty A season-ending 76-66 loss at Syracuse in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on March 13 didn't tarnish a successful year in the eyes of head coach Jan van Breda Kolff. "We talked about the accomplishments of this year, the contributions of the seniors, and trying to build on some of the successes we've had this year and go from there," said van Breda Kolff after the Syracuse game. The biggest loss for next year's Bonnies will probably be the graduation of senior guard J.R. Bremer. He finished fourth in the nation with 24.6 points per game, tied for second on the team with 4.7 rebounds per game, and was also second on the team in assists with 92 and steals with 56. "Hopefully future endeavors will take him to the NBA," van Breda Kolff said. "We'll miss him and his contributions." The Bonnies will also lose senior forward Vidal Massiah and senior center Elton Ruddock. Massiah averaged 10.8 points and 4.6 rebounds and Ruddock averaged 0.8 points and 1.0 rebounds. The Bonnies played well early in the season, going 8-3 against a strong non-conference schedule. They defeated Big East Tournament champion Connecticut, 88-70 on Dec. 28 at Connecticut, and only lost by six points, 80-74, at Big 12 Tournament Champion Oklahoma. The Bonnies had a five-game winning streak over Wisconsin Green Bay, Ohio, Davidson, Siena, and Connecticut and went 4-0 at home. However, the Bonnies struggled at times in Atlantic 10 play, finishing only 8-8 in the regular season. The Bonnies won home games over eventual first place finishers Temple and Xavier, but also managed to lose on the road to last place finishers George Washington and Rhode Island. For the year, the Bonnies averaged 80.5 points per game while surrendering 78.1. However, opponents shot 51.1 percent for the season against the Bonnies, and outrebounded the Bonnies by 6.6 rebounds per game. Next year, the Bonnies return their second leading scorer Marques Green and No. 3 scorer Patricio Prato. Mike Gansey and Patrick Methot-Lottin return for their sophomore season. The Bonnies bring in three players from the Washington, D.C. area next year in 6-foot-8, 260 lb. center Calvin Brown, 6-foot-7, 200 lb. small forward Cortez Sutton, and 6-foot-4 guard Ahmad Smith. "Next year we'll have a little bit more of an inside game through the recruits and we'll have a bigger inside presence. We'll have more of the inside-outside game," van Breda Kolff said.
Bremer hopes to move on to NBA
By Matt Dougherty After a stellar senior season where he finished fourth in the nation in scoring at 24.6 points per game, senior guard J.R. Bremer looks for an opportunity in the NBA. Bremer was invited to the Portsmouth NBA Camp beginning April 3, along with other top seniors like Cincinnati's All-American Steve Logan. "I probably need to work on ballhandling," Bremer said. "I'm used to playing point guard, I've been playing for most of my life, but recently I moved to the '2' (shooting guard) spot so I have to get comfortable with handling the ball." Even if he doesn't make it in the NBA right away, Bremer said his goal is to continue his basketball playing career. "I'm just trying to play basketball after college," Bremer said. "I'd definitely look into Europe or other options." Bremer's professional basketball stock rose after a strong season that earned him a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team as well as A-10's Most Improved Player Award. He also earned a spot on the National Basketball Coaches/Pontiac All-District 1 First Team. He earned attention as national Player of the Week by both Sports Illustrated and ESPN.com after a career-high 33 points in a 88-70 win at Connecticut on Dec 28. Bremer scored 20 points or more in 24 games and notched 30-plus point performances in seven other games. He ends his career with a streak of 45 consecutive games with at least 12 points. Bremer also set a number of single season records for St. Bonaventure. He became the fourth player in school history to score over 700 points in a season, and his 24.6 scoring average places him fourth all-time among single season averages. He also set records for three-pointers made (88), and free throws made (188) in one season. "Coming in, I knew I was going to be one of the better players in the league," Bremer said. "Our team didn't get much respect (in the preseason) so the players didn't get much respect, but I worked hard and tried to earn a spot. They had put me on second team, but I was always striving to get to first." He said he matured and improved as a player a great deal in his time at St. Bonaventure. "I improved every aspect of my game," Bremer said. "I was skinny and didn't have any strength, my dribbling was OK, my defense was OK, my shooting was OK."
SBU rained out at WV
By Tracy Nelson The Bonnies had an entire week of practice to prepare for this weekend's games. Rain postponed games set for Tuesday and Wednesday. The team returned from its week-long trip to the Homestead Challenge in Florida last week with a 4-2 record to start the season. After dropping the first two games to Boston College and Villanova, the Bonnies won four straight to finish the trip. Based on his performance against St. Peter's on March 11, freshman pitcher Aaron DeCoursey was named the Atlantic 10's Rookie of the Week. In his first collegiate start, DeCoursey pitched a complete game, striking out 15 and allowed one earned run. "Aaron jumped himself up on the depth charts significantly," said head coach Larry Sudbrook. "He did what you always talk about in sports. He got an opportunity to start game five, and he went out there and made the most of it throwing a tremendous game." DeCoursey is a new addition to a loaded returning lineup from last season. Returning most of the lineup and with a strong freshman class, the Bonnies have high hopes for the post-season. "For us being anything less than the top four teams in the conference is not good enough," Sudbrook said. "Our team goal is to make the Atlantic 10 Tournament and advance." In the past, the Bonnies have come off of 22-23 win seasons to do well in the conference tournament. They won the A-10 East Division in 2000. In order to repeat the past success, Sudbrook will rely on his pitching strengths and returning players. "We are returning pretty much all of our pitching staff from last year, so we should be pretty strong there," said Sudbrook. "As far as offense goes, we will be strong there returning five guys that hit over .300." The team travels to La Salle for a three-game series with the first pitch set for a doubleheader Saturday at 2:30 and another game Sunday. The road trip continues at Coppin State on Tuesday and at Howard on Wednesday.
SBU takes one of three on season opening trip
By Nate Dougherty In softball, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose--and sometimes it rains. The Bonnies' experienced all three outcomes this weekend at the Hokie Classic at Virginia Tech. After splitting its opening-day double header, the team lost to Akron on Saturday, and the final day of the tournament was canceled due to rain. The Bonnies travel to Dayton to play three games against the Flyers on Saturday and Sunday. The Bonnies split their season-opening double header on Friday, defeating Hartford 2-1, before falling to Canisius 4-1. On Saturday, the Bonnies lost to Akron in extra innings, 10-9. They jumped out to a 5-0 lead by the second inning. Freshman first baseman Kim Dodson and junior shortstop Tricia Hildebrand both hit two-run doubles in the inning. Hildebrand struck again in the eighth, blasting a two-run home run to increase the Bonnies' lead to 8-1. Akron scored three runs in the top of the third inning, cutting the lead to 8-4. The Bonnies added one more run in the fifth inning when Hildebrand drew a bases-loaded walk. Akron staged its comeback in the top of the seventh inning, scoring five runs on six hits and tying the score at 9-9, and scored in the eighth to take the lead for good. "That's definitely a game we can learn from. It gives us the perspective that we can play against all teams and beat all teams," said head coach Mike Threehouse. The loss dropped the Bonnies to 1-2. In the opening game of the season St. Bonaventure grabbed a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning when Hildebrand's double drove home senior outfielder Bernice St. Clair. Junior pitcher Emily Hart earned the win while pitching the entire eight-inning game for the Bonnies, striking out eight. Hartford defeated the Bonnies in the second game of the day, 4-1. The Bonnies surrendered three runs in the first two innings. The Bonnies squandered a chance in the fifth inning to stage a comeback after leaving the bases loaded in that inning. Senior pitcher Brianne Prince recorded the loss for the Bonnies, giving up 10 hits. The Bonnies managed just six hits off Canisius pitchers Veronica Maher and Andrea Bunten. The Bonnies' games scheduled against Stony Brook and Virginia Tech were cancelled due to rain, and will not be made up. Threehouse was impressed with his team's performance in Virginia. "Going into the season now after our performance in Virginia our expectations are higher. We're a pretty good team top to bottom," Threehouse said. This season's team is led by seniors Prince, designated hitter Kristina Huntley, and St. Clair. Hildebrand will start at shortstop this season after leading the nation in triples last season with nine. She also led the team in batting average, hitting .328 with 23 RBI, four home runs and 10 doubles. Dodson earned the starting position at first base after batting close to .700 in high school, and was the second leading hitter in the fall with a .360 batting average. Dodson will be backed up by sophomore Jessica DeLaura, who played 22 games and hit .191 last year. Sophomore Vicki Covey will start at second base this season. While she managed only one hit last season, Threehouse says that she earned the starting position through her offseason work. For the second straight season the starting third base position belongs to junior Dawn Setter. She started 41 games last season, hitting .191 with five doubles. Last season she earned All Conference honors, leading the team with a batting average of .333 and .987 field percentage. Junior Amanda Davey will start at catcher this season after starting all 43 games last season. Sophomores Sarah Altobelli, Laurie Stone, and St. Clair will start in the outfield this season. Last season St. Clair earned All Conference honors with a team-leading .333 average. This season's pitching staff is led by Hart, the team's top returning pitcher with a 3.61 ERA and 52 strikeouts and Prince, who recorded 36 strikeouts and a 4.98 earned run average last season.
Team's losing streak continues
By Jesse Fleming The women's tennis team's head coach Michael Bates is trying to keep things simple to help his team end its current five-match losing skid. The team garnered its fifth consecutive loss of the spring to the Pittsburgh Panthers 7-0 Saturday. The team has not collected a victory since a win over Cleveland State in the St. Bonaventure/Nike Spring Tournament Feb. 10. The team has also lost matches against Duquesne, Akron, Colgate, and Niagara during the losing streak. With the loss the team's record falls to 2-10 overall and 0-3 in Atlantic 10 play. "We're only working on the basics in practice. We're really focusing just getting better each match so we are ready for the A-10 tournament," said Bates. The team was unable to pick up any wins in singles play, but did pick up a victory at No. 1 doubles. The sophomore tandem of Amanda Pesono and Natalie Rumpel beat Jill Williams and Nikki Borza 8-4. Bates was pleased with the performance of his No. 1 doubles team. "Our No. 1 doubles team is capable of playing well against anyone, it's just a matter of building confidence and understanding," Bates said. The team will try to end their losing streak when it travels to Bucknell at noon on Saturday to take on the Bison. "We match up well against Bucknell," Bates said. The Bonnies play Mount St. Mary's at 9 a.m. on Sunday in Bucknell. "Mount St. Mary's has accumulated a few losses this spring, if we play well we should be alright," Bates said.
Record-setting night in blowout
By Vinny Pezzimenti The women's lacrosse team earned its first win of the season in record-setting fashion on Wednesday with a 20-1 dismantling of Canisius. The Bonnies will open Atlantic 10 play at 4 p.m. today against Duquesne, and travel to Massachusetts to take on the Minutemen Wednesday. The 20 goals set a single-game scoring record, while sophomore Laura Spaulding tied her own school record of six goals in a game set last year against Albany. Spaulding sparked the Bonnies to a quick start with two of her goals in the first 39 seconds of the contest. Sophomore Colleen Crane then added two tallies of her own, making the score 4-0. Spaulding notched another goal to close the first half scoring, giving the team a 5-1 lead. In the second half, the Bonnies peppered the Canisius net with a barrage of goals. Sophomore Katy Murphy paced the second half, scoring five goals, while freshman Tracy Domm added two goals and three assists in the game. Freshman Kelly Chavez, sophomore Chelsea DiNallo and junior Emily Lilyea rounded out the scoring with one goal each. Junior goalkeeper Katy Jensen had an easy time in goal for the Bonnies, stopping two of three Canisius shots. The Bonnies added a game against LeMoyne College to the schedule, which will take place at 4 p.m. on April 3. The game will be held at Corning High School, and will be a homecoming for seven of the Bonnies' players. Crane and junior Rachel Dell are from Corning, while Lilyea, Jensen, senior Brianne Bastian and sophomore Sarah Swarthout went to Penn Yan Academy. Spaulding is from Horseheads. "It will be exciting for those seven players to play so close to home and on a field they've played on before," said head coach Tony Zostant. "The Corning-Horseheads-Penn Yan area is such a fertile region for lacrosse and we've worked hard to recruit and develop players there," Zostant said. The team's plays at Duquesne today at 4 p.m.
Bonnies' corral Bulls 6-1; fall to Western Michigan
By Jesse Fleming Men's tennis coach Michael Bates is pleased with the way his team bounced back from a 6-1 loss to Western Michigan in its first match of the day to pummel Buffalo 6-1 in its second match of the day Saturday at the St. Bonaventure Fitness Center. "The team turned a negative into a positive when they came out and crushed UB after losing earlier in the day" Bates said. "We knew Western Michigan was going to be tough. They had some quality wins on their schedule and they went to the NCAA's last year." No. 2 singles player junior Mikko Haulos picked up the only singles win for the Bonnies against Western Michigan, beating Christian Brattstrom 6-1, 6-3. The No. 2 doubles tandem of Haulos and freshman Nikhil Murali defeated Brattstrom and Tommy Dennis 8-5 for the team's only doubles victory in the match. "We really dug ourselves a hole early when we lost the doubles point, we could have been right in there," Bates said. The team won all three doubles matches against UB and picked up five out of the six singles points against the Bulls. Haulos at No. 2, freshman Mario Arce at No. 3, Murali at No. 4, freshmen Adam Price and Kevin MacDonald at No. 5 and 6, were all victorious in their singles matches. Arce picked up a 6-1, 6-0 win against Justin Brtko at No. 3 singles. Price also won handily, beating Josh Liederman 6-1, 6-1 a No. 5. Bates believed that moving Nurmi up to No. 1 singles for the match contributed to the losses of his matches. The team is now 10-6 overall, with a 3-0 Atlantic 10 mark. Next Saturday the team travels to Pennsylvania for a 4 p.m. match against the Quakers. "Penn beat Western Michigan 4-3 so it's definitely going to be a good match. Penn is a good regional opponent. We look forward to the challenge."
By Tracy Nelson Thus far, the 2002 NCAA Tourney is one for the ages as far as the upset category goes. Of course, you have the Dukes and Marylands of the field advancing round after round. The question remains, who will be this year's "Cinderella story" pulling the upset bid? Kent State and Southern Illinois are so close that they can taste the sweetness of victory and the Elite Eight. The 10th seed Kent State Golden Flashes, out of the Mid-American Conference, has been the talk of the town in the last week. With a first round 69-61 victory over seventh seed Oklahoma State, Kent succeeded in surprising many around the country. Nobody, except maybe the Flashes players, ever expected a decisive 71-58 win over second seed Alabama in the South region As it is, coming out of the MAC does not bode especially well for national attention. Perhaps people underrated this team all season. After all, at home the Flashes handed the Bonnies a 92-83 overtime loss in December. The Flashes also racked up an impressive 29-5 overall record, and won the MAC conference tourney, thanks to the efforts of a dynamic senior trio of quick point guard Andrew Mitchell, swing-man Demetric Shaw and three-point threat Trevor Huffman. What's the next chapter for this Cinderella team? We'll let to decide. Speaking of underrated, how about Southern Illinois from the Missouri Valley Conference? First it was an at-large bid with a then 26-7 record, and now the 11th seed Salukis await the Sweet 16. Southern Illinois knocked off Bobby Knight's sixth seed Texas Tech team by eight to advance to the second round, where the Salukis found themselves crawling back from a once 19-point deficit to defeat third seed Georgia, 77-75. All year long, the Salukis have relied on their strong inside presence of junior forward Jermaine Dearman averaging 7.1 rebounds per game, and senior center Rolan Roberts averaging 7.6 rebounds per game. As far as the offense goes, it is in the very capable hands of leading scorer Kent Williams averaging 16.2 points per game. The Salukis meet their fate against a strong Connecticut team in Syracuse for the Sweet 16 match-up. Will the slipper fit? We'll just have to wait and see. Maybe they won't see a championship banner, or cut down a net in Atlanta, but these teams put the excitement in March. The difference is that Kent State and Southern Illinois make the most of their time in the limelight. The question remains, which will wear the slipper?
Athlete of the week Tricia Hildebrand Year: Junior Sport: Softball This week: Hildebrand went 4-for-10 with two doubles, a home run and seven RBIs in the Bonnies' first three games in Florida last week. She had a game-winning double in the eighth inning of the 2-1 win over Hartford.
Baseball Sat./Sun vs. La Salle (3) 12 p.m. Tues. vs. Coppin State 1 p.m. Wed. vs. Howard 5 p.m. Softball Sat./Sun. vs. Dayton (3) 1 p.m. Thurs./Fri. vs. Fordham (3) 1 p.m. Lacrosse Fri. vs. Duquesne 4 p.m. Wed. vs. UMass 3 p.m. Men's tennis Sat. vs. Pennsylvania 4 p.m. Fri. vs. Xavier noon Women's tennis Sat./Sun at Bucknell 12 p.m/9 a.m. Golf Mon./Tues. at American U. 8 a.m.
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17 The number of games for St. Bonaventure sports teams in the next week. The baseball, softball, lacrosse, men's and women's tennis and golf teams will all see action.
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