Football

UB 44, Ohio 0

For the UB football team, it was as close to perfection as it gets. The Bulls held the third-ranked rushing offense in the nation to a season-low 159 yards on the ground, set a school record by giving up just two yards of passing and posted their first shutout since 1998 with a convincing 44-0 win over Ohio University before 7,419 fans in UB Stadium.

The victory was the first MAC win for first-year head coach Jim Hofher, the largest margin of victory since Buffalo returned to Division I-A in 1999 and the first shutout since a 47-0 whitewashing of Canisius on Oct. 17, 1998.

Athletes of the Week

J.J. Gibson of the football team led the Bulls with 11 tackles in UB's 44-0 shutout of Ohio on Saturday. It was UB's first Mid-American Conference win of the year and the first shutout by the Bulls since 1998. UB's defense also allowed a school-record low of two passing yards by Ohio. Gibson leads the Bulls with 92 tackles. Jennifer Brankovsky of the women's swim team won two individual events in UB's MAC tri-meet with Akron and Ohio. Brankovsky took the 200 individual medley in 2:07.44 and also won the 200 breaststroke in 2:27.75, shaving several seconds off her winning marks in those events from the previous week.

Offensively, the Bulls hammered out a season-high 538 yards with a perfect blend of rushing and passing. Three Buffalo running backs had over 60 yards rushing and quarterback Joe Freedy hit on a season-high 25-of-38 passes for 296 yards and a touchdown.

The Bulls' defense, meanwhile, was nothing short of dominating. The Bobcats came into the game ranked third in the nation in rushing offense at 275.1 yards per game—behind only Nebraska and Rice. The Bulls not only held Ohio to a season-low 159 yards rushing, but held two Ohio quarterbacks to 4-of-13 passing for a net two yards. UB also posted two sacks and created three turnovers, one in the fourth quarter that preserved the shutout.

Soccer

Men's

UB 2, Northern Illinois 1
UB 2, St. Francis (Pa.) 1

Senior Kevin Pitra scored his first goal of the season nine yards out in the 80th minute off a free kick from sophomore Mike Peplinski to give the men's soccer team a 2-1 victory over Northern Illinois in MAC action on Oct. 30.

The Bulls closed out the regular season with a 2-1 win over St. Francis (Pa.) on Friday.

Volleyball

Eastern Michigan 3, UB 0
Marshall 3, UB 2

The volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to the visiting Eagles of Eastern Michigan in Alumni Arena on Friday. The Eagles downed the Bulls, 30-20, 30-16 and 30-11.

On Saturday, UB won the first two games by scores of 32-30 and 30-24, and the Bulls appeared to be on their way to their first conference victory of the season before the Marshall Thundering Herd made a courageous comeback to win the match in five games. Marshall took games three and four by scores of 30-20 and 30-27 before ending the match with a 15-12 victory in the deciding fifth game.

Swimming

Women's

UB 159.50, Akron 82.50
Ohio 137, UB 106

The women's swim team split a pair of MAC meets Saturday afternoon in Alumni Arena Natatorium. UB defeated Akron, 159.50-82.50. The Bulls also turned in an impressive showing against defending MAC champion Ohio, although falling to the Bobcats, 137-106. UB now is 2-1 overall and 1-1 in MAC competition.

For the second consecutive week, UB freshman Jennifer Brankovsky won a pair of events for the Bulls. Brankovsky took the 200 individual medley in 2:07.44 and the 200 breaststroke in 2:27.75, shaving seconds off her winning times in the same two events in last week's season opener against Siena.

Men's

Ohio 156, UB 87

The men's swim team opened the 2001-02 season with a 156-87 MAC loss to Ohio University Saturday in Alumni Arena Natatorium.

The Bulls won four of the 13 events in the meet, including three of the first four. However, Ohio's depth took over late in the meet, enabling the Bobcats to gain the victory.

Leading the way for UB was freshman Aviv Oren, who won the 50 freestyle in 22.17 in his first collegiate meet.

Basketball

Women's

Premier All-Stars 89, UB 62 (exhibition)

The women's basketball team played host to the Premier All-Stars—a team made up of former collegiate all-stars and WNBA-caliber players—in an exhibition game in preparation for the upcoming 2001-02 season. Sophomore Jessica Kochendorfer led the Bulls' attack with 21 points, and junior co-captain Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe added 17 points.

Tennis

Men's

The men's tennis team completed its fall schedule at the Cornell Invitational. Fery Kasiman, playing in the A flight, reached the Semifinals before losing to top-seeded Anthony Jagdale of Rutgers, 7-5, 6-0. Kasiman's advancement to the semifinals marked the furthest point a Bull has ever reached at this prestigious tournament.