As 2016 comes to a close, here are the top moments in Buffalo State Athletics over this past year.
Men’s Hockey sets record for wins in a season; goes to fifth-straight SUNYAC Semifinal
Buffalo State’s men’s hockey team set a school record for wins in a season after finishing 15-7-4 and advancing to the SUNYAC Semifinals for the fifth-consecutive year.
Buffalo State advanced to the semifinals by virtue of finishing second during the SUNYAC regular season with a record of 11-4-1 in conference play. It was the first time in program history that the Bengals have ever hosted a semifinal contest at the Ice Arena when the team took on No. 3 Geneseo on February 27.
The Bengals have now made the postseason in six-straight years.
Mike DeLaVergne (Pawling, NY/Pawling) was named the SUNYAC’s first team goalie while Ryan Salkeld (Virginia Beach, VA/Churchland) was named to the second team. Taylor Pryce (Newmarket, ON/Cardinal Carter) was a third team selection.
Women’s Hockey sets record for wins in a season
Buffalo State’s women’s hockey team shattered the school record for wins in a season, going 18-7-0 overall and earned the ECAC West No. 4 seed in the playoffs. The previous school best for wins in a season was 11 set in 2000-01.
It was the third-consecutive season that Buffalo State advanced to the playoffs, and the first time the program has ever hosted a playoff game at the Ice Arena when No 5 Oswego came to campus on February 27.
With the record-setting year, head coach Candice Moxley earned ECAC West Coach of the Year honors. Justine Silva (Baldwin Park, CA/Arroyo) was named the ECAC West Co-Defensive player of the year and was a second team All-Conference selection. Erin Gehen (West Seneca, NY/W. Seneca West) drew an All-Conference honorable mention.
Men’s Hockey knocks off No. 1 Oswego; first-time Bengals have defeated the top team in the country in school history
Anthony Beaumont (Lester, PA/Interboro) scored twice and Mike DeLaVergne (Pawling, NY/Pawling) made 27 saves as No. 10 Buffalo State stunned No. 1 Oswego, 5-1, in a SUNYAC game at the Ice Arena on December 10, the first time the Bengals has ever knocked off the top team in the nation in school history.
With the win, Buffalo State found itself in the top 10 in both national polls for the first time.
The Bengals end 2016 at No. 10 in the D3Hockey.com poll and No. 9 in the USCHO.com poll.
Both ranks are the highest marks received in program history.
Women’s Soccer sweeps 2016 SUNYAC awards
In case you didn’t hear by now, the 2016 season was one for the record books for women’s soccer.
To go along with winning the program’s first-ever SUNYAC Championship and earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Bengals also swept the SUNYAC Awards for good measure.
Melissa Smith (N. Tonawanda/Niagara Wheatfield) and Kristin Seiferth (Brightwaters/Bay Shore) claimed the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year Awards respectively, while Taylor Carillo (Pine Bush/Pine Bush) took home Rookie of the Year honors.
For the second-consecutive year, Nicholas DeMarsh was voted the conference’s Coach of the Year.
In total, four Bengals earned NSCAA All-Region honors while eight landed on one of the SUNYAC’s All-Conference teams.
Vann honored as finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year
Sasa Vann (Mastic Beach/Bishop McGann-Mercy) ended her Buffalo State career being honored as a Top-30 Honoree for the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year Award in mid-October, the farthest a Bengal athlete ever came in being nominated.
Vann completed her four-year career in track and field at Buffalo State in the spring of 2016. She was a two-time All-American with the 4×400-meter relay team and was a six-time SUNYAC Champion, including capturing four individual titles in the 400-meter dash. She also earned an ECAC Championship in the 500-meter dash with a school-record time during the 2015 indoor season and helped the Bengals capture SUNYAC and ECAC team championships during that season.
A dual major in hospitality administration and psychology, Vann also excelled academically, graduating with a 3.81 cumulative GPA. She is an exceptional student whose career interests are focused on clinical neuropsychology and the study of posttraumatic stress disorder among women in the military. She has built an impressive record of undergraduate research, authoring an honors thesis in psychology and participating in the 10-week Summer Trainee and Research Program at the University of Maryland for students preparing for doctoral programs. She has presented her research findings in multiple academic forums, including the Buffalo State Student Research and Creativity Celebration. In recognition of her efforts, she was accepted into Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology, and was elected chair of the college’s chapter of the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality.
Vann also logged more than 500 hours of community service, including volunteering with the Alternative Fall Break program for four consecutive years, serving as a site leader in 2015 and co-coordinator in 2016. She also coordinated a group of 130 volunteers in a cleanup of Scajaquada Creek during Bengals Dare to Care Day, worked with Weigel Health Center on its Tobacco-Free Campaign and other initiatives, and volunteered with the Anne Frank Project.
Sarr wins SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Year; Bengals win first playoff game since 1984
Like most of the programs here at Buffalo State this year, men’s soccer was another one that continued to take great strides in 2016.
The Bengals finished the year 11-6-1, the first time Buffalo State reached the 11-win mark since 2004 and just the second time since 1984.
Buffalo State knocked off New Paltz, 2-0 in the first round of the SUNYAC playoffs at Coyer Field, the first playoff victory for the Bengals since 1984.
Sophomore scoring sensation Bass Sarr (New York, NY/JREC) was named the SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in scoring with 12 goals and 26 points in 17 games. Sarr was later named ECAC D-III North Offensive Player of the Year and was selected to the NSCAA All-East Region first team.
Tristan Myers (Rochester/Webster Thomas) joined Sarr on the SUNYAC first team while Sammy Wasson (Clarence, NY/Clarence) was named a third team selection.
Porter ends career as second-most decorated All-American in school history
Jazlyn Porter (Niagara Falls/Niagara Falls) ended her Buffalo State career as the second-most decorated All-American in school history.
Porter earned the honor eight times in track and field. Her last mark with the Bengals came in the 2016 outdoor championships as she finished sixth in the 400m dash and fifth in the 4x100m relay.
A communication major, she has been an All-American in the 400m dash three times, including finishing runner-up at the 2015 indoor meet, and is a two-time All-American each in the long jump and with the 4x400m relay.
Porter is also a five-time SUNYAC Champion and helped the Bengals to a conference team championship in 2015. She holds the indoor school records in the 400m dash, 4×400, 4×200 and distance medley relays and also has the school mark with the outdoor 4x400m relay.
Mergler becomes school’s first swimming All-American in 40 years
Buffalo State’s Connor Mergler (E. Amherst/Williamsville North) became the Bengals’ first swimmer to win All-American status in 40 years after competing at the 2016 NCAA Championships.
At the NCAAs in Greensboro, N.C. in mid-February, Mergler finished fourth overall in the 100 free, sixth in the 50 free and 16th in the 200 free to earn All-American in all three events.
Mergler is also just the second Buffalo State swimmer to earn three individual All-America certificates in a single season. The first was John Meade in 1974.
To go with All-American status, the junior business administration major also took home the SUNYAC Male Swimmer of the Year award and was the SUNYAC Male Swimmer of the Meet after claiming titles in all three events at the conference championships.
Mergler was also named a preseason All-American this fall by CollegeSwimming.com as he looks to add to his accolades with another strong season this year.
Ezike wins NCAA Division III Men’s Indoor and Outdoor National Championships in Long Jump
Benjamin Ezike (Staten Island, NY/Susan Wagner) started 2016 off with a bang, becoming Buffalo State’s ninth national championship in men’s track and field after winning the triple jump at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Grinnell College March 11-12.
So how did the former Division I product follow it up?
Just by winning the same event at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships less than three months later.
He was the first Bengal to earn All-American in the triple jump since Rich Pete in 2013.
Ezike was also just the second Buffalo State athlete to ever win the outdoor triple jump championship in school history and the first to do it since James Parker in 1982. He was the first Bengal in program history to ever win the indoor triple jump championship.
Ezike transferred to Buffalo State for the 2016 season from the University of Rhode Island where he was an Atlantic 10 champion in the long jump.
Women’s Soccer wins program’s first SUNYAC Championship; earns first bid to NCAA Tournament
The Buffalo State women’s soccer team rewrote all of the program’s records in 2016.
The Bengals set a school record with 17 wins and won both the SUNYAC regular season and postseason titles for the first time in program history.
The Bengals also advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time, and got the chance to host the first and second rounds of the tournament here on Buffalo State’s campus.
The Bengals finished the year as the No. 21 in the nation, and reached as high as No. 14 during the season, the highest mark ever received for the program.
The sky is the limit for Nicholas DeMarsh’s squad in 2017 and beyond.
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