 Nearly 240 UAlbany student-athletes participated in the Salvation Army's Christmas Kettle Program. The students were stationed as bell ringers at the Colonie Center Mall from December 2-6 and collected donations from 5 to 9 p.m. each evening. Photo by Brian DePasquale |
UAlbany Knocks Off Unbeaten
Duquesne, 24-0, in ECAC Football Classic
Junior tailback Gary Jones rushed 36 times for 194 yards and two
touchdowns, as UAlbany knocked off previously unbeaten Duquesne, 24-0,
in the ECAC Football Classic on Saturday, Nov. 23, at University Field.
The postseason contest annually matches the regular-season champions
from the Northeast Conference and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
NEC champion UAlbany (8-4) scored on three consecutive possessions in the first quarter to leap to a 17-0 lead. Wind gusts out of the northwest that at times exceeded 30 miles per hour played havoc with both teams’ passing and kicking games.
Following Joe Maker’s two-yard punt, the Great Danes had good field position at the Duquesne 43-yard line. Senior quarterback Ryan Roeder directed his team on a seven-play drive that ended in Jones’s 19-yard dash through the middle to the end zone.
Albany scored 10 more points by taking advantage of two consecutive short punts that were directly affected by the wind. Fullback Jon George and Jones ran five straight times before place-kicker Stan Zylinski booted a 30-yard field goal. The Great Danes, who rushed for 253 yards on a muddy field that was drenched by a heavy overnight rain, had to travel just 29 yards for their next touchdown. George drove over left guard on a one-yard scoring run with 19 seconds left in the period.
MAAC champion Duquesne (11-1), ranked 21st in the Division I-AA national polls entering the game, had two scoring chances late in the second quarter. But the first opportunity ended in a missed 24-yard field goal by Earl Bellisario, and the second drive stalled out at the Albany 13 when quarterback Niel Loebig’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
Although UAlbany failed to score in the third quarter, the offense helped the defense by controlling the clock for 14-plus minutes in the period. The Great Danes put the game away with a late fourth-period drive. Jones, who set the NEC’s single-season records for rushing (1,509 yards) and scoring (138 points), carried five times in the scoring march. The ECAC championship MVP went around right end on a one-yard TD run to cap his team’s upset victory.
“This is a picture-perfect way to end a career,” said Albany linebacker Josh Bazan, who led his team with 11 tackles, broke up two passes, and established the school’s career mark in the process with 354. “We lost some close ones this year, but I wish everyone could go out like this.”
The Dukes, who were bidding for the program’s first undefeated season since 1941, were shut out for the first time since 1997 and held to 146 total yards, including 44 on the ground. Duquesne was averaging 36.1 points and 430.2 yards entering the contest. Loebig completed 12 of 37 passes for 102 yards, and was picked off twice by Albany roverback Ryan MacLean.
“We played like we’re capable of playing,” commented Jones, who rushed for 100 or more yards for the seventh straight game. “We’re a lot better than our record. We pounded the football in tough conditions and relied on a line that got the job done.”
NOTES: Gary Jones, the NEC Offensive Player of the Year, was named the team’s most valuable player at the program’s postseason banquet Sunday, Dec. 8...Victor Camacho, a junior linebacker, was voted most improved, while punter Billy Pike received the special teams’ MVP award...Alex Argulewicz, Josh Bazan, Samson Brown, Brian Eidens, Josh MacAnn, Ryan MacLean, Ryan Roeder and Greg Sigler each earned a fourth varsity letter.
UAlbany Reaches America East
Volleyball Semifinals; Records Most Wins Since 1998
Durham, N.H. - Despite a career-high 17 kills from freshman outside
hitter Eileen Nicole Rodriguez, UAlbany was defeated, 3-2, by New Hampshire,
the No. 1 seed, in the semifinals of the America East Volleyball Championships
Saturday, Nov. 23, at UNH’s Lundholm Gymnasium. The Wildcats captured
the decisive fifth set 15-7 after the Great Danes tied the match at
two games apiece.
New Hampshire won by scores of 30-18, 24-30, 30-24, 25-30, and 15-7. New Hampshire (22-10) was led by all-conference player Alyson Coler, who tied an America East Championship record with a match-high 27 kills. Lauren Knight was the only other Wildcat with double-digit kills, recording 12. Sasha Scott tallied a match-high 20 digs and was one of four UNH players in twin figures. New Hampshire went on to win the championship and earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Rodriguez also chipped in with a team-high 16 digs, while recording seven service aces to finish her record-setting year with 207. Senior Alissa Gibbs, a first-team all-conference selection for the second straight year, added 15 kills and freshman Alexis Bowen tallied 11. Sophomore setter Jill Dombrowski dished out 41 assists, improving the school’s single-season mark at 1,283.
UAlbany finishes the 2002 season with a 16-15 record,
a dramatic turnaround from last year’s 4-20 campaign.