Sports Talk
By Brian DePasquale
America East Basketball Tournament Bracket Set
The America East Conference announced on February 24 the men’s basketball postseason tournament bracket. The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be played at Northeastern University’s Matthews Arena in Boston on March 2 and 3.

UAlbany earned the No. 6 seed for next weekend’s tournament, and will face Hartford, the third seed, on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. Albany (8-19, AE 5-11) and Hartford (13-17, AE 10-6) split their two-game set during the regular season. The Hawks, who finished third in the regular-season standings, posted a 62-51 victory on February 8 at Chase Family Arena. The Great Danes won on their home floor, 51-48, last Friday.

The winner of the Albany-Hartford contest meets the Boston University-Northeastern winner in the first semifinal on Sunday at noon. Boston U. and Vermont shared the conference’s regular-season title. The Catamounts earned the No. 1 seed by sweeping the season series between the teams.

America East Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament
Saturday, March 2, at Matthews Arena, Boston, Mass.
Game 1- No. 2 Boston University vs. No. 7 Northeastern, noon.
Game 2- No. 3 Hartford vs. No. 6 Albany, 2:15 p.m. (approx.)
Game 3- No. 1 Vermont vs. No. 8 Stony Brook, 6 p.m.
Game 4- No. 4 New Hampshire vs. No. 5 Maine, 8:15 (approx.)

Sunday, March 3, at Matthews Arena, Boston, Mass.
Game 5- Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, noon.
Game 6- Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 9, at higher remaining seed
Game 7- Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN)

Albany Men Finish Second At America East Indoor Track Championships
Dustin Wilson won two events in the 55-meter high hurdles and 200-meter dash to lead the University at Albany to a second-place finish in the men’s standings at the America East Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships on February 16 at the Boston Armory.

Northeastern won its third consecutive conference crown with 142 points. UAlbany scored 127, and was followed by Boston U. with 79.

Wilson, a sophomore, plays tailback on the Albany football team, ran a season-best 7.65 seconds in the high hurdles, and came from behind in the 200 to edge Northeastern’s Andy Alsup.Wilson sprinted 22.25 seconds and outleaned Alsup at the finish line.

“I’ve never been so focused,” said Wilson, who was football’s MVP on special teams. “I’ve slept better, I’ve been eating better and training better. In the 200, I was probably five to ten feet behind going into the last turn. I put my shoulder into it, and was able to win a tough race.”

The Great Danes had four other individual champions. Alix Rodriques won the 55-meter dash with IC4A-qualifying and season-best 6.43 seconds. Freshman Kristof Molnar captured the 800 in 1:52.65. Naron Stewart won the high jump (6-09.75), while Rob Harrison took the triple jump (46-07.25). Szabolcs Molnar was second in the 1,000, but set a school record with a time of 2:26.94.

“I am excited, because I can’t ask for any more from this team,” Albany coach Roberto Vives said. “They performed as a team despite being predominantly sophomores and freshmen. We established today that we are the future of this conference.”

Albany was eighth in the women’s competition. Dinnah Decatus was third in the 800, and broke her own school standard with a time of 2:15.97. Cherice’ Vanderhall broke another record in the 20-pound weight throw and was fourth with a mark of 48-06.75.

America East Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships
Team Scores
Men -- 1. Northeastern 142, 2. Albany 127, 3. Boston U. 79, 4. New Hampshire 68, 5. Maine 58, 6. Stony Brook 38, 7. Binghamton 26, 8. Vermont 16, 9. Hartford 4.

Women -- 1. Boston U. 139, 2. Northeastern 111.50, 3. Binghamton 62, 4. New Hampshire 60, 5. Maine 57, 6. Vermont 48, 7. Stony Brook 45, 8. Albany 35.50, 9. Hartford 0.

Former UAlbany Sports Stars Will Play With Professional Teams Former UAlbany standouts Michael Oliva, the school’s all-time hits leader in baseball, and Dan Gmelin, the leading receiver in the football program’s history, have agreed to terms with professional minor league organizations.

Oliva signed with Independent League’s Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs, while Gmelin will play for the Albany ConQuest of the arenafootball2 league. Oliva, the 2000-01 UAlbany Male Athlete of the Year, posted a career .373 batting average as a collegian. He is the school’s all-time leader in hits (229), doubles (51) and stolen bases (58). He earned All-Northeast Region, All-ECAC and All-New York State Baseball Conference honors as a senior center fielder. A native of Elmsford, N.Y., Oliva was a starting quarterback on the UAlbany football team. He passed for 1,758 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Gmelin, a split end and punt returner for the Great Danes from 1994-97, was a Football Gazette first-team Division II All-American as a senior. He completed his career as UAlbany’s all-time leader in receptions (136), receiving yards (2,243) and all-purpose yards (3,185). Gmelin, of Bedford Hills, N.Y., was voted to the All-ECAC-North and All-Eastern Football Conference squads in leading his team to an 11-1 record and the 1997 EFC Championship. He signed as a free agent with the San Diego Chargers, and went through training camp before he was let go in a roster cutdown move. In 1999, he signed a two-year option deal with Canadian Football League’s Saskatch-ewan Roughriders, but was released before the start of the season.

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