OSWEGO — The Oswego State Women’s tennis team edges Cortland by a score of (5-4) yesterday afternoon at the Romney Field House. Samantha Spence and Haru Kobayashi won in both singles and doubles. Eliza Johnson won both of her sets in singles to propel the Lakers to victory. The Lakers return to the court this Sunday at 12 p.m. to take on the Utica Pioneers.
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Lakers Show Out in Oswego Volleyball Classic
Oswego, N.Y. – The Oswego State volleyball team welcomed a slew of squads to the Max Ziel gymnasium on Friday as the Oswego State Invitational kicked off, with the Lakers taking on the Brockport Golden Eagles in the first contest of the day at 2 p.m.
The Lakers controlled the tempo from the outset, as an offensive onslaught from the home squad led to an early 10-4 lead. Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, errors loomed large, and they struggled to find a semblance of footing. The Lakers operated off of beneficiaries Grace Gdovin, Priscilla McReynolds and Kalley Vugteveen and others, to help lift the squad to a 25-14 win in the first set.
The second set was far tighter than the first, with ties and lead changes occurring amidst a competitive bout. The Golden Eagles found an edge when they went up 18-13, but the Lakers would not go down without a fight. They climbed all the way back, and the contest was eventually knotted up at 23, but late-stage heroics from Gigi Basile and Vugteveen pushed the Lakers over the hump as they took the second set, 25-23, to go up 2-0.
The third set replicated what happened in much of the second, with both squads matching up evenly. The Golden Eagles fought tooth and nail, and while they were able to generate momentum, errors once again proved to be more than costly. Moreover, the Lakers applied an aggressive offensive attack that was fueled by high-IQ plays, which led them to a 22-18 lead, and eventually a 25-21 win, thanks to Alaina Dudzinski and Gdovin coming through as clutch. The Lakers laid claim to their first victory of the day, and would hand the court to Western Connecticut and Keuka, as the two faced off at 4 p.m.
The sophisticated offensive schemes of Western Connecticut overpowered Keuka, as one of the constitution state’s own came out on top, 3-0. They held a height advantage, which allowed them to meet their opponents at the net and deny potential chances at scoring. That was one of many deciding factors in their dominant 25-10 win in set one, and the momentum wouldn’t slow down in the next.
While Keuka came out more competitive in the second set when they jumped out to a 5-4 lead, Western Connecticut remained undeterred. They tacked on five unanswered points amid a communication struggle within the confines of Keuka, and would eventually pull away while working in a tighter defense to take the set 25-15, and go up 2-0. The third and final set saw Western Connecticut return to their roots, as they took a 5-1 lead early on. Keuka made a late push that cut the deficit to just one, but an unfortunate overshot called out-of-bounds came as the game-clinching point for Western Connecticut, and they took the set 26-24 to claim a sweep.
The Wolves’ would return to the hardwood at 6 p.m., but their night would soon be spoiled, as the home-squad Lakers swiftly took them down, 3-0. Even with the sweep, each set balanced a competitive feel, with Keuka refusing to go down easily. The first saw the two tie 11 separate times, but the Lakers pulled away in the late stages when the Wolves committed an error, followed by a killshot from Priscilla McReynolds, which would give a first-set statement victory to the Lakers.
Keuka committed a strong playstyle in the second set, which assisted them in going up 14-11 early. However, the Lakers would quickly storm back, as both Vugteveen and Kalley put forth kills, succeeded by two-straight service aces from Gabriella Bishop. The outing remained even from there, with both teams trading conversions past the net. Thankfully for the Lakers, their top beneficiary in McReynolds came through swinging for a kill to make it 25-24, which was followed up with an unfortunate error from the opposition, which would give the Lakers the game-clinching point, for them to go up 2-0.
The momentum saw a drastic shift towards the Lakers in the final set, as they would double down on a tyrannical offensive attack that had the Wolves running around on eggshells. A victory would be returned to the shorelines of Lake Ontario, as a commanding performance helped the Lakers to come out as victors, 25-14, and end the night with a record of 2-0.
The day concluded with a scrappy battle between Pitt-Bradford and SUNY Canton on court one, with the Panthers coming out as victors, 3-1. While the Kangaroos took the first set, 25-23, the Panthers roared back and completely dominated in the second, highlighted by a commanding performance from Ruby Smith that helped her squad tie it up at one. From there it was all Panthers, as they came through strongly with schemes that were tough to match up against. They took the third and fourth sets, 25-20, and 25-21, to finish out day one of the event.
The competition opens back up tomorrow, when the Lakers take on the Wolves of Western Connecticut at 10 a.m., followed by a plethora of matches that conclude the annual Oswego State Invite.
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Three Laker Hockey players sign with the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
OSWEGO, NY — After the announcement of Oswego Men’s Hockey player Michael Gillespie signed with the Worcester Railers of the ECHL, three more seniors signed professional contracts. Two forwards along with a defenseman will join the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs, a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The SPHL is a ten team league that is made up in the Southeastern United States with a team located as far North as Illinois and as South as Florida. The league formed back in the 2004-05 season after two leagues merged together. The Rail Yard Dawgs were formed in 2016 after the relocation of the Mississippi Surge. Currently, Roanoke finds themselves in 7th place with 41 points. The Rail Dawgs are currently in a playoff spot if the season would continue.
Tyler Currie, Derek Brown, and Joey Molinaro will all join the Rail Dawgs, who’s current season has been put on hold due to CORVID-19. Defenseman Tyler Currie played 81 games in a Lakers uniform the past three seasons. The Ontario native had 36 points (6 goals and 30 assists) in his career with a career 18 points his junior season. Currie transferred from Adrian College after his freshman year where he notched 7 points for the team. Forward Derek Brown transferred to Oswego after playing two seasons at Niagara University as the Arizona native secured 9 points. The transfer would play in 50 games for the Lakers tallying a total of 24 points (6 goals and 18 assists). Lastly, Joey Molinaro also transferred from Niagara University but after his freshman season. The forward played 77 games in a Lakers jersey tallying 55 points (25 goals and 30 assists). The Ontario recorded 22 points his junior season. These three players will join alumni Josh Nenadal, who graduated from Oswego last season. Nenadal has played a total of 45 games for Roanoke so far this season and has tallied a total of 12 points (5 goals and 7 assists). The right winger only played four games the previous year.
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Men’s basketball finishes semester on high, beats Fredonia
OSWEGO N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s basketball team travelled to Fredonia to take on the Blue Devils Saturday afternoon. Their final game of the semester before an eighteen day break was a successful one with a dominant 63-48 victory. This was a game of scoring runs, with the Lakers starting the game with a 17-0 run over the first six minutes. Six different Lakers found the bottom of the net during that run, with Jeremiah Sparks leading the way with six of the seventeen. Fredonia would pull back some with an 11-4 run over the following six minutes and get the score to 21-11. The remainder of the half would be back and forth, and going into the locker rooms the score was 36-25 Lakers. Both teams were efficient from the free throw line in the half, Oswego shooting 8-11 and Fredonia 10-11.
The second half started with the Lakers pushing their lead to sixteen after five minutes, including an Oswego 6-2 run. Following a Jamal Achille dunk at the thirteen minute mark neither team would score for three straight minutes, with the scoreless run being broken by Laker Devin Green, who got the lead to seventeen again, the score being 51-34. The final ten minutes was back and forth, Oswego responding to every score by Fredonia. Sparks would finish the game for the Lakers at the free throw line, hitting both, and getting the final score to 63-48. The Lakers never faltered from their lead they grabbed in the beginning, the Blue Devils never even tying the score throughout the game. Four Lakers would score ten in the game, with Jeremiah Sparks leading the way with sixteen while adding five rebounds. Ahkee Anderson led Oswego from the free throw line going 6-6, he would have eight points on the night, while also leading the team with four steals. The three point line was not the Lakers friend in this game, Oswego going an ice cold 2-22, both made threes coming in the first half. The defense was big for Oswego in the game, 22 of their 63 points coming off Fredonia turnovers.
Oswego now sit at 7-1 this season while also being 4-0 in the SUNYAC. They sit second in the conference. Their next game is on December 29 versus Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the St. John Fisher tournament. Tip off is set for 7:00 P.M. at the Manning & Napier Varsity Gym in Pittsford, N.Y. The final of that tournament comes the following day. WTOP 10 will have continuing coverage of home games throughout the season.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY SHELBY PEPLOWSKI, WTOP 10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
