Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Crew Finishes 25th at National Championship Regatta

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (5/31/11) - The University of Colorado crew team finished 25th last weekend during the American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championship Regatta at Lake Lanier.

The Buffaloes finished 16th in the women's event while the CU men's team did not crack the final standings. Grand Valley State finished first in the overall and women's competitions while Michigan took home their second straight men's title.

"I think the team as a whole did great this past weekend," said CU women's head coach Fran O'Rourke. "We were up against some of the top club crew teams in the nation, and it was good to see how we matched up against the rest of the country. We are very proud with how all of our athletes performed, they raced hard and their results were pretty solid."

After finishing tied for second a year ago, the women's team had solid outings in the novice eight race, where they finished fifth, and the varsity four event, where the finished sixth.

The men finished 14th in their novice eight race and finished 18th in the varsity eight competition.

Colorado sent 34 athletes to the national regatta, all of whom enjoyed a 26 hour drive to and from Gainesville, which is about 55 miles northeast of Atlanta. The National Championships were at the same site that held the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics competition.

About 95 percent of the student-athletes that make up the CU crew team had never rowed before college and about 70 percent of the squad is from the State of Colorado.



Monday, May 30, 2011

Men's Ultimate Falls in Semifinals to Wisconsin

BOULDER (5/29/11) – The No. 2 University of Colorado men’s ultimate team’s hope of winning a national championship on their home turf ended on Sunday night as they were defeated 14-10 by the No. 7 University of Wisconsin in the 2011 USA Ultimate College Championships semifinals at the Pleasant View Sports Complex.

“I’m proud of them, they put a lot into the season and I know it sucks to lose,” said CU head coach Jim Schoettler. “There is not much to say about the game. This is the end of the season for them and this is the end of their college careers for a lot of them. There is not much to say other than I’m proud of them, and they know that.”

Colorado finishes the season with a 33-9 record after they defeated No. 4 Pittsburgh 12-7 earlier in the day in the national quarterfinals.

In the semifinals game, CU was led by seniors Hykle Sneider, who had four goals and two assists, Dan Gruber, who had three goals, Martin Freeman, who scored twice, and Matt Zemel, who threw for four goals in the game.

Yet even with the Buffaloes’ upperclassman stepping up, CU did not have an answer for Wisconsin’s Colin Camp, who finished the game with eight goals and two assists, many of which came while he was open down the field.

“We started playing underneath guys because we felt that we had to take out their throwers by playing a very flat mark and trying to not let them huck, so we had to play underneath everyone else,” Schoettler said on why Camp was so wide open so many times. “If the throwers get it up, it is going to be open deep.”

It took less than two minutes for Colorado to get on the scoreboard against Wisconsin as Sneider grabbed a great pass in the end zone from Zemel just 90 seconds into the game. Wisconsin countered two minutes later in what began a three goal run for the Badgers.

After a CU timeout, Sneider picked up his second score of the day, making it a 3-2 contest. Both teams traded goals for most of the first half, but it was Wisconsin that gained the edge late in the stanza, scoring three of the final four points to take an 8-5 lead at halftime.

Wisconsin opened the second half with two quick scores before Sneider and the Buffs were able to answer back. The rest of the second half was played very closely with the Badgers holding a 12-8 advantage after the 85 minute regulation. Since Wisconsin didn’t get to the 15 goal cap in regulation, the two teams played a 20 minute soft-time cap, with the club that scores 14 points first being the winner. In the extra stanza, CU and Wisconsin traded goals with Camp securing the win for the Badgers after grabbing a long pass in the end zone nearly 10 minutes into the soft time-cap.

The game could have easily have gone the other way for Colorado, as the Buffs had people open in the end zone five times throughout the contest, but each time the disc seemed to just be a few inches too far from the hands of the CU players.

“I think that is because people are being a little amped up and are just putting too much power behind the disc and not enough float under it,” Schoettler said on why his team couldn’t convert on the opportunities. “We haven’t really had that problem this year, and it showed up here and we just never made the adjustment. If those go our way, then this is a different game.”

In Colorado’s quarterfinals matchup with Pittsburgh in the morning, senior Jack McShane and junior Zander Padget led the Buffaloes offense with McShane throwing eight goals while Padget caught four goal passes, all of which were from McShane.

“Jack is one of our best and calmest handlers and Zander is one of our best cutters,” Schoettler said of McShane and Padget. “We put them out together, they hadn’t played on the same line a lot this year, but they both know exactly what they are doing. They were on the same page today and that certainly makes a big difference.”

With fresh legs after resting all of their usual starters in the Buffs’ last game against Texas, the CU offense found the end zone early and often, as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The CU defense was also doing their part, keeping the dangerous Pitt attack at bay and not allowing the Panthers to score for the first 26 minutes of the game.

Twelve minutes after Pitt got on the scoreboard, CU found their way back into the end zone with McShane finding Snieder for the score. Pitt would answer with two goals in a matter of four minutes, but Colorado would match that total as Snieder picked up his second goal and sophomore Todd Wolma also scored to give the Buffs the 8-3 lead at halftime.

In the second half, CU and Pitt traded two goals each and had a 10-5 score after 85 minutes of regulation, forcing the game into the 20 minute soft time-cap.

With the Panther’s on the verge of elimination, Pitt scored first in the soft-time cap, but less than two minutes later, CU did the same on a diving catch by Padget in the end zone. After another Pitt goal, Colorado was patient with their offense and finally with 8:15 remaining in the soft-cap, McShane found sophomore Jimmy Mickle for the game ending score.

McShane said the difference between Saturday’s game and CU’s two previous contests against Pitt, which both ended in closes losses for the Buffs, was the team’s defense.

“Our defense came out fired up,” McShane said. “They got five or six breaks in the beginning of the game and once you get up five or six points, it takes the other team mentally out of their game, they can’t work it under, and they have to go for quick scores. We experimented a lot during the season, tried to figure stuff out and I think we were set this time.”

While Colorado lost the season series with Pittsburgh, the Buffs did win both matchups against Wisconsin during the year. However, once again the Badgers got the better of the Buffs in the national tournament, like they did in 2008 when they knocked them out of the semifinals, and in 2009 when they ended CU’s run in the championship game.

Although the loss once again to Wisconsin hurts, Sneider said the team did all they could throughout the season and in the tournament to win the school’s first championship since 2004.

“This is the first year that I felt that we could not have done any more than we could,” Sneider said after the loss to the Badgers. “We made it a goal after last nationals to come out and work harder this year. We got a strength and conditioning coach, we worked out seven days a week and I just don’t think we could have given any more. I feel good about the loss knowing that we couldn’t have given anything else throughout the year.”

Wisconsin will play No. 1 Carleton College on Monday at 2 p.m. at the Pleasant View Sports Complex in the championship game.

A live video stream of the championship game will be available online at http://www.usaultimate.org/news/2011-college-championships--live-streaming-schedule/. The semifinals games will be televised on the CBS Sports Network on June 25 at noon and 1 p.m. MT, and on June 26 at 1 p.m. MT. The championship game will air on July 15 at 7 p.m. MT. Check local listings for more information.





CU Men's Ultimate website: http://www.mamabird.com/


Colorado Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Jim Schoettler
On the win vs. Pitt—“We came out 5-0 and you can’t start a game much better than that. That is all our defense. We are really, really confident in our defense right now, which is a great thing for us. Our offense needs to settle down a little bit. They get out there and they have all of the talent in the world, but they get a little bit nervous I think. That is something that we can improve on.”

On the defensive battle and long game vs. Pitt—“For a score 12-7, the game should not have taken that long. That is our fault for not being more efficient on offense. We could have scored all of our offensive points in a minute or less and a lot of them took five minutes or so. That is something that we have to be aware of. In the end it kind of was who would outlast who. We knew that they would be tired and longer games favor us so it is not the worst thing in the world.”

On the difference today vs. Pitt compared to previous two meetings—“We changed a lot of stuff up. Our defense is a lot tighter, we know what they want to do having seen them before and I think our deep game on offense is far better. They were planning that we were going to play it under by the way that they were playing defense. Even though we didn’t hit all of our hucks, they were all open and they were all pretty good looks. We did hit some of them and those can be back breakers.”

On preventing the Pitt comeback—“I think our changes kept them on their heels a little bit. Pittsburgh is a team that can come back and from 5-0, they played us even so our whole focus was as long as our offense can send our scorers 80-90 percent of the time, that is great and they did that. I think we got broken once.”

On Jack McShane and Zander Padget combination—“Jack is one of our best and calmest handlers and Zander is one of our best cutters. We put them out together, they hadn’t played on the same line a lot this year, but they both know exactly what they are doing. They were on the same page today and that certainly makes a big difference.”

On Wisconsin game—“Our defense has been capable of putting us up early and they didn’t do that this game. We came out kind of soft on defense. Hard to say exactly why that happened, our intensity probably wasn’t there, and they kept us on our heels because they hucked it a couple of times and scored deep. Our offense played tighter than they needed to and they probably just had some nerves. A couple of turnovers early and we get down and at that point we have to play a very aggressive defense and that is what we started doing and we just couldn’t stop their hucks. If we are playing aggressive defense and we can’t stop their hucks, then we are in trouble.”

On being close to scoring so many times vs. Wisconsin—“That was a case a lot with our offense and I think that is because people are being a little amped up and are just putting too much power behind the disc and not enough float under it. We haven’t really had that problem this year, and it showed up here and we just never made the adjustment. We turned it over our first three or four turns and they immediately scored on discs off of turnovers that were just a bit outside of people’s reach out of bounds. Those go our way, then this is a different game. To Wisconsin’s credit, they are a really good team and they took advantage of our mistakes, and that is what it is about.”

On Wisconsin’s Colin Camp’s performance—“We started playing underneath guys because we felt that we had to take out their throwers by playing a very flat mark and trying to not let them huck, and so we had to play underneath everyone else. If the throwers get it up, it is going to be open deep. That goes back to our marks and our marks didn’t do our job, their mind wasn’t there, that last point is an example. We played straight up on Brian Feldman, who hucked the last disc and we just didn’t get over on our marks so he had a wide open player deep. It was some mental mistakes.”

On what he told his team after the loss—“I’m proud of them. They put a lot into the season and I know it sucks to lose. There is not much to say about the game. This is the end of the season for them and this is the end of their college careers for a lot of them. There is not much to say other than I’m proud of them, and they know that.”

Senior Jack McShane
On his game vs. Pitt—“I thought I played alright. I was a little antsy and nervous, I mean it was a big game at the beginning so once I got that under control, calmed myself down, and it really it was our cutters doing the work, getting open and it makes it easy on the handlers, makes it easy on me.”

On the pace of the game vs. Pitt—“It was a little slow. There were a lot of calls in the middle of the game. It slowed down for sure. I think they were real tired, they were real pouchy, and you have to be a little more patient when they are that pouchy. It slowed down a little bit, but I think that was too our advantage since we got a big lead.”

On the difference vs. Pitt today compared to previous meetings—“Just our defense, our defense came out fired up. They got five or six breaks in the beginning of the game and once you get up five or six points, it takes the other team mentally out of their game, they can’t work it under, and they have to go for quick scores. We experimented a lot during the season, tried to figure stuff out and I think we were set this time.”

Senior Hylke Snieder
On the loss to Wisconsin—“We were a little tense coming out and it seemed like our hucks were just two yards off every time. It makes it really hard when you get down two-three breaks to start for the defense to get rolling. We were a little nervous to start and we never really got our offense to settle down.”

On his performance vs. Wisconsin—“I don’t think there is another team that I get more fired up to play. All of the older guys want to beat these guys and I think it came down to us being too tight to begin with. Our energy was real good, but just too tight.”

On his feelings after the loss—“It sucks to lose every time. I’ve played the last four years and every year we make it to nationals but we couldn’t win a championship. This is the first year that I felt that we could not have done any more than we could. We made it a goal after last nationals to come out and work harder this year. We got a strength and conditioning coach, we worked out seven days a week and I just don’t think we could have given any more. I feel good about the loss knowing that we couldn’t have given anything else throughout the year.”

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Men's Ultimate defeats Pitt, Plays Wisconsin in National Semifinals

BOULDER (5/29/11) – The No. 2 University of Colorado men’s ultimate team Mamabird will play in the 2011 USA Ultimate Championships semifinals tonight against the No. 7 University of Wisconsin at 5:30 p.m. at the Pleasant View Sports Complex in north Boulder.

Colorado defeated No. 4 Pittsburgh 12-7 this morning to advance to the semifinals matchup. CU is 2-0 against Wisconsin this season.

In this morning’s quarterfinals game against Pitt, the Buffaloes jumped out to a 5-0 lead and their defense did the rest as they prevented the Panthers’ offense from getting into a rhythm all game long. Colorado was led by senior captain Jack McShane, who threw for eight goals, and junior Zander Padgett, who caught four discs in the end zone.

“We came out 5-0 and you can’t start a game much better than that,” said CU head coach Jim Schoettler. “That is all our defense. We are really, really confident in our defense right now, which is a great thing for us.”

Pittsburgh had defeated CU in the two school’s previous two contests during the regular season.

Like Colorado, Wisconsin advanced out of pool play with a 3-1 record and as the top seed. The Badgers took care of business on Sunday morning in their quarterfinals matchup as they defeated No. 9 Harvard 13-6.

If CU defeats Wisconsin, they will play the winner of the other semifinals contest between No. 1 Carleton College and No. 8 Iowa on Monday at 2 p.m. in the championship game

Admission to tonight’s game and tomorrow’s title game is free and open to the general public.

The Pleasant View Sports Complex is located at 3840 47th Street in Boulder. Parking in the main lot is $2 per entry, however there will be free parking at the Mountain View Memorial Park at 3500 Kalmia Avenue right next to the field. Free parking for Monday’s games will be available at the Calvary Bible Church at 3245 Kalmia Avenue, also right next to the field.

A live video stream of all semifinals and finals games will be available online at http://www.usaultimate.org/news/2011-college-championships--live-streaming-schedule/. The games will also be televised later on the CBS Sports Network on June 25 at noon and 1 p.m. MT, and on June 26 at 1 p.m. MT. The championship game will air on July 15 at 7 p.m. MT. Check local listings for more information.



Colorado Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Jim Schoettler
General—“We came out 5-0 and you can’t start a game much better than that. That is all our defense. We are really, really confident in our defense right now, which is a great thing for us. Our offense needs to settle down a little bit. They get out there and they have all of the talent in the world, but they get a little bit nervous I think. That is something that we can improve on.”

On the defensive battle and long game—“For a score 12-7, the game should not have taken that long. That is our fault for not being more efficient on offense. We could have scored all of our offensive points in a minute or less and a lot of them took five minutes or so. That is something that we have to be aware of. In the end it kind of was who would outlast who. We knew that they would be tired and longer games favor us so it is not the worst thing in the world.”

On the difference today vs. Pitt compared to previous two meetings—“We changed a lot of stuff up. Our defense is a lot tighter, we know what they want to do having seen them before and I think our deep game on offense is far better. They were planning that we were going to play it under by the way that they were playing defense. Even though we didn’t hit all of our hucks, they were all open and they were all pretty good looks. We did hit some of them and those can be back breakers.”

On preventing the Pitt comeback—“I think our changes kept them on their heels a little bit. Pittsburgh is a team that can come back and from 5-0, they played us even so our whole focus was as long as our offense can send our scorers 80-90 percent of the time, that is great and they did that. I think we got broken once.”

On the Jack McShane and Zander Padget combination—“Jack is one of our best and calmest handlers and Zander is one of our best cutters. We put them out together, they hadn’t played on the same line a lot this year, but they both know exactly what they are doing. They were on the same page today and that certainly makes a big difference.”

Senior Jack McShane
On his game—“I thought I played alright. I was a little antsy and nervous, I mean it was a big game at the beginning so once I got that under control, calmed myself down, and it really it was our cutters doing the work, getting open and it makes it easy on the handlers, makes it easy on me.”

On the pace of the game—“It was a little slow. There were a lot of calls in the middle of the game. It slowed down for sure. I think they were real tired, they were real pouchy, and you have to be a little more patient when they are that pouchy. It slowed down a little bit, but I think that was too our advantage since we got a big lead.”

On the difference vs. Pitt today compared to previous meetings—“Just our defense, our defense came out fired up. They got five or six breaks in the beginning of the game and once you get up five or six points, it takes the other team mentally out of their game, they can’t work it under, and they have to go for quick scores. We experimented a lot during the season, tried to figure stuff out and I think we were set this time.”




CU Men's Ultimate website: http://www.mamabird.com/

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Men's Ultimate Wins Pool, Plays Pitt in Quarterfinals

BOULDER (5/28/11) – The No. 2 University of Colorado men’s ultimate team Mamabird finished as the top team in Pool B and earned an automatic bid to the national quarterfinals on Sunday at the 2011 USA Ultimate College Championships at the Pleasant View Sports Complex.

The Buffaloes continued their hot play in day two of pool play as they beat No. 10 Virginia 15-9 in the morning game. The victory was CU’s 17th in a row and secured them the top seed in the pool. In the afternoon contest, Colorado rested all of their usual starters and was defeated by No. 16 Texas 15-8. The loss was CU’s first since Mar. 20 against Pittsburgh.

Colorado improves their record to 32-8 overall and finishes pool play with a 3-1 mark.

The Buffs will have the chance at redemption against Pitt as they will play the Panthers on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. in the quarterfinals at Field 8 of the Pleasant View Sports Complex. No. 4 Pittsburgh defeated No. 3 British Columbia 15-7 in the pre-quarters on Saturday evening to earn the spot in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

If CU wins, they will play in the semifinals on Sunday afternoon. The Buffs are 0-2 against Pitt this season with the Panthers squeaking out a 14-13 victory on Mar. 6 and a 15-13 victory on Mar. 20.

Colorado had a great start to their day as they jumped out to a 4-1 lead against Virginia. UVA battled their way back in the first half and made it a two goal game at 6-4, but scores by senior Evan Padget and junior Cody Yeaman gave CU the 8-4 lead at halftime.

The Cavaliers struck first in the second half, but the Buffs answered with two goals, one on a Hail Mary pass from grad student Timothy Beatty to Padget and the other on a diving catch by sophomore Jimmy Mickle in the end zone.

UVA scored back-to-back goals and made it a 10-7 game, but goals from Mickle, sophomore Todd Wolma and freshman Max Schein extended CU’s lead to six, their largest of the match. Both teams traded goals the rest of the way with senior Matt Zemel and Mickle scoring late for the Buffs.

“I thought we played reasonably good defense,” said CU head coach Jim Schoettler on his team’s game against Virginia. “I think we still need to clean up our offense, but we were able to score some quick up-winders and in a game like this, first game of the day for both teams, first up-wind breaks can really put the other team on their heels and that is what we did against Virginia.”

With the pool locked up in CU’s favor and a bye past the pre-quarters, the Buffs let their younger players see some action while letting their starters rest in the second game of the day against Texas. The Longhorns took advantage of the Buffaloes’ youth early on, picking up three quick goals. Colorado ended the Texas run after sophomore Austin Killien found senior Brian McDonald deep in the end zone to get the Buffs on the scoreboard.

Sophomore Stanley Barnes and Yeaman also picked up goals for CU in the first half, but Texas kept the pressure on Colorado and held an 8-3 lead at the break.

The second half began with both teams answering each other’s scores, that was until junior Gabe Stump and Barnes scored back-to-back goals for the Buffs and made it an 11-8 contest. However, that would be the last time that CU would find the end zone as Texas finished the game with four straight goals and grabbed the 15-8 victory. Junior Chris Bubernak and senior Calvin Delamere also scored in the period for Colorado.

“They went up three points early and for the rest of the time it seemed like they were in a pretty good groove and it was hard to break it,” said junior Zander Padget of the game with Texas. “It is tough when you are not playing your top 14 guys, but against Texas, that is a good game. The younger players got a lot of playing time at nationals at home, which is nice for the fans and family watching.”

Colorado will be hoping that everybody will be ready to go on Sunday against a tough Pitt team that has had CU’s number throughout the season. Schoettler said he doesn’t think a let down by his team is an issue and expects his squad to come out strong in the quarterfinals.

“Everybody knew coming into the Texas game that we had clinched,” Schoettler said. “We have had a lot of people who were injured and it was important for us to just give them the rest so tomorrow at 8:30 in the morning they are feeling fresh. I don’t think they will have any trouble to get fired up against whatever team we will see.”


Colorado Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Jim Schoettler
On Virginia being down after CU’s early upwind breaks—“Mentally, that is something that they had to get over and I don’t think they ever really recovered from.”

On the wind in the Virginia game—“We were a little bit surprise that Virginia didn’t throw it deep more, and they ended up turning the disc over close to their goal line a few times which gave us some easy scores. I think that made our job a little easier. We have great throwers so wind probably favors us in terms of skill level in getting the disc to move in the wind.”

On his plans for the Texas game—“We are in the quarterfinals, and the next game doesn’t matter at all for us. We are going to play hard, but we are going to rest a lot of our guys just because we are coming back from a lot of injuries and it will be a good opportunity for our younger guys to get some significant playing time.”

On the 17 game win streak—“We’ve done plenty of losing this year. I read that we had that win streak going someplace and I was sort of surprised. It is nice to have, but the losses are much more there in my mind then the wins. We are going to stay humble and we know that we are going to see some really good teams probably as early as the quarterfinals tomorrow.”

On losing to Texas—“These games are tough. We probably didn’t have as much offensive skill on the field and it is really hard to score without that. I thought our defense played solid. We didn’t have a lot of expectations for the game, just that we tried hard, and I think they were definitely out there trying hard and showing what we could do. We showed flashes of some good offensive work and that was promising. I’m not too disappointed.”

On mistakes near the goal line—“That is something we have to clean up. If we are within 15 yards of the end zone – we should be scoring those all of the time, 100 percent of the time. To the extent that we are not doing that is a major concern.”

On what he told his team after the Texas game—“Good work, take what you learn from this game. Also, I think we got better over the course of the game and the lesson there is let’s take teams out of what they want to do and we did that to some extent. We got a lot more D’s at the end of the game then we did at the beginning of the game, we just didn’t convert.”

On the usual starters being ready tomorrow”—These guys have been working at this all year so the fact that they didn’t play in the Texas game, I think can only help them.”

Senior Martin Freeman
On team’s day two performance—“Virginia we played well. We came out strong in an early game, which is good for us. We played them pretty tight and we got an early lead and we kind of just ran with it and defeated them pretty handily. Texas later in the day, we pretty much rested all of our starters. We played a deeper roster and those guys played pretty well. We had flashes of brilliance and some falters, but we got our young guys a lot of good experience.”

On playing at home in Boulder—“It’s nice. The sidelines are huge to get up for the games. We have tons of friends and family that we are playing in front of and tons of support. Just having the support is great.”

Junior Zander Padget
On possible let down in quarterfinals—“I don’t know about worry, but I think people know that we are going to take the warm up very seriously tomorrow. I think we’ve played together for so long that we understand how important it is to come out ready to go. I think we will be focused and ready. It’s a worry, but I think we are prepared for it.”




CU Men's Ultimate website: http://www.mamabird.com/

Friday, May 27, 2011

Five Men's Lacrosse Players Named to All-America Teams

BOULDER (5/27/11) - Five University of Colorado men’s lacrosse players were named 2011 All-Americans in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association. Seniors A.J. Blackburn, Ryan Burt and Tyler Padzik and sophomores Jack Cranston and Hap Knowles all received All-America honors.

Blackburn’s 39 goals and 21 assists earned him first team All-America accolades at attack. He was named a second team All-American in 2010 while picking up honorable mentions in 2008 and 2009. Blackburn was named to the All-Conference second team at attack in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference this season. He was named to the conference's first team the previous three years.

Cranston received second team All-America honors after scoring 21 goals and picking up six assists this season. Cranston, who was making his debut with the Buffs in 2011 after transferring from the University of Vermont, was also named first team All-Conference at midfield in the RMLC in 2011.

Defenseman Burt and long stick midfielder Knowles' excellent defensive play earned them third team All-America awards. Knowles and Burt finished one-two on the team in ground balls with Knowles scooping up 74 balls while Burt picked up 60. Also this season, Knowles was named first team All-Conference at LSM in the RMLC and was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. Burt was also named first team All-Conference at defense this season.

Padzik, one of the squad's four team captains, was an honorable mention All-American at defensive midfielder. He was also an All-Conference honorable mention in the RMLC this season as well.

Colorado finished the season at 11-6 and tenth in the MCLA Mag Adidas Poll after losing 10-9 to Boston College in the first round of the MCLA National Championships at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., on May 17.

Men's Ultimate Goes 2-0 after First Day of Nationals

BOULDER (5/27/11) - The No. 2 University of Colorado men's ultimate team Mamabird began the first day of the 2011 USA Ultimate College Championships the way they wanted to - with two wins.

Colorado will enter day two of pool play on Saturday at 2-0 after picking up a 13-9 win over No. 27 Stanford and a 15-8 victory over No. 5 Oregon on Friday at the Pleasant View Sports Complex in north Boulder.

The victories improve the Buffaloes win streak to 16 games and their overall record to 31-7 in 2011. Colorado will play two more tough opponents on Saturday as they will face No. 10 Virginia at 10:30 a.m. and No. 16 Texas at 2:30 p.m.

If CU finishes as the top team in Pool B, the Buffs will earn a first round bye in the championship bracket and will play in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. If Colorado finishes second or third, they will play in the championship first round on Saturday at 5 p.m. Only the top three teams from each pool advance to the championship bracket and Colorado only needs one more win to secure a berth in the bracket.

The Buffs are looking for their second ever national championship as their only title victory came in 2004.

On Wednesday, four Colorado men's ultimate team members earned awards as senior Matt Zemel was named to the All-South Central Region first team while seniors Jack McShane and Hylke Snieder and sophomore Jimmy Mickle earned second team honors in the region. Two CU women's ultimate team members also picked up awards as seniors Shannon Waugh and Katie Anarde were both named to the region's first team.




CU Men's Ultimate website: http://www.mamabird.com/

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Men's Ultimate Prepares for National Championships in Boulder

BOULDER, Colo. (4/24/11) - The University of Colorado men's ultimate team "Mamabird" will look to win the program's second ever national championship this weekend.

The Buffaloes will compete against 19 of the best teams in the country at the 2011 USA Ultimate College Championships beginning Friday and going through Monday at the Pleasant View Sports Complex in north Boulder.

"We are a better and deeper team this year," said CU head coach Jim Schoettler. "We will be playing on our own turf here in Boulder. Anything short of a national title will be a significant disappointment."

Colorado's only championship came in 2004, and the Buffs will have to get through some tough competition on the first two days of the event in order to advance out of pool play and win the school's second national title. CU will begin play on Friday at 8:30 a.m. against Stanford before playing Oregon later in the day at 12:30 p.m. The Buffs will start Saturday's competition against Virginia at 10:30 a.m. and will play Texas at 2:30 p.m.

The top two teams from each pool will advance to the championship bracket on Sunday and Monday. If the Buffs, who are the top seed in Pool B, finish as the top team in the pool, they will play in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 8:30 a.m., but if they finish second, they will play on Saturday in the pre-quarters at 5 p.m.

The semifinals will be held on Sunday afternoon and the championship game will be on Monday at 2 p.m.

Colorado is coming off of a great performance at the South Central Regional Tournament on May 7-8 where they went 7-0, and did it without starters Timmy Beatty, Matty Zemel and David Barnes. The Buffaloes are 29-7 this season and are on a 14 game winning streak. Their last loss came on Mar. 20 in a close 15-13 defeat to Pittsburgh.

Schoettler said his team's chemistry is what makes this 2010-11 Mamabird squad special.

"Our team is a family," Schoettler said. "This year, the guys have become closer than any other team I've coached. They are a great group of young men, and I expect they will put on quite a show at the championships."

The Ultimate College Championships will air on the CBS Sports Network as part of their Alt Games coverage. The national championships will be broadcasted on June 24 at 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., June 25 at noon and 1 p.m. and June 26 at 1 p.m. The championship games will air on July 15 at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. For a complete on-air schedule, go to: http://www.cbscollegesports.com/thealtgames/thumbs/altgames_airdate.pdf.

The Pleasant View Sports Complex is managed by Boulder Parks and Recreation and is located at 3805 47th Street in Boulder. The complex was the home field for the University of Colorado women's soccer team until 2002.

Colorado's Pool Play Schedule
Friday May 27th
8:30 a.m. vs. Stanford
12:30 p.m. vs. Oregon

Saturday May 28th
10:30 a.m. vs. Virginia 10:30 a.m.
2:30 p.m. vs. Texas
5 p.m. - If CU finishes second in pool


CU Men’s Ultimate website: http://www.mamabird.com/

Crew Heads to Championship Regatta

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (5/24/11) – The University of Colorado crew team will head to the 2011 American Collegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta on Saturday and Sunday at Lake Lanier.

The men's team will be looking for their first national championship at the same course that held the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic competition. The women's rowing team won a national championship in 2009.

Colorado’s results at nationals will determine where the team will ultimately finish in the final rankings. The Buffs’ women’s varsity team finished fifth in 2010 while the men’s varsity squad finished tenth last year.

CU witnessed a coaching change midseason which resulted in Adam Swetlik becoming the program director and the new men’s head coach. Swetlik spent four years as a CU rower and was a team captain in 2010.

During nationals, the Buffaloes will once again be led by a strong women’s squad that includes four graduating seniors. One of the seniors has been invited to participate at an Olympic training camp in Oklahoma City.

Members of the Crew team are one of the most dedicated student-athletes on campus as they train five days a week at Boulder Reservoir at 6 a.m. During the winter months, the rowers continue to train indoors at CU’s rowing training facility inside the Student Recreation Center on the Boulder campus.

The CU crew team also volunteered at Boulder Reservoir last fall during the Four Mile Fire.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Cycling Hosts Community Summer Short Track Series Every Wednesday

BOULDER (5/19/11) – The University of Colorado cycling team will once again host the Summer Short Track Series every Wednesday beginning on May 25 at the CU East Campus Research Park.

The short track races are timed events in which competitors race mountain bikes on a closed course. Racers of all ages and abilities are welcome to come and compete, from beginners to pros and from children to adults.

Racers may register on the day of the event beginning at 4:30 p.m. for $15 or pre-register online at PreRace.com for $13. Competitors can also register for all 12 summer races for $130.

Racing begins at 5 p.m. with a free 10 minute kids race followed by the Women’s B and Junior Females event at 5:15 p.m. Men’s C and Junior Males hit the track at 5:40 p.m. while Men’s B and Single Speed start at 6:05 p.m. Race day concludes with Women’s A at 6:35 p.m. and Men’s A at 7:15 p.m.

Prizes will be awarded and cash payouts will be given to the overall series winner in each category.

For more information, go online to shorttrack.cucycling.com or cucycling.com, or email cucyclingshorttrack@gmail.com.

The races will take place at 4001 Discovery Drive in Boulder.


Race Day Schedule
4:30 p.m. – Registration begins
5:00 p.m. – Kid’s Race
5:15 p.m. – Women’s B and Junior Females (20 minutes)
5:40 p.m. – Men’s C and Junior Males (20 minutes)
6:05 p.m. – Men’s B and Single Speed (25 minutes)
6:35 p.m. – Women’s A (25 minutes)
7:15 p.m. – Men’s A (30 minutes)

Boston College Holds Off Men's Lacrosse at MCLA National Championships

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (5/17/11) – The No. 7 seeded University of Colorado men’s lacrosse team lost in a 10-9 nail-biter to the No. 10 Boston College Eagles at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Tuesday night.

The loss ends CU’s season with an 11-6 record. The win advances the Boston College Eagles to the quarter finals against the Colorado State Rams and improves their record to 12-4 on the year.
The first quarter belonged to the Eagles who jumped out to an early 5-1 lead thanks to two goals by their star senior Christian Falco.

The Buffaloes rallied in the second quarter, scoring three straight goals. Senior Colin Rosenblum ended a fifteen minute scoring drought for the Buffs in the second quarter. Soon after, sophomore sensation Matt White scored to cut the deficit to 5-3. Boston College took a timeout to stop the Buffs momentum. The timeout appeared to be successful, but then with 10 seconds left in the half, Senior AJ Blackburn ripped a goal to bring the Buffs to within one of the Eagles going into halftime.

The third quarter was a disaster for Colorado. Will Forsyth, a BC football and lacrosse player, quickly ended the Buffs three goal run. The Eagles then continued to go on a run of their own and ended the third quarter with a commanding 9-4 lead.

Alex Prostano scored his third goal of the game to give BC a seemingly insurmountable 10-4 lead to start out the fourth quarter. Sophomore Jack Cranston scored with 10:19 remaining in the fourth to stop Boston College’s 5 goal run. Almost immediately after Cranston’s goal Blackburn scored. Soon after Blackburn’s goal sophomore Tyler Dougherty scored, cutting the lead to 10-7. The electricity in the stadium was beginning to grow as CU scored again cutting the lead to 10-8. BC took another timeout hoping that it would slow the Buffs momentum as their first timeout had accomplished. With 5:34 left Cranston struck again cutting the lead to 10-9. The crowd was going crazy. As time began to dwindle down CU had one last chance. Senior AJ Blackburn made a terrific move and got himself a good look at a wrap-around goal. He ripped the shot, but Boston College goalie Nick Shea made a great save.

Dougherty, Cranston and Blackburn led the Buffs with two goals each. University of Denver transfer Dane Mueller also scored. Sophomore goalie Brad Macnee was critical to the buffs comeback, only allowing one goal in the fourth quarter.

Boston College will advance to the quarterfinals to take on Colorado State May 18 at 4 p.m.

Men's Lacrosse Not Overlooking BC

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (5/16/11) – The University of Colorado men’s lacrosse team will begin their quest for their first national championship tomorrow at 7 p.m. against Boston College at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park complex.

If the No. 7 seeded Buffaloes (11-5) defeat the BC Eagles, they will then likely play No. 2 seed Colorado State in the quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon. The Rams play No. 15 Minnesota-Duluth on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

While the possible matchup with CSU looms, CU head coach Mike Ryder said his team’s focus is on BC.

“We’ve played CSU so many times this season that we don’t really have to prepare for them,” Ryder said. “We’re focused on our game with Boston College.”

The Buffs and the Rams have played twice this season, and both times Colorado State squeaked out a one goal victory. The two team’s first matchup came on Apr. 16 at the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown at INVESCO Field at Mile High in which the Buffs came back from an 8-3 halftime deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter, but ended up losing 9-8. The two state rivals second matchup came on May 6 in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference Semifinals in which CU jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter, but this time it was CSU who had the comeback and won from four straight goals in the second half.

Ryder said that in both games and in CU’s three other losses during the year, the offense got out of a rhythm while their opponent went on a big run. He said his offense is the best it’s been all season and can beat the top caliber teams like No. 10 Boston College and No. 2 Colorado State.

“We feel that if we can get the ball in our offense’s hands when other teams start to go on runs, that will kind of shut them down and give us a couple of goals to help finish off some of those top teams,” Ryder said.

Colorado holds a 2-0 all-time advantage against Boston College (11-4), with both games having been decided in overtime. Their most recent meeting came on Apr. 22 of this season in which the Buffs pulled out a 10-9 victory after sophomore Jack Cranston scored in the second overtime.

Ryder calls Cranston, a transfer-student from NCAA D-I Vermont, one of the best athletes on the field in any game.

“When he is running past guys with short sticks or guys with long poles, it really opens a lot of other guys as well,” Ryder said. “He is such a good athlete and he is not a liability on the defensive end.”

One of his teammates he has opened up this year is senior attackman A.J. Blackburn, who had his best statistical year since his 62-point sophomore campaign in 2009. Through 15 games this season, Blackburn has scored 27 goals and has added 21 assists for 58 points. Blackburn, who already holds the team record for goals, assists and points, will likely break his 2009 mark this week at nationals.
Tuesday’s Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association first round game against Boston College will begin at 7 p.m. MDT at Field 12 of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park complex. CollegeLax.us will provide live video and blog of the game on their website.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Men's Lacrosse Nationals game with BC to be Broadcasted Live on CollegeLax

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (5/12/11) – The Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association National Championships first round game between No. 7 University of Colorado and No. 11 Boston College will be broadcasted live online at CollegeLax.us.

The game will begin at 7 p.m. MDT on Tuesday May 17 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park’s Field 12 with Ron Knabenbauer and Mike Brand, the head coach for men’s lacrosse at Centenary College of Louisiana, having the call.

Colorado comes in with an 11-5 overall record while Boston College is 11-4 this season. The Buffaloes defeated the Eagles 9-8 in double overtime earlier this year in Boston

Seven other MCLA D-I and D-II first round games will be broadcasted on Tuesday. The games will be Missouri Baptist vs. St John’s, Grand Valley State vs. Sam Houston State, SCAD vs. North Dakota State, Davenport vs. Utah Valley, Minnesota-Duluth vs. Colorado State, BYU vs. UC Santa Barbara and Florida State vs. Michigan State.

Along with video broadcasts of the majority of the national championship games, CollegeLax will also have live game blogs of every D-I and D-II tournament game on their website.

About CollegeLax

CollegeLAX is a private lacrosse website that exists to promote and primarily cover the MCLA, affectionally called the largest lacrosse league in the world. The site previously existed as USLIA.com and it has existed in one form or another since the spring of 1998. CollegeLAX continues to offers timely information including MCLA scores, top 25 polls, statistics, schedules, team news releases, selected game photographs and active message forums. Thousands of players, coaches, parents, alumni and fans from across the country visit the CollegeLAX website each week.

About the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association

The Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA), the national organization of men’s collegiate club teams, was formed in 2006 to provide more direct attention to collegiate club lacrosse and a quality college lacrosse experience where varsity lacrosse does not yet exist. The MCLA consists of over 200 teams from across the United States, separated into two divisions and 10 conferences.

Men's Hockey Announces New Coaching Staff for 2011-12 Season

BOULDER (5/12/11) – The University of Colorado men’s hockey team is pleased to announce that Shawn Sullivan has been named the new head coach of the Buffaloes for the 2011-12 season.

Sullivan has spent the past three seasons as the head coach of CU’s division-III team, where he led the JV Buffs to the national championship tournament each year and a ninth place finish last season. He is a former Colorado player and was the team captain when the D-III team won the 2005 national championship.

He replaces Ken Fikis, who was relieved of his head coaching duties after CU went 16-11-1-2 last season and lost in the first round of the ACHA West Regional Tournament in February. Fikis, who was in his second stint with Colorado and previously coached the 2003 D-II championship squad, went 60-33-2-2 (.631) in his three years in Boulder.

Joining Sullivan will be Jon Pfeiff, another former CU player. Pfeiff spent three years with the program and was the division-II team president during the 2007-08 season. For the past two seasons, he has been on Sullivan’s D-III staff as an assistant coach.

Both Sullivan and Pfeiff are intent on bringing a competitive, physical style of hockey to the program, as well as a tradition of excellence.

Also, former general manager Everett Pfeiff, Jon’s father, will be returning to the same position next season as well. Everett spent five years with the D-II team before retiring in 2009. He has spent the past two seasons as a consultant for the division-III squad.

Tryouts for Colorado’s D-II and D-III 2011-12 teams will be from Aug. 30 to Sept. 10 at the CU Ice Arena. The Buffs will play their first preseason game on Sept. 16 against Colorado State at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Men's Lacrosse Earns No. 7 Seed for Nationals in Denver, To Play Boston College First

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (5/8/11) – The Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association announced on Sunday evening that the University of Colorado men’s lacrosse team will be the seventh seed for the 2011 National Championships at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on May 17-21.

Colorado, who earned one of the six at-large bids to nationals, will play Boston College, the number 10 seed, in the first round on Tuesday May 17 at 7 p.m. at the outer fields of the stadium. If the Buffaloes defeat the Eagles, CU will play either No. 2 Colorado State or No. 15 Minnesota-Duluth on Wednesday May 18.

The Michigan Wolverines are once again the number one seed and will be going for their fourth straight national championship before they move to NCAA division-I next season.

The Buffs currently have an 11-5 overall record and are coming off of a 9-8 heartbreak loss on Friday to CSU in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference Semifinals. In the game with the Rams, CU jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first five minutes, but CSU slowly clawed their way back into the contest and scored the final four goals to advance to the conference championship game. Colorado State went on to defeat Brigham Young University in the championship game for their second straight conference title.

Overall, the RMLC got three teams into the division-I tournament with CSU and BYU joining the Buffs. The conference also got three teams in for the division-II tournament, with Westminster College, Northern Colorado and last year’s D-II runner up, Utah Valley, all gaining bids.

CU holds a 2-0 all-time record against Boston College and defeated them this season on Apr. 22 in Boston. In that game, CU won 9-8 in double overtime with sophomore Jack Cranston scoring the game winning goal. The loss for the Eagles at the time ended a seven game win streak.

BC is currently 11-4 this year and is coming off of a 5-3 defeat to the Buffalo Bulls in the Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League championship game on Sunday.

The MCLA National Semifinals will take place on Friday May 20 while the championship game will be on Saturday May 21. Both games will be played inside the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park stadium, which is home to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. This is the third straight year that the MCLA has hosted the national championship tournament at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

About the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association
The Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA), the national organization of men’s collegiate club teams, was formed in 2006 to provide more direct attention to collegiate club lacrosse and a quality college lacrosse experience where varsity lacrosse does not yet exist. The MCLA consists of over 200 teams from across the United States, separated into two divisions and 10 conferences.