2008: A Year of Champions

UB fans will remember 2008 for a long time

Football Celebrates MAC Title

BUFFALO, NY - 2008 could arguably be the most successful year the University at Buffalo athletic department has ever seen. The football team had an incredible season; exceeding expectations of many, to win its first ever Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship and a chance to play in its first ever bowl game. But the football team was not the only success story of 2008, as the women’s tennis and rowing teams, amongst other individual winners, also brought home championships.

Last spring, women’s tennis became the first UB squad to win a MAC team championship when they defeated Western Michigan, 4-3, in the championship match at UB’s University Tennis Club. The Bulls rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win the final three singles matches. The Bulls were one of 64 teams selected to play in the 2008 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships, falling to eventual national champion UCLA in the first round. During the fall tournament season, the Bulls made their best ever showing at the ITA Eastern Regional Championships with a doubles team being one of four teams to make the semifinals and an individual becoming the second singles player to make it through to the quarterfinals. The Bulls were also honored as the Best College Sports Team in the Best of Western New York issue of the Buffalo Spree.

Last May, UB’s rowing team won the team title at the Dad Vail Regatta, North America’s largest rowing regatta. The Bulls earned the prestigious Jack & Nancy Seitz Trophy by placing four boats in the finals, more than any other school at the event, and posted some top results at one of the most competitive regattas in the country.

Buffalo divers Meili Carpenter and Michael McDowell represented UB Swimming and Diving at the NCAA National Swimming and Diving Championships. Carpenter was the first female to represent UB at the national meet, while McDowell was the first male diver to represent UB at the national meet.

MAC Champion Women's Tennis Team

Other individual 2008 MAC champions include Patrice Coney from women’s outdoor track, who won the MAC heptathlon championship last spring for the second consecutive year. Vanessa Roelofsen, also from the women’s outdoor track team, won the MAC javelin title for the second year in a row and competed in the NCAA National Outdoor Championship for the second time in the last three seasons.

In indoor track, Tina Villa won the MAC title in the shot put.

UB’s swimming team saw success as Andrea Lehner won the MAC 100-yard backstroke, the first UB women’s swimmer to win a MAC individual title since 2005, and Zach Ruske took three MAC titles (200 IM, 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke) at the combined MAC/Sun Belt Men’s Swim Championships.

The Cinderella Story of 2008 is UB’s football team, who went from worst to first in just three years. UB not only won the MAC East Division title for the first time since joining the conference, but also beat nationally ranked Ball State to claim the overall MAC title. On top of that, UB accepted an invitation to play in the International Bowl in Toronto. The bowl bid is the second in Buffalo’s 94 years of collegiate football, but will mark the first invitation that is accepted. The 1958 Bulls were initially invited to play in the Tangerine Bowl against Florida State, but later turned down the bowl bid when it was learned that two of Buffalo’s African-American players would not be allowed to compete against white players at the game site.

Rowing prevails at the Dad Vails

Buffalo’s season was full of dramatic but exciting wins, as the Bulls tied a Division I-A record with four overtime games, earning three victories in those contests, including a 40-34 double overtime win at Bowling Green to lock up the MAC East title. Six of Buffalo’s games this year were decided on the game’s final snap.

The victory over 12th-ranked Ball State was a perfect way to cap off the impressive season. The win was the first-ever over a Top 25 team, as Buffalo recovered a pair of third-quarter fumbles and returned them for scores to stun Ball State in a 42-24 victory. The championship was Buffalo's first-ever conference title at the Division I level and finished an incredible three-year transformation. The Bulls will face Big-East opponent UConn at the International Bowl on January 3 to kick off Buffalo’s 2009 athletic campaign, which can hopefully live up to the success of 2008.