Buffalo State College honors its best : Buffalo Sports Daily

Buffalo State College honors its best

Posted on May 4, 2010 by Buffalo State Press Report

The Buffalo State Department of Intercollegiate Athletics recognized its major award winners last nigiht at its annual awards banquet on campus at the Social Hall in the Campbell Student Union.

Top honors went to Nicole Sabuda (Orchard Park/Orchard Park) and Willie Hordge (Houston, TX/Forrestbrook), who received the Ruth Houston and Hube Coyer Awards for outstanding career athletic accomplishments by female and male athletes, respectively. Sabuda also took home the Bengal Award for Female Athlete of the Year.

Sabuda closed out her outstanding career by leading the Bengals to a SUNYAC Championship and to within just one game of advancing to the program’s first College World Series. In 2009, Sabuda was a first team All-NFCA All-American, SUNYAC Co-Player of the Year, All-SUNYAC and MVP of the SUNYAC Tournament. She was second on the team with a .331 batting average and 37 RBIs. She also led the team with 11 doubles and hit six home runs. In addition to playing almost every position on the field, she posted a team-best 14-2 record as a pitcher with a 1.81 ERA and 81 strikeouts. For her career, she finished with a .298 batting average, 34 doubles, 15 home runs, 101 RBIs. In the circle, she was 43-13 with a 1.63 ERA with 10 shutouts and 210 strikeouts. A two-time All-SUNYAC and All-Region honoree, she ranks in the following school record categories: 151 at-bats in a single season (3rd), 57 pitching starts (3rd), 43 pitching wins (3rd), and 10 shutouts (3rd).

Hordge, a two-time national champion in outdoor track and field, won the 100 and 200-meter dashes at the 2007 NCAA Championships. He was a seven-time SUNYAC Champion and four-time New York State Champion. Willie also picked up a third All-America distinction, placing fourth in the 55-meter dash at the 2007 indoor championships, and was the 2007 Outdoor SUNYAC and State Runner of the Year. He also played two seasons of football. After playing defensive back in 2008, he emerged as the starting running back in 2009, with 131 carries for 607 yards and 10 touchdowns (4.6 yards/carry), and had 13 catches for 78 yards.

Buffalo State College

The Bengal Awards for Male Athlete of the Year was presented to men’s basketball player Antonio Samedi (St. Albans/Queens Vocational). The senior center finished the season ranked third in the nation in blocked shots (3.5 per-game) and fourth in field goal percentage (65.6%). An All-SUNYAC honorable mention selection, he also finished among the league leaders, averaging 13.5 points and 7.6 rebounds-per-game. He set school records for blocks in a game (10), season (78) and career (177), and recorded a rare triple-double in a game against D’Youville with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks.

Football player Eddie Weiser (Grand Island/Grand Island) and women’s lacrosse player Karen Shaddock (Corning/Corning East) earned the Male and Female First-Year Athlete of the Year Award, respectively.

Weiser was named the ECAC Southeast and New Jersey Athletic Conference Defensive Rookie of the Year as a linebacker. He was second on the team with 79 tackles, including 30 stops, and led the Bengals with four interceptions. He also registered a sack and a forced fumble. He was a four-time NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week selection.

Shaddock became Buffalo State’s first-ever women’s lacrosse All-American during her rookie campaign in 2009, garnering third team honors from WomensLacrosse.com. Also named first team All-SUNYAC and All-Empire Region, she was also named SUNYAC Rookie of the Year. She scored 49 goals and led the nation with 74 assists, setting a new school record for points in a season with 123. A two-time SUNYAC Player of the Week, she helped the Bengals to their best-ever season with a 16-2 record and their first-ever appearance in the SUNYAC Championship game.

Jenna Frieling (E. Amherst/Williamsville North) and Nate Culver (Chemung/Waverly) claimed the Alumni Scholar Athlete Awards, given annually to the graduating female and male student-athlete with the highest grade point averages.

Frieling, an exceptional and elementary education major with a 3.88 GPA, has twice been honored on the SUNYAC All-Academic Softball Team and has also received Commissioner’s List distinction. A member of Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in the field of education, the pitcher ranks third in Buffalo State history with 257 career strikeouts.

Culver, an art education major with a 3.85 GPA, ran for four seasons on the Bengals’ cross country team and also competed with the track & field team during his four years at Buffalo State. He was a four-time member of the SUNYAC All-Academic Team and a three-time Commissioner’s List honoree. He scored in five of the seven cross country meets this season, including placing 76th at the 2009 SUNYAC Championships.

The Golden Bengal Award, which recognizes the member of the college community who goes beyond his or her job description to assist the athletics department, went to Chuck Newman, a librarian in the Butler Library.

The following is a list of the 2009-10 Buffalo State Athletics teams Most Valuable Players:

Men’s Basketball: Antonio Samedi (St. Albans/Queens Vocational)

Women’s Basketball: Staci McElroy (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs)

Cheerleading: Katie Guyer (Badwinsville/CW Baker)

Men’s Cross Country: James Wangelin (E. Otto/West Valley)

Women’s Cross Country: Amber Cioffi (Esperance/Duanesburg)

Football (Offense): Ben Mauer (Corning/Corning East)

Football (Defense): Eddie Weiser (Grand Island/Grand Island)

Football (Special Teams): Nick Debbins (Lancaster/Lancaster)

Men’s Ice Hockey: Nicholas Petriello (St. Catharines, ON/Holy Cross)

Women’s Ice Hockey: Alyssa Koniar (New Berlin, WI/Univ. School of Milwaukee)

Women’s Lacrosse: Jen Tierney (Corning/Corning East)