Alumni Corner
9/2/2008 8:00:00 AM | General
Sept. 2, 2008
Welcome to the Alumni Corner! This "blog" serves to pass along news and items of interest regarding Bucknell Athletics alumni. It will be updated year-round as news comes to the attention of the Bucknell Office of Athletic Communications.
Submissions are welcome. Please use the "Feedback" link at the bottom of the page to contribute.
October 21, 2010
Sad news today as Bucknel Hall of Famer John Chironna '55 has passed away at the age of 82 after a long battle with cancer. John captained the Bison football and baseball teams in his senior year, and he was a three-time All-East selection on the gridiron, where he played guard. He was part of Bucknell's undefeated 1951 football team, and also hit .369 as a senior in baseball. John was later named to the Bucknell All-Century footlball team. After graduation, he went on to a very successful high school coaching career in Morristown, N.J.
October 6, 2010
The Florence (S.C.) Morning News has a mention today about former Bucknell cross country and track & field standout David White '83 being named chairman of the Department of Political Science and Geography at Francis Marion University. Later this month, David will be inducted into the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame.
October 5, 2010
As part of the Patriot League's 20th anniversary celebration, the PL staff conducted Q&A's with many of the outstanding alumni from around the league. Representing Bucknell are two Hall of Famers, women's soccer's Lisa Gibbons King '95 and men's lacrosse's Justin Zackey '94. Bucknell fans should also check out the Q&A with former Colgate basketball star Tucker Neale, particularly his response to the question, "If you could go back to college and compete one more time, where would it be and against whom?" We're pretty sure Tucker's favorite memories of Davis Gym also include the night in '94 when he dropped 45 on the Bison, tying Al Leslie's facility record.
September 26, 2010
Congratulations to Conor O'Brien '10, who scored his first professional goal yesterday. Conor is playing for Blokhus FC in Denmark, and his 66th-minute header ignited a rally from 2-0 down. Conor's goal made it 2-1, then his teammate Peter Tranberg scored in the 93rd minute to earn a 2-2 draw. Blokhus FC is off to a great start, currently sitting at the top of the table with a 5-0-3 record in Denmark's Division 2 West league. The team plays Skovbakken on Saturday.
September 21, 2010
Congrats to Bucknell Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Gibbon '85, who has been elected to the Hazleton Area Sports Hall of Fame. Bob was the Bison's starting quarterback in 1983 and 1984 and earned Little All-America honorable mention at the conclusion of both seasons. He set 13 school passing records, including the career completion percentage mark of .604, and he was named team MVP both years. He still ranks among Bucknell's all-time leaders in career passing (3895) and total offense (3947), and he became the first QB in school history to have a 300-yard passing game when he threw for 323 against Columbia in 1983.
September 20, 2010
For Bison basketball fans, the new comedy series "Mike & Molly" that debuted on CBS tonight might have featured a familiar face. Former Bucknell hoopster HERE.
September 3, 2010 Yesterday's Toronto Sun included a nice feature on Kevin Eiben '01, written by Bill Lankhof. Eiben is about to play in his 150th regular-season game for the Toronto Argonauts. September 2, 2010 The Bucknell Office of Communications penned this piece on Dan Richards '78 and his English Channel conquest. "Nothing prepares you for that feeling as you stand up on those rocks," said Dan, who began serving on the University's Board of Trustees in July. Dan and his wife, Chris Peterjohn Richards '76, are both former Bison swimmers, and they made the lead gift to endow the Bucknell water polo program in honor of Hall of Fame coach Dick Russell. September 1, 2010 Germany is 1-3 at the FIBA World Championships in Turkey, and former Bison star Chris McNaughton '07 has been getting playing time for his national team. Chris' best game so far game in an 82-81 double-overtime win over Serbia, when he scored 12 points in 26 minutes. Germany wraps up group play tomorrow against Jordan at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time. The games can be seen on ESPN3.com. August 29, 2010 The St. Louis Cardinals might be fading in the NL Central pennant race, but one member of the Cardinals AA team in Springfield is having a terrific year. Jason Buursma '08 has made 34 relief appearances since being promoted to AA early in the season, and he is 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA. In 54.2 innings he has yielded only 34 hits, striking out 26 while walking only eight. Opponents are hitting only .179 against him, and righthanders are hitting a paltry .146 against the submariner. August 14, 2010 Bucknell Athletics Hall of Famer Gene Hubka '47 was the subject of a feature story in Inside Pennsylvania magazine (click HERE for an excerpt). Gene came to Bucknell as part of the U.S. Navy's V-12 officer training program, and he was a stellar two-sport athlete in football and baseball. On the gridiron he played quarterback and halfback, punted and returned punts. He later spent one memorable season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Gene still lives in the Lewisburg area and is a regular at Bison sporting events. August 12, 2010 This story in The Weekender in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., reflects on Christy Mathewson as the Christy Mathewson Days celebration kicks off today and runs through Saturday at Keystone College and Factoryville, Pa. August 11, 2010 Conor O'Brien's is officially 1-0 as a professional soccer player, as his Blokus FC side defeated Aars FC 2-0 last night in a Danish FA Cup game. Conor played all 90 minutes in the midfield and according to match reports generated some quality chances. August 9, 2010 Former Bison soccer star Conor O'Brien '10 has joined Danish club Blokhus FC. Conor could make his pro debut as soon as Tuesday when Blokhus plays a Danish FA Cup match. August 4, 2010 This BucknellBison.com article capsulizes some summer alumni news surrounding the men's basketball program, including Patrick Behan '10 sigining with a pro team in Germany and John Griffin '08 joining the Indiana Pacers organization. July 26, 2010 Kevin Eiben '01 keeps on rolling for the Toronto Argonauts of the Candian Football League. A British Columbia native who was a two-sport star in football and baseball at Bucknell, Kevin has carved out a terrific pro career with the Argos. So far in 2010 he has helped his team to a 3-1 start, including a 27-24 win over Calgary last week in which he had two interceptions. Kevin leads the team with 26 tackles through four games, and he is the No. 2 tackler in team history. July 23, 2010 Congrats to former Bison hoopster Matt Quinn '04, who has been named head basketball coach at Winchendon School in Massachusetts. Winchendon is a basketball powerhouse. The team went 401-131 over the previous 14 years under coach Mike Byrnes, producing numerous Division I players along the way. Matt had been the associate head coach at his alma mater, St. Thomas More, under his father Jere Quinn. July 22, 2010 Sid Jamieson passed along this link to a Trenton Times feature on an inner-city lacrosse club, coached by former Bison lax player Ken Foulk '82. Ken was a midfielder under coach Jamieson at Bucknell, and like many lax alumni he still has a hand in the game. July 20, 2010 In the last entry we mentioned Dan Richards '78 was preparing to swim the English Channel. Well today he made it! Dan swam from Dover to Calais in an unofficial time of 12 hours, 32 minutes. Congratulatons! July 9, 2010 Best of luck to former Bison swimmer Dan Richards '78 as he prepares to swim the English Channel later this month. His brother Scott has already crossed the English Channel, and if Dan is successful they will become only the second set of siblings ever to accomplish the feat. An avid openwater swimmer, Dan completed the Catalina Channel in 2008. Dan and his wife, Chris Peterjohn Richards '76, who was also a varsity swimmer at Bucknell, provided the lead gift to endow the Bison men's and women's water polo programs in honor of their fromer coach Dick Russell last summer. July 6, 2010 Congrats to Andrew Copelan '03, the head men's lacrosse coach at Fairfield, who recently signed a contract extension through 2015. Andy has led the Stags to two straight winning seasons, and in 2010 his team finished 8-6 with an upset victory over third-ranked and eventual national finalist Notre Dame. He was formerly head coach at Marist, where he was the youngest head coach in the nation, as well as an assistant at Maryland before taking the Fairfield head post. June 21, 2010 The Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader has a story today on former Bison baseball star Jason Buursma '08, who is now pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals AA affiliate. Jason's pitching coach is former Major Leaguer Dennis Martinez, and in 11 appearances since being promoted to AA, he is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA. June 18, 2010 Bison Club director Todd Newcomb passed along greetings from Ashley McNaughton, wife of former Bison hoopster Chris McNaughton '07. Ashley and Chris have their own Website that is choc full of news, photos and video clips. The highlight was Chris' German Bundesliga team, Goettingen, winning the Eurochallenge tournament. Chris had 22 points and five rebounds in 15 minutes of action in the championship game, an 83-75 win over Russian club Krasnye Krylia. June 15, 2010 Former Bison and current Colorado Rockies pitcher Matt Daley '04 is the subject of an MLB.com Father's Day Q&A. Matt talks about the lessons he has learned from his father, John. June 12, 2010 Do you have World Cup fever? Did you know that the president of the U.S. Soccer Federation is a Bucknell graduate? That's right, Sunil Gulati '81 is arguably the most influential man in American soccer, and he today he was the subject of this feature in the Wall Street Journal. June 7, 2010 Former Bison hoops standout J.R. Holden '98 helped lead his CSKA Moscow team to yet another Russian Superleague championship this week. CSKA Moscow swept all three playoff series, including a whitewash of Khmiki in the championship series. Of note, the finals featured a pair of players from the 2005 Kansas team that Bucknell defeated in the NCAA Tournament. Center Sasha Kaun is a teammate of Holden's with CSKA Moscow, while guard Keith Langford is one of Khimky's top players. This season J.R. averaged 10.8 points per game and led CSKA in minutes played. June 3, 2010 Former Bucknell hoops standout (and Hall of Famer) Bill Courtney '92 was recently named head coach at Cornell, where he takes over a Big Red team that went to the Sweet 16 a year ago. ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil penned this piece on Bill as he begins his first head coaching opportunity. June 2, 2010 Former Bison assistant men's basketball coach has\ been\ promoted to assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma. Bryan had been the Sooners' director of basketball operations since 2006-07. He was on the bench for Bucknell's Patriot League championships and NCAA Tournament wins in 2005 and 2006.
May 30, 2010 This Los Angeles Times story profiles Eddie Frierson, one of the foremost authorities on the life of Christy Mathewson, one of Bucknell's most famous alumni. Frierson's one-man play, "Matty: An Evening with Christy Mathewson," has drawn rave reviews for years. May 30, 2010 Many baseball fans are familiar with the popular board game Strat-O-Matic, which uses dice and statistical cards to simulate baseball games. Did you know that the game was invented by a Bucknellian? Hal Richman '58 first came up with the concept as an 11-year-old, and he continued to perfect it as a mathematics major at Bucknell. Hal is the subject of a Q&A in today's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. May 5, 2010 Bison men's golf coach Jim Cotner sent along news of the passing of Alex Alexander '43. A baseball player and golfer at Bucknell, Alex founded the B.C. Open, a PGA Tour event played in Endicott, N.Y., from 1971 to 1996. The 2005 winner was Lewisburg native Jason Bohn, who is still a regular on the PGA Tour and picked up his second career win two weeks ago at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. March 25, 2010 Congrats to J.R. Holden '98, who has been named to the Euroleague All-Decade Team. Holden's story has been well-told through the years. He has been a pro overseas since graduating from Bucknell, and since 2002 has starred on one of the top European teams, CSKA Moscow in Russia. Holden has even become a Russian citizen and led the national team to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Check out Holden's All-Decade Team profile and this five-minute video interview on Euroleague.net. March 25, 2010 This is not news on a Bison alum, but instead on a former coach. Lynn Kachmarik, a former coach of Bucknell's men's and women's water polo and men's and women's swimming and diving teams, was recently named the Vice President and General Manager of the South Bend Silver Hawks Minor League Baseball Team. The Silver Hawks are a Class A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. March 22, 2010 This story from the San Jose Mercury News profiles former Bison swimmer and water polo player Antonio Lannes '98. Antonio will be inducted into the Los Gatos High School Hall of Fame on May 1. At Bucknell, Antionio captained both the water polo and swimming and diving teams, and he won the Albert E. Humphreys Award, presented to the top multi-sport athlete in his class. March 1, 2010 Congrats to former Bison hoopster John Griffin '08, who just signed with Inter Bratislava in Slovakia. John had an outstanding season in Germany last year (he was the Bundesliga Pro B Player of the Year for Crailsheim), but in the final few weeks of the season suffered an ACL injury. He has worked hard to rehab the knee, and perhaps buoyed by a 37-point effort in the Bucknell alumni game last month, is back in pro ball. Inter Bratislava plays in the top league in Slovakia and currently stands in eighth place with a 14-19 record. February 5, 2010 With just a couple of weeks until pitchers and catchers report for spring training, MLB.com caught up with former Bison hurler Matt Daley '04. A nice feature was written by Thomas Harding on the upcoming second-year major leaguer. Daley was recently back at Bucknell to help out with one of the baseball team's clinics. Check out a video recap of the clinic and an interview with Daley HERE. February 4, 2010 Die-hard baseball fans in search of a winter fix should tune into the Caribbean Series, featuring the best players from the winter leagues of the Domincan Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Venezuela. For Bucknell fans the Venezuelan team is particularly worth following, since former Bison pitcher Eric Junge '99 is a member of the staff. Eric, who piched briefly in the majors for the Phillies in 2002, had an excellent winter for Magallanes, going 5-3 with a 3.72 ERA, mostly as a reliever. Magallanes lost in seven games to Caracas in the Venezuelan championship series. The Caribbean Series, currently going on in Margarita Islandd, Venezuela, is televised on the MLB Network. January 29, 2010 In today's Harrisburg Patriot-News Dave Jones penned a nice feature on Villanova head men's basketball coach Jay Wright '83, entitled "The Art of Being Wright." Jay's Wildcats went to the Final Four last year, and now this season they are 19-1 overall, 8-0 in the Big East, and ranked No. 3 in the nation. January 21, 2010 Sad news to pass along, as former Bison head men's basketball coach Gene Evans passed away recently at the age of 83. Gene was a hoops legend in Carlisle, Pa., and the Carlisle High School gymnasium bears his name. There will be a memorial service in that gym on Saturday. Gene was head coach at Bucknell from 1962-64. January 18, 2010 Terry Conrad forwarded news from Bryan Bailey '02, who is now playing for Keravnos in Cyprus. Bryan recently spent a month in the top German division with EWE Baskets Oldenburg, where he was on a one-month contract filling in for an injured player. He has also played in Poland, The Netherlands and Bosnia since wrapping up a terrific career at Bucknell. January 7, 2010 Sid Jamieson passed along some good news that Dan Nourse '72 has been elected to the Northern California Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame. The indiction will be Feb. 27 at the Stanford University Faculty Club. Dan is currently the head coach of the very successful men's club team at Cal-Berkeley. December 30, 2009 Congrats to former Bison standout distance runner Matt Forys '07, who won the Polar Bear 5-Mile Run on the Asbury Park (N.J.) boardwalk. Matt won the event by almost three minutes. At Bucknell, Matt was an NCAA qualifier in both cross country and in the steeplechase. He was a Patriot League champion in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters indoors and the 10,000 meters outdoors, and he was the 2007 Track Athlete of the Meet at the 2007 Patriot League Indoor Championships.
Matt Daley '04 will be back on campus on Jan. 17 to participate in a Bucknell baseball instructional clinic. The clinic will be held in Gerhard Fieldhouse from 10:30-2:30 and is open to players 12 and older.
Matt Daley '04 turned in another scoreless appearance last night, even though his Rockies fell to the Padres. Daley and the Rox are officially in a pennant race. Colorado has a four-game lead over the Giants and Braves in the National League Wild Card chace. Should they hold on, Daley would have a chance to become the first Bucknell alum to pitch in the postseason since Weldon Wyckoff of the Philadelphia A's made a relief appearance in Game 1 of the 1914 World Series against the Boston Braves. September 23, 2009 Baltimore sports reporter Keith Mills gives a look back to the Leslie brothers (one of which was Bucknell Hall of Famer Al Leslie '81) on the "Press Box" blog. Neat retrospective. September 13, 2009 Former Bison women's lacrosse standout Melissa Montefusco '02 is the recipient of a 2009 Mature Women Grant from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and will be honored next Tuesday in Madison, N.J. Melissa is working on a master's degree in business administration at Penn's famed Wharton School. Melissa is Bucknell's all-time assists leader with 72, and she racked up 122 points during a playing career that spanned 1999-2002. September 13, 2009 Leanna Nastase '07 was featured in this Times-Leader story after winning the Susan G. Komen Foundation Race for the Cure 5K Run in Scranton over the weekend. Leanna, who is now in graduate school at Marywood University in Scranton, dominated the women's field, winning the race by one minute and 40 seconds. Leanna had plenty of experience winning races at Bucknell. She was the 2006 Patriot League cross country champion and an NCAA qualifier that year, and in 2007 she won the Patriot League indoor title in the 5,000 meters. September 10, 2009 Former Bucknell baseball player Matt Daley '04 picked up his first career MLB victory Wednesday night against the Cincinnati Reds. He pitched 1.1 innings of relief in the 4-3 victory. He is the first Bucknell player to earn a MLB win since Eric Junge '99 in 2002. September 7, 2009 Unfortunately, former Bison football player Sean Conover '06 was one of the final cuts by the Detroit Lions this past weekend. The 6-5, 275-pound defensive end has spent time with the Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets and Lions during his NFL tenure.
August 25, 2009 Congrats to Catherine Barry '09, who has been named assistant women's lacrosse and field hockey coach at Union College. Catherine was a four-year starting defenseman and two-year team captain of the Bison women's lax squad. August 17, 2009 Another glowing update on Colorado Rockies pitcher and 2004 Bucknell graduate Matt Daley '04 appeared in the Denver Post this weekend. August 14, 2009 Susan Overdorf of Lewisburg sent us this link to an interesting historical piece on Christy Mathewson, written by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann for MLB.com. The article includes a really neat vintage photo of Christy at the Polo Grounds in 1911. August 13, 2009 The New Canaan Advertiser has a note on the eighth annual Bradley J. Fetchet Memorial Foundation fundraiser, which will be held on Sept. 14 at the Country Club of New Canaan. Brad Fetchet '99 is a former Bison lacrosse student-athlete who was tragically lost in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. Brad's two younger brothers, Wes '04 and Chris '11, are also Bucknell lacrosse players. August 10, 2009 Congrats to former Bison swimmer John Peterman '08 on helping his Barnegat Light team to victory at the 48th Annual Long Beach Island Beach Patrol Association Lifeguard Tournament. August 9, 2009 More Matt Daley '04 press, this one a very comprehensive look at the Rockies reliever by Tom Housenick for the Daily Item. Tom caught up with Matt in Philadelphia when the Rockies visited the Phillies last week. July 27, 2009 Matt Daley '04 continues to pitch well for the Rockies, and he generated some more press this week. The Longmont (Colo.) Times-Call featured this piece on Matt earlier in the week, while the New York Daily News noted that the Garden City, N.Y., native is expecting about 100 guests per game for the Rockies' series against the Mets at Citi Field this week. Six straight scoreless appearances have lowered Matt's ERA to 3.67. His Rockies currently have a 2-game lead in the National League Wild Card standings. July 14, 2009 All-America distance runner and Bucknell Athletics Hall of Famer Bill Reifsnyder '84 has been named the race director of Washington, D.C.'s National Marathon and Half Marathon, the Washington Times reported this week. Bill was a three-time cross country All-American under Art Gulden at Bucknell, and he remained competitive after graduating, winning U.S. national marathon championships in 1989 and 1991. He placed fifth in the marathon at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1992. Click HERE for Bill's Hall of Fame bio. July 13, 2009 The Lewistown (Pa.) Sentinel featured former Bison pole vaulter and hurdler Ashley Curry '08, who will be part of the inaugural class at the University of Central Florida's school of medicine. Ashley, who is one of only five women in Bucknell track & field history to pole vault 11 feet, will be entering medical school on a full scholarship. July 10, 2009 Former Bison tennis standout named\ an\ assistant\ women\'s\ tennis\ coach\ at\ Charlotte. Chelsea has been an assistant coach at Tufts since 2007 while working on a master's degree in sports leadership at Northeastern. At Bucknell, she posted records of 73-35 in singles and 50-15 in doubles, and she ranks in the top 5 on the program's career wins list.
July 8, 2009 The 2009 Canadian Football League season has just gotten underway, and that means former Bison football and baseball star Kevin Eiben '99 is back at work. Kevin is entering his ninth season with the Toronto Argonauts and has carved out quite a nice career in the CFL. A linebacker, he annually ranks among the Argos' top tacklers. In fact, his 502 career defensive tackles rank third in team history. He has been a CFL All-Star four times and has been the team's Most Outstanding Canadian four times (he's a British Columbia native). Kevin is coming off an injury-plagued 2008 season, but he is already off to a fine start in '09. He had six tackles and an interception in a 30-17 season-opening win over Hamilton on July 1. Click HERE for Kevin's complete bio and stats. July 8, 2009 Jason Buursma '08 pitched another scoreless inning for the Palm Beach Cardinals against Fort Myers on Monday night and now has a 1.93 ERA in nine appearances for the high-A club. After starting the season with Quad Cities in the Midwest League, Jason now has a stellar 1.40 ERA in 18 overall outings between the two clubs. Check out his complete stats HERE. Meanwhile, Matt Daley '04 allowed a couple of runs in his last appearance for the Colorado Rockies against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rockies have been one of the National League's hottest teams in recent weeks, and Matt has been right in the middle of it. HERE are his updated stats. July 7, 2009 One day after learning he was the Pitcher of the Month for June in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, Eric Junge '99 signed with the Hanwah Eagles of the Korean League. He will depart the United States on Friday (July 10) and will make his first start next Wednesday (July 15). July 6, 2009 Eric Junge '99, a pitcher for the Lancaster Barnstormers in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, was named the league's Pitcher of the Month for June. He was 4-1 with a 1.73 ERA in five appearances after signing with the squad early in the month. Junge has played professional baseball for 11 seasons and appeared in the Majors with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2002 and 2003. June 18, 2009 The Pocono Record caught up with former Bison baseball player Mark Angelo '08. Angelo, who played at Bucknell from 2006 to 2008, used his final season of eligibility at East Stroudsburg this past year and was drafted in the 44th round of last week's MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners. Read about Angelo's improbable journey from being cut as a freshman to having the chance to play professional baseball on the Pocono Record Web site. June 17, 2009 BucknellBison.com has a feature today on Bryan Cohen being named to the U.S. Team at the 18th Maccabiah Games in Israel next month. Also competing will be a pair of Bucknell water polo alumni: Brad Roslyn '06 and Aaron Platshon '06. Both were team co-captains in 2005 and three-time all-conference performers. The duo shared the team's Scott Schulte Award after their senior seasons. Check out the Maccabi USA Web site for more info.
June 16, 2009 Jason Buursma '08 continues to move up the Minor League ladder as he was promoted to the Palm Beach Cardinals last week. The 2008 Patriot League Player of the Year has made two appearances with the Cardinals since being promoted from the Quad Cities River Bandits. Buursma, who pitched with the Batavia Muck Dogs in 2008, owns a 7.36 ERA in 3.2 innings of work with Palm Beach. For his complete statistics, visit his profile page. June 13, 2009 Bill Courtney '92 will be staying in the ACC after all. The No. 8 all-time scorer in Bison men's basketball annals, Bill had been an assistant coach at Virginia for the last three seasons before head coach Dave Leitao was dismissed at the end of the 2008-09 campaign. Bill joined the staff at VCU in April, and now he is on the move again to Virginia Tech, where he has been hired by Hokies head man Seth Greenberg. June 11, 2009 While no current Bucknell baseball players were selected in the recently concluded Major League Baseball Draft, former Bison Mark Angelo '08 was chosen by the Seattle Mariners with the second pick in the 44th round (pick 1,313 overall). Angelo graduated from Bucknell last year and used his final year of eligibility while taking grad classes at East Stroudsburg.
June 10, 2009 Former Bison football player Sean Conover '06 played for the Atlanta Falcons' and Baltimore Ravens' practice squads last year, but is currently with the Detroit Lions. The Detroit Free Press recently caught up with Conover, who saw some time at tight end earlier this spring. To read more about Conover, click HERE. June 9, 2009 Here's a neat piece on Don Davidson '50, a four-year member of the Bison football team and a co-captain of the 1949 team that finished 6-2 under coach Harry Lawrence. Now 82 and retired from the real estate business in Charleston, S.C., Don is breaking 100 on the golf course even though he has had five major joints replaced: both knees, both shoulders and a hip. No wonder he calls himself the "Bionic Man." June 9, 2009 Matt Daley '04 has activated off the 15-day disabled list by the Rockies. He was injured on a fluke play on May 17 in a game at Pittsburgh. Running from the mound to back up home plate on a throw from the outfield, Matt stepped on the bat as the umpire kicked it away from the batters box area with an incoming runner on the way. Unfortunately, he kicked the bat right into Matt's path, and he turned his left ankle and had to go on the DL. Matt had four strikeouts in two scoreless innings on a rehab assignment in AAA, and is now back with the red-hot Rockies, who have won six in a row. Matt has tossed two more scoreless innings since his return, lowering his season ERA to 3.38 in 11 appearances. He has a different manager than when he left the club, however, as Clint Hurdle has been replaced by Jim Tracy. Click HERE for Matt's MLB.com bio, including a video of the strange injury. June 3, 2009 Joshua Kaehler '07, Bucknell's record holder in the javelin, finished third at the New York Grand Prix this past weekend. His heave of 231 feet, 7 inches placed him third in the competitive field. He is scheduled to compete at the USATF National Championships in July. For complete results of the New York Grand Prix, click HERE. Mark Angelo '08, a former baseball player for the Bison, earned Division II All-America honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association this spring. Angelo, who used his fourth year of eligibility while taking graduate classes at East Stroudsburg, is just the second All-America selection in program history. Angelo ranked in the top five in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in eight offensive categories in the regular season and set or tied five school records during his only season playing for the Warriors. A brief report in the Pocono Record gives more information on Angelo. June 1, 2009 Charlie Waddell '07 is back on the NGA Hooters Tour golf circuit this spring and has made the cut in three of his seven starts. Two weeks ago at Quail Crossing in Indiana, Charlie was 17-under par for his four rounds, posting scores of 64-71-68-64! He was tied for the lead after the first round and finished up T-17th. Scores were low all week at that event, as the winner finished at 27-under and 11 players shot 20-under or better. In his final round, Charlie shot a 7-under 28 on the front nine, posting birdies on seven of the nine holes. Charlie is now 84th on the Hooters Tour money list. Last week he shot 70-76 at the ADI Classic in Kentucky and missed the cut. Check out his statistics page HERE. May 27, 2009 Wallace Campbell '08 was a First Team All-Patriot League cross country runner, an All-East performer in indoor track and a three-time all-conference honoree outdoors during his days at Bucknell, and he has continued his running success after graduation. Wallace recently won the Jubilee CityFest 8K Run, a road race in his hometown of Montgomery, Ala. It was his second straight win and fourth overall in that event. Wallace is currently in graduate school at Clemson. May 6, 2009 Former Bison hurler Matt Daley '04 is off to a fine start with the Colorado Rockies. He made four appearances in his first week in the big leagues, allowing just a run and one hit with three strikeouts in four innings. According to this MLB.com piece, Rockies skipper Clint Hurdle seems to be impressed. May 5, 2009 MCLA The Lax Mag, which covers collegiate club lacrosse, announced its finalists for national player and coach of the year today. Two of the coach of the year nominees are former Bucknell laxers. Dan Nourse '72 led Cal to a 13-3 record, while Noah Fink '98 has guided his Texas Longhorns to a 16-3 record, a Lonestar Alliance (LSA) conference title and a national tournament berth. Texas will play in the MCLA Tournament beginning May 12 in Denver. Assisting Dan at Cal was another former Bison, Andrew Goodhand '08, who served as the team's offensive coordinator. May 2, 2009 Mike Kuhns of the Pocono Record penned a nice piece on former Bison softball star Lauren Litts '07. Lauren, a two-time First Team All-Patriot League selection and Bucknell's all-time home run leader, played her high school ball at East Stroudsburg South. Now she is an assistant coach at rival Stroudsburg High and has helped lead the team to a 12-3 record. April 5, 2009 Former Bison football standout Justin Lustig '01 has been named running backs and special teams coach at Louisiana-Lafayette. Justin had been serving in the same capacity at Eastern Illinois, and now he joins the Division I FBS coaching ranks for the first time. Justin played defensive back at Bucknell and was a four-year letterman and team captain as a senior. His nine career interceptions are tied for 10th-most in school history.
April 3, 2009 Congrats to 1983 Bucknell grad Jay Wright, who has led his Villanova Wildcats to the Final Four in Detroit. Rich Hofmann at the Philadelphia Daily News tracked down former Bison coach Charlie Woollum to reflect on Jay's Bucknell days, and Bill Bowman at the Daily Item did the same with Tommy Thompson, who coached Jay on the junior varsity and was a varsity assistant under Woollum. December 16, 2008 Charles Lee '06 is playing for Goettingen in the Bundesliga, the top German professional league. There is a great video interview with Charles on the team's official Web site. He's sporting a nifty Bucknell Basketball t-shirt for the interview, and he even spends a few moments reflecting on the Kansas game. So far the team is 8-3, and Charles is averaging 11.2 points per game. Interestingly, Charles played against three of his new teammates in college. Ben Jacobson and John Little both played for Northern Iowa in that wild double-overtime ESPN BracketBusters game against Bucknell in 2006. Goettingen's Clif Brown played at Niagara. Wonder if Charles ever brings up the buzzer-beater he hit against the Purple Eagles in 2004-05? Or if the UNI guys razz him about prevailing in Cedar Falls? December 10, 2008 Recently there was an article (no link available) in the Easton Express-Times on former Bison women's basketball standout Desire Almind '04. She played professionally in Germany for three years, but is now playing in Hungary for Szeviep Szeged. Almind has also played professionally in France since leaving Bucknell third on the program's career scoring and rebounding lists. October 20, 2008 How about the start for John Griffin '08 in his first foray into professional basketball? Playing for Proveo Merlins Crailsheim in the German B Division, Griffin has scored 28, 29 and 36 points in his first three games of the season. His 31.0 ppg average leads the league. Obviously John has the green light to shoot the basketball with his new team. He has made 16 of 39 3-point tries so far, and he's 27 of 29 from the free-throw line. In his 36-point explosion against Landshut, Griff went 11-for-26 from the field (6-13 3FG), 8-for-8 from the line and also dished four assists. Click HERE to see an extensive package of video highlights, including a couple of John's 3-pointers and a terrific pass from John to a teammate on a fast break. Part of the package includes an interview with the team's general manager on the addition of Griffin and fellow American Sean Brooks to the team. Warning, the video is all in German, so if anyone can translate, please write us! October 1, 2008 Here's a nice "catching up with" piece on Len Bucher '79 in the York Daily Record. Len lettered twice in football and three times in baseball at Bucknell. He led the baseball team in hitting in both 1978 (.357) and 1979 (.369) as the team's starting catcher. Bucher graduated with a share of the Bucknell career doubles record (15), and his .333 career batting average ranked seventh in program history at the time. September 18, 2008 Another alumni tip from Sid Jamieson. This time Sid passes along news on Jim Kirkley '73, who is the commissioner of the North Carolina High School Lacrosse Association and the head coach at Riverside High School in Durham. Jim and others are pushing for lacrosse to become an officially sanctioned championship sport in North Carolina, and the N.C. High School Athletic Association will vote on the proposal in December. Jim is an associate professor of religion and ethics at Shaw University. He has coached at Riverside since 1993 and he co-directs the Eye on the Goal lax camp in Virginia. At Bucknell, Jim was a defenseman who earned Second Team All-Middle Atlantic Conference honors his senior year. September 15, 2008 Congratulations to former Bucknell baseball star Jason Buursma '08, who helped the Batavia Muckdogs win the New-York-Penn League championship over the weekend. Batavia swept the best-of-three series from Jamestown, winning 4-3 on Friday and 9-3 on Sunday. It was the first NYP title for the 51-year-old franchise. Buursma picked up the save in the Game 1 victory, and he also had a save against Lowell in the semifinal playoff series. For the season Buursma finished with a 1-3 record with three saves and a 2.35 earned-run average. In 23 innings he struck out 18 and walked only nine. September 8, 2008 Former Bison standout golfer Charlie Waddell '07 has been playing professional golf on the Hooters Tour and some other mini-tours since graduating from Bucknell. His top finish on the Hooters Tour this season was a T-45th at The Orion Group Golf Classic in May. The highlight of his year has been qualifying for the Bank of America Open on the Nationwide Tour, which is just one level below the PGA Tour. The tournament was held at the end of May near his hometown of Chicago at The Glen Club. Charlie shot 76-73 and missed the cut, which was at 1-under. Still, that must have been a thrill for Charlie to compete against (and beat) a number of veteran PGA Tour pros back in his hometown. To follow Charlie's progress, visit his very own new Web site. September 1, 2008 Former Bison standout defensive end Sean Conover '06 has signed with the Atlanta Falcons and will be a member of the team's practice squad. Sean, a Second Team All-American and First Team All-Patriot League selection in 2004, initially signed with the Tennessee Titans in May of 2006 and spent the last two seasons with the Titans. He played in the final six games of the 2006 season and in five games in 2007, but over the weekend Sean was waived by the Titans as they had to cut down to their 53-man roster limit for the regular season. A free agent for less than 48 hours, Sean was added to the Falcons practice squad on Monday. Now 6'5", 275 pounds, Sean began the 2006 season on the Titans practice squad, but was activated in November of that season. August 27, 2008 Mathew Wilson '08, the hero of the Bucknell baseball team's NCAA Tournament upset of Florida State, finished the season with the Rockford RiverHawks of the independent Frontier League. Mat made four appearances for the RiverHawks, including three starts, and went 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA. He struck out 18 batters in 22 innings and held opponents to a .250 batting average. Earlier in the summer, Mat pitched for Team Canada (he's a Toronto native) against powerful Team USA on at the World University Baseball Championships in the Czech Republic. He took a shutout into the eighth inning before an error opened the door for three unearned runs. Mat got a no-decision as the U.S. team went on to win 4-3 in 11 innings. Of course, Mat is best known for his epic, complete-game 7-0 shutout of Florida State, the nation's No. 1 hitting team, back in May. August 25, 2008 Andrew Copelan '03 has carved out quite an impessive coaching resume since his days as an All-Patriot League midfielder for the Bison men's lacrosse team. A four-year starter on four Bison league championship teams, Andrew went on to Marist as a graduate assistant coach in 2004, but he was quickly named interim head coach before his first season in Poughkeepsie. As the youngest head coach in the country, he led the Red Foxes to the MAAC regular-season title with a perfect 8-0 conference record, and a year later he guided them to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Prior to the 2006 season, he joined Dave Cottle's staff at Maryland, and he was named the Terps' offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator prior to the 2007 season. Now, Andrew is back in the head coaching ranks at Fairfield, where he becomes the third head coach in Stags history. August 24, 2008 Former Bison hoops star Kevin Bettencourt '06 is joining the coaching ranks full time. He has been named an assistant coach at Division II power Bentley under longtime coach Jay Lawson. Bentley has gone 66-2 over the past two seasons, has won 54 straight regular-season games, and has a string of four straight Northeast-10 regular-season titles. Kevin, who was a part-time assistant at Salem State last year, co-captained Bucknell's 2005 and 2006 teams that captured Patriot League championships and went on to post first-round wins over Kansas and Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament. With 1,577 career points, Kevin ranks fourth on Bucknell's all-time scoring list, and he is the program's No. 1 3-point shooter with 294. August 19, 2008 Former Bison quarterback Travis Kopp '95 is now the girl's golf coach at Delone Catholic High School in McSherrytown, Pa. Travis coached Delone to its fourth YAIAA Western Division championship in as many years last season, and The Hanover Evening Sun thinks the team can do it again this year. "Football was my passion at the time. Now it's golf. That tends to be the case as you get older," Travis said in Sam Latter's piece. August 18, 2008 Sid Jamieson has passed along news that former Bucknell men's lacrosse player Dan Nourse '72 has been named head coach of the highly regarded men's club team at Cal-Berkeley. Dan was a team captain and Honorable Mention All-Middle Atlantic Conference selection at Bucknell in 1972. As a midfielder he led the team in scoring as both a junior and senior with 24 and 19 goals, respectively. Dan has remained active in the sport of lacrosse and now has more than 25 years of coaching experience at the junior and collegiate levels. He had been the offensive coordinator and interim head coach at Cal before recently being named the full-time head coach. August 18, 2008 J.R. Holden's remarkable Olympic journey has come to an end. Russia's 91-78 loss to Argentina left it with a 1-4 record in pool play and out of the medal round. Nonetheless, J.R. performed very well in his Olympic debut. He started at point guard in all five games and averaged 38.6 minutes, 17.6 points and 4.8 assists per game. In his Olympic debut, he had 19 points in Russia's victory over Iran, then he added five points against Croatia, 25 against Lithuania, 20 against Australia and 19 against Argentina. Among all Olympians in pool play, J.R. was the fifth-leading scorer, and he also ranked No. 1 in minutes played and tied for third in assists. Alumni in the Pros:
Players Mentioned
