2017 Bull Run Awards: Best of UB’s Spring Sports

Day 1 - Wednesday: Fall Sports

Day 2 - Thursday: Winter Sports

Day 3 - Friday: Spring Sports

Day 4 - Saturday: Coach of the Year, Men's and Women's Rookie of the Year, Clutch Moment of the Year, Fan Favorite ——-> VOTE HERE

Day 5 - Sunday: Team of the Year, Men's Overall Bull of the Year, Women's Overall Bull of the Year

Spring Sports

Baseball- Vinny Mallaro*

UB Athletics

This year’s UB Baseball team had several contenders and it’s quite a toss up. Chris Kwitzer, Ben Haefner, and Brian Dudek all had great seasons. But for the second year in a row, it’s hard to pick against Mallaro for the extra edge he gives the entire team.

He batted a little worse in UB’s final season at .285, but the rest of his stats are on par with if not better than the rest of his teammates. What stands out among the rest is his 51 runs batted in. If you have guys that can get on base, it’s great and all, but what’s even more crucial is being able to bring them to home plate. Add in his perfect fielding average and the fact that he had twice as many homers as the next guy and it’s very hard to have an argument against Mallaro.

Honorable Mentions: Chris Kwitzer, Ben Haefner, Brian Dudek

*2016 Winner

Softball- Jessica Goldyn

UB Athletics

It was another tough season for UB Softball and for the second year in a row the Bulls relied on a freshman to get the job done. UB struggled from the mound and in return they needed as much offense as possible to make up for it.

Jessica Goldyn brought as much to the table as possible for UB, and the box scores show it with her near the top of almost every statistical category. She finished the season with a .289 average, but what was most impressive was her 23 stolen bases—far and away from the next best Bull in that category. If UB was going to make up for the pitching with offense, then Goldyn was your best option, making her the most important part of this year’s team.

Honorable Mentions: Leandra Jew, Jenelle Martinez

Men’s Tennis- Villhelm Fridell

UB Athletics

If you follow Men’s Tennis, you’re probably a little shocked that we’re not giving this to Hao Sheng Koay this year. Hao Sheng had an amazing season and even managed to receive All-MAC first team honors. But, we believe that Villhelm Fridell was a bigger asset to the Bulls this season and deserves the recognition.

Fridell typically played at fourth singles and although he wasn’t the top guy, he was the most consistent and produced the most wins for the Bulls, especially as MAC play came to a close. The freshman finished 21-8 this year and 11-3 in fourth singles play. When conference play came around, he went a scorching 6-1. Fridell was that extra point that Buffalo almost always relied on to grab some close wins. This was seen in the MAC Championship and he was also on his way to beating Texas A&M’s fourth singles player. It’s for these reasons, that we had to go with Fridell this year.

Honorable Mentions: Hao Sheng Koay, Vidit Vaghela, Filip Grbic

Women’s Tennis- Tanja Stojanovska*

UB Athletics

Tanja Stojanovska has been the most important piece for UB Women’s Tennis in the past two seasons. Leading the way with another incredible season, Stojanovska was the most valuable player in this year’s MAC tourney and was named to the All-MAC first team.

It’s simply a no-brainer that she was the most valuable player to this year’s team and the way she clinched the Bulls’ first MAC title in nine years only adds to the resume. Stojanovska lost the second against Miami’s Nelli Ponomareva to tiebreakers before she went on a tear in the the third set in a triumphant 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2 match win to clinch the title.

Honorable Mentions: Chantal Martinez-Blanco**, Margarita Kotok

*2016 Winner

**2016 Honorable Mention

Men’s Track and Field- Joshua Gali

UB Athletics

Joshua Gali had an amazing year with the Bulls on the track. His indoor performance alone already merits MVP honors but he also made plenty of noise this spring in outdoor.

Gali was named the MAC’s Most Outstanding Track Athlete in indoor competition after having part in THREE MAC Championships with the 200m, 400m, and as a member of the winning 4x400m relay. Months later in outdoor MAC competition, Gali added a trio of silver medals (200m, 400m, 400m relay) and another gold to his name with the 4x400m relay.

Still, he wasn’t done yet. Flash forward to the NCAA East Prelims and Gali was rewriting the history books. First it was a new school record in the 400m with a zooming 46.33 seconds. Then, he became the first Bull in program history to break the 21 second barrier in the 200m with a blistering time of 20.95. Finally, he was a member of the 1600m relay, which broke another program best with a time of 3:08.50.

Honorable Mentions: Ryan Billian, Devon Patterson

Women’s Track and Field- Emma Siuciak

UB Athletics

She didn’t compete in outdoor, but like Joshua Gali, her indoor pursuits are more than enough to merit her as MVP. Emma Siuciak will leave UB as one of the best all-around athletes to don the blue and white after breaking the program record in the Pentathlon.

Getting three points past the 4000 mark, Siuciak also broke the school record for the high jump in the process by clearing the bar at 1.79m (That’s a little over 5-10 for you people who use the bad system of measurement). Even in the events she didn’t break the school record in she was solid. She was just under the 12m mark in the shot and her 5.69 meter jump in long jump was second best against her competition. Because of this outstanding performance, all signs point to Siuciak this year.

Honorable Mentions: Selina Von Jackowski, Miranda Daucher

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Congrats to the honorees on great seasons! Stay tuned tomorrow for Coach of the Year, Rookies of the Year, Clutch Moment of the Year, and Fan Favorite! Today is the last day to vote for fan favorite.