By Maggie Samole / Staff writer

In the case of UPG athletics, the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts. Each of the eleven varsity sports teams came together Tuesday night to honor special achievements in Bobcat athletics at the second annual all-sports award banquet.

The brainchild of athletic director Dick Hack, the annual banquet brings each sports team together to honor the academic and athletic achievements of all campus athletes. Fall, winter and spring sports previously held their own awards ceremonies, but Hack said having the all-sports banquet brings the athletes together as a community.

By Maggie Samole / Sports editor

History seemed to repeat itself Saturday night as the Pittsburgh Panthers made another early exit from the NCAA tournament.

The Panthers don’t have a problem reaching the national championship tournament, but have struggled to advance past the opening rounds in recent years. This year proved to be no different as they were upended by the No. 5 Michigan State Spartans, 65-54.

By Maggie Samole / Sports editor

For the first eight minutes of their matchup against Oral Roberts, Pitt’s men’s basketball team played well, but just couldn’t seem to pull away.

However, after a 3-pointer from junior point guard Levance Fields at the 11:40 mark of the first half, the Panthers seized the lead and sprinted to an 82-63 opening-round victory in the NCAA tournament.

By Sean Coyne / Staff writer

It’s around 2:30 p.m. and sophomore Anthony Portman is already knee-deep into March Madness. He’s watching the Georgia-Xavier matchup and there are 33.8 seconds left on the clock. Xavier is leading 68-61 and Georgia has just missed a much-needed three-point shot. All of this is while Portman checks up on scores and stats online.

“This one’s over,” Portman says. The CBS broadcast then switches from the Georgia-Xavier game to the Kentucky-Marquette game. “I wanna see Kentucky beat Marquette. I hate Marquette.”

All of this madness is nothing new to Portman, who says he was a Pitt fan from birth.

Women's Basketball

* Three women's basketball players were named to various AMCC All-conference teams. Senior Tiffany Menhorn earned her third consecutive first team honor. Junior Nicole Reiser was named to the second team after being an honorable mention selction last season. Sophomore Kelsey Wilcox was named an honorable mention selection for the second straight season. Head coach Carol Gelet earned the honor of co-coach of the year.

By Maggie Samole / Sports editor

Being a Pitt basketball fan, I’m used to letdowns.

The team is pretty much guaranteed to make the Big East tournament final every year, but only once during the span of my time on the Pitt bandwagon had they cut down the nets in Madison Square Garden.

That is, until this past Sunday when they upset top-seeded Georgetown 74-65.

I can still remember the last time they won the title.

Living out in the middle of cow country, I grew up a deprived child without satellite or cable TV. I listened to Bill Hillgrove and Dick Groat call the game on 96.9 FM and imagined what was happening in my mind’s eye. When the final horn blew and the Panthers pulled out the victory over the UCONN Huskies, I ran outside to holler in celebration. I’m sure my neighbors thought I was crazy.

i think this would be cool for people to print off

By Maggie Samole / Sports editor

The UPG women's basketball team's seven-game winning streak ended Saturday against the Medaille Mavericks. The Lady Bobcats fell 69-55 in the title game of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference tournament last Saturday.

Despite the loss, however, the team earned a high seed in the ECAC South tournament.

Led by Nicole Reiser's 17-point effort, the teams played a back-and-forth first half that ended with a one-point lead for the Mavericks, 30-29. However, Medaille pulled away in the second frame to earn the 14-point victory.

By Maggie Samole / Sports editor

If injuries don’t get the best of her team, head coach Dana Munchinski foresees a strong showing from the UPG softball team this spring.

Led by returning All-AMCC players junior Kelly Welsh and sophomores Shannon Bradburn and Lindsay Littler, Munchinski anticipates the team will reach the playoffs in her second year at the helm.

“We should definitely be able to make the playoffs,” Munchinski said. “It depends on the team, injuries, things like that, but we should make it. The girls should be able to hang with any team in the conference.”

The women's basketball team opened the AMCC playoff tournament with a 66-40 homecourt victory over Penn State Altoona. Led by Nicole Reiser's 15-point, seven-rebound, five-assist effort, the team overcame an uncharacteristically sloppy game. Usually a team that takes extreme care of the ball, the Bobcats turned it over 24 times.