Photo courtesy of SUNY Fredonia Athletics Fredonia State tennis head coach Jane Gens, left, and Blue Devils junior Bernadette Gens, along with the rest of the tennis team held a clinic at Chautauqua Tennis Club in Dunkirk this past weekend.

The Fredonia State women’s tennis team recently participated in a tennis clinic held at the Chautauqua Tennis Club in Dunkirk this past weekend.

The Chautauqua Tennis Club donated court time for the event and Monte’s Small Engine made a donation to the Chautauqua Tennis Club as part of an initiative to help inspire the next generation of tennis players and grow the game within the region.

Blue Devil tennis players for their part would help several local area high school tennis players from all over Chautauqua County in preparation for the upcoming spring season.

“It feels great to give back to this amazing community and to help high school players prepare for their season” noted Blue Devils tennis player Bernadette Gens. “I’m glad that I was able to be a part of that in a fun and positive way.”

TK Parker, a junior who also participated in the clinic stated “All the players had such great energy, they loved the activities and drills that we did and seeing them laugh and enjoy themselves gave me such shine in my heart.”

When asked about the clinic’s success, head coach Jane Gens said that she received a “very positive response” from the participants and parents.

Gens, an avid supporter of Chautauqua County tennis, would also add that “strengthening youth tennis is something that we can all be a part of in this region and whether that is donating time, balls or teaching lessons these gestures go a long way in growing the game.”

Looking ahead, Gens and Fredonia State women’s tennis hope to be able to host similar events in the future as well.

“This was the team’s first time creating and participating in such an event and the team is looking forward to doing it again next year with an even larger turn out,” Coach Gens added.

Gens hopes to continue to strengthen the relationship between the Fredonia State women’s tennis program and the local community and allow kids a glimpse into what their futures in the sport could be. Gens believes tennis was very transformative in the lives of her players growing up and the team hopes that it will be the same in the lives of the kids that they interact with.

MEN’S HOCKEY

The SUNY Brockport men’s hockey team defeated Fredonia State 4-2 last Saturday.

The loss for the Devils bumped them one spot below Brockport for what could potentially be the final playoff spot in the SUNYAC. The Devils also trail Buffalo State by one point. Brockport has one game remaining, while the Devils and Buff State have two more to go.

The Blue Devils struck first when Brendan Dempsey scored at the midpoint of the first period with assists from Joe Santoro and Jake Blackwell. The score stayed 1-0 through the end of the first period.

Brockport struck twice early in the second — at 1:18 and 3:31 — when Chase Maxwell and Nick Serafin each scored. They finished off the period with a goal from Spencer Flansburg at the 16:18 mark.

In the third period, Johnny Malandruccolo came through with his sixth goal of the year to make it a 3-2 game with 5:22 left to play and Jake Murphy assisted.

Later in the period, Fredonia State pulled its goalie and Brockport used it to their advantage, scoring an empty netter with 2:09 showing on the clock.

Logan Dyck made 30 saves and gave up three scores for a .909 save percentage for the Devils. Brockport’s Dylan Weimer made 28 saves, giving up the pair of scores.

The Devils were 0-5 on power plays, while Brockport went 0-3.

It was also the final home game for 10 seniors. Johnny Aonso, Cam Birkeland, Jake Blackwell, Parker Brakebill, Brendan Dempsey, Logan Dyck, Kieran

Furlonger, Adam Hawkins, Zach Willms and Kurri Woodford all played their final game in Steele Hall Ice Arena.

The Devils head to Potsdam and Plattsburgh to wrap up the regular season.

GENESEO OUTDOES BLUE DEVILS

Fredonia State and Geneseo combined for 11 goals, but the Devils came out on the short end, 7-4, last Friday evening.

The first three minutes were a sign of things to come. Geneseo’s Nathan Poolman scored 1:07 into the game, before the Devils’ Ethan Pitzman tied things with a wrap-around goal at the 2:58 mark.

The Knights would add two more goals — one each by Alex Dameski and Peter Morgan — to take a 3-1 lead at the first intermission.

Ryan Bailey scored 6:00 into the second to make it a 4-2 game. After Tyson Gilmour and Jared Thmas each scored for Geneseo, making it 5-1, Zach Willms would enter the game in goal for the Devils in relief of Charles-Anthony Barbeau.

That gave the Devils a shot in the arm as David Sudbrink scored soon after, making a 5-2 game at the end of two.

The teams then combined for three more goals in the first 2:18 of the third. Geneseo struck first 41 seconds in, with Dameski netting his second score. Fredonia State freshman Antoine St. Onge answered only 15 seconds later with his team-leading eighth goal of the year.

A tripping penalty by Fredonia State’s Kieran Furlonger set up Dameski with his third goal of the night, this one on a power play 2:18 into the period to wrap up the scoring. That would prove to be the only penalty for either team for the game.

Willms finished with 15 saves, giving up two goals, and Barbeau had 18 saves, giving up five scores.

Geneseo’s Adam Harris made 22 saves with four goals allowed. The Knights improved to 19-4-0 overall and 12-2-0 in the SUNYAC.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

DEVILS FALL ON SENIOR NIGHT

The Fredonia State men’s basketball suffered a loss from the Plattsburgh State Cardinals last Saturday. The Devils played the Cardinals tight throughout the first half, but a second half offensive surge would put the Cardinals over by a final score of 78-68.

To start the game, Plattsburgh came out aggressive with a seven-point run in the game’s first seven minutes after a Frank Infante jumper in the lane went through. The Devils would manage to battle back late in the first close out the half strong with a seven to nothing wrong capped off with a deep three from Derek Reed to draw the Devils to just within one.

Kevin Tabb would find Willard Anderson off a back cut to score the first points in the second half. The Devils would again manage to tie the game up at 49 when Malik Jemsion connected with AJ Judd for an easy layup.

This would be as close as the Devils would get as Plattsburgh would proceed to outscore the Devils 14-4 midway through the second and would outscore the Devils by 11 in the second half to earn the victory.

The Cardinals were led by Franklin Infante who would finish the night scoring a game-high 21 points. Ikechukwu Ezike contributed 18 points and Kevin Tabb would go for 10 points and haul in 14 rebounds.

Tyrese Fuller had an impressive outing for Fredonia State finishing with a team-high 19 points and eight rebounds, Keenan Roberts Jr. ended the game with 12 points and six rebounds with Malik Jemison and Isaiah Youngquist adding seven points, as well.

Prior to the game, the team recognized lone senior Deandre Hayes from Durham, N.C. on his two year career with Fredonia State.

The Devils (7-16, 4-12 SUNYAC) finish their regular season with a road trip to Oswego and Cortland this weekend.

BLUE DEVILS EDGE POTSDAM

Four players scored in double digits as the Fredonia State men’s basketball team defeated visiting Potsdam 84-77 last Friday.

Tyrese Fuller led the attack with 18 points and five assists. He was backed by 17 from Keenan Roberts Jr., 16 from Malik Jemison and 12 from Isaiah Youngquist.

The early going was back and forth with six lead changes over the first seven minutes. Tied at 15-all, a bucket by Fuller, a pair of 3-pointers by Youngquist and a free throw by Naejon Ward completed a nine-point run and cemented the Blue Devils lead for the rest of the game.

The Devils hit on 48 percent of their shots from the floor and connected on 15-19 (79 percent) of their free throws. They outrebounded Potsdam 38-30 with AJ Judd grabbing seven boards. Judd also had three blocks.

Potsdam (3-20 / 2-13 SUNYAC) got a game-high 26 points from Colton Huestis.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

PLATTSBURGH SPOILS SENIOR NIGHT

In a game with significant postseason implications for the Fredonia State women’s basketball team, the Devils dropped a 59-51 game to Plattsburgh last Saturday.

Grace Alexander led the Devils with 10 points and fellow freshman Payton Gilbert had eight points and seven rebounds. Kyla Smith added nine points and Alena Wright had nine rebounds.

Plattsburgh led 32-22 at the half after leading by as many as 13 points, 25-12, midway through the second quarter. The Cardinal’s Payton Couture led all players with eight points and seven rebounds. Allie Wandell had seven for the Devils.

The Devils never got any significant offensive momentum going in the second half. They pulled within six points on three occasions, but the Cardinals were able to maintain the lead.

Fredonia State falls to 6-10 overall and 11-12 in the SUNYAC. Plattsburgh upped its record to 9-13 and 6-10 in the conference.

Prior to the game, the team recognized its four seniors: Alena Wright, Renee Park, Hannah Potter and Caitlin Snyder.

The Devils wrap up the regular season this weekend with a roadtrip to Oswego and Cortland.

FREDONIA STATE TOPS POTSDAM

A fast and furious first quarter propelled the Fredonia State women’s basketball team to a 60-48 win over Potsdam last Friday.

The Devils scored 25 points in the first 10 minutes to take a 13-point lead.

Allie Wandell recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Renee Park had 12 points, and Mary Culeton had four assists.

Jakia Howard led Potsdam (7-14 / 3-12) with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The Devils would go up 33-14 early in the second quarter, leading by 19 points, their biggest lead of the game. The Bears would cut the lead to 10 points on a few occasions in the second half, but would trail by double digits the balance of the game.