Catching up with ... Orla O'Reilly

This interview with Orla O'Reilly of the Binghamton University women's basketball team can be seen in the November 4 issue of Pipe Dream, Binghamton University's student-run newspaper.

Orla O'Reilly — senior guard, women's basketball
Hometown: Cork, Ireland

Aaron Gottlieb: When did you first start playing basketball?

Orla O'Reilly: I started first when I was 10 — my mom brought us out and I remember our first practice was outside on a tarmac court. It was fun.

AG: Why basketball? Is it big where you come from in Ireland?

OO: It's not big in Ireland at all, actually. It's pretty small, especially when I started … But I come from a basketball family — all five of us play basketball and four of us played on an international team growing up.

AG: What's your hometown like?

OO: It's nice, it's small. I live in the city, but it's about the same size as Binghamton. So I'm not in the countryside like everyone thinks Ireland is. I like it — it's a nice, little, small town.

AG: How did you hear about Binghamton, let alone come here?

OO: I think a coach from Ireland got in contact with the previous coach here and coach [Nicole] Scholl just kept talking to me and kept recruiting me and we got on the phone one day, and I liked the college and she wanted to recruit both myself and [my sister] Sinead and we both decided to come.

AG: Were you looking into any other options for college?

OO: Yeah, we were talking to a couple others, but this seemed like the right place. We were interested in going to the east coast so we'd be somewhat closer to home and in a similar environment.

AG: Now that you mention it, what's your relationship with Sinead like? Did you intend on coming to college here and playing together, or was it just kind of a coincidence?

OO: Yeah, we had decided beforehand that we were going to go together and it makes it a lot easier to come to a new place with a family member there.

AG: So if you guys would compare yourselves to one other sibling duo that plays the same sport, who would it be?

OO: Hmm … that's a good question … I'm not sure. I've never been asked that before …. What other siblings play the same sport?

AG: Eli and Peyton Manning, Brook and Robin Lopez …

OO: Oh, yeah! We can be the Manning brothers!

AG: Now that you're a senior, what's been your favorite part of the whole Binghamton experience that's not basketball-related?

OO: I really love going to school here — I love all the people here. I've made some great friends and met some great people within the athletic department as well. I think that was the main part for me. I enjoyed the education too, but I wasn't really focused that much on the education to begin with — when I came here I wanted to focus on basketball — but I think that really surprised me to gain such an interest in education too.

AG: Pretend I'm [head] coach [Nicole] Scholl. What's one thing you can do to get under my skin and piss me off?

OO: Hmm … not listen. She hates that.

AG: What's something you can do to get on my good side?

OO: Shoot the ball. Well.

AG: If you had a 100 percent guarantee to make a game-winning shot, where would it be from on the court?

OO: I think a three-pointer on the wing.

AG: Any preference on which wing?

OO: Either one.


This interview has been edited for clarity.

America East Daily Word - November 4

There is nothing better than seeing a small school from a mid-major conference knocking off some power-conference behemoth come March. Consider Vermont ousting Syracuse from the NCAA Tournament in 2005 – one of the greatest moments in Vermont and America East Conference basketball history.

And it seems every year, a mid-major team (or teams) is right there pulling a ‘Vermont’ and shocking the nation. Why just last year, there were two teams in the Final Four that no one thought had any business being there. In fact, one of those mid-major teams had to play a play-in game to even get to be a part of the 64.

So when mid-major polls come out we get to see who coaches around the country think might be that special team to make a run in March. America East schools are no strangers to both the men’s and women’s CollegeInsider.com mid-major preseason poll.

The UMBC women, the preseason pick to win the America East, find themselves at No. 21 in the women’s poll. But two other squads are receiving votes to crack the top-25. Hartford collected 16 votes and Boston U. garnered four. Those three teams represent the last three squads to win the conference regular season title.

On the men’s side, no team made it into the poll but the three teams that topped the conference preseason poll are both receiving votes. Boston U. grabbed 13 votes, Stony Brook picked up four and Vermont notched one.

The regular season opens just a week from today on Nov. 11 with a handful of great non-conference contests.

In other basketball related news, the NBA Development League held its draft last night and a former Vermont Catamount heard his name called. Evan Fjeld, a first-team all-conference player last season, was selected by the Tulsa 66ers in the third round of the draft. Also hearing his name called was former Albany Great Dane Jerel Hastings. He was selected in the eighth round by the Austin Toros.

This might be the busiest and most exciting weekend we have seen yet this fall. Women’s soccer and field hockey will both crown champions. Boston U. and Albany square off for the women’s soccer title tomorrow while four nationally ranked field hockey teams battle it out in New Hampshire. And on top of that, men’s soccer playoffs get underway on Saturday with two quality quarterfinal matchups. Sixth-seeded Albany takes on No. 3 Vermont while UMBC and Hartford tangle in the 4-5 game in Baltimore. AmericaEast.com has all your live coverage links for those contests.

And we cannot forget about volleyball action. With just two final weekends of the regular season left, playoff position is still at stake for several teams as they hit the court. In action tonight, Binghamton travels to Providence to take on the Friars, Hartford and Stony Brook play on Long Island in a match with serious playoff implications and New Hampshire is at UMBC.

Binghamton’s student newspaper, the Pipe Dream, caught up with the men’s and women’s basketball squads to talk about the upcoming season. The men’s team is young but very optimistic about the season, especially after having scholarships reinstated. Meanwhile, the experience and talent for the women casts a bright light on 2011-2012 for the Bearcats.

For all your conference news, here are some links from around the league.

WCAX.com: Hoopcat homecoming
Pipe Dream: Catching up with Orla O'Reilly
Pipe Dream: Women's soccer upset bid falls short in Boston
Pipe Dream: Blowout win closes men's soccer season
Hartford Informer: Former NBA star joins UHa on draft night
Hartford Informer: Hawks taken down on Halloween
Baltimore Sun: Gazarek named to AE All-Academic team

Blogger Polls - Boston University

For the next few weeks, before the regular season, our campus bloggers will pick their own preseason polls and breakdown the upcoming basketball season.

Pre-Season Power Ranking

 

1.)   Boston U.

2.)   Stony Brook

3.)   Vermont

4.)   New Hampshire

5.)   Maine

6.)   Binghamton

7.)   Hartford

8.)   Albany

9.)   UMBC

Breakdown – You have to give it to Boston U. Even though the reigning AE champs lost John Holland to graduation and Jake O’Brien yet again to injury, they return the rest of their team and add some interesting freshman pieces. Despite a coaching change, the Terriers have experienced great continuity from Pat Chambers to Joe Jones, so look for them not to miss a beat if they can pick up the production dearth left by Holland.

As far as the other teams go, Stony Brook came within seconds of the AE title last March, without one of their top all-around performers in Tommy Brenton. Look for the Sea Wolves to contend once again for the conference title. Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Binghamton all have the potential to make noise in a conference that is lacking dominant talent. If they have even one or two players step up, these schools could create problems for the top two. However, Vermont, one of the best teams in the AE over the last three seasons, can never be counted out, and should emerge as the best of this bunch of four. Hartford, Albany, and UMBC bring up the rear. There are just too many questions facing these programs, though Albany might have the best chance of moving up the ladder during the season depending on how they can matchup size-wise against the other teams in the conference.

- Written by Erik Hinrichsen, Boston U. - 

America East Daily Word - November 3

The University at Albany hosted its annual basketball media day yesterday and plenty of local media outlets were on the scene chatting with the Great Danes about the upcoming season.

The Albany Times Union wrote a feature on John Puk, a 6-foot-10 center who, apparently, has some game on the tennis courts, as well. Puk was injury-ridden last season but appears to be in good health and will be a force for Albany inside. The Troy Record interviewed a handful of Danes about the team’s depth, a weakness last year turned into a strength this season.

We also caught up with coach Will Brown and a couple of Great Dane players to talk about their trip to Canada this summer and how that has helped bring the team closer together so far on the young season.

The Vermont men’s soccer team has the Burlington media buzzing about Saturday’s quarterfinal playoff game against Albany. WCAX sports reporter Scott Fleishman spoke with the Cats about how they are preparing for a Great Dane team they beat not too long ago.

Field hockey was a major theme today in two campus newspapers. And why shouldn’t it be? The America East Conference tourney features four, yes four, nationally ranked teams vying for a spot in the NCAA tourney. Only one will receive that automatic bid. The campus publications at Boston University and Maine highlighted their teams’ semifinal matchups. Black Bears vs. Terriers. Boston U. ended Maine’s 11-game winning streak earlier in the season but this time the stakes are higher – the season is on the line. Whoever wins that contest gets the winner of Albany-New Hampshire. So the road to field hockey supremacy is not easy for any of the four squads.

We had one contest on the slate last night. It was “Dig Pink” night in Albany as the Danes hosted Siena in a non-conference, cross-town rivalry match. The Saints were overpowered by Albany and it was a quick three-set sweep. Brooke Stanley had 22 assists to guide Albany.

No games on tap for tonight as teams prepare for a busy and exciting weekend of playoff action. Field hockey and women’s soccer will crown champions this weekend while men’s soccer quarterfinals will see some heated bouts on the pitch.

Stay tuned to AmericaEast.com for all the updates and live coverage links as well as all your conference news.

Daily Free Press: Era of conference dominance continues for women's soccer

Daily Free Press: Pan Am games golden for former Terrier sharp-shooter Strong
Maine Campus: Masters tops in America East for 2nd straight year

America East Daily Word - November 2

If you were not able to catch the ESPN Films documentary “Unguarded” last evening, you’ve got to make time to see it. The film highlights the story of Chris Herren, a basketball player turned drug addict who has battled his addiction and transformed his life for the better. Herren played basketball for Boston College before transferring to Fresno State. He was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 1999 and then traded to the Boston Celtics later in his career.

Since his fight against drugs, Herren speaks about his struggles and travels with his book Basketball Junkie. The former Celtic heads to Stony Brook University next week to speak to the athletic department and student-athletes about his struggles, his book and his revamped life. It is part of the Seawolf athletic department’s Book of the Year Program where the entire staff reads a book and then the author is invited to campus to discuss the work with staff and student-athletes.

Herren will be at Stony Brook on Sunday and Monday.

Even though football isn’t a conference-sponsored sport, the four America East schools with football teams have been tearing it up on the gridiron. Maine and New Hampshire are 1-2 in the CAA, Stony Brook is first in the Big South and Albany is first in the NEC. And of the those four teams, only New Hampshire has a loss in conference play. The four teams have a combined conference record of 17-1.

Our first blogger basketball poll made its way on to AExtra this morning. Those will be up regularly over the next week and a half before the regular season gets underway. Last month, the UMBC women’s squad received the preseason nod to win the league this year. The Retrievers also found out last night that they cracked the Top-25 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major preseason poll at No. 21. Under Phil Stern, they will certainly be a team right there at the end of the season.

Last night in men’s soccer action, the final regular season game went down in Durham. New Hampshire hosted in-state rival Dartmouth. The Wildcats saddled the Big Green with a 3-0 defeat to end the season in style.

FieldHockey regular season awards were released this afternoon by the conference office. At least one player from each of the four schools that qualified for the conference tournament took home one of the major awards.  

Daily Free Press: Great Danes stand in the way of greatness for women's soccer
Bangor Daily News: Clemson, Florida State among UMaine baseball opponents in 2012

Retriever Weekly: Women's cross country at AE champs
Retriever Weekly: Men's cross country at AE champs
Retriever Weekly: Spotlight: Ian Blanchard
Retriever Weekly: AOTW: Andrew Eckhoff
Retriever Weekly: Chattin' With Iman Kennedy
Retriever Weekly: Men's swimming and diving in the win columnc
Retriever Weekly: Women's swimming and diving dominates George Washington

UMBC Student-Athletes Donate Soles for Souls

The UMBC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee held its third-annual shoe sale in the Retriever Activities Center on Thursday, Oct. 20. The event was open to all students and faculty on campus and was paired up with Soles4Souls charity, a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. The organization distributes these shoes to people in need, regardless of race, religion, class, or any other criteria. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away nearly 13 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes, which averages out to one pair every seven seconds. The shoes have been distributed to people in over 125 countries, including Kenya, Thailand, Nepal and the United States.

Last year UMBC athletes donated 150 pairs of shoes to the Soles4Souls charity during the shoe sale; however, this year student-athletes and coaches contributed over 250 pairs of new and lightly worn used shoes. Soles4Souls provided the university with three boxes to collect donations. Extra-large boxes were needed halfway through the day to accommodate the donated shoes that exceeded the three boxes. Student-athletes delivered the boxed shoes to a local warehouse, where they will be packaged and shipped to various countries around the world. The shoe sale is the largest fundraiser for SAAC and has turned into a great community outreach program through the Soles4Souls charity.

- Written by Curtis Schickner, UMBC Baseball Player and America East Conference representative on the Division I National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee - 

America East Daily Word - November 1

November 1, 2011 – the one year anniversary of the birthday of Evan Fjeld’s mustache. The former Vermont Catamount tweeted earlier that you can’t force the mustache because that would “not be fair to the stash.”   

But the start of November also means Starbucks rolls out red cups for the holidays, Halloween decorations go back into storage containers and fall championships take center stage.

We didn’t get an overwhelming response to our championship pick ‘em polls yesterday but we heard enough to update you on who you think will win. We’ll keep those polls up throughout the championship season.

Yesterday’s women’s soccer semifinal between Hartford and Albany – a fiery tilt that the Danes won – had zero impact on how you voted for women’s soccer. All votes went in favor of Boston U., which is looking for its fifth straight conference title.

Both women’s soccer semifinal contests were quality contests. A total of four goals were scored and both games were decided by one goal. You can’t ask for much more than that when the season is on the line.

You thought field hockey was a toss-up between the two teams tied atop the standings when the regular season ended over the weekend. New Hampshire and Boston U., according to you, will play in the final next Sunday.

Albany’s field hockey squad celebrated Halloween with some fun practice activities, including some nail polish. Check it out, here.

The men’s soccer poll went heavy to Boston U., as well. Receiving 75% of the vote, Neil Roberts and company have the No. 1 seed in the tourney. Stony Brook, the No. 2 seed, received the other 25%.

During the women’s soccer regular season championship game between Hartford and Boston U., Krista Minto flashed some fancy footwork before scoring the Terriers’ third goal in a 3-0 win. We sent the video to ESPN and that play is #7 in this week’s ESPN-W top plays. You can watch Minto’s nifty goal, here.

On the subject of top plays, Stony Brook’s Alicia Nelson has made plenty during her tenure with the Seawolves volleyball program. Eclipsing the 1,000 kill plateau earlier this season, Nelson chatted with the Apple Valley Patch about her career at Stony Brook.

There is one game tonight, a non-conference soccer bout, between Granite State rivals New Hampshire and Dartmouth. New Hampshire did not qualify for the America East tournament so this will be the final game of 2011 for the Wildcats. Kick-off against the Big Green is set for 7 p.m. this evening in Durham.

For all your conference news, head over to AmericaEast.com and check out these links from around the league.

Big Apple Buckets: Three Questions - Stony Brook
Albany Times Union: Brown talks about newcomers
Press and Sun Bulletin: Binghamton men's basketball makes the grade
Press and Sun Bullein: Binghamtoon associate AD departing
Press and Sun Bulletin: Binghamton Univ. basketball scholarships restored
Daily Free Press: Cross Country falls just short of AE gold
Retriever Weekly: Talking World Series with UMBC baseball
The New Hampshire: Volleyball falls on senior day

Lagno's Late Burst Propels Albany

After running nearly a full 5-mile race, how much could one possibly have left in the tank?

The last 50 meters of Saturday’s men’s cross country championship decided which team left with the championship trophy.

But before I tell you why that was the case, we’ve got to talk about the first repeat champion since 2006, Maine’s Riley Masters. Mid-30s temperatures in Albany had zero impact on the conference’s top harrier. He joked to me before an interview, “It was a little cold, but I train in Maine.”

Masters set a course record, gliding through the 8,000 meters of terrain in 24:18 - 4:53 per mile splits for the senior from Bangor. The pack stuck with him for the early portion of the race before the field disappeared from spectator view. And when they came into view again, it was Masters well ahead of everyone else. He certainly is a cut above when it comes to cross country.

But back to the last 50 meters. Albany’s Paul Lagno trailed Boston U.’s Pete Gilmore by what couldn’t have been more than five meters. The battle wasn’t for the win, it wasn’t even for the 2^nd and 3^rd place spots – 5^th and 6^th place were at stake. Something must have just went off in Lagno’s head and he must have known, somehow, that his team’s championship hopes rested on his shoulders.

Then it happened. Lagno, ignoring how his body may have felt, ignoring how tired his legs may have been, sprinted past Gilmore with about 15 meters to go and finished ahead of Gilmore by just one second for 5^th place.

When the score sheets came out just about 10 minutes later, Boston U. and Albany had tied for first, each with 60 points. The Danes won the breaker because their top finisher was ahead of the Terrier’s. But consider the point totals. Consider the fact that if Lagno and Gilmore swapped places, if Lagno hadn’t used one last burst to overtake the Terrier, Boston U. would have won the title outright – 59 points to 61 points.

Instead, Lagno willed Albany to that tie-breaker and ultimately, the conference championship.

Blogger Polls - University at Albany

For the next few weeks, before the regular season, our campus bloggers will pick their own preseason polls and breakdown the upcoming basketball season.

My preseason selections focused on the two most important things in college basketball: experience and coaching. As far as I’m concerned, you can forget about winning at this level unless you have plenty of both. If you don‘t, there’s always next year.

Men’s Preseason Poll

1. Stony Brook: The Seawolves return a preseason all conference selection in Bryan Dougher and a great rebounder in Dallis Joyner. And, oh, by the way, they get Tommy Brenton back, who led the America East in rebounding in his last full season of action. This team is loaded with experience and will run away with the conference this year.

2. Vermont - Returning 10 players, including 4 starters this year? That’s a scary dose of continuity.

3. Boston U.

4. Albany - Will Brown said this team can do great things if he doesn’t screw it up. I’ll believe it when I see it.

5. Maine

6. Hartford

7. New Hampshire

8. UMBC

9. Binghamton

Women’s Preseason Poll

1. Hartford - Their sophomore class accounted for over half of their points last year. They now return as juniors who will only improve heading into this season. As for the freshmen they bring in? They will be coached by a world champion in Jennifer Rizzotti. Good enough for me.

2. UMBC

3. UAlbany

4. Boston U

5. Binghamton

6. UVM

7. New Hampshire

8. Maine

9. Stony Brook

Written by Jason Sanin - University at Albany

America East Daily Word - October 31

Happy Halloween!

Hopefully you are in the spooky spirit and dressing up tonight, braving the cold and satisfying that sweet-tooth. I know Stony Brook athletic director Jim Fiore is. How? Because he tweeted it. His costume? Naturally, a Seawolf.

@jdfiore: “Happy Halloween! I'm dressing up as a Seawolf today.... #whatsaseawolf? #Imaseawolf!

If you can’t make it out tonight, the cuddle up with the computer and take in the Hartford-Albany women’s soccer quarterfinal game. The winner moves on theAmerica East championship game with a NCAA Tournament bid on the line. Live coverage links can be found at AmericaEast.com.

We had some great action this weekend in the fall sports. The men’s soccer and field hockey playoff pictures are painted and will start next weekend while cross country champions were crowned in Albany. The Danes won the men’s championship and the Stony Brook women took their fifth straight title on Saturday. And we even had some basketball games; teams getting some exhibition work in against some strangers.

For today’s Daily Word, we are going to ask you who you think will be crowned champions when the fall playoffs are all said and done. On the side of the blog you will see a poll for men’s soccer, women’s soccer and field hockey. Cast your vote and we’ll update you on the results in tomorrow’s Daily Word.

Until then, here’s a look at some news from around the conference.

Press and Sun Bulletin: Men's soccer ends season on high note
Press and Sun Bulletin: Women's soccer upset bid falls short
Press and Sun Bulletin: Binghamton's Papastrat finishes 9th at AE cross country championship
Daily Free Press: Women's soccer advances to finals
Daily Free Press: Single-season wins record all part of winning effort
Daily Free Press: Men's soccer trounced by Binghamton, wins regular season title
Maine Campus: Field hockey captures No. 3 seed, wins on senior day
Maine Campus: Women's basketball gets exhibition win over New Brunswick
Maine Campus: Men's basketball impresses against Fisher
Portland Press Herald: Basketball teams get some game action
Bangor Daily News: UMaine field hockey shuts out Vermont
Bangor Daily News: Masters wins AE cross country title
Bangor Daily News: UMaine basketball teams win exhibition contests
Baltimore Sun: UMBC men's soccer falls again
Burlington Free Press: UVM men's soccer books home playoff game
WCAX.com: Headed for a home game