A comprehensive look at the top-10 moments in Ohio Athletics this year.
For the final print edition, The Post breaks down the Top Ten moments in Ohio Athletics in the previous two semesters.
Sure, the football and men’s basketball teams might have struggled in 2014-15, but there’s still plenty to smile looking back on, as well as be optimistic for the future.
1. #BobsBallers
The ”Bob Boldon Era” began with a technical foul less than 10 seconds into the first game.
Two years later Boldon and company went out west to Arizona for Ohio’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in two decades.
In addition, the Bobcats won the Mid-American Conference outright — regular season and conference tournament — for the first time since 1985-86.
Ohio’s 27 wins were the most in program history, just two years removed from one of the worst team in school history in 2011-12 (6-23).
The “Bob Boldon Era” began with a technical. Now it’s the MAC’s pedestal program.
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2. Maurice Ndour’s game-winning slam dunk
Against Buffalo, senior basketball forward Maurice Ndour electrified The Convo with his walk-off slam dunk with just 0.6 second left in regulation. Ndour scored a career-high 31 points and made his debut on SportsCenter Top 10 plays.
3. Josiah Yazdani’s field goal to beat Miami
In the final game of their season, Bobcats’ kicker Josiah Yazdani clutched a 28-yard field goal to defeat the RedHawks in dramatic fashion and complete a 21-point comeback. Yazdani’s field goal gave Ohio its eighth win against Miami in nine years.
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4. Volleyball’s 17-game winning streak
Despite losing in the semifinal round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament later in the year, first-year coach Deane Webb’s squad dominated the MAC with a 17-game winning streak. Ohio, who will only lose two seniors to graduation, could replicate the same success in the fall.
5. Women’s Golf winning first tournament since 2004
With a 303 overall score and a 15-over-par effort, coach Kelly Ovington and the Bobcats won their first tournament in over a decade at the Golden Grizzlies Invitational in late September. Junior Angela Codian compiled a two round score of 150 (+6) to earn a second-place finish in the tournament — the best for Ohio.
6. Hockey players join Team USA
Ohio’s Michael Harris, Joey Breslin, Tyler Benson and coach Sean Hogan joined Team USA at the World University Games this past February in Granada, Spain.
Breslin led Team USA with three goals.
7. Jake Madsen in the record books
Technically it hasn’t happened yet, but senior infielder Jake Madsen is five hits away (265) from surpassing baseball’s program record for career hits (269). He has 13 regular season games to break it.
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8. Ohio qualifies six wrestlers to NCAA Tournament
For the second straight season, coach Joel Greenlee and the Bobcats qualified six wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament including redshirt junior Tywan Claxton, who finished his season with a 29-7 record.
9. “KB for 3”
Junior guard Kiyanna Black helped the Bobcats to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1995.
To get there, she was also voted first-team all-MAC and the player of tournament in Cleveland this past March.
Black averaged 16.0 points per game in 2014-15, and was voted “Female Athlete of the Year” at the #CATSPYs.
10. Hardcore #MACtion
Ohio vs. NIU was a pretty boring football game. Thankfully there was a cow tipping in the the south endzone, which made it to ESPN and exploded across social media outlets. Moo! (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2272613-ohio-bobcat-fans-go-cow-tipping-during-game-vs-northern-illinois?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national)
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