Cortland Football secured a spot in the Semifinals after a 58-41 win against Alma University Saturday afternoon. The nationally 11th ranked team earned its first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III tournament semifinals and will face Randolph-Macon College of Virginia on Saturday, Dec. 9.
Junior captain Ryan Bitka, from Amherst, New York sat down with Ava Bongiorno and shared his insights and reflections on the win and what the preparations are for the next round. Here is that conversation:
Ava Bongiorno: Congratulations on the big win against Alma University. How does it feel to secure a spot in the NCAA Semifinals with such a performance?
Ryan Bitka: To perform like we did on Saturday to secure our spot in the final four was truly amazing. It took the entire team and we look to continue to come out and show what we can do again this Saturday.
AB: What were you and your team’s mindset going into this game?
RB: Our mindset heading into Alma was that we had to stick together and give every snap everything we had. We are a very close team and going this late into the season helps us stay together and makes it easier to go out there and play for the guys next to you.
AB: How did the team maintain focus and composure to secure the win?
RB: we maintained our composure by using a next play mentality like we have all season. No matter what happens, good or bad, we get back to the ball and get lined up to be even better than we were the snap prior.
AB: What was the key to the offensive success, and how did you make use of Alma University’s defensive weaknesses?
RB: The keys to our success on offense was all of our skill players making a bunch of plays all over the field and Zac being able to control the game and ball out the way he did. We kept the pocket clean for him and made some big holes in the run game to have control and take advantage of a good Alma defense.
AB: As a player, what do you think were the crucial moments or turning points in the game that led to your win?
RB: Our defense absolutely balled out in the second half and caused three turnovers in the game while our offense caused zero. So for them to be able to get the ball back to us and for us to be able to capitalize when we got the ball was huge for our success.
AB: Moving forward to the NCAA Semifinals, how does the team plan to build on the momentum from the Alma University game to face the upcoming challenges?
RB: We look to learn from the mistakes we had in this win and keep improving throughout this week leading up to the Randolph-Macon game. We look to keep what has going and tighten up our game even more to come out even more crisp in our Final Four matchup this Saturday.
AB: You guys lost to Randolph-Macon in the first round of the tournament last year. What specific strategies or adjustments is the team focusing on to ensure a different outcome on Saturday?
RB: losing to Randolph-Macon left a poor taste in our mouth after last season and we are glad we get this opportunity to go back to Virginia where we now know our surroundings and are familiar with where we are playing. They are definitely a good team, but so are we and we will prepare to come out this Saturday as crisp as we have all season.