Roundtable: what Penn fall sport are you excited to watch?

 

With the 2014 fall season ready to go for Penn’s various sports teams, it is time to get excited. What is getting our sports editors most excited (and should get you excited as well)? Let’s take a look, shall we?

Senior Sports Editor Steven Tydings: OK, to start off, I’m not going to let anyone choose watching Al Bagnoli’s final season. That’s because we are all excited to watch it. It doesn’t need any emphasis.

For my non-Bagnoli pick, I’m going to go with the other end of the Penn football spectrum and the development of Alek Torgersen. While the Bagnoli era comes to an end, the time of Torgersen has just begun. With Bagnoli referring to Torgersen as a “diamond in the rough,” my interest is certainly peaked. How about you Holden?

Sports Editor Holden McGinnis: Well Steven, it’ll certainly be interesting to see what Torgersen can produce and whether or not Penn football can deliver an Ivy title for Bagnoli in his final year.

But I think the attention should shift back across the bridge to Rhodes Field, where a certain team is practicing an entirely different form of football (oh, wait, we call it soccer). Last season we saw the men’s soccer team rebound entirely from a 1-6 Ivy record in 2012 to claim the Ivy League title. Though they graduated a strong senior class, much of the core remains the same and it’ll be interesting to see if they can put the pieces together again. Colin, any thoughts?

Sports Editor Colin Henderson: There’s no doubt about it — football and soccer will get the majority of the attention this fall season. Of course, I can’t help but be somewhat excited by the prospect of Penn football’s defense being led in part by my fellow Nazareth Area High School graduate,senior Dan Wilk.

But ultimately, nothing gets me more excited than the men’s cross country team’s chances. With a legitimate Ivy star in Thomas Awad and a strong supporting cast, it looks like the Quakers are finally ready to make it over the hump and challenge for an Ivy League title. What do you think Ian? You have the final word.

Sports Editor Ian Wenik: I’ve been very excited to see the cross country team grow and develop since I first started interviewing former coach Blake Boldon back in my freshman year. I personally think that Princeton has amassed enough talent to hold off any challenge from the Quakers, but I fully expect to see Penn pick up a top-four finish at Heps this year.

I’m gonna have my eyes on field hockey, for different reasons. I’m curious as to whether or not coach Colleen Fink can rally the remaining troops after losing so many key contributors to transfers and other reasons. The program grew so much last year that it would be disheartening to see it take a step back.

Comments powered by Disqus

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.