CLUB ROUNDUP: Skiing teams disappoint

Even when you don't expect something, it can be disappointing to let it slip through your fingers. In the case of the men's ski team, that thing was a trip to nationals. The Quakers had their lowest finish of the year in the Giant Slalom Saturday. Penn, however, came back strong with a third place finish in the Slalom Sunday, giving it fourth place overall. Only the top three finishers go on to nationals. "We skied poorly on Saturday because we didn't think we had a chance," co-captain Randy Balik said. "That makes it harder to take." The women also had a disappointing meet and did not qualify. The only bright spot was team president Kristin Green, who finished seventh, best in her Penn career. · Sometimes in sports, a team must suffer through difficult times while new leadership takes over and rebuilds the program. This seems to be true when it comes to the Penn men's hockey team, which finished up another losing season, but still has high hopes for next year. In its second to last game against Lehigh, the Quakers managed a 3-3 tie, ending the Engineers' chances for a spot in the playoffs. Then in Penn's final game, the Quakers lost 6-1 to Maryland. "It looks pretty encouraging [for next season]," departing team president Craig Perlmutter said. "We have some good recruits coming in." Over the past two years, Perlmutter has begun many programs to improve the team. His main goal is to get Penn to upgrade the status of the program to varsity. He doesn't understand why it hasn't been done already. "At Brown and Cornell, hockey is way more popular than basketball. The students love it. I think we can get that feeling here too." Over the past two years, Perlmutter started an alumni newsletter keeping former players up date and asking for money. It raised more than $3,500 this season. The money helps the team recruit high school players. · Today, the Quaker's men's volleyball team continues it's season at home against Villanova. So far this season, Penn (3-3, 2-0 Eastern Club League) has beaten Drexel and Rutgers. The Quakers crushed the Scarlet Knights 45-3. Throughout the season, Penn has been led by a trio of Matts -- co-captain Matt Solmon, junior Matt Gainsley and Frumowitz. Although the trio wants to have a winning record, its goals aren't merely to win games. Victories in both the Ivy League tournament and the Eastern Club League Tournament are what they are shooting for. "When it comes down to the end of the season, when we hit the tournaments, we will be ready," Frumowitz said.