'PENNdemonium' follows NCAA win

and Daniel Gingiss The atmosphere at Cavanaugh's Restaurant last night can best be described in only one word -- "PENN-demonium." More than 500 screaming fans crammed into Cav's, located at 39th and Sansom streets, for the Penn-Nebraska basketball game. And when the final buzzer sounded, and Penn had won its first NCAA tournament game in a decade, the jubilant crowd exploded into cheers and a chorus of "The Red and Blue." The Quakers dominated throughout the whole game, never trailing in their 90-80 victory over the Cornhuskers. Cav's doorman Jeff Farrell described the scene as "hectic, crazy [and] exciting." "Everybody's going nuts," he said. "This crowd was just enormous." College senior Morris Massel was just one of the fans dancing on the tables and chairs after the game. "The Quakers played the best fucking game of their lives," he said. "The way they were shooting today, they couldn't miss." But most of the fans did not have time to analyze the game itself. Instead, they just savored the victory. "This is absolutely the best game I've ever seen in my entire life," said College junior Debra Bernstein. "This is the best experience at Penn I've ever had." "We did exactly as I thought we'd do," said Engineering and Wharton senior Chris Heagele. "Unbelievable!" The PENNdemonium was not only limited to Cav's, though, as many other Quaker fans -- including University administrators -- watched the game on and off campus. Acting Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum watched the game from her parents' home in Germantown. "We were jumping up and down and screaming so loud that the next-door neighbors stopped by to make sure that everything was all right," she said. "I am so excited? I'm just beside myself." McCoullum added that she won a bet with her father. She said she will claim her prize -- 20 trips on Great Adventure's Great American Scream Machine roller coaster -- with her father this summer. Associate VPUL Larry Moneta said he was not surprised at the victory. "I think it's spectacular and I knew all the time that they were going to win," he said. "It shows you can be very smart and very athletic at the same time." Students also said the victory legitimately places the Quakers in the NCAA's national spotlight. "Maybe everyone will start paying attention to us now," said College senior Curt Soloff. "We're for real." The win was especially sweet for University seniors, who are catching their last glimpse of the Quakers as students. "It was awesome," said College senior Alissa Stonehill. "I have the best memories, and it makes it so much better that we're seniors -- this is it for us." "It's better than ever," added College senior Dana Rebak. "It's the best way to leave the school." Predictions for the Quakers' fate in the upcoming tournament games ranged from the realistic to the outrageous. With the victory last night, the Quakers advance to the second round in the tournament. They will play the University of Florida on Saturday at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. "I think they have the capacity to beat Florida," Moneta said. "Their strength is equally distributed and I think they can match very well against Florida." Moneta went even further in his prediction, saying that Penn could win "at least two more." But Massel set his sights even higher than that. "They're going to take them all -- that's it, very simple," he said. "They're going to go the whole fucking way!" And for some fans who could not attribute the Quaker's success to anything else, St. Patrick's Day provided the answer. "It's the luck of the Irish that made us win," said Wharton junior Steve Byrne.