Penn's big man has hearty first practice yesterday

Geoff Owens was joined on the court by an entourage of doctors and computers. Sophomore Geoff Owens returned to the Penn men's basketball team practice yesterday for the first time since being diagnosed with a serious heart condition. Owens was closely supervised during the practice by a doctor from the Underwood Hospital in New Jersey, who used a tylemetry transmitter monitoring system to monitor Owens' heart rate. The system included a square plastic unit with sensors which was taped to Owens' chest. Owens' struggled to keep the unit in place during the scrimmaging sessions and had to be continually checked by his courtside entourage. The sensory unit on his chest sent signals to sensory monitoring units at either end of the court, which transmitted information on Owens' heart rhythm to a transmitter placed courtside. The transmitter processed the data through a personal computer and sent the results to a monitor which showed Owens' heart rate and the rhythm patterns of his heart beats. "Your heart makes a motion. That motion is picked up on your skin as impedance. That gives you a rhythm on the screen," Scott Matlock, a sales representative for the system's developer, said. The monitoring system is not new, and is used frequently on hospital patients and in testing labs. Owens underwent weeks of workouts within a lab setting before being cleared to practice with the rest of the Quakers. "He worked twice as hard in the lab setting as he has ever worked in the practice setting," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "We are going to get all of our guys to the lab next year." All of the equipment did not seem to slow Owens on the court as he practiced at full-effort level, but his father, who was also in attendance, admitted that watching his son on the court again made him nervous. "It's exciting for him. He really enjoys basketball and it has been a really tough period for him," Pat Owens said. "I talked to him last night, and he was a little apprehensive but very excited to be back with his teammates." Owens is expected to practice again on Monday under the close watch of his doctor.

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