SPORTS BRIEFS: Tuesday, April 7, 1998

The Penn golf team makes strides at Navy Shooting 318 and 314 respectively on the 6,611-yard, par 71 Navy course, Penn finished with a total of 632 strokes, 29 behind eventual winner Methodist College, but only 11 shots behind Ivy foe Princeton. Leading the Quakers was senior captain Adam Bradshaw, who placed in a 10th-place tie with rounds of 80 and 73. "The tournament was a pleasant improvement from two weeks before, both personally and for the team," Bradshaw said. "Kiki in particular played well." Behind Bradshaw was junior Kiki Kyrle, an Austria native, who had his best personal performance to date, posting scores of 77 and 79, good enough for a 26th place finish. Rounding out the Quakers' lineup was sophomore Rob Goldfaden (78, 80; tied for 38th), freshman Kyle Moran (83, 82; tied for 86th), and freshman Todd Golditch (84, 82; tied for 93rd). While these results do not parallel last year, the experience that the young Quakers have gained from the Navy and Liberty invitationals should make them well prepared for their run at the Ivy Championships. -- Matt Greenberger Gunn ends NCAA career with strong showing Quakers tri-captain and 1998 ECAC Gymnast of the Year Kathleen Gunn closed out an outstanding collegiate career with a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Regionals held Saturday at the University of Pittsburgh. Ranked 12th among all competitors heading into the meet, Gunn finished with 37.775 points in the all-around. Gunn, a Wharton senior, turned in the best performance of the four Ivy League gymnasts who qualified to compete in the all-around. "A coach wants nothing more than for his athlete to have a great four year experience and for a senior to finish her career off on a high note," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. Rotating with the Ohio State Buckeyes, who finished a narrow second to Penn State in the team competition, Gunn hit four solid routines in her final meet. "Kathleen Gunn led the team to the Ivy title, the ECAC title and had a flawless competition in the regional meet -- it's just a terrific way to finish off a stellar career," Kovic said. Gunn, one of three Penn gymnasts ever to qualify for Regionals, improved upon a 15th-place finish in 1997 while becoming the first Quaker to place top-10 since Mary Pedersen in 1994. -- Eric Moskowitz Baseball heads cross town to take on La Salle The Penn men's baseball team looks to rebound from its weekend 0-4 horror show this afternoon at 3:30 p.m., when the Quakers (7-11) hit the road for La Salle. Losing three late-inning leads at home in a two-day span, Penn may benefit from a day away from the not-so-friendly confines of Bower Field. The Explorers (5-16) have just one win at home all season -- 6-1 over Bowie State -- and are likely to emerge as the 'whipping boys' for a Red and Blue team that desperately needs a 'W' before this weekend's pair of New England doubleheaders. While the Explorer's pitching staff's 9.26 E.R.A. points toward a fiesta for Quakers' bats, the middle of the La Salle batting order has some meat. La Salle designated hitter Brian Mills (.273, 1 HR, 7 RBI), first baseman Mike Fuchs (.325, 1, 15) both have shown the ability to hit the ball into the gaps. -- Marc Edelman