SPORTS BRIEFS: Thursday, April 15, 1999

Bench press contest held at Hutchinson The competition featured three divisions -- men's heavyweight, men's lightweight (below 180 lbs.) and women's. Winners were determined not merely by maximum lift but by a formula which accounted for each lifter's body weight. Richard Scarlett, who lifted 405 lbs., won the heavyweight division. Susana Marin, who weighed in at 112.5 lbs. but pressed 110 lbs., won the women's division. Lightweight division winner Russell Bazemore, who weighed in at 178.1 lbs. but bench pressed 375 lbs., and lightweight runner-up Yusef Kassim, who weighed in at 153.9 lbs. but bench pressed 315 lbs., were the only two lifters in the competition to press at least twice their body weight. The lift required competitors to remain stationary while keeping their feet on the ground at all times; each lifter was also prohibited from raising his head or rear off the bench. Any lift in which the bar dipped downward during completion was ruled invalid. Finally, the lifters had to pause with the weight at chest level until given a press command by the head judge. This pause makes competition lifting considerably more difficult than the average bench press. -- Eric Moskowitz W. Golf competes in its first Ivy Championship The Penn women's golf team is heading to Long Island this weekend to compete in the Ivy League Championships for the first time in school history. The sport will not have official varsity status at Penn until next year but is already recognized by both the NCAA and the Ivy League, allowing it to be one of six teams to play this Friday and Saturday at Bethpage Golf Club. The only Ancient Eight schools without women's golf teams are Cornell and Columbia. The Quakers are led by senior captain Lindsay Stern, who said that Penn will likely be overmatched. "It's our first year and we're not expected to win," Stern said. "We just want to try to get it rolling this time." Other competing Quakers will be sophomores Karen Pearlman and Jen Schraut, as well as freshman Victoria Entine. Junior Natasha Miller, who is the fifth team member, is currently studying abroad. The Red and Blue are very optimistic about the future of the program due to the addition of three new recruits next year, as well as the "varsity sport" label which they will finally receive from the University. For now, the Quakers, who are coached by men's golf coach Francis Vaughn, are just excited to be entering their initial competition with other Ivy League schools. "The emphasis has been on having fun, enjoying the game, and getting better," Stern said. "We just want a good group dynamic and are not too concerned about winning right now." -- Tom FitzGibbon