In its season opener at the Palestra against UMBC, Penn entered the game burdened by a long series of question marks: What would this squad look like Zack-Rosen-less? Could this young squad hold its own, despite only returning 43 percent of last year's minutes? Can the team beat the Retrievers for a fourth consecutive year? The Quakers answered by orchestrating an inspired second half comeback and securing their first victory of the year, 80-75.
THE GOOD:Comeback from being down 22 points.
With 5:08 remaining in the first half, the Quakers stared down a 22-point deficit, 42-20, primarily as the result of a 15-0 run by the Retrievers and five Penn turnovers over a four-minute span. However, the Red and Blue turned around and outscored UMBC 14-6 to end the first half, and they continued the onslaught in the second behind a stellar 15-point performance from Miles Cartwright. Most importantly, Penn did not panic when it got down early and made all the necessary adjustments with enough time to take back the game, which demonstrated wisdom beyond this young team's years.
THE BAD: Fifteen first half turnovers.
This does not come as a shocking surprise, since it’s characteristic of an inexperienced squad to try to do too much in its opening game of the season. The Quakers protected the ball much better in the second half, giving up the ball just six times, but there are still some lingering questions about who will handle the ball in the backcourt, after Tony Hicks and Camryn Crocker both accounted for three turnovers. Penn had better control Cartwright bringing up the ball, so the Red and Blue may look to him to play some point guard this season. However, the worst offender in turnovers was Fran Dougherty, which brings us to “The Ugly.”
THE UGLY: Fran Dougherty trying to catch the ball.
Dougherty turned the ball over a team-high four times, all of which are exemplified by one play from this game: Penn is inbounding the ball from the baseline and a pass goes out to Dougherty, near the three-point line. Since Doc isn’t much of a threat from that range, he is wide open. However, when the ball approaches Dougherty, he acts like he’s never seen a basketball before (i.e. pretty confused), and the ball slips through his hands out of bounds. Though Doc scored some crucial points against UMBC, the Quakers will need him to, well, catch the ball this season.
In the penultimate game of the year, Penn football (4-4, 4-1 Ivy) will host Harvard (7-1, 4-1) in its final home game of the year at Franklin Field. The winner of the game will win at least a share of the Ivy League title. Sports Editor Mike Wisniewski and football writers Ethan Alter and John Phillips bring you the action live:
After falling one game short of an Ivy League title last year, Penn basketball opens its season tonight at the Palestra against America East non-conference foe UMBC. Follow along here as Associate Sports Editors Kenny Kasper and Allison Bart bring you the action live:
We've been saying all week how this weekend's Penn-Harvard match at Franklin Field is the de facto Ivy League title game: Whichever team wins will clinch at least a share of the championship and have a chance to win it outright next week.
Back in 1982, the two teams met at Franklin Field in the same situation with 4-1 records in the league. The Quakers jumped out to a commanding 20-0 lead, but the Crimson stormed back with three fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull ahead, 21-20.
In the game's final drive, Penn quarterback Gary Vura drove the Red and Blue to the Harvard 21, good enough to set up a 38-yard field goal with three seconds left. Against the win, the kick was no good. But as Crimson players celebrated their supposed victory, a flag was thrown for running into the kicker.
Placekicker Dave Shulman had another chance, and this time he nailed it, handing Penn its first Ivy League championship in 23 years. Highlights of the game can be seen here, with legendary Philadelphia Eagles broadcaster Merrill Reese providing the play-by-play:
In this week's football segment, I sit down with Associate Sports Ed. Kenny Kasper to talk Penn football. The Quakers upset Princeton on the road, 28-21, a week ago, and have set themselves up for a de facto championship game Saturday against No. 25 Harvard at Franklin Field (see preview). The Crimson rank near the top of the Ancient Eight in almost every category, so what will the Red and Blue need to do to come out on top?
Similar to the Ivy media preseason men's basketball poll, two editors from each Ivy League newspaper participated in our own preseason poll. Ours was nearly identical to the Ivy League's, with the exception of Columbia and Cornell being switched. Here's the full breakdown with votes:
The 2012-13 Penn basketball season is finally upon us! Friday night, Penn opens for the second straight year against UMBC (see preview), but missing will be familiar faces like Zack Rosen, Tyler Bernardini and Rob Belcore, in addition to a completely revamped coaching staff. How will the Quakers handle the change? Senior Sports Ed. Megan Soisson sits down with her co-editors Alyssa Kress and Mike Tony to discuss what awaits Penn over the weekend and the winter:
In case you missed it, here are a couple of videos from Wednesday night's Ms. and Mr. Penn Bodybuilding Contest. The first is of the Men's Short Class posing as a group. Note women's track coach and organizer Tony Tenisci saying as he calls out the poses, "Let's show them what a diet can do."
A few weeks ago, I interviewed former DP sports editor Jesse Spector about his time at Penn along with his thoughts on the ongoing NHL lockout. Spector also talked about his attempt to buy MLB’s Montreal Expos in 2002 and the national attention he received because of it. Below are more excerpts from our wide-ranging conversation.
On the timing of the NHL’s offer of a 50/50 split in Hockey Related Revenue (HRR) from mid-October:
Spector: I think it is really what the NHL was after all along, a 50/50 split. I think it was a proposal designed both to get negotiations going and to change the conversation after the news came out that the NHL was doing focus groups, not that it’s such a bad thing that a multi-million dollar corporation to be doing focus groups. But the way it was slanted PR-wise was that the NHL, instead of negotiating, was diddling around, trying to massage their message while getting [Political consultant and Penn graduate] Frank Luntz involved.
On the NHLPA and public reaction to the offer:
Spector: I think the NHLPA was surprised to receive an offer. I think everyone in hockey was surprised that the owners made an offer. [The owners] have been saying all along that they were waiting for the NHLPA to make the next offer and then they come out with an offer that has the appearance of being reasonable. Obviously, to anyone that’s ever been in kindergarten, 50/50 sounds pretty good and that is what the NHL is really banking on.
On his feelings about the lockout:
Spector: I’m not the most overly optimistic person in the world right now, which is a change from over the summer when I was very optimistic. I didn’t think that there would be a way that the two sides would be dumb enough to get to a lockout. It turns out they were and here we are.”
On his feelings about Twitter:
Spector: People are consuming their news now in different ways and a lot of that means up to the second, and that means social media and 140 character bursts on Twitter. The other thing about Twitter is that it’s not just me reporting the news. It is me being able to say whatever I want to say about life in general. People know from Twitter I’m not just another voice in the crowd for the NHL. I’m also someone who likes European soccer, who takes a real strong interest in politics, and who talks about other sports in North America.
On the progression of the Montreal Expos story:
Spector: It really has [Daily Pennsylvanian] ties. It didn’t really become a big story until it was on ESPN.com and the reason it was on ESPN.com was that as a member of DP Sports, I was part of a rotisserie fantasy baseball league and I was the youngest one in it, being a senior at the time. The rest were all alumni and one of the other members was [New York Times reporter] Alan Schwarz, who at that point was writing for ESPN.com. It’s a very Penn story top to bottom.
On his favorite game he covered at Penn:
Spector: It was a Penn-Brown football game and the back page headline was “The Impossible has Happened”. It was just this ridiculous comeback and the final score was 38-35. Franklin Field was more full that usual at the start but most people left because Penn was down by so much. It was just surreal watching that game because it was two offenses who could not be stopped. I have not been to a lot of football games. I mostly watch football games on TV because it is better that way but that was a football game I was glad to be at because that was nuts.”
Returns were mixed on last week's predictions. Conner Scott wasn't up at all, catching just one pass for seven yards. Jeff Jack didn't carry the load as much as I forecasted either, but Dave Twamley came up with an interception to save Penn's Ivy title hopes in the fourth quarter. So who's looking up and who's looking down against Harvard?
Three Up —
Dave Twamley: Cornerbacks coach Jon Dupont told me this week that Twamley is “the grandpa of the secondary,” and his experience in defensive coordinator Ray Priore’s complex schemes has been evident all season. Twamley currently ranks second on the team in tackles and came up with the interception that preserved Penn’s Ivy title hopes in the fourth quarter last week. Twamley mentioned that Harvard’s offensive strategic continuity from last year is making for an easier time dissecting the Crimson ‘O’ in the film room this week, so maybe Twamley’s studying will pay some dividends when it matters most and keep him on the up and up.
Conner Scott: One catch, seven yards. That was Scott’s stat line at Princeton, and so he really has nowhere to go but up this week against Harvard’s seventh-ranked pass defense, its Achilles heel. Dartmouth wide receiver Michael Reilly, whose receiving stats are very similar to Scott’s this season, burnt the Crimson for 12 catches, 165 yards and a touchdown two weeks ago, so Scott is capable of that kind of performance against Harvard as well.
Attendance: If there aren’t signs of life in the stands for an NBC Sports Network-televised de facto Ivy championship game against Harvard, there’s a serious problem. But chances are the casual Penn student/fan will make his way to the Frank to see what all the football buzz on-campus (yes, there’s a Penn athletics buzz on-campus outside of the Buzz this week) is about.
Three Down —
Running game: This one’s too easy. Harvard’s rushing defense has been ridiculous all year, giving up just 1.5 yards per carry and 43.4 rushing yards per game. That’s 67 less rushing yards per game than Brown’s second-ranked rushing defense. While Penn’s rushing attack has momentum after a 211-yard performance at Princeton last week, it will be a major feat for the Quakers to even pass the century mark on the ground against the Crimson on Saturday.
Flags: As in down on the ground. If the rest of Harvard and Penn’s 2012 campaigns are any indication, there will be a lot of yellow laundry tossed upon Franklin Field this weekend. The Crimson have amassed more penalties and penalty yardage than any other Ivy team, averaging 59.2 penalty yards assessed to them per contest. And only three Ivies have racked up more penalties and penalty yardage than the Quakers this season. But since this is the Ivy championship tilt, it seems discipline isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Third-down situations: Harvard ranks first in both converting third downs and stopping opposing offenses on third down. Penn struggled stopping Princeton on third down last week, allowing the Tigers to get a fresh set of downs 41 percent of the time on third down. First-team All-Ivy tight end Kyle Juszczyk is a dynamic third-down receiver for Harvard and can make plays to move the chains from either the backfield or split end, so the Quakers will have to play tighter on third down on both sides of the football.
A Comeback Falls Short against Notre Dame, 28-20
November 7, 1953
You don’t hear about the Quakers playing Notre Dame much these days ... or at all.
In 1953, however, Penn football was still big time, and they came very close to taking down the Fighting Irish.
But it was also a fighting effort for the Red and Blue.
That year, Penn played teams such as Michigan, Army and Ohio State, which included wins against Penn State, Navy and Vanderbilt.
As part of this extremely tough schedule, the Quakers scheduled No. 1 Notre Dame at Franklin Field.
The Fighting Irish quickly took a lead, and by the end of the first half, they were up 21-7, which included a 92-yard run by Notre Dame running back Johnny Lattner — who rushed 651 yards for the Irish that year— for a touchdown in the first quarter.
But the Mungermen made a major transition during the half and came back onto the field to outscore Notre Dame in the latter part of the game, 13-7.
The Quakers were unable to complete the comeback, though, even with a strong effort in the fourth quarter.
Penn quarterback Ed Gramigna attempted to end a drive down the field in a touchdown, but ultimately could not get the team into the end zone after Lattner intercepted a pass, ending the Quakers hopes of getting back into game contention.
Lattner was a tough obstacle for the Quakers. The RB won the Heisman Trophy that year and the Maxwell Award that year and the year before and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1954.
The Quakers would finish the season 3-5-1 and go 0-9 the next two years before some rebuilding, but this was the end of an era for the Red and Blue and Coach Munger’s final season.
While football may have had the most dramatic finish in Princeton over the weekend, it was not the only Penn squad to take on the Tigers. Check Weekend Wrap for a review of the Quakers' performances in other arenas, including a few squads that finished their seasons against Princeton.
Field Hockey
Even in a strong year for Penn field hockey, the Red and Blue were not likely to fair well against No. 2 Princeton. The Tigers outscored their Ivy opponents 45-1 on the year and recorded six league wins by a margin of five goals or more. With this in mind, Quakers’ 7-0 defeat should not come as a surprise to anyone. Princeton’s victory secured its eighth consecutive league title.
That said, Penn (9-8, 3-4 Ivy) can certainly celebrate finishing above .500 for the first time since 2006 — one of several indications that this program is on the rise.
Men's Soccer
Despite holding off the Tigers for the first half an hour of play, the Penn men’s soccer team collapsed once again in a 3-0 loss at Princeton. With a last-place finish on the horizon, the Quakers (2-13, 0-6 Ivy) should start the rebuilding process now and start thinking about how the team can change its fortunes for next season.
Women's Soccer
As Penn women’s soccer coach Darren Ambrose put it, “Speed kills.” The Quakers found this out in a big way this weekend against Princeton, as they fell to the Tigers, 4-2, on the road. Princeton’s Jen Hoy demonstrated why she deserves the Ivy League Player of the Year award, using her speed to create breakaways on multiple occasions, despite double and triple-teams by Penn’s defense. When the Quakers swarmed her, Hoy fed to Lauren Lazo, who recorded a hat trick on the evening.
To their credit, the Red and Blue (9-6-1, 5-2 Ivy) did not go down without a fight. Late in the second half, Clara Midgley added two goals in nine minutes to make the game 3-2. However, the Tigers ultimately added one more score and walked away with a win as well as the league championship.
Volleyball
With Yale steamrolling the Ivy standings, it’s a race to second place for Penn volleyball. Despite knotting the match at 1-1 at one point, the squad failed to slow down the Bulldogs (16-5, 12-0 Ivy) and lost by a final of 3-1 Friday night at the Palestra. However, the Quakers (13-10, 8-4) turned around Saturday to defeat Brown, 3-1, on Senior Night. The Red and Blue currently sit at third in the Ivy League behind Yale and Princeton (12-10, 9-3) with two matches remaining.
Penn kept its Ivy title hopes alive with a 28-21 victory at Princeton on Saturday (see recap). Billy Ragone led another game-winning drive in the fourth quarter, while the defense kept the Quakers in the game, forcing four turnovers on the day. The Red and Blue are still tied with Harvard for first place in the league. They face the Crimson — who beat Columbia, 69-0, on Saturday — next weekend at Franklin Field.
THE GOOD: The running game. Penn had its best ground game of the season with 211 rushing yards on 47 attempts, significantly more than the season average of 132.9 yards. Lyle Marsh led the way with 104 net yards on the ground, followed by Billy Ragone with 61 and Jeff Jack with 50. Ragone and Jack each had a rushing touchdown on the day.
THE BAD: Penn's pass rush. Penn had just one sack on Princeton's two quarterbacks. Connor Michelsen and Quinn Epperly threw for 319 yards combined and often had plenty of time to find an open receiver. After Saturday's game, Penn has just 11 sacks on the season, second-worst in the Ivy League.
THE UGLY: Penn students' attempt to rush the field. Penn Athletics arranged for buses to bring students to the game, and many Greek organizations organized their own transportation, so the stands were packed with Penn students. As the clock ran out and the Quakers sealed their 28-21 victory over Princeton, there was a pathetic attempt to rush the field. No more than 20 students participated, and everything quickly fell apart as the students ran into the masses of players meeting in the middle of the field to shake hands.
I'm at Princeton Stadium with Anna Strong and John Phillips. With Penn, Princeton and Harvard tied for first place in the Ivy League, the Quakers' matchup with the Tigers has title implications for the first time since 2005. Penn ( 3-4, 3-1 Ivy) has won its last five games against Princeton (4-3, 3-1), but the Tigers are certainly a different team this year. Follow all the action here:
No doubt the Ithaca, N.Y., school has felt the brunt of the recent recession as has any other university, but according to the Cornell Daily Sun, the university if requiring 11 of its 36 varsity sports teams to be completely self-funded by 2015.
"There is a major ongoing effort to raise this money," Andy Noel, Cornell's director of athletics and physical education, told the newspaper. "We're visiting alumni all year and on the phone a lot as the fiscal year closes. ... It's a real challenge each year to generate the income that ... allows us to have competitive teams."
The 11 teams on the list: baseball, golf, lightweight rowing, sprint football, men's and women's polo, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's squash, and equestrian.
Cornell first started trimming its budgets in 2009, when a five-percent cut was implemented by the University across-the-board to every department. In each year since, the school has made additional cuts to Cornell Athletics.
Without funding from the University, the teams will have to stay afloat by means of operating income such as ticket sales (which are minimal for all programs but men's basketball, football and men's hockey), philanthropic gifts and endowments.
Larry Loughery has left the Penn men's basketball team, coach Jerome Allen told me Friday. Here's what Allen had to say about the fifth-year senior:
Larry has decided to leave the program. He's not going to play this year, but in my opinion he's still a part of the program. He's been very instrumental just in terms of his commitment to battling through adversity. He's been a great example to some of the other guys who've had opportunities taken away from them because of injury. He's had courage to keep coming back, and he's been fun to be around. I wish it went a little different, but I appreciate all he gave to this program.
Loughery played in seven games as a freshman, three as a sophomore and one as a junior. Each of his seasons at Penn has been cut short due to injury, and he sat out all of last year. Overall, he's played just 78 minutes in his four years at Penn with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Loughery is the second player to leave the program this year. In September, junior Marin Kukoc quit the team. Loughery was also the last member of the team to have played under previous head coach Glen Miller.
Friday morning, Track & Field and Cross Country Director Steve Dolan announced the promotion of assistant throwing coach Tony Tenisci to the position of Betty J. Costanza Head Coach of Women's Track & Field after 27 years on staff.
Tenisci, famous in track circles for developing the sport of women's hammer throw in America, has a long history with the program, coaching four individuals in six different events to seven Heptagonal championships during his tenure as assistant.
Tenisci is excited to take on the additional responsibilities associated with becoming head coach.
"I am honored to be in this position," Tenisci said in a statement. "It is named after Betty Costanza, with whom I worked for 16 years. She was an extraordinary woman and Hall of Fame coach, so for me to carry on her name and traditions is a great honor."
By accepting the position, Tenisci becomes only the 3rd head coach in the entire history of the women's track program, following in the footsteps of Costanza, who coached the team from its inception in 1976 until 2002, and Gwen Harris, who resigned at the conclusion of last season.
Following Penn's 20-17 homecoming win (see story) combined with Princeton's 37-35 loss last week at Cornell, the Quakers and the Tigers head into Saturday's matchup at 3-1 and tied for first place in the Ivy League. Can Penn football win another to push the Yale flop back further in our minds, and what will it take? Here's what Sports Editor Alyssa Kress and football writer John Phillips had to say about it on this week's segment:
In anticipation of the upcoming Penn-Princeton women's soccer game, the outcome of which will determine whether or not the Quakers earn a share of the Ivy League championship, we bring you the first ever segment ofThis Week on 33rd Street: Women's Soccer Edition. I sit down with Associate Sports Editors Kenny Kasper and Mike Tony to discuss Penn's chances on Saturday and the possibility of a three-way tie for first, which — if it happens — would make determining the NCAA tournament berth get ugly.
Jerome Allen and the rest of the Penn men's basketball team got a great commitment Wednesday night in Matt Howard. The shooting guard from Columbia, S.C. announced his decision on Twitter Wednesday evening:
He chose Penn over Harvard, Stanford and Virginia Tech. He visited Penn on the weekend of Oct. 5 and Harvard the weekend after.
ESPN scouted him as a 67 and said the 6-foot-4, 185-pounder listed him as the No. 6 recruit in the state and the No. 82 shooting guard in the country. Howard joins Tony Bagtas and Dave Winfield, Jr. in what will be Penn's Class of 2017.
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