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(02/21/00 10:00am)
Decked out in a black knit watch cap and scarf, Temple men's basketball coach John Chaney addressed the media last night. The Owls had just defeated Penn, 53-42, at the Palestra, but you wouldn't know it from what Chaney said about his squad. The insults began to fly as Chaney discussed the play of Temple center Marc Jackson. The Quakers had attempted to double-team Jackson, with little success. The 6-foot-10 sophomore had 16 points and 13 rebounds in the contest, dominating center Tim Krug and forward Paul Romanczuk in the low post with apparent ease. Yet Chaney was not satisfied. "They mix it up," Chaney said of Penn's interior defense on Jackson. "They'll catch him. Instead of him dropping, he would go high. So the man would get him from behind a lot. That's very difficult for him to read, so you've got to dial 911 and get your ass out of there and look across the court to get that swingman." Temple swingmen Lynard Stewart and Huey Futch also drew Chaney's wrath. Futch stepped into the starting lineup last night after guard Johnny Miller dislocated his shoulder in the Owls' last game against Fordham. But matched up against guard Garett Kreitz, Futch chipped in only three points -- less than half his season average -- and six defensive rebounds. Stewart added 12 points, well above his average of 6.6 per game, but contributed only one rebound. "Lynard and Huey just don't make that spread fast enough," Chaney said. "They're slow-ass people. So when [Jackson] starts to look for them, the Penn guy has a chance to help and recover to them. Now [Jackson] finds himself backing his man up again, and I'm screaming at him." That seems to be a constant within Chaney's system. The post-game trash-talking continued as Chaney described his trademark match-up zone. The Owls actually managed to improve upon their scoring defense (59.2 ppg) -- fourth best in the nation -- by holding Penn to just 42 points. The Quakers turned in a pathetic offensive performance against the Temple zone, making only 22.8 percent of their shots from the floor and 21.1 percent from long range in 38 attempts. Temple did a near-flawless job shutting down the passing lanes, stifling Penn's motion offense and forcing the Quakers outside. The height differential became a huge factor in the game then, as Penn found few available shots without a Temple hand in the way. "What would appear sometimes to be an opening many times was not," Penn head coach Fran Dunphy said. "You think you've got a wide gap before that shot's taken, but all of a sudden it's closed very quickly. We probably needed to get in the middle more and attack the basket once we got it in the middle." Both teams shot poorly, particularly in the second half, when neither squad topped 23 percent. The first half was the difference in the contest, as Temple made 48 percent of its shots and emerged with a 14-point lead by halftime. After scoring just 18 first-half points, the Quakers went into intermission searching for adjustments. "We hoped we would just come out and things would change," Krug said. "We figured you can't play that badly and continue into the second half." Unfortunately for Penn, its shooting woes persisted after the break. Quakers' swingman Ira Bowman suffered most of all. Scoreless at halftime, the Penn co-captain managed only four points on two free throws and a running jumper -- all within the last 1 minute, 21 seconds of the contest. Kreitz was the sole Quaker able to overcome the stifling Temple defense, leading Penn with 15 points, all from beyond the arc. "You can't stop shooting," Krug said. "You can't sit back and say the shots aren't falling so don't take them. You just have to keep shooting and hope they start dropping." Unfortunately for the Quakers, the shots never started to fall.
(06/30/96 9:00am)
Sean Turner's dream of playing pro baseball has taken him from Stanford to Penn to?? New York, NY He knows what he wants -- to play professional baseball. He's known that almost his entire life. And now he's one step away from getting there. Born into a baseball family -- his father played in the Chicago White Sox organization and his mother used to baby-sit for the children of opposing players -- Turner got his start in the sport so long ago he can't even remember when it happened. "Everything was related to baseball, baseball, baseball," he said. "I was really pushed to play baseball." But the young Turner was also interested in basketball and football. He tried playing hoops as a freshman at Crete-Monee (Ill.) High School, but his father made him quit following a late-season ankle injury. After a lot of convincing, Turner's father let Sean strap on the pads and play football during his senior year. But the center of his life has always been the baseball diamond. "I like being on the field and entertaining the fans," Turner said. "It's just that feeling when I go out on the field and hear the ball hit the bat and the glove." And baseball has served Turner well. A shortstop in high school, he grabbed all-state honors once and all-area accolades three times. He was recruited extensively by such powerhouse schools as Georgia Tech, Arizona and Notre Dame. But Turner chose Stanford, enrolling in an engineering program. Following a time trial, the Cardinal coaches converted the speedy Turner into an outfielder. However, it proved difficult for the Turner to get many at bats playing behind Jeffrey Hammonds, the 1990 NCAA Freshman of the Year. Hammonds would go on to be the fourth overall pick in the 1992 major league draft. He currently plays for the Baltimore Orioles. Turner lasted only two years at Stanford, most of which he spent on the bench. Following a freshman season in which he red-shirted, Turner and a group of other Stanford players went to coach Mike Marquess to demand more playing time. But Marquess would not guarantee them increased roles, and Turner began to consider finishing his collegiate career elsewhere. His first thought was to transfer to one of the nationally-ranked programs that had recruited him out of high school. However, the combined lure of Wharton and a chance to start for a solid baseball team convinced him to become a Quaker. "Stanford was the best place for baseball and academics, but I wanted to start, and I thought I should start," Turner said. "It was an athletic decision to transfer away from Stanford. There were academic reasons to choose Penn." Quakers coach Bob Seddon had recruited Turner out of high school, but lost out to the Cardinal. When Turner called to express interest in transferring, Seddon was not about to let him get away again. Seddon was at Philadelphia International Airport to greet Turner when he arrived. "He's a major cog here," Seddon said. "He is very athletic and durable. He has a lot to do with our success." Turner plays with the self-confidence of someone used to being a star. He finished second on the team in batting average, behind co-captain Mike Shannon. He also ended the season among the Ivy League leaders in hits and doubles. After beginning the season in the No. 5 slot in the batting order, Turner moved to the cleanup spot. According to Seddon, the Quakers' offense has benefitted greatly from the move. And Turner's his irrepressible faith has proved infectious. "He's always got confidence in everyone," Penn sophomore catcher Dave Corleto said. "He's the first to point it out when you do something good. That confidence is spreading through the whole team because we're winning." While the co-Gehrig Divsion champion Quakers cannot compare with the 1992 Stanford squad that had no less than 14 players drafted, Turner has no regrets about his decision to transfer. After two years of nearly daily practices and studying in hotel rooms on weekend trips, Turner is happy to spread a little of his hard-won self-reliance skills to his Penn teammates. "The players [at Stanford] were really confident," Turner said. "They knew they were the best. I don't think the players here enjoy the game as much as they should. They don't realize how good they are and just go out to play and have as much fun as they can." Turner has tried to enjoy himself as much as he can on the baseball field, while also influencing younger players, like Hammonds did for him at Stanford. From helping sophomore second baseman Joe Carlon adjust to hitting in the leadoff spot to picking up sophomore pitcher Todd Mahoney's spirits, Turner has been a role model for the up-and-coming Quakers. "He is a very good motivator for younger kids," said Scott Turner, Sean's younger brother, who currently plays first base at Crete-Monee. "He brings a lot of excitement to the game. If he wants something, he'll go out and do what it takes to get it." While Turner admits getting noticed by major league scouts will be more difficult coming from the Ivy League than it would have been coming out of Stanford, his goal remains the same. His schedule has just changed a little bit. "Things didn't work out the way I wanted them," Turner said. "Coming out of high school I imagined I would have been at Stanford for three or four years. Then I would have been drafted. I would be playing with some of my friends in the minor leagues right now. I still have a chance to do that." After a year on the Stanford bench, an injury-plagued sophomore season at Penn and trips through two college programs, Turner still has confidence. Some things will never change.
(05/17/96 9:00am)
After winningAfter winningGehrig playoff vs.After winningGehrig playoff vs.Penn, Tigers beatAfter winningGehrig playoff vs.Penn, Tigers beatCrimson for crown The Gehrig Divison playoff game was tied at four when Princeton centerfielder Michael Hazen stepped up to the plate. Penn reliever Sean McDonald checked the loaded bases behind him, went into his motion and delivered the pitch. Hazen lifted the ball into center field. On third base, Tigers senior Thomas Hage waited. As the fly ball dropped into Penn centerfielder Drew Corradini's glove, Hage tagged up and headed for home. And the Tigers celebrated. After coming back from a four-run deficit, the Quakers lost their chance to play in the Ivy League baseball championship series, falling to Princeton 5-4. The Tigers went on to sweep the best-of-three Ivy championship series over Rolfe Division champion Harvard. Stop me if you've heard this one. Penn and Princeton are co-division champions. The two teams meet for a one-game playoff to decide who continues to play and who goes home. Like the men's basketball team, the Penn baseball team was in exactly that position last week. And like the hoops team, the Quakers wound up with an early vacation. The Penn baseball team was lucky to even be in the playoff, backing in when the Tigers failed to clinch the division outright. The Quakers controlled their own destiny when the two teams met in Princeton three weeks ago for a four-game series. Two Penn victories would have given the Quakers the Gehrig division title. But Princeton swept the four games, putting the Tigers in control. Three victories in a home-and-away series with Cornell and Princeton would snatch the Gehrig crown. Penn was given another chance when Cornell upset the Tigers. Princeton could only muster two victories, creating a tie for the division title. The teams were set to meet at Trenton State College on May 8 to decide which school would move on to the Ivy championship series. But the contest was cancelled only hours before gametime because Moody Field was flooded. The game was rescheduled for May 9 at Penn's Bower Field. "We thought we should have been here anyway," Penn right fielder Sean Turner said. "We blew it that last weekend when we let them sweep us. We felt it was ours to win once we had that second chance. We came in very upbeat." As Princeton righty Benjamin Smith took the mound to start the playoff, the Quakers were standing and cheering in the dugout. Princeton was quiet. They would not stay that way for long. In the bottom of the second inning, Penn lefty Mike Greenwood walked three Tigers to load the bases. One batter later, Greenwood walked centerfielder Justin Griffin to send in the Tigers' first run. A double play ended the inning, but Princeton was not done. The Tigers exploited Greenwood's wildness in the third inning, adding three more runs. Hage led off the inning with a double to the right field wall. First baseman Michael Ciminello followed that with a two-run homer to right. A wild throw by Penn shortstop Mark DeRosa turned second baseman Michael Keck's grounder into a single. He scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly. Greenwood had settled down, but too late. The score remained 4-0 Princeton until the top of the eighth inning. "I knew what I was doing wrong," Greenwood said. "I knew what I had to do. I knew we'd score runs, so I knew if I held them there we'd come back and make a run at it and we did." The Quakers started the eighth with three straight singles, driving a run across the plate and Smith from the game. Lefthander Joseph Machado replaced him and got Penn designated hitter Mark Nagata to pop up to catcher Peter Silletti. In a lefty-righty switch, Princeton's ace closer Chris Yarbrough took the mound. But the Quakers caught a second wind. First baseman Armen Simonian knocked a bouncer past diving second baseman David Ekelund, scoring DeRosa. Penn third baseman Derek Nemeth's fly ball dropped in front of Griffin, sending Turner home. And the game was tied. It was Penn's turn to be raucous, while the Tigers sat mute. But pinch hitter Dave Corleto struck out swinging and Corradini lofted a fly ball to right field, ending the inning. And despite having two men on with no one out in the ninth, the Quakers could not drive another run across the plate. In the bottom of the ninth, after Greenwood let Hage get on base with a liner to right, McDonald got the call in the bullpen On McDonald's first pitch, Ciminello bunted Hage to second. Seddon called for an intentional walk to be issued to Keck. And as McDonald walked the next batter, loading the bases with only one out, the worries began. One pitch later, the Penn baseball season came to an end. "We were ready," Turner said. "They just came through." And like the men's basketball team before them, the Quakers will have a long break to think about what might have happened if only they could have gotten one more victory over Princeton.
(05/01/96 9:00am)
Angela Renner, a senior at Quakertown High School, knew what she had to do while at the Penn Relays. "Do good, run fast, go home," she said. "And eat some cheesesteaks." Renner and her Quakertown teammates are among one of the less-noticed group of athletes at the Penn Relays -- the high school competitors. Out of the limelight of the Olympic Development and Championship of America races, most of the high school students were just here to have fun. "It's been such a rush," Episcopal (Va.) senior Carl Robbins said. "It was awesome." Robbins was asked to fill in for a teammate in the 4x400 meter relay the day before the team left for Philadelphia. A spectator at the Relays for three years, the senior had never run a 400-meter race before. "When you compete you're part of the action," Robbins said. "Competing, having all these people watching you and cheering for you is just awesome." Like their older counterparts, the high schoolers have to meet tough qualifying standards to compete at the Penn Relays. "It's something to look forward to," Centereach (N.Y.) senior Kelly Cuomo said. "It's the closest we'll ever get to the Olympics." Once they arrive at Penn Relays, many high school athletes would just be happy to have the experience of running in front of the packed Franklin Field grandstand -- as long as they don't finish last. However, the crowds sometimes proved unnerving. Guy Ramos, a senior at Archbishop Molloy (N.Y.), fell while running the anchor leg of the 4x100 relay the day before. While his teammates seemed confident, Ramos confessed to being nervous before his race. On the other end of the competitive spectrum are the Jamaicans. Athletes from 15 different Jamaican high schools -- many of which specialize in sports training -- were scheduled to attend the Relays this year. Despite a significant presence in the crowd, they were not as overwhelming as usual in the sprint relay events. The girls' 4x400 Championship of America relay was won by William Penn of Philadelphia. The William Penn girls narrowly edged out St. Jago (Hayes, Jamaica) by .009 second, finishing in 3:44.81. As expected, the top qualifier in the 4x400 Championship of America event was Pasadena's John Muir (Ca.) High School with a time of 3:13.70. Muir demolished its competition in the final, topping the second-place St. Jago squad by almost four seconds. Obea Moore, the Muir anchor runner, covered 400 meters in 46.0 seconds. Only a junior, he has already qualified for the Olympic time trials. Renner and the Quakertown 4x400 team were not as successful, finishing ninth in their heat. But they were just here to have fun. And that's what the Penn Relay Carnival is supposed to be about.
(04/26/96 9:00am)
Sean Turner's dream of playingSean Turner's dream of playingprofessional baseball has takenSean Turner's dream of playingprofessional baseball has takenhim from Stanford to Penn to?? One of the first things you notice about Sean Turner is his grin. The Penn outfielder seems to exude confidence, whether he's sitting in Houston Hall for an interview or roaming centerfield at Bower Field. He knows what he wants -- to play professional baseball. He's known that almost his entire life. And now he's one step away from getting there. Born into a baseball family -- his father played in the Chicago White Sox organization and his mother used to baby-sit for the children of opposing players -- Turner got his start in the sport so long ago he can't even remember when it happened. "Everything was related to baseball, baseball, baseball," he said. "I was really pushed to play baseball." But the young Turner was also interested in basketball and football. He tried playing hoops as a freshman at Crete-Monee (Ill.) High School, but his father made him quit following a late-season ankle injury. After a lot of convincing, Turner's father let Sean strap on the pads and play football during his senior year. But the center of his life has always been the baseball diamond. "I like being on the field and entertaining the fans," Turner said. "It's just that feeling when I go out on the field and hear the ball hit the bat and the glove." And baseball has served Turner well. A shortstop in high school, he grabbed all-state honors once and all-area accolades three times. He was recruited extensively by such powerhouse schools as Georgia Tech, Arizona and Notre Dame. But Turner chose Stanford, enrolling in an engineering program. Following a time trial, the Cardinal coaches converted the speedy Turner into an outfielder. However, it proved difficult for the Turner to get many at bats playing behind Jeffrey Hammonds, the 1990 NCAA Freshman of the Year. Hammonds would go on to be the fourth overall pick in the 1992 major league draft. He currently plays for the Baltimore Orioles. Turner lasted only two years at Stanford, most of which he spent on the bench. Following a freshman season in which he red-shirted, Turner and a group of other Stanford players went to coach Mike Marquess to demand more playing time. But Marquess would not guarantee them increased roles, and Turner began to consider finishing his collegiate career elsewhere. His first thought was to transfer to one of the nationally-ranked programs that had recruited him out of high school. However, the combined lure of Wharton and a chance to start for a solid baseball team convinced him to become a Quaker. "Stanford was the best place for baseball and academics, but I wanted to start, and I thought I should start," Turner said. "It was an athletic decision to transfer away from Stanford. There were academic reasons to choose Penn." Quakers coach Bob Seddon had recruited Turner out of high school, but lost out to the Cardinal. When Turner called to express interest in transferring, Seddon was not about to let him get away again. Seddon was at Philadelphia International Airport to greet Turner when he arrived. "He's a major cog here," Seddon said. "He is very athletic and durable. He has a lot to do with our success." Turner plays with the self-confidence of someone used to being a star. He is currently batting .387, second on the team behind co-captain Mike Shannon. He is fourth in the Ivy League with 46 hits, and his 12 doubles rank fifth in the conference. After beginning the season in the No. 5 slot in the batting order, Turner now hits cleanup. According to Seddon, the Quakers' offense has benefitted greatly from the move. And Turner's his irrepressible faith has proved infectious. "He's always got confidence in everyone," Penn sophomore catcher Dave Corleto said. "He's the first to point it out when you do something good. That confidence is spreading through the whole team because we're winning." While the defending Ivy League champion Quakers cannot compare with a 1992 Stanford squad that had no less than 14 players drafted, Turner has no regrets about his decision to transfer. After two years of nearly daily practices and studying in hotel rooms on weekend trips, Turner is happy to spread a little of his hard-won self-reliance skills to his Penn teammates. "The players [at Stanford] were really confident," Turner said. "They knew they were the best. I don't think the players here enjoy the game as much as they should. They don't realize how good they are and just go out to play and have as much fun as they can." Turner has tried to enjoy himself as much as he can on the baseball field, while also influencing younger players, like Hammonds did for him at Stanford. From helping sophomore second baseman Joe Carlon adjust to hitting in the leadoff spot to picking up sophomore pitcher Todd Mahoney's spirits, Turner has been a role model for the up-and-coming Quakers. "He is a very good motivator for younger kids," said Scott Turner, Sean's younger brother, who currently plays first base at Crete-Monee. "He brings a lot of excitement to the game. If he wants something, he'll go out and do what it takes to get it." While Turner admits getting noticed by major league scouts will be more difficult coming from the Ivy League than it would have been coming out of Stanford, his goal remains the same. His schedule has just changed a little bit. "Things didn't work out the way I wanted them," Turner said. "Coming out of high school I imagined I would have been at Stanford for three or four years. Then I would have been drafted. I would be playing with some of my friends in the minor leagues right now. I still have a chance to do that." After a year on the Stanford bench, an injury-plagued sophomore season at Penn and trips through two college programs, Turner still has confidence. Some things will never change.
(04/22/96 9:00am)
With two wins nextWith two wins nextweekend, Quakers willWith two wins nextweekend, Quakers willclinch Gehrig Divsion title Following a weekend four-game sweep of Cornell, the Penn baseball team is looking only at the bottom line. Don't think about Quakers junior lefthander Mike Greenwood's shaky performance in the late game Saturday, during which Cornell loaded the bases three times in three different innings. Greenwood managed to get out of the touchy situations with only two runs scored, and each time, the Quakers came back. Forget about Penn senior co-captain Mike Shannon's cut pitching finger, which forced him to leave yesterday's first game after only three innings. The injury should heal by next weekend. Ignore the 10 errors committed by Penn, five of which were committed by third baseman Derek Nemeth. Bower Field was in hideous shape. Remember only that the Quakers won four games over Cornell, 3-2 and 5-4 Saturday and 4-3 and 4-2 yesterday. The victories allowed Penn to build a two-game cushion over Princeton in the Gehrig Division race. "They gutted it out through tough games," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "We did what we had to do." What the Quakers had to do was pitch, and they did that extremely well. Penn sophomore righty Armen Simonian (5-1, 2.15 ERA) was the first to step up to the challenge on Saturday, throwing a complete-game six-hitter. Penn came from behind to top the Big Red 3-2 in the first game on a sixth inning home run by Shannon. In Saturday's nightcap, the Quakers held off Cornell 5-4. Greenwood (3-1, 4.63) fought through six and two-thirds innings, giving up seven hits and four runs while striking out seven Cornell batters. The Quakers were in trouble early as the Big Red loaded the bases with no one out in the first inning. "I've always pitched with the bases loaded," Greenwood, a former reliever, said. "I'm kind of used to it. It doesn't really bother me that much anymore. There's one thing in your favor -- you touch any base and there's a force out." Two grounders to Nemeth and a fly ball to rightfielder Sean Turner followed, and the Quakers emerged unscathed. Cornell would load the bases again in the fourth, and Greenwood would not as lucky as before. With two outs, Big Red leftfielder Michael Macrie hit a bloop single between Shannon and second baseman Joe Carlon, and two runs crossed the plate. The Quakers knocked Cornell starting pitcher Jim Pronti out of the contest in the fourth inning, running through the batting order and tacking on four more runs. Shortstop Mark DeRosa had the biggest blow, a line drive to short-centerfield off Cornell reliever Jason Paul that drove in catcher Rick Burt and Shannon. Penn righthander Alex Hayden (3-2, 5.40) came in for Greenwood in the sixth inning with Big Red players on first and third. He shut Cornell down from then on. "As a team, we picked each other up," Quakers centerfielder Drew Corradini said. "We didn't have our two greatest outings of the year by any means, but we still were able to pull it out. That's a sign of a good team, when you can win games even when you're not playing your best." The Quakers exploited Cornell staff ace John Douglas in the first game Sunday. When Douglas entered the game in the final inning, Penn was down by one run. Penn designated hitter Mark Nagata forced Douglas to throw 12 pitches, fouling off six before striking out. Corradini then beat out the throw on a bouncer to second base. Carlon brought him home on a double to the centerfield wall. He stole third base three pitches later. Burt followed that with the game-winner, a single to center. Penn sophomore righthander Travis Arbogast (2-0, 0.49) got the win -- his first in the Ivy League -- after replacing the injured Shannon in the third inning. Following a ceremony in which Shannon was honored for being named an All-American last year, the Quakers took the field for their final contest with Cornell. Quakers junior righty A.B. Fischer (4-3, 3.76) did not have an easy outing, loading the bases in the opening inning. However, like Greenwood the day before, Fischer managed to escape without letting a Big Red batter cross the plate. However, he continued to struggle, giving up a two-run homer to Cornell second baseman Jake Frame in the second. He settled down later, shutting down the Big Red for the rest of the game. But the Quakers manufactured a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Following singles to the outfield by DeRosa and Nagata, Nemeth executed a perfect suicide squeeze, sending DeRosa home. Leftfielder Jeremy Milken added another run on a single to center, scoring Nagata. "We hit when it counted," Turner said. "I don't think there was that real need, that feeling that we had to score every inning. We felt we could pull it out when we needed to because we are the better team." As things currently stand in the Gehrig Division, the Quakers need to take only two of next weekend's four games with Princeton to clinch the division title. The Tigers would have to sweep all of their remaining Ivy League games, four each with Penn and Cornell to win the crown. "We have that desire, that hunger to win a championship," Penn assistant coach Bill Wagner said. "We're in the driver's seat." And that's the bottom line.
(04/19/96 9:00am)
Shannon, SimonianShannon, Simonianpitch and play theShannon, Simonianpitch and play thefield for the Quakers Don't call them utility players. Penn baseball senior co-captain Mike Shannon and sophomore Armen Simonian have been pulling double-duty all season. In addition to being the top two pitchers for the 19-12 Quakers, the righthanded hurlers also play field positions. Shannon anchors the Quakers at first base when not pitching, while Simonian has seen time in both the infield and outfield. Both have been pitching since they began playing baseball in Little League -- Shannon was eight years old and Simonian was only six. Shannon was a shortstop back then, a position he played until he came to Penn, when he switched to third base. After a freshman season cut short by a torn rotator cuff, Shannon moved to first base and began pitching. His first love, however, is hitting. Shannon led the Quakers with 70 hits last season and currently has the third-best batting average in the Ivy League at .405. "I've had more success hitting than pitching," Shannon said. "Ideally, I'd like to play third [base] and hit. If I can't do that, I'd like to do both, pitch and play the field." Simonian is able to fill in at first, second and right field. After playing the middle infield and pitching most of his career, Simonian moved to the outfield this season to help rest his arm, but he would rather face the pressure of being on the mound. "That's the position where I can take control of what's going on in the game," Simonian said. "I like having that power to be able to set the tone and the tempo. You throw the ball when you're ready to throw the ball, and all eyes are on you at all times. I like the matchup of me trying to get the ball past the batter and make him not reach base." Simonian has proved extremely adept at that task this year. His 2.28 ERA leads the Ivy League. He will start the first game against Cornell (3-5 Ivy League, 10-18) Sunday, while junior A.B. Fischer takes the mound in the latter half of the doubleheader. Shannon is behind Simonian with a 3.73 ERA, but he is atop the Ivy strikeout list with 37 Ks. He will be the first starter in Saturday's twin bill, also against the Bi Red, to be followed by lefty Mike Greenwood. Shannon also leads the Quakers at the plate. Simonian, in a season-long hitting slump, is mired below the Mendoza line. While Simonian would prefer to be able to help Penn's offense, he has not allowed his performance with the bat to influence his throwing. "You can't take one bad at-bat into the field or onto the mound and let it affect you," Simonian said. "I haven't been playing up to my potential hitting-wise, but I don't think a pitcher should be an easy out. I love to hit, and I have a lot of respect for pitchers in the major leagues who take pride in their hitting." While it may seem a difficult task, both Shannon and Simonian have managed to separate the two parts of their game. When pitching, they are totally focused on getting hitters out and do not allow a bad at-bat to affect their performance on the mound. "I'm in a different zone," Shannon said. "My job that game is pitching, and, if I pick up a few hits on the way, it's icing on the cake. Hitting is secondary." This weekend, Shannon and Simonian will face off against a pair of Cornell multi-talents in senior Tim Ryan and sophomore John Douglas. Douglas is the Big Red's top pitcher with a 2.19 ERA in eight appearances. He has held opponents to a .224 batting average. In the field, Douglas has a .310 batting average while playing third base. The Quakers have beaten the Big Red 12 straight times. With Princeton close behind Penn in the Gehrig Division standings, the Quakers cannot afford to take this weekend's games lightly. "Cornell, right now, is in a position where they can hurt us in the standings," Simonian said. "We're going to do all we can to maintain our position and keep everyone else down." And for Shannon and Simonian, that means shutting the Big Red down, while making sure they don't get shut down themselves. Just don't call them utility players.
(04/12/96 9:00am)
The sun was shining for the first time in days when the Penn baseball team took the field against Delaware yesterday afternoon for an opening-round game of the Liberty Bell Tournament. That was one of the only things that went right for the Quakers as they fell, 14-3, at Veterans Stadium. In Todd Mahoney's first collegiate start, the Penn freshman lefty (0-2) gave up seven runs on only six hits. As Mahoney tired, he began throwing his fastball high in the strike zone. And the usually solid Penn defense betrayed him as well. Quakers first baseman Mike Shannon was the culprit in the first inning, unleashing a wild throw while trying to nail Delaware centerfielder Matt Ardizzone at third base. Penn third baseman Derek Nemeth was unable to handle the throw, and as the Quakers chased the errant ball, Ardizzone crossed the plate. But that was not the end of the Blue Hens' damage, as Penn sophomore Drew Corradini lost the ball in the centerfield sun. Delaware shortstop Dan Hammer notched a ground-rule double as the ball bounced over the fence, and second baseman Dan Colunio trotted home. The Blue Hens (19-5) scored at least one run in each inning, except the ninth. Penn's frustration showed early, as Mahoney argued with his batterymate, sophomore catcher Dave Corleto, over the signs. "I thought there was a situation where they were stealing the signs," Mahoney said. "I wanted him to vary the counts. Instead of putting down one finger, I wanted him to set up an indicator. He didn't understand what I meant. He thought I was upset about the pitch calling, but I wasn't. I was upset that they got the pitches." It certainly appeared as if Delaware had inside knowledge in the fourth inning. Hammer connected for a home run on the first pitch. Three batters later, first baseman Tim Mahony connected for another. Penn sophomore David Hoffman replaced Mahoney on the mound after the inning. The righthander (0-1) would fare no better against the hard-hitting Blue Hens lineup. Hoffman got hammered, surrendering seven runs in only an one-and-a-half innings of work. The Quakers (14-11) did not get a hit against Delaware starter Craig Berger until the third inning. Shannon attempted to atone for his earlier error in the sixth, scoring Penn's first run on a homer to left field. It was the senior's first ever homer in his four years of playing in the Liberty Bell Tournament and was his third blast of the season. "It's nice to take one out in my senior year," Shannon said. "I just wanted to get one at Veterans Stadium before I left." But it was too little, too late for the Quakers. They chipped away at the new Delaware pitcher, righty Scott Gellert, adding two more runs. The first three batters in the seventh inning -- Nemeth, left fielder Jeremy Milken and catcher Mark Nagata -- each singled. Nemeth came home on a wild pitch with right fielder Kevin O'Malley at the plate. Milken scored on O'Malley's ground-out to third base. And that was all the offensive production Penn could muster. "The box score says it all," Shannon said. "They came in more intense than we were, and they kicked our butts. That's happened some times in the past, but with this team I didn't expect it. They put three or four runs on the board and we got behind and never were able to catch up." Ivy League games always bring out competitive spirit, and the Quakers are sure they will be motivated this weekend when they travel to face Harvard and Dartmouth. Shannon and righthander Armen Simonian (3-1, 2.48) will lead the pitching staff as usual, with Shannon hurling in the first contest against Dartmouth Saturday and Simonian taking the mound versus Harvard Sunday. Righthander A.B. Fischer (3-2, 3.30) will pitch in one of the remaining two games. The final starting spot is still up for grabs. According to Wagner, freshman Sean McDonald (2-0, 4.74) had been primed to make the jump into the Ivy rotation. However, after an outstanding performance against St. Joseph's on March 28, when he pitched three innings of no-hit ball, the righty has been sick. Should McDonald be physically unable to perform, lefthander Mike Greenwood (1-1, 4.84) will take the mound in his place. Regardless of who is on the mound versus Harvard and Dartmouth, Penn must improve its overall intensity level. However, the Quakers think the loss may help them to avoid another poor performance. After all, the Ivy League title is on the line. "This is a good wake-up call for the weekend," Mahoney said. "Maybe this will be the spark that we needed." This is not the first time the Quakers have faltered in a midweek contest. Historically, Penn performs poorly when they are not facing Ivy League competition. These games offer a chance for young players to make it into the weekend starting lineup, and sometimes the team does not perform as well as usual. Veterans Stadium has not been friendly territory for the Quakers either. No current Penn player has won a game in the Liberty Bell Tournament. Though they knew of the team's record there, the Quakers had no explanations for their their poor play. "We really didn't come with the intensity and the drive that we needed to have in a midweek game," Penn assistant coach Bill Wagner said. "We didn't really aggressively go after the ball defensively, and we didn't aggressively try and get back into this game with our bats. We were just satisfied to show up and play at Vet Stadium and go back and eat dinner." And with an attitude like that, Penn won't win many games, no matter how sunny a day it is.
(04/10/96 9:00am)
Never again. When the Penn baseball team met Lehigh March 13 in Orlando, the weather was sunny and warm, unlike any ballpark in eastern Pennsylvania. The Mountain Hawks demolished junior righthander A.B. Fischer's pitching, and the Quakers were out of the game before the first inning ended. "We owe them a lot," righthander Sean McDonald said. "We are playing 100 percent better than we were then. We should win unquestionably." Penn intends to repay their debts this afternoon on the frozen grass in Bethlehem, Pa. Lehigh prides itself on team experience and depth, returning seven seniors from last year's record-setting squad. It was those skills that powered the Mountain Hawks over a weaker, younger Penn squad. Marc Tendler (1-0, 14.14 ERA) won his only game of the season against the Quakers that day. "We made a lot of mental errors," second baseman Joe Carlon said, reflecting on the first time the teams met. "We beat ourselves. I don't think Lehigh can play with us as long as we're mentally sharp." Almost a month later, Penn has come together, while the Mountain Hawks are falling apart. The Quakers currently lead both the Gehrig Division and the Ivy League as a whole after sweeping four games from division-rival Columbia and splitting a weekend series with Yale and Brown. The Mountain Hawks are currently on a three-game winning streak, taking three of four from Holy Cross last weekend, but won only one of their nine contests before that. The Quakers look at today's matchup as a chance to reverse their recent trend of midweek struggles. "We have to have a game mentality," Carlon said. "The game is the time we get away from school and don't worry about all that. It's the most important thing." Thus far, Penn has been led by a nucleus of seniors -- co-captains Mike Shannon and Rick Burt, centerfielder Sean Turner and third baseman Derek Nemeth. The pitching has been dominated by sophomore righty Armen Simonian, whose 2.48 ERA leads the Ivy League. "There are four or five guys who are really carrying us and a few guys that will in the future," Carlon said. "The older guys can help the younger guys a lot, allowing us to just play while they fill the leadership roles." Turnabout is fair play, and Penn has stolen a page from the Mountain Hawks book. The key for Penn is getting an early lead. "By going out and scoring runs early, at the end of the game our pitching and defense will take over," Carlon said. "The guys on our team have so much talent that if we come together, the talent will take over." Whatever it takes, say the Quakers, to make sure they are not beaten by another inferior, non- conference opponent. Never again.
(04/03/96 10:00am)
Penn didn't getPenn didn't getoffense, defense,Penn didn't getoffense, defense,pitching or intensity Following the Penn baseball team's game against West Chester, Quakers assistant coach Bill Wagner had three lessons for his players. "Nothing good comes easy," Wagner said. "You've got to work hard all the time. Don't underestimate your opponent, because if you do, you're going to get an ass-whipping." And that was just what happened, as Penn fell 12-3 to the Division II Golden Rams. Weak in all facets of the game, the Quakers were left looking for answers. To Wagner, the causes of the loss were quite clear. "We didn't do it in all the three areas, plus a fourth," Wagner said. "We didn't hit. We didn't field. We didn't get good pitching. We didn't come to play with intensity. That's why we got ripped." Hoping to find budding stars who could step into weekend Ivy League games, the Quakers started a number of young players in yesterday's contest, including the initial battery of freshman lefty Ray Broome (0-1, 7.36 ERA) and sophomore catcher Dave Corleto. Broome showed promise, striking out the first batter on three pitches. However, he became erratic and left the game in the third inning, having given up three runs on only two hits, three walks, while striking out three Golden Rams. He would get the loss in the contest. West Chester pitcher Chris Frey (1-2, 7.20) managed to scatter six Penn hits without ever appearing particularly dominating. The Quakers' first run resulted from a Derek Nemeth double up the left field line. He then moved to third on a Frey balk. Shortstop Mark DeRosa got the RBI on a single over second base. It would be the last run Penn would score for six innings, while the Golden Rams piled them on. West Chester third baseman Tom Schneider drove in two runs with a double in the first inning. In the fifth, a series of West Chester singles off junior righthander Alex Hayden led to three more Golden Rams runs. They narrowly missed scoring another when West Chester second baseman Bob Saeger failed to slide into home plate. It was the seventh inning that proved deadly for Penn. Already down by six runs, the Quakers gave up six more, four of which were unearned following an error by centerfielder Sean Turner. The Golden Rams batted around in the inning, roughing up righthanders Sean McDonald (2-0, 4.73) and Travis Arbogast (0-0, 0.00). "We got our tails whipped today," Wagner said. "As a team, we really didn't come out there with guts and drive. The guys have to pick it up otherwise there'll be hell to pay." There was no reason to expect a letdown yesterday. The Quakers had won six straight games and 10 of their last 12, including four victories over Gehrig Division rival Columbia. "We've had guys playing like there's no tomorrow," Wagner said. "We were on a nice roll. Then we sat back and got a whipping." That may be because history was on the side of the Golden Rams. The Quakers are notoriously poor performers in midweek contests. Mustering up intensity has been a recurring problem, particularly when Penn faces lesser opponents, such as it did yesterday. "We weren't motivated to play West Chester," Turner said. "When we played Columbia, we were ready to play. We came out here aggressive, and the dugout's up, and we did what it took to win. In these midweek games against Division II schools, we don't play up to our level. We just play asleep, down to their level. [Yesterday] they just handed it to us." Penn took the loss as a team. Though junior P.J. Bess performed admirably in the outfield in only his second start, and Arbogast and sophomore righty Ed Kimlin (0-0, 3.52) combined to end the West Chester threat in the late innings, there were no stars in yesterday's contest. "No one was doing it. You weren't doing it," Wagner told the Quakers following the game. "You were looking around at each other waiting for somebody when you should've been doing it. Don't let it happen again."
(03/29/96 10:00am)
Let the Ivy League season begin. After a spring break trip to Florida and two midweek battles with St. Joseph's, Penn (8-7) faces off against arch-rival Columbia (5-12). And this time it's personal. "We don't like each other very much," Quakers catcher Rick Burt said. "There's a lot of trash talking and disagreements. Ever since I've been here, that's been our number one rival. The first time I played them I thought they had attitudes. I didn't like their attitudes, and it makes me want to beat them very badly every time I play them. And it's been like that every time." The two schools have battled for the Gehrig Division title since the Ivy League instituted the two-division system four years ago. Two years ago, Penn swept a doubleheader from the Lions to take the division title. Last year, Penn already had an established lead, which it sustained. The Quakers have emerged as victors for two straight seasons. "It's always a war up there," Burt said. "They're pretty intense, as are we. It gets pretty heated." While the on-field play may be heated, the temperatures have been far below normal for spring. Penn has been watching the weather forecast with added interest. Yesterday's ice storm drove the Quakers indoors, and the team expects to battle the elements, as well as the Lions, this weekend. Continued cold weather, an advantage to the older Penn pitching staff, may help power them past Columbia. "A pitcher can dominate a team in the cold weather," Quakers assistant coach Bill Wagner said. "One batter comes up and all the other batters are sitting in the dugout freezing their butts off while a pitcher is constantly warmed up and into a groove. If you can keep your pitcher in a state of mind where the weather's not a problem and he can grip the ball, the pitcher can have an advantage." Penn staff ace Mike Shannon (1-1, 4.12 ERA) will be leading the Quakers into New York. In the tiny confines of Coakley Field, he will have to keep the ball down and away from the hitters, according to Wagner. He has had no problem with that task thus far, striking out a Ivy-leading 20 hitters. As a hitter, Shannon has fared much better against opposing pitchers than opposing hitters have against him. The co-captain leads Penn in batting with a .403 average while holding the opposition to a .270 batting average. Columbia star pitcher Steve Ceterko is no stranger to the Quakers. He has faced them three times during his collegiate career, and each time, he has lost. "He self-destructed against us for three straight years," Penn head coach Bob Seddon said. "He's a pretty good pitcher, and I'm sure he's on a mission." However, the Quakers have their own mission-fulfilling pitcher. Junior lefty Mike Greenwood (0-0, 3.21) will be starting the second game in New York. Projected as only a weekend reliever in the preseason, Greenwood replaced junior righthander Alex Hayden last Sunday and shut out Coppin State for six innings. It will be the second start of his collegiate career. "I think he's ready," Burt said of his batterymate Greenwood. "He showed up really focused and ready to play. He's looked very good every time out. I have complete confidence in him. I think he's going to shut them down." Columbia's strength has traditionally been power hitting and, with the centerfield fence a mere 350 feet from home plate, the Quakers anticipate a home run derby in New York. Third baseman Marc Mezzadri leads the Lions in batting this year with a .344 average, 13 runs scored and nine RBIs. He has become a top-notch third baseman this season, after making the switch from catcher. Travis Hunter is tied with Mezzadri for the team lead in hits. He also has three home runs so far this season. "Columbia's very determined," Seddon said. "Their stats don't show that they're a good team, but when it gets into weekend play, forget all the stats." On Sunday, Ivy League Pitcher of the Week Armen Simonian (2-0, 0.75) brings his microscopic ERA and perfect record into the first game of a noon doubleheader for the Quakers. Junior righthander A.B. Fischer (1-2, 4.50) will be on the mound for the Quakers in the latter contest. A flyball pitcher, Fischer has the advantage of throwing in relatively spacious Bower Field. It is Simonian's and Fischer's jobs to keep the Lions from upsetting the Quakers at home. "It's a little bit easier to get to the top than it is to stay on the top," Seddon said. "They have a psychological advantage, something to fire them up as opposed to our case, since we've beaten them. Now it's a question of continuing to do so."
(03/22/96 10:00am)
Baseball will play two with SaintsBaseball will play two with Saintstomorrow and with Eagles Sunday The Penn baseball team was worried as it took batting practice yesterday. The Quakers (4-6) thought they would be facing a couple of tough pitchers when Siena visits Bower Field for a noon doubleheader Saturday. "They're coming a long way," Penn manager Bob Seddon said of the Saints, who hail from just outside Albany, N.Y. "They're not coming down here for nothing. They're coming down here because they think they can beat us." Penn can relax a little bit. While the Saints (3-7) boast a pitcher who led the nation in strikeouts per inning pitched last season, the Quakers will not have to face him. Lefty Tim Christman sat down 60 in 41-2/3 innings last year. However, he is out indefinitely after off-season surgery on his pitching shoulder. But while the Quakers have dodged one major league pitching prospect, they will not likely escape another in freshman phenom Dave Fields. In spite of his slight 6-foot, 155-pound frame, Fields (2-0) has compiled a 1.29 ERA in his first two collegiate starts while holding opposing hitters to a .212 average. Saturday should prove to be a pitcher's duel, as staff ace Mike Shannon (0-1, 6.39 ERA) takes the mound opposite Fields. Righthander Armen Simonian (1-0, 0.61) will start the second game against Siena. Equally strong standing at the plate as throwing the ball over it, both Shannon and Simonian will probably bat for themselves. Shannon is certainly up to the task. After leading the team with 70 hits last season, the co-captain is second on the team in batting with a .425 average. Catcher Rick Burt leads the Quakers at .444, but he believes it is only a matter of time before Shannon regains his position atop the Penn offensive standings. "He's by far the best pitcher and the best hitter," Burt said of Shannon. "If we didn't have him we would be in a lot of trouble. Every time we need a big hit, he's the guy who gets it." If the hurlers perform up to expectations, defense will be the key to Saturday's contests. The Quakers have the edge in glovework. In fact, it has been the team's strongest aspect thus far in the young season. "Our team is starting to gel a little bit," Shannon said. "We started off with really good defense, and I think our bats are starting to come around." Penn hitters have been performing well early on. Of the top four batters -- outfielder Sean Turner, Burt, Shannon and shortstop Mark DeRosa -- in the Quakers' lineup, only cleanup hitter DeRosa is under .300, and he has been improving steadily. DeRosa doubled in Burt to score the Quakers' first run against St. Joe's Wednesday. "As soon as DeRosa gets hot, the top four hitters in our lineup are going to be devastating," Turner said. "If the four of us ever click at the same time, it'll be a sight to see. Three of us are clicking, and DeRosa will come on anytime. As soon as he gets one good hit, the hits will start coming and coming and coming." The Quakers should have a chance to display their offensive power when they face Coppin State (2-5-1) for a pair at noon Sunday. The Eagles managed to knock off Maryland, 5-4, last week. However, aside from that victory and a 10-5 drubbing of a poor Hartford team, Coppin State has had little to cheer for this season. A team known more for hitting than hurling, the Eagles boast six players who are over .500 in slugging percentage. Outfielder Travis Thornton, last year's Mid-Eastern Conference Player of the Year, bats .421 to lead the Coppin State attack. It will be the responsibility of righthanded pitchers A.B. Fischer and Alex Hayden to control the powerful bats of Coppin State. The Quakers plan to call upon Mark Nagata, Dave Corleto and Kevin O'Malley as designated hitters versus Coppin State. The Quakers are traditionally a slow-starting team. However, with the majority of their home dates coming early in the year, time is of the essence. Penn must overcome the mental errors on the basepaths that cost the team victories in Florida and win now. "Physically we're very solid, big and strong," Seddon said. "We underachieved on our trip. We have to come together soon."
(03/20/96 10:00am)
Quakers looking so solidify rotation, fill holes early on Penn pitcher Mike Greenwood is worried about the weather. The junior lefty is set to make the first start of his college career against St. Joseph's this afternoon at Bower Field at 3 p.m., if only it would stop raining. The Quakers (3-6) have just returned from a spring break trip to Florida where they practiced a lot, played nine games -- including one at the New York Yankees' minor league facility -- and generally had a lot of fun in the process. And while last year some of the Penn squad had to stay behind, this year the entire roster made the trip. "We got closer as a team," pitcher Todd Mahoney said. "We all got along well, and everyone got a chance to play. We know what it takes to win now." The Quakers needed to learn how to win because they are a very young squad. Last year's Ivy League championship team has been decimated by graduation. The real world claimed three of Penn's top four starting pitchers and the offensive power of second-team all-Ivy third baseman Rob Naddelman and honorable mention all-Ivy outfielder Tim Henwood. As a result, the Quakers are drowning in confusion, with each player trying to find his role in the rebuilt squad. "People have been speculating about how good our players would be," Greenwood said. "A lot of the young players got an opportunity to prove themselves. We answered a lot of questions by stepping up." To replace the graduates, Penn will resort to a 12-pitcher staff, hoping that a few quality arms emerge. And a number of former backups will step into expanded roles in the field. With two doubleheaders every weekend, there will be plenty of innings to go around until a set rotation is in place. "Whoever's pitching well plays," Mahoney said. "But if we make mistakes, there's someone there to pick us up." In addition to the natural pitchers, many of the position players will be called upon to take the mound when need be. According to the Quakers, they're just going along with the trend in college baseball. Armen Simonian and Mike Shannon have excelled at their dual roles in the past. Shannon led the team last year with 70 hits and was tied for second on the Quakers in both doubles and RBIs. This season, co-captains Shannon and catcher Rick Burt lead the Quakers in batting with .444 and .425 batting averages, respectively. But according to Penn coach Bob Seddon, it will be defense that wins games for the Quakers. "We underachieved on our trip," Seddon said. "We beat ourselves. The negatives in our record are because we made a lot of mental mistakes. These players need experience, and they're going to get better. We've got to do better than that." St. Joe's started off the year with a bang, going 6-3 in its first nine games, including a swing through the South. However, the Hawks have lost seven of their last eight. St. Joe's has also been injury prone, with many key players, including centerfielder Mike Sharkey, a four-year starter and major offensive threat, have gone down with injuries. Last season, the two teams met for what Seddon called "a marathon game." The Hawks eventually pulled out a 13-11 victory, as the teams combined for 31 hits off eight different pitchers. However, St. Joe's returning all-East first baseman Eric Mullen and rightfielder Danny Lauer are "not up to standards" according to Hawks assistant coach Ken Krsolovic. The Quakers are not quite back to championship form yet either. Penn had problems on the basepaths while in Florida. Seddon believes the team needs to focus more on the mental aspect of baseball. Physically, the Quakers are prepared. They are hoping for some cooperation from Mother Nature in order to get the opportunity to play. "We've got to get people to work," Seddon said. "We don't need to go into the [indoor] Annex for a few more days. We don't need a long layoff. We need to play." The Quakers will be splitting up the game into two-inning blocks in order to distribute the playing time evenly. Greenwood is just happy for the chance to prove himself as a starter. "I feel more comfortable in the starting role," Greenwood said. "I just want to pitch two 1-2-3 inning and hand the ball over to the next guy." If only it would stop raining.
(03/19/96 10:00am)
BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- When the 1995-96 basketball season began, no one expected very much from the Penn men's team. No one except the Quakers themselves. Penn didn't shoot particularly well or play crushing defense, but it had heart. The Quakers had set goals early in the year and were determined to meet them. At the top of Penn's list was the Ivy League title and a fourth-straight trip to the NCAA tournament. And five months later, the ragtag bunch of former benchwarmers, junior varsity call-ups and freshmen defeated Princeton at the Palestra, stealing a share of the Ivy championship and forcing a showdown on neutral ground, a one-game playoff at Lehigh's Stabler Arena for the NCAA bid. Cracks had appeared in Penn's heart early on, as point guard Jamie Lyren was sidelined for the season with a broken bone in his foot. Academic and personal problems cost the Quakers even more players. But Penn persevered, extending its record Ivy League winning streak to 48 games before falling to Dartmouth in icy Hanover, N.H. The Quakers were forced to battle from behind against Harvard the next night. Penn showed no fear. "You can't just blow a team out by 40 at the beginning of a game," Quakers swingman Ira Bowman said following the 77-63 victory. "Every game you have to play possession by possession. Some nights shots aren't going to drop, as evidenced by tonight. You don't get self-conscious, where you think, 'Oh, this is going to be a tough game.' You just play the game all the way through." In a mid-February blizzard, cellar-dwelling Yale drove a blade into the Quakers' heart. As Bowman watched from the bench, a jumper by Elis' guard Gabe Hunterton with two seconds remaining put Yale on top for good. But Princeton lost games as well, falling to the Quakers in their first Ivy contest of the season. The teams were set to meet again in their last game of the year, March 5 at the Palestra. Penn needed a victory to stay alive. And in front of a sold-out home crowd, the Quakers got the job done, running away with the game in the first half. Penn would have to settle for a split of the Ivy title with the Tigers. The NCAA tournament berth would be decided at Lehigh on March 9. The Quakers came into the tiebreaker ranked next to last in the Ivy League in both field-goal (41.3) and free-throw shooting (63.8) percentages. Poor accuracy was to be their downfall again. Penn made only two of 18 opportunities from the field in the first half, for a pathetic 11.1 shooting percentage. "We almost got what we deserved in terms of shooting percentage," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "We had to be a little more poised and disciplined about our attack. "We didn't play particularly well early in the game. That set the tone for when we did finally get our act together late in the game. It was just enough to tie instead of enough to put us over the hump." Perhaps the Quakers felt the pressure of being three-time representatives in the NCAA tournament. Another trip to the Big Dance would make the season a success for the Penn seniors. "We didn't really win the title," Quakers center Tim Krug said. "What good is it going to be to say we tied them for the Ivy title if they're going to the NCAA tournament?" It was senior leadership that kept the Quakers alive late in the contest. Bowman hit a three-point jumper with 15 seconds remaining in regulation, sending the game into overtime. Senior Cedric Laster gave the Quakers their first lead of the game with four minutes, two seconds remaining in the extra frame, after completing a three-point play. The overtime period gave Penn a new life, and given its success against La Salle in the Quakers' only other overtime game this season, it looked like they might fully recover. But the Quakers had expended too much energy in the comeback. Three-point attempts by Laster and guard Garret Kreitz were just short, and Princeton-killer Donald Moxley, who went 0-for-14 from the field in regulation, did not even attempt a shot in overtime. And with one minute, two seconds left in the contest, Princeton guard Sydney Johnson's three pointer fell. Two Johnson free throws with 24 seconds remaining iced the game for the Tigers. The final horn sounded, Princeton fans stormed the court, and Penn players -- their hearts and hopes shattered -- struggled to hold back the tears.
(03/08/96 10:00am)
A victory over Princeton in playoff willA victory over Princeton in playoff willsend Quakers to the NCAA tournament Pearl Jam's "Alive" blared in the near-empty Palestra after practice yesterday afternoon. As forward Paul Romanczuk practiced free throws at one end of the court and forwards Cedric Laster and George Mboya shot jumpers at the other, Eddie Vedder sang "I'm still alive." And so are the Quakers. The Penn men's basketball team has displayed an uncanny ability to overcome any obstacle tossed in its path, from injuries to Ivy League losses. Tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. at Lehigh's Stabler Arena, the Quakers will find out if they can overcome their biggest challenge yet, beating Princeton for the third time this season. The Ivy title has already been decided. Penn will have to share the championship with the Tigers this year. Tomorrow's game will decide something even more important to the players -- which team gets to represent the Ivy League in the NCAA tournament. For the Quakers, failure is not an option. "The way we view it, we didn't really win the title," Penn center Tim Krug said. "We're not going to feel as if we're Ivy League champs unless we beat them on Saturday. What good is it going to be to say we tied them for the Ivy title if they're in the NCAA tournament? Whoever wins this game is going to have the best claim to being the Ivy champion." Following Tuesday's game, Princeton coach Pete Carril questioned his squad's heart. According to Carril, Penn simply wanted the win more, and with the Palestra crowd squarely behind the them, the Quakers ran faster than Princeton did, beat the Tigers on the boards and pulled away with a victory. "I tried to impress upon my team about how tough it was to play this game -- this crowd, this place, all that stuff.," Carril said. "I tried to impress that it was going to take a tremendous effort on their part. I don't think we got it." The Tigers might have tripped over their own egos Tuesday night. Unaccustomed to being atop the Ivy League, Princeton came into the game thinking this would be the year the Tigers could dethrone Penn. "We came in here expecting to win," Princeton center Steve Goodrich said. "We wanted to win the title. We wanted to win the league." But when the final buzzer sounded, the Quakers had beaten Princeton for the eighth straight time. Goodrich summed up the contest in two words: "We failed." The Quakers passed a major test Tuesday night, overcoming the added pressure of a must-win game to eliminate Princeton's safety cushion. Now everyone is in the same position, watching film and making small adjustments, hoping to take advantage of whatever small mistakes they saw Tuesday night. The game could be decided quickly. Both teams stressed the importance of an aggressive start. "We want to come out and get on top early," Penn guard Ira Bowman said. "They're not going to sit back and let us run over them. We're going to have to go out and play at the top of our game." "We've just got to double our efforts and come out and take it to them," Goodrich said. "We need to get off to a better start out of the gate so we're not down and climbing back into the game. If we contain them, we have a chance to win." Defense will once again be the driving force behind the game. Princeton boasts the best scoring defense in the country, allowing only 51.5 points per game. The Quakers are the top offensive team in the Ivy League, averaging nearly 70 points per game. But Penn is also proud of its defensive abilities, having moved ahead of the Tigers in field-goal defense. Penn will have to stop both Goodrich and the Tigers' three-point shooters tomorrow night. Goodrich's 26 points in the last meeting was more than half of Princeton's total offense. The Quakers intend to switch the defensive duties on him tomorrow night, employing Krug, Laster and Romanczuk to keep Goodrich from being as effective in the paint. "You've got to pick your poison," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "If you shut down the three-point shooting, typically you're going to count on one-on-one guarding of a guy like Goodrich. We'll try to beat him to his spot and be more solid when he does catch the ball." Most of the Tigers' squad is comfortable behind the arc. Guard Brian Earl has been most effective, hitting 41 percent of his attempts. However, Princeton has made only three of its last 27 long-range attempts, including just two of 14 against the Quakers. "There were some looks they got they just didn't knock down," Dunphy said. "You can't count on them missing the same percentage of shots they did the other night." The biggest challenge for the Quakers may be winning the game without the home-court advantage. Both Penn and Princeton players commented on the Palestra atmosphere and the effect the fans had on the game. From signs like "Cheer or die" and "Extra Snobby Princeton Nerds" to the extra-loud play of the Penn Band and the chairback fans who never sat down, the Quakers obviously had the crowd on their side. Though Penn will be wearing the home white uniforms, no one really knows who will have the home-court advantage, if anyone, at Stabler Arena. "The atmosphere Tuesday night was crazy," Penn guard Frank Brown said. "I've never experienced anything like that before, playing in front of all these people and after every basket the crowd going crazy. I don't know how Lehigh's going to be, but it's not going to be like the Palestra." The Quakers are no strangers to postseason play, having gone to the NCAA tournament for the past three years in a row. And the Penn seniors do not want to end the season without one last trip to the NCAA tournament. The underclassmen just want the experience of playing in another big game. "My perspective is the same that it's always been -- we're going in to win the game," Krug said. "It means I get to keep playing basketball." And the Quakers are still alive, one win away from a fourth-straight NCAA appearance.
(03/06/96 10:00am)
Before the Penn men's basketball team tipped off against Princeton last night, Quakers senior guard Donald Moxley sprawled in the stands watching the women's game. He seemed completely relaxed, as if he was unaware of the importance of the task his team had ahead. Win the game and force a playoff for the NCAA tournament bid. Lose the game and Moxley's Penn basketball career would come to a disappointing end. Moxley did not show any signs of stress when the game started. And, like the first time these two teams met, Princeton head coach Pete Carril was left muttering about Moxley. Last time, Princeton attempted to keep Moxley from driving to the basket. Instead, Moxley camped out behind the three-point line. The 6-foot-3 guard had 19 points in the first contest, setting a career-high he would shatter later in the season. "I read what the defense is giving me," Moxley said. "Last game they were giving me the outside shot, and I took it. In this game they were up on me a little bit so I figured I could get around them. I just tried that, and it seemed to work." Moxley had 16 points in the contest last night, despite not hitting a three-point shot. Moxley, swingman Ira Bowman and guard Garett Kreitz provided most of Penn's offensive output as the Quakers turned in a much more balanced performance than Princeton did. The Quakers' trio of guards combined for 41 points to 49 for the Tigers' entire squad. Despite Carril's advance knowledge of Moxley's potential, it was Bowman who had been the Tigers' biggest pregame concern. "If we were to put the blanket on Bowman, Moxley, who's a guard, is being guarded by forwards," Carril said. "It makes it a little rough. So you put a forward on Moxley, and he's going to blow by him, as he did tonight, as he did up at Princeton." The Tigers matched up both forward Chris Doyal and guard Brian Earl against Moxley at different times in the contest, but nothing seemed to slow him down. "From the beginning, Garett and Don really came out and set the tone with their defensive pressure on the ball," Bowman said. "Don made some early baskets and was really into it, slicing to the basket. That really sent a message." The Quakers managed to out-defend the highly-touted Princeton defenders -- who lead the nation in scoring defense. Only two Tigers scored in double-figures. Center Steve Goodrich was a dominating presence inside, contributing two-thirds of the Princeton offense by himself. The 6-foot-7 center had 26 points, but only two rebounds. Doyal assumed most of the rebounding duties, racking up 11 boards, mostly on the defensive end. Backup guard Mitch Henderson added another 10 points. Aside from those contributions, Princeton was near-silent. "Our defense was pretty darn good in the beginning of the game," Carril said. "Then somebody doesn't box out on the foul shot, and they score a basket. Somebody doesn't box out on a missed shot, and they score a basket. Second shot here, turnover there and before you know it, our defense doesn't look so good." The Princeton defense looked downright awful in stretches, particularly late in the game. The Tigers admitted to being tired out by Penn's quickness, particularly the transition game. Princeton tried to keep up with the Quakers, but failed. "The manner in which they beat us was the same manner in which they beat us the first time," Carril said. "That's bad."
(03/05/96 10:00am)
A Penn win tonight over PrincetonA Penn win tonight over Princetonwould give the Quakers a share of A Penn win tonight over Princetonwould give the Quakers a share of the Ivy League title and force aA Penn win tonight over Princetonwould give the Quakers a share of the Ivy League title and force aone-game playoff for the NCAA bid The entire season comes down to two teams meeting in one game. The pressure and hype is immense, and the game is expected to be nothing less than an all-out war. But that's the way it should be. The Penn men's basketball team (16-9, 11-2 Ivy League) will take on Princeton (20-5, 12-1) tonight at 9 p.m. at the Palestra with a task that sounds simple. Win the game, become Ivy League co-champions, and force a one-game playoff with the Tigers Saturday at Lehigh's Stabler Arena for the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Lose the game, and that's all she wrote. The Tigers would go to the tournament for the first time in four seasons. The Quakers got their assignment Saturday night. Penn was hoping for some help from the opposition last weekend. The Quakers admitted to watching the scoreboard following their victory over Cornell Saturday. Columbia took Princeton to the wire, before falling by only two points. And the Quakers knew they would have to defeat the Tigers two more times to get to the Big Dance. "We put it aside as a team, not to hope for any miracles," Penn forward Cedric Laster said. "We just assumed it was going to come down to us and them and prepared for that." The Quakers have had only two days to prepare for this monumental contest. However, Penn has been working towards tonight's game all season. "This game has been in the back of our minds, like a goal we needed to get to," Laster said. "We've definitely got to come out attacking. We can't afford any kind of loss of focus or intensity, especially against Princeton." The Tigers have the best scoring defense in the country, allowing their opponents only 51 points per game. The Quakers compared the tight defense they will face tonight to the tough matchup zone played by Temple. Against the Owls, Penn faltered on the offensive end, making only 22.8 percent of its shots from the field. The Quakers know they will have to be more accurate tonight. "Their athletes are not as tall, as fast or as long as a Temple athlete would be," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "The Princeton defender is probably three, four inches smaller and wouldn't get there as quickly. We hope our chances are a little bit better. We just have to make shots. If we execute and get ourselves in good position to get shots, hopefully we'll knock them down." This will probably be a low-scoring affair, thanks to Princeton's notorious slow-it-down half-court offense. Compared to Penn, who saw three players -- seniors Ira Bowman, Tim Krug and Donald Moxley -- in the top 10 in Ivy League scoring, the Tigers are not an offensive threat. The Tigers are led by center Steve Goodrich, who scores 11.1 points per game, and guard Brian Earl, a freshman who has surged recently, adding 10.3 ppg. However, this may not be a game based solely on Penn's offense against Princeton's defense. Though Princeton may have the overall edge on the defensive end, the Quakers have moved ahead of the Tigers on field-goal defense, stopping almost 60 percent of their opponents' opportunities. "We can defend as well as anybody we play against, and our defense is what springboards our offense," Laster said. "Whoever gets the hot hand will have a good chance at pulling it out." Both teams will be coming into this game with renewed intensity as a result of the traditional rivalry between the two schools. Penn has beaten Princeton seven straight times. No current Tigers player has ever beaten the Quakers. In addition, despite all the success Princeton coach Pete Carril has had in his 30-year career, Penn remains the only Ivy team against which the veteran coach does not possess a winning record. "It's a special rivalry and one we're really looking forward to," Dunphy said. "If we weren't in contention or we had it clinched like we had the last couple of years, it doesn't take on the same significance, yet it's still Princeton. These kids will rise to the occasion." This is the first time these two teams have met in the final game with the Ivy title on the line. "We can't give them anything easy," Laster said. "We have to come out and get it rolling right away, not be stagnant at all. We've got to take it like it's the last game we're ever going to play." If Penn loses tonight, it will be the last game of the season for the team. Regardless of the result, Moxley, Laster, Krug and Bowman will be playing the final game of their Penn careers at the Palestra tonight. "I want to get to winning first and think about this being my last home game later," Laster said. "We want the league championship. We want to go to the tournament. We've got to win here to get there."
(03/01/96 10:00am)
Penn needs to win at Columbia and Cornell to stay in hunt for NCAA bid The Penn men's basketball team has been practicing foul shots on College Green all week. Contribute a dollar to "Swishes for Wishes" and one of the Quakers will take the foul shots for you. Their success could earn you a trip to New Orleans, and the proceeds will benefit terminally-ill children. For the worst free-throw shooting team in the Ivy League, any extra practice should help as Penn heads into one of the most crucial weekends in years. While the Quakers action on Locust Walk was (almost) all fun and games, Penn (14-9, 9-2 Ivy League) knows it will not be able to relax this weekend as it travels to New York to face Columbia and Cornell. Currently trailing Princeton by one game in the Ivy standings with three games left to play, the Quakers can not afford any mistakes. A loss this weekend could eliminate Penn from the title race if the Tigers manage a sweep of the Big Red and the Lions. "How can we not be focused?" swingman Ira Bowman said. "It's not a choice. We have to be focused." Perpetual cellar-dwellers in the Ivies, Columbia (7-17, 3-9) and Cornell (10-14, 5-7) are eager to play spoiler in the title race. The Lions defeated Yale and Brown last weekend, giving Columbia its first road Ivy weekend sweep since the 1992-93 season. The Big Red lost to Brown by four points but came back to demolish Yale. On paper, both Columbia and Cornell are weaker overall than the Quakers. However, these teams boast some of the top players in the conference. Big Red guard Alex Compton and Lions guard C.J. Thompkins were named Co-Players of the Week for their efforts against Yale and Brown. Columbia guard Gary Raimondo earned Rookie of the Week honors for the third-straight time. Tonight the Quakers will be focusing on Raimondo and Thompkins. Thompkins twice tied the Columbia record for three-pointers made in a game last weekend, hitting seven each night. He has connected on at least one long-range shot in 16 of the Lions' last 17 contests. Compton had a career-high 38 points against the Elis. The 5-foot-11 junior set a new Ivy record for three-pointers made in a league contest in the process, hitting on 9-of-11 shots from behind the arc. And Compton does not even lead the Big Red in scoring. Center Eddie Samuel, whose 13.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game rank sixth and fourth in the Ivy League respectively, is Cornell's biggest offensive contributor. The Quakers must also focus on guard Brandt Schuckman, who has moved from the bench to the starting lineup since the last time these teams met. The 6-foot-2 senior has been deadly from long range for the Big Red, shooting .417 from three-point range in Ivy contests. Though both Cornell and Columbia shot poorly from behind the arc the last time the teams met, the Quakers are well aware of their opponents' three-point threats. Penn plans to take advantage of the resulting long-range rebounds with its transition offense. "All you can control is your effort," Bowman said. "Shots may fall, shots may not fall, but we're going to go out and try to concentrate on good team defense." Though Penn's 68.8 points per game offense leads the Ivy League, it is defense that has kept the Quakers near the top of the league standings. The Quakers are next to last in Ivy League field-goal shooting and foul shooting, making only 40.6 percent of their attempts from the floor and 63.6 percent from the line. Penn ranks dead last from beyond the arc, shooting only 32.7 percent. On the other end of the court, however, the Quakers are more dominant. Penn allows only 64.1 points per game and is second in field-goal percentage defense. "We run our offense as well as we can and take the best shots that present themselves," Bowman said. "We'll make our share of shots. The percentages haven't been that great to us, but the focus is on defense. We have to be able to go into other team's buildings and play well on the defensive end of the floor." As the number of games remaining on Penn's schedule dwindles, the Quakers have become more dedicated to success. "It's been increasingly more intense," freshman forward Paul Romanczuk said. "We feel the pressure of these next three games. We've picked up the intensity because we know the seriousness of this weekend." The Quakers will have an added challenge because they have to travel. The road has been unfriendly to Penn this season, particularly in Ivy League games. The Quakers' two Ivy losses -- to Dartmouth and Yale -- came in foreign arenas. Though the team says they are used to playing under pressure, leaving the Palestra definitely makes the game more difficult. "If they get that place rocking, get some fans in there, it's going to be a tough atmosphere," Romanczuk said. "We're going to have to take that as a challenge. We can't be looking past these people. We're going into their home and they want to defend their territory." The Quakers are even hoping for a little help from their opponents, because an upset of Princeton by either Cornell or Columbia would give Penn cause a tie atop the Ancient Eight standings heading into Tuesday's class with the Tigers. "People are really starting to feel a sense of urgency," Bowman said. "We're starting to understand that we have the opportunity to do something here and we can't let this slip away." The fun and games are over. Now it's time to play.
(02/20/96 10:00am)
The Owls' shooting has been anemic, but Marc JacksonThe Owls' shooting has been anemic, but Marc Jacksonand the matchup zone will be problem enough for Penn The Palestra has been the site of many great basketball games -- the first NCAA Championship, St. Joseph's win over Villanova in the first ever Big 5 game, Penn against Princeton for the Ivy League title. Both future and former players have felt the pull of the Palestra. Even the local coaches have tried to relive old glory on the Palestra floor. Former Penn assistant coach Fran O'Hanlon, Temple assistant coach Dean Demopolous and some Drexel coaches have gotten together for numerous pick-up contests there. Sometimes Penn head coach Fran Dunphy would join them for three-on-three games. Tonight at 7 p.m. the Palestra will play host another Philly tradition -- Penn vs. Temple. The contest is likely to be a low-scoring one, since both teams are built around strong defenses. Owls coach John Chaney combines routine box-outs and defensive switches into what has been considered the most suffocating match-up zone in college basketball. This season, however, Temple's trademark tough defense has been unusually sloppy. The Owls (13-11) average more turnovers than takeaways -- an uncharacteristic statistic for a Chaney-coached team. "If we are the aggressors and play real good defense, the rest will take care of itself," Demopolous said. "If you get defensive stops on people continually, you can miss an awful lot of shots on the other end." The way Temple shoots, the Owls will likely need that luxury. Even though Penn (12-8) is ranked next to last in the Ivy League in field goal shooting (.411) and third from the bottom (.333) from beyond the three-point arc, the Owls rank worse in both categories. Temple shoots only 38.2 percent from the field and 27.9 percent from long-range. The Quakers even best Temple in free-throw shooting, which has been a recurrent nightmare for Penn all season. "We need good ball movement and to hope they don't close down the passing lanes very quickly," Dunphy said. "Then we need to find those lanes and create good scoring opportunities." That may be a difficult task, since the Quakers will be at a height disadvantage. The Temple starting five boasts two 6-foot-10 players, center Marc Jackson and forward Derrick Battie. The duo has contributed 40 percent of the Owls scoring and has dominated on the glass. "I don't think we've faced anything like Temple's size before," Dunphy said. "We have to make sure we check Temple off the boards." Penn, whose tallest player, center Tim Krug, is listed at only 6-foot-9, will be hard-pressed to keep the Owls frontcourt in check. But Demopolous attempted to downplay his team's height advantage. "Size is one thing, but having the skill to go with it is another," Demopolous said. "I'm not sure whether or not we have a major skill advantage." No one is sure which of the two teams has more talent. But Penn certainly knows the skills of the Owls players it will be matched up against. Many of the Quakers have faced off against Temple players before, in summer leagues and on playgrounds. Chaney and Dunphy have led their teams against each other six times and are always aware of what the other is up to. That familiarity is one of the drawing points for the Big 5, to both players and coaches alike. "Big 5 games are as big as Ivy League games," Penn guard Garett Kreitz said. "There's a lot of bragging rights on the line. No one wants to hear 'Yeah, we got you this year.' " The game is an unofficial Big 5 matchup, because, since Villanova bowed out of the city league five years ago, each team plays only two Big 5 games. But even though tonight's game has no effect on conference rankings, it is still important for regional pride. "Sometimes, during Big 5 games, coaching just goes out the window," Demopolous said. "The kids just get out there and play ball." And maybe, after the season is over, their coaches will too.
(02/16/96 10:00am)
Quakers looking forwardQuakers looking forwardto seeing 'cocky' Hunterton Before the Penn men's basketball season even began, The Daily Pennsylvanian distributed a survey to the players. One of the questions asked the Quakers to list their "least favorite Ivy player." The overwhelming favorite in that category was Yale guard Gabe Hunterton. Last season's Ivy League Rookie of the Year, the six-foot-one Hunterton reportedly had an ego to match his high level of success. The Penn players were not pleased with this upstart, viewing him and the much-improved Yale program as a challenge to their traditional dominance in the Ivy League. "He carried himself with a cocky air," Quakers forward Cedric Laster said. "We didn't want some freshman to think he's going to come in and run over us as if we're a bunch of nobodies. A lot of guys wanted to set the record straight about who the best players in the League are." When the Elis visited the Palestra on January 13, Penn (6-1, 11-7) was clearly the superior team. Hunterton was held in check, managing only nine points and no rebounds against the tough defense of guards Garett Kreitz, Donald Moxley and Ira Bowman. The trio will again be matched up against Hunterton tonight as the Quakers travel to New Haven, Conn., to take on the Elis. Following a long post-game bus trip, Penn has a night to rest before it faces Brown on Saturday at the Pizzitola Center. But this is not the same Penn team that faced Yale (2-6, 7-13) and Brown (3-5, 8-12) at the Palestra six weeks ago. Since that weekend, the Quakers have lost an Ivy League game -- their first league loss in almost four years -- and four players have left the team for a variety of reasons. Kreitz, forward Paul Romanczuk and Moxley have since stepped into the spotlight -- and the starting lineup. The team as a whole, however, has prospered from the changes. "We're playing differently," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "We're better both offensively and defensively. The rotations are very much set now. We know our own team and our own personality a little bit." The Quakers' biggest challenge tomorrow night will be containing the Bears' leading scorer, six-foot-four guard Brian Lloyd. When these teams last met, Lloyd burned the Quakers for 20 points and seven boards before leaving with an ankle injury late in the second half that sidelined him for three games. Lloyd, who is poised to break his brother Rick's school record for three-pointers made, is ranked second nationally in free-throw shooting percentage (.915). He has been steadily improving since returning three weeks ago. "We certainly have to pay attention to him, especially in transition," Dunphy said. "He doesn't need a lot of time, and he doesn't need a lot of room. We can't leave him open for any easy jump shots." Defensive duties against Lloyd will most likely again be assigned to Penn's trio of guards. The Quakers hope to prevent fatigue by switching players in and out of the game and using timeouts strategically. This balanced approach will also be important on the offensive end. Penn has three players -- Bowman, Moxley and center Tim Krug -- averaging over 10 points per game. That has prevented opponents from keying in on any single Quaker. "You need at least three guys in double figures most games," Dunphy said. "At this point with Donald really stepping up his scoring, it's almost a given he's going to get in double figures now, and that's really helped us in terms of our balance. It's a nice luxury to have-- three guys you can count to get their points and then somebody else who can step up as well." Against Brown and Yale this weekend, the Quakers will revert back to what got them to this point -- solid team defense. "We're going to try to set our tempo and play our game, as opposed to playing their game," Laster said. "Defense is a constant, always aggressive, protect the passing lanes, pressure the ball-handler and a lot of talking. We just have to be sure we're conscious of who the threats are." And that should mean trouble for Hunterton, Lloyd and the teams they are leading against the Quakers.
