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(05/02/01 9:00am)
After dropping yet another Ivy League match, the Penn men's tennis team is left looking toward next year for improvement.
A season that can be described as little more than disappointing for first year coach Mark Riley ended on Saturday with a 5-2 drubbing at the hands of perennial Ivy League power Princeton.
The setback means that the Quakers, who were optimistic at the start of the season about improving on last year's 3-4 finish, will wrap up the Ancient Eight season with a lone victory.
"We've been talking a little bit as a team the past couple days and trying to define the season in words," Penn senior co-captain Rob Pringle said. "But it's obviously disappointing to win only one match [in the Ivies] and have that one be against the weakest team."
One of the frustrations of this season has been the sentiment among the team that they could have won more games and matches.
"We've been saying all along that if you look at the scores, we're right in the match," Pringle said. "It's pretty frustrating, but it's also a good incentive for the guys coming back to win a lot of matches for redemption."
Although Penn did have some close contests over the course of the season, Saturday's match against Princeton was anything but. Senior co-captain Eric Sobotka and sophomore Andrew Kolker were the only victorious Quakers last weekend, and both players had to fight until the end to pull out three-set matches.
Sobotka, who got off to a slow start by dropping the first set 6-4, quickly rebounded to embarrass Princeton's Daniel Friedman, 6-1, 6-1, in the last two sets.
Kolker's match with Nick Benjamin was characterized by parity, with Kolker pulling out the win, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Surprisingly, Kolker and Sobotka's matches were the only matches of the day that went to three sets. Penn's No. 1 player Fanda Stejskal put up a valiant effort before losing, 7-6, 6-3, to Princeton's Kyle Kliegerman.
Penn's starters at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 singles were unable to put up much of a fight against their adversaries from Princeton, losing all six sets and winning only 14 of the 50 games.
Princeton was even more dominant in the doubles matches. The Tigers were able to win all three matches easily, quadrupling Penn's total points, 24-6.
Despite the frustrations associated with a 1-6 Ivy finish, Penn's graduating seniors seem to feel that their four years were valuable and that the program has progressed during their years spent at Penn.
"Eric [Sobotka] and I have talked about it and we think this is a different team than we came to four years ago," Pringle said. "It's not as big of a team, but its full of guys who are committed to tennis and guys who will work really hard over the summer to improve."
(01/31/01 10:00am)
It is often said that the most dangerous teams are those coming back from a loss.
If that holds true, then today's showdown between the Penn and Penn State wrestling teams in Happy Valley, Pa., should be full of fireworks, as each squad recently dropped a crucial match.
The Quakers, currently ranked second in the EIWA and 24th in the nation, are trying to rebound from only their second Ivy League loss in the past seven years. The defeat, which came at the hands of perennial contender Cornell, put the squad's chances of winning its sixth straight Ancient Eight crown in serious jeopardy.
The Nittany Lions have fallen on similarly hard times. Last weekend, Penn State was unable to keep up with fifth-ranked Illinois. The Nittany Lions won only one of 10 individual bouts against the Illini.
"I think that both teams are going to come out excited and doing whatever they can to rebound from a defeat," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "That's about all you can do after a tough loss, so I'm sure that they're going to have the same attitude as us."
Although, as a team, the Quakers will be trying to recover from a tough defeat, senior Yoshi Nakamura will simply be looking to continue his domination. Nakamura is 14-0 this season.
On Monday night, Nakamura got due recognition for his performance thus far this season and a chance to further prove just how tough he is. Wrestling in the prestigious NWCA All-Star Classic, Nakamura earned 9-3 decision over No. 7 Cole Sanderson.
Reina was also present at the meet, serving as one of four honorary coaches.
"It was a great opportunity for Yoshi because it was a great showcase of all the top talent," Reina said. "I think it should help the whole team because we watched the match together [on video] and they can see him as someone who has really progressed and improved."
According to Reina, Penn may need more than just a victory from Nakamura today. The Quakers need to score some major decisions if they're going to knock off the Nittany Lions.
"I think we definitely need our upperclassmen to grab some bonus points against Penn State," Reina said. "This match is probably going to be similar to Cornell, where each team wins five matches and it comes down to who can get the bonus points. Against Cornell, they managed to get one major and we didn't."
The Quakers have at least one other reason to be optimistic about today's match. Senior Mike Fickell, one of the Quakers' top wrestlers who currently ranked 13th in the nation at 197 pounds, will be back in the lineup after missing the Cornell match.
Bonus points aside, today's affair will obviously be determined by which team manages to pull out the victories in some tough, closely contested matches.
"We have a couple of really important rematches here," Reina explained. "At 125 and at 197, we have some big matches between guys that have seen each other before."
At 125 pounds, Penn's Mason Lenhard will try to knock out Josh Moore, who won last month's encounter, 3-2, at the Penn State Open.
In that same tournament, Pete Mielnick upset Penn's Fickell in the semifinals. Those two will also meet again today.
"I think we're going to see some really great competition," Reina said. "It's exciting and I think this team is focused on rebounding after Cornell."
(01/29/01 10:00am)
The Penn men's wrestling team will look to continue to ride its historical heat wave of success in the Ivy League as it ventures into frigid Manhattan and Ithaca, N.Y., this weekend.
When the Quakers cross the New York state line, their Ivy dual-meet season will finally commence.
Penn battles Columbia on Friday. The Lions, who do not rank in the EIWA's top-eight, are expected to pose little threat to the No. 2 Quakers. In last year's meet, Penn de-clawed the Lions in a 44-6 uprooting.
Yet senior captain Yoshi Nakamura, ranked No. 1 at the 157-pound slot in the EIWA, is quick to note the importance of Ivy League matches.
"Each team we wrestle in the Ivy League we can't look past," Nakamura said. "To show our dominance in the Ivy League we have to beat the best, and beat the teams that are less competitive by a bigger margin."
Following the Columbia match, Penn will travel north to Cornell, where fiercer competition lurks.
Cornell is currently ranked third in the EIWA, only one spot behind the Red and Blue. With six wrestlers ranked sixth or better, the Big Red pose a significant threat to Penn's quest for winning its sixth consecutive league championship.
Cornell's strongest wrestlers hail from the 157-, 165- and 197-pound weight classes.
In the 157-pound division, Cornell sends No. 3 Leo Urbinelli to the mat. Yet Urbinelli's grappling will be greatly tested. He will face Penn senior Yoshi Nakamura, who is widely regarded as the second-best wrestler in the country in that weight class.
Nakamura (10-0), will be attempting to remain perfect on the season. He defeated Urbinelli last season in a 6-2 decision.
"You can never take anybody lightly, and I think he is ranked No. 13 in the country," Nakamura said.
Also, Cornell will put forth Clint Wattenberg -- the EIWA No. 1 in the 165-lb. division -- and last year's EIWA champion, Corey Anderson, in the 197-pound division.
Penn coach Roger Reina is looking for his team to unleash its potency this weekend.
"We have great potential with our squad, and I am very confident we are on the right road," Reina said. "So I'm excited to see this group just go out and do what they're fully capable of."
Following their stay in New York, the Penn wrestlers will head home to the Palestra, where they will begin training for a matchup with Penn State on January 31.
Prior to traveling to Penn State, coach Reina and Nakamura will attend the NWCA National All-Star meet. Nakamura will wrestle in the 157-lb. bracket and Reina will act as an honorary coach.
(11/22/00 10:00am)
For most teams, losing a dominant force like NCAA Champion Brett Matter and replacing him with a plethora of freshman would indicate that a year of rebuilding had begun. This is not the case for the Penn wrestling team.
The Quakers, who are coming off one of the most successful years in school history, will be trying to live up to the high expectations that came from last year's ninth place finish at the NCAA Championships. The Penn program was further bolstered when Brandon Slay, who graduated in 1998, walked away with the gold medal in Sydney.
"One of the things about success in previous years is that it garners more confidence as other athletes aspire to new things and look at the contributions that their team members have made," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "I really see this year's freshman as a new wave or a new higher level of success that we have the potential to attain in the coming years."
Building on the success that Penn has had lately is clearly the task for the Quakers this year. Penn has been nothing short of unbeatable in the Ivy League of late and equally impressive on the national scene.
Over the last six years Penn has compiled an incredible .971 winning percentage in the Ivies while walking away with five outright titles and sharing another. Over that same time period, Penn has also won four Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association titles.
If Penn is going to live up to its expectations, it will have to rely heavily on senior co-captain Yoshi Nakamura. Nakamura, who won the 1999 EIWA Championship at 157 pounds by defeating All-American Chris Ayers, started his season out just the way he wanted by being named the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the Keystone Classic last weekend at the Palestra.
"He has matured in a number of ways that will help him contribute individually and as a team captain," Reina said.
Nakamura will clearly not be able to carry Penn himself, and with the talent that this year's Quakers possess, there is no reason he should have to. Co-captain Mike Fickell is coming off a 1999 season in which he never dropped out of the top 20 in the nation. Fickell, wrestling at 197, won his division at the Keystone Classic this past weekend.
"I think our captains are obviously the people that our coaching staff and the team are looking to for leadership," Reina said. "But we want to get to where everyone on the team takes a leadership role and everyone is thinking about the team goals."
Another key for Penn in the 2000-2001 season will be how well the team's highly regarded freshman class adjusts to the collegiate level. With 17 freshmen on the roster, as compared to only four seniors, the Quakers' youngest members will be expected to contribute early and often.
"We know we have some freshmen, but a lot of these guys have not only phenomenal accomplishments but also a lot of experience," Reina said. "Mason [Lenhard] competed at the world championships and Mike Faust won the junior national championships in both styles, and for comparison sakes, Brandon Slay didn't even place in the junior nationals."
Penn will have its first major test of the season on December 29-30 in the Midlands Open at Northwestern. This tournament, which always draws some of the nation's best, will be an opportunity for Penn's young wrestlers to prove that they deserve being called the fourth-best recruiting class in the nation.
"Midlands is a mini-NCAA Championship because two-thirds of the eventual NCAA champions usually compete there," Reina said. "Because it's an open tournament we will even see some Olympic hopefuls and people coming back after graduation."
After the Midlands, Penn will have no time to relax since its next meet is at home against national powerhouse Michigan, which finished 13th nationally last year.
"Getting Michigan at the Palestra will be great," Reina said. "We barely lost to them in Ann Arbor last year, so we are excited to get them here."
Other key dates for the Quakers include March 3-4 at the EIWA Championships and the NCAA Championships March 15-17.
"Our athletes walk into these settings a lot more at ease and confident in their preparation than ever before," Reina said. "We know that not only do we belong in the top tier of teams, but that we can be successful against them. When you have a recruiting class ranked fourth in the country, you expect a great season."
(10/17/00 9:00am)
The Penn volleyball team continues to show the rest of the Ivy League that talent is the only substitute for experience.
The extremely young Quakers (16-6) improved to 3-1 in the Ivy League with a hard-fought win over Brown and a surprisingly easy win against Yale this past weekend at the Palestra.
Penn's first match of the weekend against Brown proved to be quite a struggle as the Bears went up in the match, first 1-0 and then 2-1. The Quakers, however, showed a great deal of grit in refusing to lose at home, and actually seemed to dominate Brown in the final two games.
"We're really happy with the way the season is going because we're doing so well in league play," freshman Heather Janssen said. "We just have to keep taking everything one game at a time and not worry about anything else."
The Bears (9-7, 1-2 Ivy League) gave Penn plenty to worry about Friday evening, and it took some clutch performances to hang on for the come-from-behind win. In fact, the games were so evenly played that, incredibly, both teams ended the night with 61 kills and 108 digs.
Freshman Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan was integral to the Quakers' success, tallying 15 kills and 10 digs, as well as two service aces. Junior Kelly Szczerba also turned in an outstanding all-around game with 13 kills, 15 digs and eight blocks. Szczerba has been a defensive force all year for the Quakers and has 95 total blocks -- 30 more than Janssen, who is currently second.
Compared to the dogfight against Brown, Penn's win against Yale was basically a cakewalk. The Quakers were never tested against a Yale team that never mustered more than nine points in a game in their 3-0 loss.
"We have been much better about taking care of the teams that we should beat lately," Janssen said. "We've just been focusing on having really good warm-ups before the game and then just carrying it over. Earlier on, we would kind of coast through warm-ups, and it would show early in the match."
Penn's drubbing of the Elis earned the Quakers their first 16-win season since 1996 and marked the 11th time this season that they have won a match 3-0.
Penn was clearly the superior team in the match, finishing with a hitting percentage of .253. The best Yale could muster was a measly .071.
Penn junior Stephanie Horan was a key defensive player, complementing her seven kills with 17 digs. Sophomore Stacey Carter also played well, with a hitting percentage of .381.
Penn now sits precariously in a three-way tie for second place in the Ivies, along with Dartmouth and this Friday's opponent, Princeton.
"The big thing for us right now is just to continue to improve because we know everyone else in our league is going to," Janssen said. "The match against Princeton will be big for us, because hopefully we can separate ourselves from the pack a little bit."
It's quite a refreshing change for the Quakers to be dissatisfied with sitting second in the Ancient Eight. Last year, the team finished a mediocre 15-15 (3-4 in the Ivies).
"I don't think very many people expected us to be doing this well just because of how young we are," Janssen said. "But that doesn't bother us at all. We just want to focus on what's important and position ourselves for the Ivy League tournament."
The young Quakers should have a good opportunity to fine-tune their game for the big match against Princeton when the team faces a struggling Lafayette team tonight at 7 p.m. in the Palestra.
"We don't look at this game as a break, because it gives us a chance to work on some things and make sure anyone can come in the game for us when we need them," Janssen said. "We feel like we have a really deep bench, and this game should help us make sure everyone is ready for the tournament."
(10/02/00 9:00am)
The Penn volleyball team clearly showed that it is ready for the Ivy League season, with a perfect 3-0 showing in the Long Island Invitational.
With their conference schedule opening later this week, the Quakers may have gotten just the confidence booster they needed.
"We came out together as a team right from the start and showed what we could do," freshman Lauren Carter said. "We focused on our side of the court and just focused on playing our best."
Penn's only scare of the weekend came in its first match against Stony Brook. The Seawolves were the only team in the tournament to take a game against the Quakers, as Stony Brook fell 3-2.
Freshman Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, who tallied 17 kills and 18 digs, played a pivotal role in helping the Quakers avenge last year's Palestra loss to the Seawolves. Junior Kelly Szczerba also shined for Penn, turning in an impressive all-around game with nine kills, 14 digs and seven block assists. Carter nailed 15 kills and chipped in eight digs and six blocks.
"Stony Brook was a pretty tough, scrappy team," Kwak-Hefferan said. "They were very good defensively and had some tricky hitters, so we were glad to be able to knock them off."
The Quakers' next match would prove to be much easier. Penn rarely looked anything but dominant in destroying Long Island, 15-9, 15-1, 15-4. Junior Stephanie Horan led the Penn attack against the Blackbirds, with eight kills and 10 digs. Kwak-Hefferan continued her strong play, totaling six digs and four kills.
"We finally really started playing consistently," Carter said. "We wanted to show that we could come out and just jump on a team, and that's what we did."
The Blackbirds looked terrible in the match, with a team hitting percentage of .01. LIU had somehow won five of six matches going into the contest against Penn.
The Quakers' final test of the weekend proved nearly as easy as the cakewalk against LIU. SUNY-Albany put up little resistance and fell to the Quakers 15-8, 15-4, 15-8.
Horan was once again huge for the Quakers, finishing with nine kills and 10 digs. Freshman Katie Brandt also played well, with nine kills and four digs.
"We worked a lot on being mentally focused and not having lapses like we have had," Kwak-Hefferan said.
Penn will commence the critical Ancient Eight portion of its schedule this Friday against Dartmouth. Penn will be looking to position itself for the all-important Ivy League tournament held in November.
"Since we are in the Ivies now, we know that we have to play our best in every game," Carter said. "We're not going to have any easy games. We have to be completely focused every time we go out there."
One key for Penn in the Ivies will be using this team's depth to its advantage. The Quakers seem to possess a great deal of versatility with such a deep bench.
"I think our depth is our greatest advantage because even though everyone is pressed for their position and for minutes, it means that everyone is pressed to do their best," Carter said. "No one is looking at this from an individual perspective. Everyone is just completely supportive and ready to do whatever they're asked."
This Friday, the Penn team will be asked to defeat a Dartmouth team that won last year's encounter 3-0 and trounced the Quakers 15-4 in the final game of that match.
"We feel like we've been improving all season, and we definitely improved even over the course of the weekend," Kwak-Hefferan said. "We know that we just need to focus on what we do and we'll be fine."
(09/29/00 9:00am)
The Penn volleyball team will have one last chance to get ready for the most crucial part of its schedule when the Quakers head to Long Island for the Stony Brook Tournament, which begins today.
Penn (9-5) will play Long Island University, Albany and Stony Brook in what will be the Quakers' final warm-up before the all-important Ivy League season.
"We know we always need to focus on every match, but what really matters is the Ivies," freshman Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan said.
Penn is coming off of a 3-1 victory over Drexel that left the Red and Blue feeling surprisingly unsatisfied.
"Even though we beat Drexel, we weren't really happy with how we played," freshman Heather Janssen said. "We didn't come out strong, and we played down to their level in that first game."
The Dragons, who lost to Penn 3-2 earlier this season, surprised the Quakers by taking the first game 15-13. Drexel's strong start proved short-lived as the fired up Quakers rallied to win three straight.
Penn seemed to improve drastically just over the course of the match. A squad which seemed sluggish in the first game looked almost unbeatable in the fourth when Penn walked away with the match by virtue of a 15-5 drubbing.
"I definitely think that we took them a little bit lightly at first, probably because we had already beaten them," Penn freshman Katie Brandt said. "But they were ready to play, and they were looking for revenge. It took us a while to get going."
Brandt played beautifully for the Quakers, tallying 12 kills and finishing with a hitting percentage of .455. Kwak-Hefferan led the Penn defense with 19 digs, while junior Kelly Szczerba and sophomore Kai Gonsorowski chipped in with 11 digs apiece. Janssen was another key for Penn, totalling seven kills and four total blocks.
Even though the Quakers showed their improvement by beating Drexel in four games -- as compared to five earlier this year -- the team has not been happy with the mental focus as of late.
"This past week we have been doing a lot of work on the mental aspect of the game," Kwak-Hefferan said. "We know we have the ability, so we just need to make sure we play like we can for the entire game, not just part of it."
If Penn plays like it did in the fourth game against Drexel, the team probably won't have much difficulty this weekend. In that game, the Quakers played up to their potential with a team hitting percentage of .304.
In Penn's first match of the weekend against Stony Brook, the Quakers will be facing the same challenge they faced against Drexel. The key for Penn will be not taking a mediocre team like the Seawolves lightly. Stony Brook, with only one player above 5'10", should be overmatched by a young and talented Quakers squad.
"I think we learned our lesson against Drexel that we can't play down to our competition," Kwak-Hefferan said. "We have to come out and jump on whoever we're playing."
A good showing in this tournament could give Penn the confidence it needs heading into some tough conference games. A loss or two in this tournament would mean that the Quakers are going into the most crucial part of their schedule loaded down with doubt after a strong 7-2 start to the season.
"We've been working a lot on visualization this week," Kwak-Hefferan said. "We know we need to be mentally ready and get our confidence back."
(09/29/00 9:00am)
If this fall is any indication, the Penn softball team could be in for a drastic improvement in the spring.
Last weekend, the Quakers played well, going 2-1 in the Penn Invitational Tournament. So far this fall, Penn is 4-2, a marked improvement over last fall's 1-4-1 start.
"We still have a relatively young team, so we're just learning how to win," Penn coach Carol Kashow said. "I've been pleased with what I've seen this fall, though. There have been a lot of positives."
The Quakers have notched victories against Rutgers, Rowan, Wagner and Holy Family and have fallen only to Rider and Drexel in fall play. Penn, like every other collegiate softball team, plays its main season in the spring.
Sophomore pitcher Becky Ranta is picking up right where she left off after a successful freshman season.
"We've been pretty happy with our pitching so far," Kashow said. "Becky has been exactly what we would have expected after last year. She's been impressive."
Penn appears to have much greater depth this year on the mound with some talented freshman recruits having arrived on the scene. Freshman Nicki Borgstadt has been impressive so far and had a strong outing in a win against Rutgers.
"The fall season is important because I get a chance to try some players in different positions than usual and see how that works out," Kashow said. "I also get to see our new freshmen and start to get a feel for their games."
Penn's offensive output has been vastly improved this fall. That should be very critical to a Red and Blue squad that struggled mightily to consistently put runs on the board during a 13-30-1 spring season.
Sophomore leadoff hitter and shortstop Crista Farrell has been a big part of the Quakers' offensive surge. Farrell has been hitting solidly and has already stolen seven bases, as compared to 11 all of last spring.
"Our offense is really cooking right now, and that's big for us," Kashow said. "We've already hit two home runs, and we only hit three all last season."
The final stop of the fall season for Penn will be the City Six Tournament, which features the Big 5 schools plus Drexel.
"We're pretty excited with the way everything has been going," Kashow said. "We're working hard, and as compared to last year, we are definitely vastly improved."
(09/22/00 9:00am)
After being beaten once again by Rutgers, the Penn volleyball team will have no time to lick its wounds. The Quakers head to the Georgetown Classic this weekend to face stiff competition.
Rutgers snapped the Quakers' four-game winning streak with a 15-9, 15-1, 16-14 victory this past Tuesday. Penn, which usually loses 3-0 against Rutgers, was hoping that its huge recruiting class would fare better against the Scarlet Knights, but it was more of the same for the Red and Blue.
Penn will open weekend play with a match today against Maryland-Baltimore County. The real test for the Quakers will come tomorrow, when Penn faces off against a talented Georgetown lineup. The Hoyas (6-5) are a much better team than their record indicates and will be a handful for Penn coach Kerry Major's young squad.
"I think that all the teams in Georgetown will be pretty good, but Georgetown will be really tough," freshman Heather Janssen said. "They're a tall team, so we'll need to play great defense because it will be tough to block them at all."
Penn need look only as far as its last game to see what can happen against a significantly taller team. Rutgers, which had a sizable height advantage over the Quakers, held Penn to only two total blocks.
Against the Scarlet Knights, junior Stephanie Horan led the Quakers attack with seven kills and a .250 hitting percentage. Junior Kelly Szczerba also played well, tallying five kills, no errors and an impressive hitting percentage of .454.
Despite some bright spots for Penn, Rutgers was better than the Quakers at almost everything. Rutgers had seven players with a hitting percentage of over .250, as compared to only three for the Red and Blue. The Scarlet Knights easily led Penn in all major categories in a match that was highlighted by a 15-1 drubbing in the second game.
"Georgetown is probably better than Rutgers, so that tells you something right there," Major said. "But it's important that we go into the game with the right attitude because when we played our best in the third game against Rutgers, we almost won."
In that third game, Penn made a valiant effort to steal one from Rutgers after nearly being shut-out in the previous game. Penn's mini-victory over the Scarlet Knights seems to have given the team confidence that they can hang with the likes of Georgetown.
"We think that we can beat these teams by wearing them down," Szczerba said. "If we have the right attitude, we will compete and do just fine."
Even with the right attitude, going against Georgetown could be a bit much for a Penn squad that has an abundance of youth and inexperience. The hope for Penn is that playing higher-caliber teams early on will pay off later in the Ivy League season and tournament.
"I think this tournament will be great preparation for the league season because we get to see good teams and hopefully gain some confidence by competing with them," freshman Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan said.
For the Quakers to have a chance to beat Georgetown, they will have to get over any kind of intimidation factor. Playing an away match against the Hoyas should be quite a test for a team that has shown much promise early on this season.
"I think that some people were a little bit intimidated against Rutgers just because they always beat us 3-0," Janssen said. "We definitely have to come out confidently and worry about ourselves if we want to succeed."
(09/20/00 9:00am)
The Penn volleyball team got a bit of a reality check last night at Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights (7-3) outplayed the Quakers (7-3) the entire match en route to a 15-9, 15-1, 16-14 victory.
"This was a very strong team for us to play against right now," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "They always beat us 3-0. We haven't beaten them yet."
An extremely young Penn squad, with nine freshmen out of its 15 players, was just thoroughly outplayed by the taller Rutgers unit.
"They had some really tall players compared to us," Major said. "They just hit over and around us, so that was discouraging."
A glance at the lineups for the two teams makes it clear why Penn was so easily beaten. Rutgers line-up features five players above six feet, as compared to just one for Penn. Penn managed a measly two blocks in the match.
"Our blocking was pretty non-existent throughout," Major said. "They were just too tall and too good for us to do a lot about."
The Scarlet Knights also have much more game experience; they have only two freshmen in the lineup. Penn's inexperience may have been a key factor in a poorly played second game for the Quakers.
"The second game was really disappointing for everyone," junior Kelly Szczerba said. "We didn't come out like we should have, and we didn't have the right attitude."
Penn should, however, take some solace in the effort put forth by the Quakers in the third and final game of the match. After being completely outplayed in both of the first two games, the Quakers managed to play Rutgers even, finally succumbing 16-14.
"When we get our defense going, we can really turn it up and play neck and neck with anybody," Szczerba said. "If we can consistently play as well as we ended today, I think we will be OK."
Junior Stephanie Horan was a bright spot for Penn, with seven kills, only one error and a hitting percentage of .250. Szczerba also shined, tallying five kills with no errors and an impressive .454 hitting percentage.
In earlier years, a 3-0 loss to Rutgers would have been completely expected, but this year's crop of freshmen have been performing better than expected. The Quakers managed to go 4-1 over last weekend on their way to winning the Sheraton Invitational at home.
"We knew going in how tough Rutgers was, but we like playing teams like them," Major said. "We're trying to gain experience by playing the top teams before the Ivy League season."
Penn will have another chance to get ready for the Ivy season when the Quakers face an extremely strong Georgetown team this weekend at the Georgetown Tournament.
"Hopefully we will have great practices this week, because Georgetown is even better than Rutgers," Major said. "Our goal will be just to play hard and play our best and hopefully give them a game."
(09/18/00 9:00am)
The Penn volleyball team served notice this past weekend that although it is young and inexperienced, the Quakers are still a force to be reckoned with.
Penn (7-2) made a major statement by going 4-1 en route to winning the Sheraton Invitational at the Palestra. The Quakers won a grueling three-game match against Morehead State to capture the crown.
"This weekend was incredible," Penn co-captain Stacey Carter said. "Everyone on our team played great and we really showed what we are capable of."
Penn freshman Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan was key for the Quakers, playing in all five matches and taking home the tournament MVP award.
"This was a shock basically," Kwak-Hefferan said. "There are a lot of really good players on our team, so I was just really surprised that I got it."
Penn opened action in the tournament with its only loss. Going against Elon College, the Quakers lost, 15-9, 15-12, 8-15, 15-17, 17-15.
Freshman Lauren Purdo played well for the Quakers, amassing 22 kills, 15 digs and eight blocks. Purdo also hit .400 for the match.
Penn's next two matches were breezes as the Quakers pounded both Youngstown State (15-7, 15-6, 15-6) and Colgate (15-5, 15-6, 15-4).
After dispensing with Colgate, the Red and Blue pulled out a grueling five-game match against Drexel. Penn took a 2-1 lead in the match, but the Dragons blew Penn out in the fourth to force a deciding fifth game. In that game, the Quakers held on in a seesaw battle to win 19-17 for the second time in the match. The final was 11-15, 15-10, 19-17, 8-15, 19-17.
Against Drexel, the Quakers went with an all-freshman lineup for most of the time. Purdo played solidly, tallying 17 kills and 15 digs. Fellow freshman Katie Brandt also shined, with 15 kills and 19 digs. Penn managed an impressive 13 service aces against the Dragons.
"That's pretty impressive to have a lineup of all freshmen and have them pull it out like they did," Carter said. "We really showed what kind of depth we have on this team."
In the Quakers' final match of the weekend, they further displayed an uncanny ability to win close games in beating Morehead State 17-15, 16-14, 17-15. The surprisingly long match lasted nearly two hours because of the competitive play.
"It was a really long match because it was such back and forth play," Penn freshman Heather Janssen said. "We would constantly have to come back from being down game point. It was pretty incredible to pull all those games out."
Junior Stephanie Horan nailed 13 kills and added 19 digs to lead the Quakers. Classmate Kelly Szczerba threw down 12 kills and chipped in five blocks.
Carter, who played for the first time since she injured her foot earlier in the season, racked up 12 kills and five blocks against the Eagles.
For the Quakers, more important than going 3-0 in the tournament was proving that they could -- even with a wealth of inexperience -- consistently pull-out tough, close games.
"In our preseason, we were killing everybody, it wasn't a challenge," Janssen said. "Playing and beating these higher-caliber team like Drexel and Morehead definitely gave us a lot more confidence."
Penn will try to continue its winning ways tomorrow night in an away game against Rutgers. The young Quakers could have their work cut out for them against the Scarlet Knights, who sport a 7-3 record. Rutgers defeated Penn in three games last season at the Palestra.
"Rutgers has a good team, and they also have a pretty intimidating gym," Janssen said. "They always have a great fan turnout, so it should be tough, but I think we're ready."
(09/14/00 9:00am)
After last night's pummeling of Lehigh, the Penn volleyball team may be asking itself, "Who needs seniors?"
The incredibly young but obviously talented Quakers (3-1) showed the Engineers no mercy in easily sweeping the match, three games to none, Wednesday night in Penn's home opener.
But the 3-0 game total only tells part of the story of Penn's domination.
After taking a quick 9-4 lead in the first game, Penn seemed to slack off and allowed Lehigh (3-4) to reel off four straight points to get within one of the Quakers.
Not only would Lehigh fail to score four straight points again, the Engineers would barely score a total of four points the rest of the way. Lehigh's little burst lit a fire inside the Quakers as Penn tore Lehigh apart, winning the match, 15-9, 15-1, 15-2.
"I was kind of disappointed with how we played in the first game because we were playing much slower and we sunk down to their level," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "But the good thing was that they corrected it and started playing the high-pace game we like to see."
The Quakers nearly accomplished a rare feat in volleyball not once, but twice, by almost shutting out Lehigh in consecutive games.
In the second game, Penn built a 12-0 lead before Lehigh finally scored its only point of the game. In the third game, Penn once again flirted with volleyball's equivalent of a perfect game, this time building a lead of 14-0 and having three service opportunities to win the match before Lehigh was able to rattle off two points.
"In the first game they had a smart strategy, and they were hitting our holes softly rather than just trying to bang the ball like we're used to," Major said. "But we figured it out and adjusted, so that's something to be proud of."
Freshman Lauren Carter and junior Stephanie Horan led the Quakers with eight kills apiece. Horan played a wonderful all-around game, also leading Penn in digs. Freshman Meghan Schloat led Penn with an impressive 23 assists filling in for regular setter Jodie Antypas.
Freshman Katie Brandt also shined for Penn at the Palestra, tallying six kills and finishing third behind Horan and fellow freshman Elizabeth Kwak-Hefferan with eight digs. Kwak-Hefferan finished with nine digs and seven kills.
"Being a freshman, I was just totally excited to be out there and get some minutes," Brandt said. "A couple of time we had only freshmen on the court, so that was pretty neat."
As it became increasingly evident that this match was practically over before it started, the Quakers decided to use the opportunity to get all nine of their newest members some quality minutes.
"At first, when we had all freshmen out there, I was scared because I was like OOh my gosh, it's all freshmen', but I knew they could handle it," Major said.
After the match, it was obvious that the only players who couldn't handle it were donning the away jerseys.
"They never stopped fighting the whole match, and they played their hardest until the final point," Horan said. "But although we came out a little slow, we just worked hard and played well the entire time."
The fact that a Quakers team overflowing with freshmen could so handily defeat Lehigh bodes well for the future of Penn volleyball.
"We have four more years to go, and I think we're going to be amazing," Lauren Purdo said. "We all get along so well and we're friends on and off the court. I think we recognize what a special situation we are in."
(09/12/00 9:00am)
The common saying "There's always next year" may apply well to the Penn volleyball team. But for over half the team, a better saying would be "There's always the next three years."
The Quakers are an incredibly young team this year, with nine of the 15 members being freshmen. Exacerbating the lack of experience for the Quakers is the fact that this year's squad sports zero seniors and only three juniors.
There is, however, reason to believe that this year's team could surprise some people and make noise in the Ivies.
"We are a young team, there's no denying it," junior Kelly Szczerba said. "But most of us upperclassmen have been playing a lot since we were freshmen, so that's a big plus."
No matter how well Penn's veteran players perform, there is no doubt that the Quakers will have to rely on this year's huge recruiting class if they are to excel.
"Our upperclassmen are in a definite leadership role this season, but at the same time they are being challenged for playing time by the younger players," Penn coach Kerry Major said.
Penn is looking to turn in its first winning season since 1996 and improve on last year's mark of 3-4 in the Ivies. Penn finished last season at 15-15 overall. The Quakers have not won the Ivy League Championship since 1990.
Juniors Jodie Antypas, Stephanie Horan and Szczerba will play a vital role for Penn in its 2000 campaign.
Antypas, Penn's starting setter since she arrived here two years ago, currently sits in fourth place on the Quakers all-time career assist list with 1,828. Antypas will be looking to build on a successful 1999 season that saw her rack up 1,032 assists.
Horan played brilliantly in 1999, leading Penn in kills, aces and digs. Horan, who was named second team All-Ivy last year, averaged an impressive 3.25 kills per game last year.
Szczerba, who led the Quakers in blocks last year with 120, is the final piece of Penn's threesome of juniors. Szczerba showed remarkable improvement last year, hitting .249 and registering 257 kills.
"We [juniors] have to be leaders on this team and help some of the younger players along in their game," Szczerba said. "But, fortunately, everyone on this team seems to understand what it takes at this level and seems to be willing to make the commitment."
With no seniors to handle the burden, Major will also look to her four sophomores to provide leadership. Defensive specialists Kai Gonsorowski and Alexis Zimbalist and co-captain Stacey Carter will be relied upon heavily this year -- especially once Carter returns from a foot injury sustained over the weekend at William and Mary. Sophomore Liz Watty should benefit from increased experience during the spring season and could give Major some quality minutes.
Carter finished with impressive numbers for a freshman in 1999. She wrapped up the year with 116 kills and a .244 hitting percentage. The highlight of Carter's season had to be against Columbia when she nailed 15 kills and assisted on four blocks.
"I think the freshmen are doing great so far because they seem to be fitting right in, and we're not skipping a beat," Carter said. "But at the same time, I still feel more pressure as a sophomore because we are so young."
The primary concern for Major has to be figuring out exactly how to combine the inexperienced, but talented, freshmen with the proven upperclassmen. Against Loyola last weekend, Major displayed the depth she believes her team possesses by playing all 15 players in a 3-0 manhandling of the Greyhounds.
"I saw a great deal of improvement from Friday to late Saturday," Major said. "In that third game against Lehigh, we had a lot of people playing in their first college match. For the most part, I think everyone held it together well."
The match against Lehigh was the final of three that the Quakers played in their season-opening tournament at William and Mary. After William and Mary shredded Penn 3-0, the Quakers were able to rebound and win two straight on Saturday to raise their mark to 2-1 on the year.
Next up for the Red and Blue is the home opener this Wednesday against Lehigh at the Palestra.
"Lehigh has always been a good team, and they have some great recruits this year," Major said. "It should be neat on Wednesday. It's always fun to see youth going against youth."
(09/11/00 9:00am)
The Penn volleyball team may want to consider getting as tired as possible before future matches.
After eking out a grueling 3-2 victory over Delaware on Saturday, the Quakers showed no signs of fatigue in destroying Loyola, 3-0, later that day. In the final game of the Hi-IQ tournament at William and Mary, the Quakers made quick work of Loyola, outscoring the Greyhounds 45 to 19 overall.
"We just came off of two weeks of preseason, so we are used to playing six hours a day," sophomore co-captain Stacey Carter said. "I think that they might have been a little bit tired and they probably weren't playing at the top of their game.
Earlier in the day, Delaware gave Penn all it could handle, but the Quakers managed to hang on, playing superbly in the fifth and final game, prevailing 15-7. Perhaps the Quakers strongest performance of the tournament came in the third game, when Penn forced the Blue Hens into hitting a measly .022. For the match the Quakers hit .320.
"This was a really good start for us," freshman Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan said. "With nine freshmen, it's a whole new team. I think we showed how much potential we have."
With no seniors and only three juniors on the 15-person squad, this year's team is extremely young. The Quakers' success this season will, to a large extent, hinge on how well the nine youngest members adapt to the college level.
"Even though we do have such a young team, I thought we played tough for our first tournament," freshman Heather Janssen said. "We're definitely optimistic after going 2-1 and playing the way we did."
The Quakers showed marked improvement over the course of the tournament. After being shut out 3-0 by William and Mary, Penn managed to win its final two matches to finish second overall in the tournament.
"I think that if we had played William and Mary last, we would have been able to at least take a couple games from them," Carter said. You just have to realize that over half of our team is freshman and so that first game was a pretty tough situation."
With so many freshman on the squad, easing the young Quakers into the college game was just not an option for coach Kerry Major.
Janssen had quite a start to her collegiate career, racking up 12 kills and a .379 hitting percentage against Delaware and then following it up with eight kills, no errors and a .571 hitting percentage against Loyola.
For the upperclassmen, sophomore Stacey Carter recorded eight kills, while junior Jodie Antypas had 20 assists and five service aces against Loyola. Juniors Stephanie Horan and Kelly Szczerba played solidly all weekend as Horan finished with 29 kills and 29 digs while Szczerba had 19 kills and six blocks for the Quakers.
"I think with so many freshmen on the team, there is definitely a little more pressure on the upperclassmen," Carter said. "But at the same time, we're not really worrying about that because one of our goals this year was to desegregate the different classes and just play as a team."
Next up for Penn is the home opener as the Quakers welcome Lehigh to the Palestra on Wednesday.
"We were all pleased with how we played in the tournament, but there is some room to do better," Carter said. "We need to work on staying up for the entire match, because we had some lapses. If we can avoid the breakdowns, we are capable of playing at a higher level.
(04/27/00 9:00am)
The Quakers led the No. 7 team in the Northeast early, but lost both games of the doubleheader. For the Penn softball team and sophomore third baseman Jen Moore, it was business as usual when the Quakers traveled to Delaware to play the talented Blue Hens. Penn's offensive struggles of late continued on Wednesday as Delaware took two straight from the Quakers, 4-2 and 7-1. Penn's total of three runs means that the Quakers have scored an anemic total of 21 runs in their last 13 games. Over that same period, Penn has been shut out four times. Moore, who has led the Quakers in batting throughout the season, bucked Penn's offensive trend, collecting two more hits yesterday to raise her season total to 44 and tie the Penn single-season record with three games remaining on the schedule. "The first game was definitely within our reach," Moore said. "We came out hot and then just died. In the second game, we just weren't hitting the ball, and we weren't aggressive at the plate." Moore has undoubtedly been Penn's most solid offensive performer throughout the 2000 campaign. Moore is the only member of the Quakers batting above .300 and currently sits at .347. "I didn't even know that I had tied the Penn record for hits," Moore said. "That's a pretty nice accomplishment, but it doesn't change the fact that we lost two more games." Penn appeared poised to knock off the powerful Blue Hens, ranked No. 7 in the Northeast, when the Quakers jumped out to 2-0 lead in the first. Moore doubled in Clarisa Apostol and then later scored herself on a throwing error. Becky Ranta pitched extremely well early on, holding Delaware to only three hits through the first four innings. Delaware was finally able to get on the board in the fifth when it scored two runs to knot the game at 2-2. Delaware took the lead for good in the sixth inning when Amanda Cariello smacked a clutch two-out double off of Penn freshman hurler Dina Parise that scored two runs. "We scored all of our runs early on and just couldn't seem to get it going after that," Moore said. "We got a couple of base runners on, but it was all to no avail because we just couldn't hit them in." The nightcap wasn't nearly as competitive. Delaware made it clear from the start that this was its game by scoring four runs in the first. Penn scored its only run of the night in the third inning when Heidi Albrecht singled home fellow freshman Crista Farrell. Albrecht's infield RBI single was one of only three Penn hits in six innings against Delaware pitcher Susan Dugan, who stymied the Red and Blue batters and took the win to raise her record to an impressive 16-2. "We've struggled a lot in the second games of doubleheaders this year," Moore said. "Today was the same old story. We just died in the second game." Since March 26, Penn is a meager 1-9-1 in the second games of twin bills. The Quakers' lone nightcap win came on April 5 in a doubleheader sweep of Lehigh on the road. Penn has been held to one run or been shut out in all six of its doubleheader cappers since that 11-8 victory over the Engineers. The Quakers, who stand at a disappointing 13-27-1 on the year, have played their last non-conference game of the year. Penn has a doubleheader against Dartmouth and make-up game against Harvard this weekend. Penn was originally scheduled to face St. Joseph's and Wagner on the road on April 28 and 30, respectively, but last weekend's Ivy League rainouts forced the Quakers to cancel those non-league contests against the Hawks and Seahawks. The Harvard game has been moved to the campus of Yale, but Penn will still play a double dip in New Hampshire as originally planned against Dartmouth. The Red and Blue, who have lost 11 out of their last 13 games overall, will have to win all three games in New England if they hope to better last year's Ivy League mark of 4-8. Penn is already guaranteed a worse overall winning percentage than last year when the squad went 15-22. "We know we're not going to be first in the Ivies, but we definitely don't want to be last and that's where we are right now," Moore said. "We can definitely hang with anyone in the Ivies, so it's just a matter of going out and performing."
(04/26/00 9:00am)
As an important weekend looms, Penn heads to Delaware. After losing one game and having three others postponed because of rain in a single weekend, the Penn softball team is eager to forget about the weather and start winning some games. Last weekend, Penn's only game of record was a 10-5 loss at Harvard. The Quakers, who had used late-inning rallies to squeak out big wins over Cornell and Princeton the previous weekend, fell victim to a five-run sixth inning that broke a 5-5 tie and ended any hope of a Penn victory. The loss at Harvard dropped Penn's league record to a dismal 2-7 and guaranteed that the Quakers will finish up the Ivy season below .500. With only three league games remaining, one against Harvard and a doubleheader against Dartmouth, Penn is just playing for pride in the Ancient Eight. The Quakers will get a break from their league schedule tomorrow when they head to Delaware for an afternoon doubleheader. With the Red and Blue's luck of late, don't be surprised if the game is rained out. "It was definitely a little frustrating dealing with all the postponements and dealing with the weather," Penn coach Carol Kashow said. "Hopefully we managed to use our time well and it gave us a chance to get a little unexpected rest before we finish up the season." The Quakers have been struggling mightily recently and have lost nine of their last 11 games to drop to 13-25-1 for the year. The Red and Blue will need to win at least six of their final nine contests in order to match last year's winning percentage when the Quakers finished 15-22. The Blue Hens could present the Quakers with some problems. Delaware has been impressive and at times dominant en route to its overall 26-9 record. The Blue Hens, who are 11-3 in the America East Conference, are ranked seventh in the northeastern region in the NCAA's most recent poll. "We know that they have improved a lot and have been playing very, very well, especially in their conference," Kashow said. "They're hitting the ball excellently, and they have some great pitchers." Junior third baseman Lauren Mark is having a breakout year for the Blue Hens, batting .416. Mark also leads Delaware with 22 RBI and is a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts. Sophomore and 1999 first team All-Ivy League selection Jen Moore leads the Penn offensive attack that has struggled throughout the season. Moore, who is batting .347, is the only player for Penn hitting over .300. "Just like all the other games, our goal is just going to be to go out there and play our type of softball," Kashow said. "If we hope to win, we need to be aggressive and bring all aspects of our game." A lack of consistent offensive production has definitely been the Quaker's biggest deficiency. Penn has fallen victim to one perfect game and three no-hitters in the last six contests. The Quakers' five runs against Harvard equaled their highest output in the last 11 games. "We're just excited to have a chance to play after having a little bit of a layoff," Kashow said. "It should work out well to play mid-week and then get a little more practice before we play Harvard and Cornell this weekend."
(04/26/00 9:00am)
As the Quakers prepare for their season's stretch run, the Relays wil provide a unique chance to shine. The Penn women's track team will try to do more than just be a good host this weekend when the Quakers compete against some of the best runners in the world at the Penn Relays. For the Red and Blue, the Penn Relays have taken on an added importance because it is Penn's final chance to warm up for the all-important Heptagonal Championships. "The hope is that we can kind of get the ball rolling here and get some momentum," Penn assistant coach Crickett Batz-Shaklee said. "This is our last chance to get ready for Heps, so it is really important that we compete hard and that we do it with a lot of pride." The Quakers are coming off a meet at home against Cornell and Birmingham (U.K.) in which they took second place with a team score of 124. The Big Red won the event with a cumulative score of 155.5. Although Penn's hopes of taking first were not realized, the Quakers had to be pleased with some strong individual performances in the home meet. Sophomore Liz Wittels easily won the pole vault with a clearance of 3.35 meters, and freshman Julie Siebert-Johnson took home the crown in the javelin with a distance of 42.38. The long jumpers for Penn had a fantastic meet over the weekend, with junior Bassey Adjah winning the event with a leap of 5.34 meters. Junior Melissa MacIntyre was close on Adjah's heels with a jump of 5.32, good enough for second place. Freshman Meredith Bunche finished in fourth place with a distance of 5.13. The 4x400 relay team of Qianna Snooks, Adjah, Jeraldine Cofie and Petra Stewart continued their magnificent running of late and easily won the meet with a time of 3:49.5. The relay team for Cornell posed few problems, finishing five seconds back. "We're really excited to see how our relay teams fare against some great competition," Batz-Shaklee said. "We've gotten really used to running relays against only Ivy League teams, so it will be interesting going against some fantastic runners." Although the Red and Blue do have talented relay squads, Penn is not an excellent distance-running team, and consequently, the Quakers will not have athletes competing in numerous events. "We do have a lot of empty slots," Batz-Shaklee said. "This is a runner's meet, and we're just not a very hardcore distance-running team right now. But we're really excited about the Relays. And we have two outstanding pole vaulters." After the Penn Relays, Penn will have a sizeable break of two weeks to rest and to make final preparations for Heps. The Quakers will welcome the downtime, having had meets each of the last six weekends. The break could also help the team recover from some nagging injuries. Junior Jujuan Gair is scheduled to compete this weekend in the 100 hurdles, but may have to be scratched due to a back strain. For the Penn athletes, the key will be focusing on their events and not getting caught up in the excitement of such a huge event in the world of track and field. "Obviously, competing in this meet and wearing the Penn uniform is big for us," Batz-Shaklee said. "We kind of have the attitude that this is our house, and even though championships aren't for another two weeks, this could be a great precursor to Heps for us."
(04/21/00 9:00am)
After big-time splits at home, Penn heads to Harvard and Dartmouth to end Ivy season. After finally getting a taste of winning in the Ivy League, the Penn softball team will try to prove that last weekend's gutsy, come-from-behind wins were not a fluke. Although the Quakers were only able to split both of their doubleheaders last weekend against Princeton and Cornell, that in itself is quite an accomplishment for the young Penn squad. In fact, for seniors Michelle Zaptin, Suzanne Arbogast and Kari Dennis, it was the first time that they had beaten either team. The Quakers had last topped Princeton in 1991 and Cornell in 1994. Penn, 2-6 in the Ivies and 13-24-1 overall, will look to even its league record this weekend in doubleheaders against Harvard and Dartmouth. It would be quite a feat for the Red and Blue to finish the Ivy season at .500 after a slow start which saw the team start off 0-4 in the Ancient Eight. Neither of the two monumental wins for Penn came easily. Against the Tigers, the Quakers valiantly fought back from a 1-0 deficit to take a 3-1 victory. The key for Penn was a clutch sixth-inning rally in which the Quakers put all three of their runs on the board. "I'm quite proud of my team," Penn coach Carol Kashow said. "Both of our wins were come-from-behind victories. We faced adversity, but that didn't stop us. We're growing up a little and maturing." Penn's victory against Cornell was even more exciting. The Quakers showed a great deal of poise in coming back from a 3-1 deficit in the bottom of the seventh. In its last chance to tie up the game, Penn came through with a string of key hits and a sacrifice fly by Jen Moore that knotted the game at three. The three Penn seniors finally secured their first victory against the Big Red when sophomore stand-out Clarisa Apostol singled home freshman catcher Dani Landolt. If Penn hopes to finish the Ivy season with a bang, the Quakers will need to play their best softball for four straight games. Although Penn notched huge wins over Princeton and Cornell, in both cases the Quakers were embarrassed in the second game -- the Red and Blue were shut out in the nightcaps of both doubleheaders. Not only was Penn shut out by both Princeton and Cornell, but the Quakers fell victim to softball's most humiliating feat-- a perfect game. Last week's Ivy League Player of the Week Brie Galacinao showed off a gaudy array of pitches in stoning the Penn batters. Penn has probably seen about enough of Galacinao to last a lifetime. Not only was the sophomore simply superb from the mound, but she also managed to go a perfect 3-3 from the plate and score two runs. Beating Harvard will definitely not be an easy task for Penn. Although the Crimson sport an unimpressive 11-18 record overall, Harvard has yet to be beaten by a league opponent and sits at 3-0. Harvard has been no less than completely dominant thus far into their trip through the Ancient Eight. The Crimson's biggest test was a 5-3 win over Dartmouth, and coach Jenny Allard's team has outscored its Ivy League competitors by an amazing count of 27-7. Dartmouth appears to be a little less intimidating than Harvard. The ladies from Hanover have split doubleheaders against Brown and Yale and sit at 2-3 in the Ivies. The Big Green are led by sophomore Sarah Damon, who is batting .348 for the year. Penn's pitching will likely be tested early and often by a Dartmouth team that boasts four players with batting averages above .300. By capping off its home schedule with a pair of emotional and poignant victories, Penn has a chance to wrap up its Ivy campaign on a definite high note.
(04/14/00 9:00am)
The Quakers, losers of six in a row, host Princeton and Cornell hoping for better outcomes. If the Penn softball team hopes to make some noise in the Ivy League this season, the time to get some wins is definitely right now. The Quakers will try to get their first Ancient Eight win of the year today when they go against Princeton in a home doubleheader. Penn (11-22-1, 0-4) has been struggling offensively of late, scoring only five runs in the last six games, all losses. In its four league contests thus far, the team has totaled a mere four runs. "We definitely know that we're capable of beating Princeton," sophomore Jen Moore said. "But at the same time, we knew we could've beat Drexel, Yale, and Brown, but that just isn't happening." On Wednesday, the Quakers played Drexel in an away doubleheader and dropped both games, 4-1 and 1-0. The highlight of the day for Penn had to be the near no-hit performance turned in by freshman pitcher Dina Parise. Parise, starting in only her third game, showed an impressive array of pitches and took a no-hitter into the last inning. Unfortunately for Parise, her no-hit bid was spoiled when Kelly Donahue led the seventh off with a double. The game was over when Jodi Devine hit a two-out double to drive in the winning run and break the scoreless tie. "I was really pleased with my pitching, and I thought that our defense did an awesome job backing me up," Parise said. "It was a tough loss after holding them hitless for six innings, but I can take away a lot of positives from this." If the Quakers are going to beat Princeton, which stands at 4-0 in the Ivies, they will probably need some great pitching because the Orange and Black will make it difficult to score. Tigers pitcher Brie Galacinao took home last week's Ivy League Player of the Week honors. She helped Princeton start league play off undefeated by getting at least one hit in all four games and allowing no earned runs in two starts and twelve total innings. Despite Penn's offensive difficulties of late, returning first team All-Ivy selection Moore is having a great year with the bat. She is batting a whopping .394 with two homers and 15 RBIs. "I think that our biggest problem is that we always have one aspect of our game missing," Moore said. "One day we'll be hitting and pitching well, but our defense will be poor, and then the next day we'll play well on defense but we won't be able to get any hits." The Quakers will also face Cornell in a double-dip on Sunday afternoon. If Penn can take four straight home games, the Red and Blue could even its Ivy League mark at 4-4. "We seem to be hitting the ball consistently in practice, but when it comes to games we just seem to scatter our hits," Parise said. Cornell has been playing well thus far and stands at 17-5 on the year. The Big Red have played only one league game, however, and were shut out by Harvard, 1-0. Cornell has been potent offensively, with nine players batting at or above .300. "Our intensity needs to be up, and we have to be much more aggressive and really play like we believe in ourselves," Moore said. "We know we have a lot of talent, so it is just a matter of going out there and performing."
(04/13/00 9:00am)
Freshman Dina Parise lost a no-hit bid and the game in the nightcap as Penn's bats were silent. A Penn softball team that is struggling mightily to score runs ran into the last thing it needed to run into yesterday when the Quakers faced off against Drexel's excellent pitching staff. Drexel (11-12) used impressive outings by Laura Tynio and Lori Swanson to quiet the Quakers' bats and sweep the doubleheader. The Dragons won the first game easily, 4-1, and then outlasted Penn in a pitchers' duel, 1-0. In the first game, Swanson showed why she is the reigning America East pitcher of the year by tossing a brilliant game. In a dominating performance, Swanson struck out 13 Quakers, including, amazingly, the first eight Penn batters of the game en route to a two-hitter. "Lori Swanson is probably one of the best pitchers that we will face this season, and we just didn't adjust," Penn sophomore Jen Moore said. "She's definitely a good pitcher, but that shouldn't happen where we get dominated like that." For Penn, freshman hurler Becky Ranta pitched well, allowing only six hits and three earned runs in six innings. Penn's only scoring in the game took place in the fifth inning after a double by freshman Heidi Albrecht broke up Swanson's no-hit bid. Sophomore Lindsay Wagner, pinch running for Albrecht, advanced to third on a ground-out and scored courtesy of a wild pitch by Swanson. "I feel like we are kind of doubting ourselves," Moore said. "We do have a lot of talent, so we just need to play aggressively and believe in ourselves." In the second game, freshman Dina Parise of Penn -- in just her third career start -- pitched superbly and took a no-hitter into the seventh and final inning. In the seventh, the Dragons led off with a double by Kelly Donahue and eventually scored a run when Jodi Devine hit a clutch two-out double. The game went from a no-hit bid to a Parise loss in a matter of moments. "I was just trying to keep the ball down and get a grounder to the left side," Parise said. "But she managed to tap it over the fielder's head and that was the game." Despite taking a tough loss, Parise was pleased with an effort that saw her take a no-hitter into the last inning as a freshman and also saw her toss her first complete game. "I was feeling really good, and I finally stepped out onto the mound and said to myself that this was my game," Parise said. "I had been really nervous at the start of other games, but today everything came together and I pitched my best." The loss for Penn is the sixth consecutive and the ninth in the last 11 games. The Quakers have been plagued by an inability to consistently score runs over the last 16 games. Following an early season four-game winning streak that raised the team's mark to 8-10, Penn has gone 3-12-1. The Quakers have also scored a disappointingly low total of five runs over the last six contests. "It's frustrating because we know that we can pound teams offensively, but we're just not doing it," Parise said. "We need to bring all three aspects [pitching, hitting and defense] together and give 100 percent and then we'll get some wins." After a two-game hiatus from their Ivy League schedule, the Quakers will return to league play this Friday in a home doubleheader against Princeton. The Quakers, winless in four Ivy League contests, could have their hands full this weekend against a Tigers team that boasts a record of 4-0 in the Ivies. "We know how to hit. We do it everyday -- it's routine for us -- but we're just not executing and coming through in games," Moore said. "We look really good in warm-ups, but unfortunately that doesn't put a 'W' on the board. We know that we're capable of beating Princeton. We just need to come out aggressive and believe in ourselves."
