Search Results
Below are your search results. You can also try a Basic Search.
(03/30/99 10:00am)
Two weekends ago, the Penn women's track team competed in rainy, cold and windy conditions at Franklin Field in the Quaker Invitational. Last weekend the Quakers traveled to North Carolina for the Raleigh Relays expecting much better racing conditions. But Mother Nature did not cooperate. "We had driven all the way down south and the weather wasn't any better than at Philadelphia," Penn senior Aqiyla Muhammed said. "It was rainy and cold but we still had to perform in those conditions." Luckily for the Quakers, the North Carolina skies cleared on Saturday, leaving only a cool breeze behind. In spite of the changing weather conditions, Penn garnered five top-10 individual performances and four relay teams in the top 16 at the Raleigh Relays last Friday and Saturday at Paul Derr Track and Field Stadium. "The team had a great meet, especially the runners," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "The technical people still have some work to do, however." Leading the way for the Quakers was sophomore Bassey Adjah. She competed in two individual and two relay events, finishing no lower than 16th in any of them. Adjah was at her finest in her first event, the long jump. She finished ninth out of 45 competitors with a jump of 19'1.5'', seven inches better than her previous best. "It came up on my first jump," Adjah said of her personal record leap. "I was so surprised and so happy, people looked at me like I was crazy the way I was jumping up and down after the jump." The Piscataway, N.J., native then ran in the 400-meter hurdles. She did not turn in a PR but her finishing time of 1:03.78 was good enough for a 10th-place finish. "Last week [at the Quaker Relays] the people who set the hurdles up messed up," Adjah said. "Three of my hurdles were on the men's height. But I had no excuse this time." Adjah also ran legs in two relays, the 4x200-meters and the 4x400-meters. The 4x200-meter team placed 15th out of 38 teams, while the 4x400-meter team placed 16th out of 46. The Penn relay teams had strong meets as a whole, although a missed handoff between Richelle Clements and captain Shana McDonald-Black in the 4x100-meter relay cost the Quakers a place. The sprint medley team finished 11th out of 23 teams, while the 4x800-meter runners all turned in sub-2:20 splits en route to a 10th-place finish. Three other Penn individuals recorded top-10 performances this weekend. Pole vaulter Liz Wittels cleared 10 feet to tie for fifth, while two of the teams' captains -- Jessica Mitchell and Rita Garber -- established themselves among the top middle and long-distance runners, respectively. Mitchell finished a second off her PR in the 800 meters but her time of 2:11.76 was good enough for seventh in the elite field of 18 invited runners. "She didn't blow it out in the first 400," Tenisci said. "She paced herself and brought it in really strong in the last 400. She ran a really intelligent race." Garber finished sixth in a crowded field of 50 runners in the 3,000 meters. Her time of 9:54.61 was an outdoor PR for the senior. Sophomore JaJuan Gair also performed well for the Quakers. She finished 15th in the 100-meter high hurdles with a time of 14.57 seconds. "I ended up hitting a hurdle so it wasn't my best time," Gair said. "It wasn't a clean race for me." While the runners and jumpers fared well in Raleigh, the throwers did not join in their success. With captain Luana Botelho out with a fractured finger, the Quakers struggled to qualify in their events. The lone bright spot was sophomore Yinka Orafidiya, whose 40'.75" throw in the shot put was good enough for 27th place. Penn will return to action on the track Saturday in the University of Pennsylvania Invitational. The Quakers are hoping the unpleasant weather of the past two meets will not repeat itself at Franklin Field.
(03/29/99 10:00am)
If Kristi O'Connell pitched every game against the Quakers, she would be an All-American. The Delaware junior, who blanked Penn on two hits last year, baffled the Quakers again on Saturday. She allowed just one hit in nine scoreless innings in a Blue Hen doubleheader sweep at Warren Field. O'Connell let only one ball -- a Sherryl Fodera pop to shallow left -- leave the infield in her 7-0 complete-game whitewashing of Penn (8-9) in the first game. Krysta Pidstawski started the second game for the Blue Hens (12-6), but O'Connell pitched the last two innings, striking out the side in the seventh to nail down the save in the 2-1 Delaware victory. "I was just nervous because anything could happen, especially since the score was 2-1," O'Connell said of her relief appearance in the second game. "I threw what they couldn't hit before." And the Quakers still couldn't figure out how to hit the Elmsford, N.Y., native in the second game. Kashow and the Penn coaching staff tried to get the Quakers to move up in the batter's box but nothing could stop O'Connell. "She had a lot of movement on the ball," Fodera said. "We were hitting the ball pretty hard but it was just into the ground." The Quakers fared better against Pidstawski in the second game but scored just one run while leaving eight runners on base. The Penn players still managed to have some fun on Saturday, however. During a 25-minute delay after the second inning of the second game -- due to vandalism to the Delaware vans -- several Quakers entertained themselves with juggling, races and other activities to stay loose. The break also seemed to rejuvenate the Penn bats. With the game still scoreless, Penn put together its first rally of the day. Bunt singles by Michelle Zaptin and Clarisa Apostol put two on with no outs. Jaime Hojdila added another bunt single but Zaptin got thrown out trying to score. Jen Moore then hit an RBI double to give Penn a 1-0 lead. "I knew had to take whatever it was to the opposite field," Moore said. "It was an outside pitch and I just took it to right-center." But the Quakers' bats cooled and Delaware came back with two runs in the fifth. Freshman Amanda Cariello singled to left to knock in Mandy Welch and Laurie Brosnahan, giving the Blue Hens a 2-1 lead. Although Pidstawski had held Penn to only one run, Delaware coach B.J. Ferguson brought in O'Connell in the sixth inning to shut the door. "It's obvious that they were giving us some respect -- maybe last year they might not have done that," Moore said. "But this year they were probably expecting us to come back." The Quakers did not come back as O'Connell once again befuddled the Penn batters. Apostol, Lindsay Wagner and Moore struck out in the seventh to seal the loss for Penn. "I don't think that Delaware is two wins better than us," Kashow said. "We looked sloppy out there. [On] pop-ups [we] were like, 'You go for it, no I'll go for it.' This is just not the type of softball we've been playing." The Quakers committed four errors on the day, but had numerous other miscues in the field. Molly Meehan had three passed balls and Zaptin threw a wild pitch. In all, only three of the Delaware's nine runs were earned. Delaware provided more than enough offensive support for O'Connell in the first game. The Blue Hens' seven runs came on 14 hits, including three each by Welch and Brosnahan. But O'Connell's pitching was the story. While Fodera reached base on an infield single in the third, the Quakers would only have one more baserunner in the game. Third baseman Moore reached on a Rikki Greenstreet error in the seventh. Penn's doubleheader at Wagner yesterday was canceled due to inclement weather, so the Quakers did not have an opportunity to atone for Saturday's poor performance. "I think there were some impostors out there today," Kashow said, "because this certainly wasn't my team that I know." The Penn team that had won six of eight games coming into last weekend had better show up soon as the Ivy League season begins on Friday with Princeton.
(03/25/99 10:00am)
After four days off, the Penn softball team hosts a pair of doubleheaders this weekend. Last year Penn managed just three runs and six hits in a doubleheader split against Delaware. But that Quaker team was hitting .227 coming into the game. The 1999 edition of Penn softball is currently hitting at a .276 clip. "We're definitely not the same team as last year," Penn outfielder Jaime Hojdila said. "Our hitting has come around so much more." But don't expect a slugfest on Saturday when the Blue Hens (9-5) meet the Quakers (8-7) at 1 p.m. on Warren Field. Delaware may be hitting .309 as a team, but the Blue Hens are at their best with their fielding mitts on. "They're more solid defensively than a lot of teams we've played," Penn sophomore Michelle Zaptin said. "And their pitching is especially good." Last year, Delaware won 2-0 in the opening game on the strength of a two-hit shutout by Kristi O'Connell. The junior hurler, 5-2 this season, will likely start one of the two games on Saturday. "She had pitched a no-hitter the game before," Zaptin said of O'Connell. "So she was pretty confident [against Penn]. She throws very hard and has a lot of movement." Penn staged a comeback to win the nightcap against Delaware last March 28. Catcher Sarah Dominic doubled in Zaptin to tie the game at one in the seventh. The Quakers then took advantage of Blue Hen defensive miscues to put two on the board in the eighth -- which constitutes extra innings for softball -- on their way to a 3-1 victory. Delaware looks to be just as strong this year. Senior Krysta Pidstawski, with a 3.13 ERA, complements O'Connell on the mound, while junior Chris Brady and sophomore Lauren Mark lead the offensive attack. Brady is hitting .361 with a team leading 13 RBIs and Mark holds a .410 average and 11 RBIs. Freshman Mandy Welch may be the Blue Hens' brightest star however, leading the club with a .526 average. "We played Delaware in the fall," Penn freshman Jen Moore said. "I think they're pretty close to Villanova and we should have beaten Villanova both games. They're definitely better than La Salle [with whom Penn split last Friday]." The Quakers will travel to Wagner on Sunday to play the Seahawks at 1 p.m. at Wagner Softball Complex. La Salle defeated Wagner soundly in all four meetings between the two squads earlier this year. "We haven't played them ever so we don't know what to expect," Hojdila said. "Player-wise, we don't know who's good and who's not." But it does not matter to the Penn softball players whether they are playing Wagner College or Honus Wagner. The Quakers, who have not seen action since Sunday, just want to play. "Because we had Monday and Tuesday off from practice," Hojdila said, "we're looking to play anybody. The way we're feeling this year, we can play Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and be fine with that." While its schedule is not quite that packed, Penn will not have many more days to rest. They have no more than four days off between games from now until the end of the season. This should mean fewer practices but also fewer days off. "Pretty much, after this weekend we're not slowing down," Moore said. "But that's good. I can speak for pretty much all of us when I say we'd rather be playing than practicing." The Quakers, who are only three games shy of their win total from last year, are above .500 for the first time in coach Carol Kashow's two-year tenure. The .500 mark signifies a huge improvement over last year's 10-29 record. "Five hundred is nice," freshman Clarisa Apostol said, "but we're looking a lot higher than that." In addition, the Quakers can equal last season's win total if they can win two of the four games this weekend. Penn's first Ivy League game will be against Princeton on April 2, but the Quakers are not looking past their two doubleheaders this weekend. "We've been splitting a lot of double headers," Zaptin said. "Now we want to take both games."
(03/22/99 10:00am)
Penn's softball team won two of its three games over the weekend to improve to 8-7 on the season. Michelle Zaptin is Penn's ace in the hole. The Penn softball team's usual ace, Suzanne Arbogast, gave up six hits and two walks in a 7-4 complete-game loss to La Salle in the first game of Friday's doubleheader. But Zaptin atoned for Arbogast's subpar performance by winning both of her starts this weekend. Penn won two-of-three games overall this weekend. After splitting a pair of games on Friday at La Salle, Penn (8-7) moved over .500 for the first time this season yesterday with a 9-3 road win over Rider. "It was a great feeling beating [Rider]," Zaptin said. "All the upperclassmen were thinking about the 18-2 loss to them last year." Zaptin recorded both wins over the weekend, tying her with Arbogast for the team lead in victories with four. She was at her best against La Salle, giving up just five hits in a 3-0 whitewashing. "I was confident that if I didn't walk anyone I'd keep us in the game," said Zaptin, who walked just two Explorers. "I stayed low the whole game with my pitches." Jamie Hodjila and Jen Moore provided the offense for Penn in the game. Hodjila had an RBI single in the third to put the Quakers on the board while Moore knocked in Penn's final two runs in the fifth. Outfielder Julie Reiss provided the big blow for La Salle in the first game of the doubleheader. The Explorers, down 1-0, had the bases loaded in the third inning but Arbogast looked like she would get out of trouble. Reiss then hit a clutch double on a two-out, two-strike pitch to clear the bases and give La Salle a 3-1 lead. Penn pulled within one on a Clarisa Apostol RBI single in the fourth but a three-run Explorer fifth gave La Salle a 6-2 lead and put the game out of reach. The Explorers went on to a 7-4 win. "I think that if we score four runs we should be able to win given our defense and pitching," Penn coach Carol Kashow said. "It's a shame we wasted a decent offensive effort." Penn's offense was even more potent yesterday against Rider, however. The Quakers scored nine runs against the Broncs, including five in the first two innings. Sherryl Fodera got Penn off to a quick start with a two-run double in the first. The Quakers extended their lead with three in the second. Apostol, Hodjila and Fodera all had RBI singles in the effort. "We kind of settled back down after that hot start," Kashow said. "We didn't keep the intensity up and defensive miscues got them back in it." Two of those defensive miscues came on a grounder to Moore in the fifth. After Christine Fenyus dropped Moore's throw to first, Fenyus picked up the ball and tossed it to Fodera at third, who proceeded to throw it into centerfield trying to nail a Rider runner at second. This defensive lapse by the Quakers keyed a three-run inning for the Broncs, bringing them within two runs at 5-3. But Rider would get no closer. Moore led off the Penn seventh with a double, as the Quakers put four more runs on the board to roll to a 9-3 victory. Zaptin picked up the win for Penn with five solid innings while Arbogast pitched the last two innings for the save. The Quakers were scheduled for a doubleheader with Rider but the second game was rained out. As has been the case all year, the Quakers received key contributions from their bench players this weekend, especially in the last two innings of the Rider game. Sarah Dominic had a pinch-hit single in the sixth and Kari Feinberg walked and scored as a pinch hitter in the seventh. "It's nice when you bring someone in and they get the job done," Kashow said. "I'm really pleased with our team effort. Whether somebody is in the game or coming in off the bench, they're contributing." After a 2-5 start to the season, the Quakers have now won six of their last eight games. Zaptin has been a big part of the turnaround. She has won three consecutive decisions and now holds a 4-2 record in six starts.
(03/18/99 10:00am)
The Penn softball team shut out Villanova in the first game but dropped the second to stay at .500. Bases loaded. Two outs in a 1-0 game in the fifth inning. Penn freshman Jen Moore took a mighty cut at the 1-2 pitch, but the ball traveled only five feet from the plate. Villanova third baseman Jackie Pasquerella ran in to field the ball and flipped it to Josey Mikulyuk, but it ricocheted off the catcher's glove and allowed two Penn runners to score. Moore was thrown out at second, but not before the Quakers had extended their lead to 3-0. "I swung real hard but the ball didn't go anywhere," Moore said. "I was figuring, ok, forceout, inning over but I ran real hard to first base anyway. The next thing I know, two runs had scored and I was out at second." Penn (6-6) held on for a 3-0 win, but lost the second game of yesterday's doubleheader 5-2 against Villanova (10-4) at Warren Field. "Our performance at Florida carried over in the first game," coach Carol Kashow said. "We just need to keep the intensity up. Unfortunately, we let them jump ahead in the second game, but I truly think Villanova wasn't confident in victory until the last out." In the second game, Villanova took a 5-0 lead after three innings. Penn, meanwhile, was held hitless through the first four innings and could not score after its first two batters reached base in the fifth. Moore put the Quakers on the board with more heroics in the sixth, however. After striking out looking in her previous at-bat, she had two strikes on her this time. With a runner on, she powered a Faith Meisinger pitch well over the left-field fence. "The umpire was calling high outside pitches strikes," Moore said. "The ball was high and I took the ball all the way to the wall." "No way you catch Jen Moore looking twice in a row," Kashow said. Penn would get no closer, however. Sarah Dominic struck out and Clarisa Apostol grounded out with Allyson Emond at first to end the seventh, sealing the loss for the Quakers. Apostol had given Penn a 1-0 lead with a clutch two-out RBI single in the first game. The freshman went 3-for-8 on the day and has now hit safely in 11 of the team's 12 games. "I wasn't sure how different the level of playing would be here in Division I," Apostol said. "But I think playing in the American Softball Association summer league was a big help. The ASA is similar to Division I in terms of style of play." Suzanne Arbogast again pitched well for Penn in the first game. She scattered just four hits in blanking the Wildcats for her second consecutive shutout. She struck out 10 in her previous whitewashing of Maine, but Arbogast was more Greg Maddux than Randy Johnson yesterday, as she did not fan a single Villanova batter. "[Arbogast] was very good at keeping us in the game," Kashow said. "She gave our defense an opportunity to play, and that's how we're going to win ballgames." Penn's ace started the second game as well, but lasted only two batters into the second inning. Michelle Zaptin relieved Arbogast and immediately struck out Regina Speicher, but would surrender three runs in the inning on singles by Gina DeFrancosco and Kristen Verhoff. Zaptin pitched well in the last three innings, surrendering only one hit, but Penn could not overcome a five-run deficit and had to settle for a split. The Quakers will take the field again in a doubleheader against La Salle tomorrow.
(03/17/99 10:00am)
WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Penn's Jason Nagle, owner of a 13-12 record this season, entered the EIWAs as the No. 7 seed at 133 lbs. Bandele Adeniyi-Bada, Penn's heavyweight, entered the EIWAs as the top seed with a 22-3 record. Nagle knocked off the top three seeds in his weight class to win the title. Adeniyi-Bada was ahead 11-3 in his semifinal match when he was pinned with 10 seconds to go. "It's a crazy sport," Penn coach Roger Reina said. Both Nagle and Adeniyi-Bada will be heading to Penn State this weekend but the pair took vastly different paths at the EIWAs to get there. Adeniyi-Bada, ranked No. 10 in the nation, was the clear favorite entering the tournament. He had not lost since December 30 and showed no signs of faltering after posting 13-3 and 7-3 victories in the first two rounds. "Bear," as Penn's heavyweight is known to teammates and fans, had dominated his semifinal opponent, Brown freshman Bronson Lingamfelter, in two previous matches this season. Adeniyi-Bada had posted 19-7 and 14-4 victories and appeared to be on the way to another major decision -- and a spot in the finals -- when disaster struck. Trailing 11-3, Lingamfelter took advantage of an aggressive move by Adeniyi-Bada to score a quick takedown and pin against the native of Kent, Ohio. "I made one mistake," Adeniyi-Bada said. "I was looking for a high-risk move on my part and I paid for my mistake." And in a span of five seconds, Adeniyi-Bada's championship hopes were vanquished. The Penn junior still had a chance to make it to Nationals as a wild card but he would need to take third and have luck on his side. "I've been down before," Adeniyi-Bada said. "I drew strength from my mother, said my prayers. As soon as I lost I thanked God. I knew that He had a plan for me." "Bear" defeated Syracuse's Graham Manley 7-3 in his first match in the consolation bracket but he did not look sharp. He returned to form against Rutgers' Tom Petko, though, winning 12-3 to earn third place. And Adeniyi-Bada impressed the coaches enough to grab one of the six wild card spots. Adeniyi-Bada refused to let the loss rattle his self-confidence. "I think I'm better than any heavyweight out there who's wrestling right now so I'm not watching the match," Adeniyi-Bada said as Lingamfelter and Cornell's Seth Charles wrestled for the heavyweight championship. Nagle, however, could not claim to be the best in his weight class. At least not before Easterns. In fact, Nagle had not even secured a starting spot for Penn until junior James Brennan was injured six weeks ago. Nagle transferred from Penn State, where he compiled a 3-20 record as a freshman two years ago. "I knew that it would take a peak performance to win this," Nagle said. Nagle peaked at the right time. After a first round pin of Lehigh freshman Anthony Shave, the 5'1'' junior defeated the top three seeds in succession to capture the title. First up was the No. 2 seed, Princeton's Juan Venturi, who had beaten Nagle twice this season. "Every match we've had has been a battle so I knew it would be a big one," Nagle said. Nagle disposed of Venturi 4-1 and knocked off Harvard's Matt Picarsic, the No. 3 seed, to reach the finals against Brown's Livio DiRubbo, the No. 1 seed. DiRubbo, one of the few wrestlers shorter than Nagle, took an early lead against the Penn junior, but two takedowns within 20 seconds in the second period gave Nagle a 7-5 lead. He held on for a 10-6 victory and the EIWA title. "I definitely had a gameplan coming into each of these last few matches," Nagle said. "There wasn't too much pressure to handle. I knew that I could wrestle with anybody in my [weight] class." But no one expected him to come out on top. The rags-to-riches story of Jason Nagle served as a rallying point for the Quakers. "It was very inspiring to the whole team to watch Jason battle through," said Reina. "I just think he did a great job and mentally he was very focused throughout the tournament." Now Nagle will try to continue his improbable run at Nationals. He will be joined this weekend by seven other Penn wrestlers, including Adeniyi-Bada. But for Nagle and Adeniyi-Bada, the road to Penn State could not have been more different.
(03/05/99 10:00am)
The undefeated Penn wrestling team travels to Army in search of its fourth EIWA title in a row. The Penn wrestling team, ranked 13th in the nation, has compiled a 10-0-2 record en route to a fourth consecutive Ivy League title. Cornell -- right behind Penn at No. 14 -- tied the Quakers 16-16 on January 29 as the two squads finished '99 as Ivy co-champions. And Lehigh, No. 17, barely lost to Penn, 21-18, on February 12. But only one of these three teams will come out on top at the EIWA Championships this weekend at Holleder Center in West Point, N.Y. Which one of those teams is anyone's guess. On paper, Lehigh has the highest expected seeding in the EIWA but the Engineers have lost five meets this season. The Quakers, however, have won the last three EIWA titles. "Penn is balanced and has a stronger team from top to bottom," Harvard coach Jay Weiss said. Then again, three of the 10 Quakers are unseeded, while Cornell has all 10 of its wrestlers in the top six. "At every single weight we have guys capable of going to Nationals," Cornell head coach Rob Kohl said. "So we have as good a chance as anyone." Harvard, meanwhile, has an outside chance to sneak into the top three. The Crimson outlasted Penn and Cornell in the Ivy League Kickoff Classic in November but a recent 23-13 loss to Brown shows how far they have fallen. Besides crowning the EIWA team champion, the tournament also serves as a qualifier for Nationals. The top two wrestlers in each weight class, along with six wild cards, will advance to Penn State on March 18-20. Here is how each of the weight classes stack up: 125 lbs. Defending champion Jeremy Sluyter of East Stroudsberg is the favorite again. Penn's Justin Bravo will likely need to knock off Lehigh's Bruce Kelly in the semifinals to get a crack at Sluyter. This is a beneficial draw for Penn as Bravo pinned Kelly in just 39 seconds three weeks ago. Brown's Pete Poretta could surprise people as he looked strong in a 7-2 victory over Bravo last month. 133 lbs. This is arguably the weakest weight class since it contains no wrestlers ranked nationally. Princeton's Juan Venturi should be the top seed. His toughest competition will come from Brown's Livo DiRubbo and Cornell's Nate Rupp. Venturi beat Rupp 8-6 in a dual meet earlier this year. Penn's Jason Nagle won't be seeded but he wrestled DiRubbo close and upset the likely fifth seed, Harvard's Matt Picarsic. It would be no surprise if the Quakers senior found a way to place in the top six. 141 lbs. Harvard's Dustin DeNunzio, ranked No. 7 in the nation, is the returning champion. Penn's Mark Piotrowsky and Cornell's Ben New will likely battle in the semifinals for the right to face DeNunzio. Both are ranked in the top 15 nationally. Piotrowsky, however, is winless in five meetings with DeNunzio. 149 lbs. This will be the strongest weight class. Penn's Brett Matter, No. 4 in the nation, is the likely top seed. He is looking for a third EIWA championship. Lehigh's Ryan Bernholz, No. 6, and Cornell's Shawn Bradley, No. 9, are seeded second and third, respectively. They have beaten each other up this season, as Bradley defeated Matter, who then defeated Bernholz, who had already beaten Bradley. With these three wrestlers hailing from the top three teams, this weight class is vital in the race for the team championship. 157 lbs. Lehigh's Chris Ayres, No. 9 in the nation, should be the top seed. He defeated likely No. 2 seed Kevin Kurtz of Harvard 5-3 earlier this season and has won two of three matches against the probable No. 3 seed, Penn's Yoshi Nakamura. Nakamura and Kurtz, likely opponents in the semifinals, have wrestled twice this season. Kurtz won both by close margins -- 2-1 in the Kickoff Classic and 6-4 in sudden death at the Palestra. 165 lbs. This weight class is definitely loaded with explosive wrestlers. Penn's Rick Springman and Lehigh's Travis Doto have scored bonus team points -- awarded for major decisions, tech falls and pins -- in more than half of their matches. The wild card is Harvard's Joey Killar. Killar, No. 7 in the country, is 17-2 but has been out since January 5 with a rib injury. Doto will probably be the top seed on account of his 11-4 victory last month over Springman and upset of Killar in last year's EIWA semifinals. But the Lehigh junior is prone to upset losses -- he lost earlier this season to unseeded Nick Almeida of Brown. 174 lbs. Cornell's Joe Tucceri and Lehigh's Mark Dufresne are the top seeds. Penn's Ryan Slack was fifth at the EIWAs in 1997. He could place here in a weak weight class. 184 lbs. Lehigh's John Van Doren, No. 4 in the nation, will be the top seed. Three other wrestlers are ranked in the top 20 nationally, but all will have a tough time against the Engineers senior. Penn's Mike Gadsby is unseeded but could sneak into the top six with a strong tournament. 197 lbs. Penn's Andrei Rodzianko has not lost this season. He should continue his unbeaten ways this weekend. Rodzianko, No. 3 in the nation, will likely face national No. 11 Bob Greenleaf of Cornell in the finals. Rodzianko only won 4-3 when he faced Greenleaf in the dual meet season, but the Penn senior controlled the tempo of the match. On a side note, the Fletcher Award, given to the active wrestler with the most career EIWA points, is within Rodzianko's reach. With 50 points, the Quakers' senior trails only Ayres (54.5) and Van Doren (51). 275 lbs. Penn has not had an EIWA heavyweight champion since Mike Dorizas in 1916, but that could change this year, as senior Bandele Adeniyi-Bada is the likely No. 1 seed. Adeniyi-Bada defeated his probable semifinal opponent, Cornell's Seth Charles, 4-3 in a dual meet. He will likely face either Rutgers' Tom Petko or Lehigh's Shawn Laughlin in the finals. However, Adeniyi-Bada may still be hampered by a hand injury he suffered two weeks ago. · The tournament starts at noon today with the preliminary round. The semifinals begin at 11 a.m. tomorrow, with the finals to be held at 7 p.m.
(02/24/99 10:00am)
The Penn women's tennis team crushed the Cadets despite not using three of its top players in singles competition. The Penn women's tennis team massacred an overmatched Army team 9-0 yesterday at Levy Pavilion to remain undefeated on the season. Leading the way in the Quakers' charge was junior Elana Gold. The No. 4 singles player served Army's Lillian Lien a double bagel, 6-0, 6-0. "Elana came out with a vengeance and dominated her opponent," Penn coach Michael Dowd said. "She beat [Gold] in less than 40 minutes. It was like the Alamo." Like the defenders of the doomed fort, the Cadets (7-4) were heavy underdogs in yesterday's match. Penn (5-0) shuffled its lineup around in anticipation of an easy victory. "I wanted to make sure we gave most of our players experience," Dowd said. "Our top players may have been a little tired from the match this weekend so we tried to give them a rest. And we wanted to work on our depth." Penn's depth came through for Dowd, as the Quakers won without their top three players in singles competition. Anastasia Pozdniakova, Brooke Herman and Julia Feldman all were part of winning doubles teams but Dowd had other players carry the singles load. Senior Karen Ridley was one of those players who needed to elevate her game yesterday. She came through with a straight-set victory over Army's Annie Weber at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 6-1. "You feel a little more pressure playing in the No. 1 singles spot," Ridley said. "In the beginning I was kind of tight. It was hard to keep focus in this match after the big matches two weeks ago." Freshman Louani Bascara won at No. 2 singles for Penn, defeating Cadet junior Jen Blatty, 6-4, 6-1. Sophomore Shubha Srinivasan scored an impressive 6-2, 6-0 victory at No. 5 singles. Quakers sophomore Lenka Beranova at No. 3 and freshman Jolene Sloat at No. 6 also won singles matches. Army played Penn closer in the three doubles matches, but the Quakers still earned a sweep. Leading the way for Penn was the team of Beranova and Feldman. The two combined to outlast Army's top doubles team of Melissa Sentelle and Betsy Evans, 9-7. Freshman Jaya Kirtane teamed with Gold to score a victory at the No. 3 spot. The Quakers regained some of the momentum they had lost last weekend in the Princeton Invitational. After upsetting Richmond on February 13, Penn's top players did not have the success they had hoped for at Princeton. Pozdniakova, who lost in the final there last year, was seeded second but fell in the quarterfinals. The doubles team of Pozdniakova and Herman got a tough draw, falling to the No. 2 seeded doubles team in the first round and the No. 1 seed in the finals of the consolation bracket. But the throttling of Army has put the Quakers back on track. "The season goes through hills and valleys," Dowd said. "But right now we need to start preparing for our matches over spring break." Penn will face UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount in a California road trip over spring break that starts March 6.
(02/23/99 10:00am)
After a disappointing fall season under new coach Gordie Ernst, the Penn men's tennis team aced its first tests of the spring season. The Quakers (2-0) dominated opponents Villanova and Swarthmore at the Levy Tennis Pavilion last Saturday, defeating the Wildcats 6-1 and shutting out the Garnet 7-0. Penn more than doubled its opponents in total games won in singles matches, 147-65, and won all six doubles matches. The only Quaker to lose even a set on the day was No. 3 singles player and Purdue University transfer Uday Garg, who dropped his match to Villanova's Paul Moore in a tough three-setter, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5). "Uday played a pretty good opponent," Ernst said. "[Moore] kept a lot of balls in the court. Uday is better than him, but was very nervous and didn't play his game. He let the other player dictate the pace of the match." The butterflies were not limited to Garg, however, as the Quakers have several freshmen contributors who had to adjust to their first college competition. Fortunately, Saturday's opponents were ideal for this transition. "They're not Princeton," Ernst said of Villanova (0-1) and Swarthmore (0-1), "but they're decent teams. We were just a deeper, stronger team." Freshmen Brian Barki and Kevin Strouse both took advantage of the relatively weak opponents. Barki, playing at No. 5, beat Villanova's Ramon Prats 7-5, 6-1. Strouse won both of his matches in straight sets as Penn's sixth-seed. Eric Sobotka, Jordan Szekely and Brett Meringoff led the scoring for Penn. Each went 2-0 in singles competition. Senior captain Szekely was particularly dominant, dropping only three games total in straight-set victories over Villanova's Stephen Smith and Swarthmore's Nick Slimak. In doubles competition, the Quakers used different combinations in each match, but the outcome -- a Penn victory -- was the same each time. The Quakers will have tougher competition this week. They face American University on Thursday and West Virginia on Saturday. The key match will be against the Mountaineers. "That's the real test," Ernst said. "That match will show us where we stand against our Ivy foes."
(02/22/99 10:00am)
Intheir last meet before the EIWAs the Quakers picked up two wins in the seniors' final matches at the Palestra. The Penn wrestling team and its 197-pounder Andrei Rodzianko both had little trouble wrapping up undefeated seasons yesterday. The No. 14 Quakers (10-0-2, 4-0-1 Ivy League) disposed of Princeton (7-11, 0-5) and George Mason (7-4) yesterday at the Palestra, 31-7 and 30-13, respectively. Rodzianko, for his part, needed only a combined 3:35 to defeat Princeton's Joe Ryabacki and George Mason's Micah Morris. He tech-falled Ryabacki and pinned Morris to bring his record for the season to a perfect 17-0. "It's nice," Rodzianko said of his undefeated season, "but the important stuff is up ahead. Maybe I'll reflect more after it's all over, but it's still the middle of the season for me. I don't want to be content with anything now." The Quakers, even after posting their first undefeated season in over 50 years, are not content either. "It's the first time [we've been undefeated] in a while," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "Even with the strength of our recent teams, none of them had accomplished that. But at this point it's time to focus on the tournaments." Reina tried to both prepare for the EIWAs and give his seniors and backups opportunities to wrestle yesterday. "We got another opportunity to practice some things in competition that we worked on in the practice room," Reina said. "A lot of our seniors were going out trying to pin their opponent in their final dual meet, an aspect of the game we've been working on more." Seniors Rodzianko, Mark Piotrowsky (141 lbs.) and Randall Braunfeld (125 lbs.) all earned pins in their final dual meets at the Palestra. Fellow senior Ryan Slack (174 lbs.) also won big, shutting out Princeton's Scott Pasquini, 13-0. "It was nice to go out that way," Slack said. "It's in the back of my mind now, but maybe it'll all hit me later." Penn used five non-regulars in the two meets, including seniors Braunfeld and Nick Drakos (197 lbs.). The five combined to post a 5-3 record, outscoring opponents 18-11. Braunfeld led the way with two victories. Reina was also impressed with sophomore Joe Chandler's victory over George Mason's Nate Becker at 165 pounds. Chandler trailed 3-2 after two periods, but came back to win 8-4. The biggest match of the day was not a Quakers victory, however. Penn's Jason Nagle (133 lbs.) faced off against EIWA No. 1 Juan Venturi of Princeton. Nagle kept the match close early, as neither wrestler had scored after one period, but Venturi pulled away in the second period en route to a 5-2 victory. Penn suffered a bigger loss the day before, however. Heavyweight Bandele Adeniyi-Bada sustained a hand injury in practice on Saturday that required eight stitches and four hours in the hospital. The Quakers senior watched both meets from the stands with his left arm in a sling but expects to be back at practice by mid-week. "The doctor and the trainer both tell me different things," Adeniyi-Bada said, "but it all depends on just how my hand feels, how it heals itself. I've just got to make sure I don't get behind on my conditioning." According to both Reina and Adeniyi-Bada, the Penn heavyweight will be back for the EIWAs. Rodzianko moved up to heavyweight to fill in for Adeniyi-Bada against Princeton, but Penn forfeited at heavyweight against George Mason. The Quakers lost only four matches on the day. Besides Chris Wynne (174 lbs.), who had a tough 0-2 day, the only other losses were by Nagle and Drakos. Penn's Yoshi Nakamura (157 lbs.) scored two vastly different victories yesterday. He easily defeated Princeton's Albert Pendleton in a 17-6 major decision, but had much more trouble against George Mason's Mark Weader. Tied 2-2 going into the third period, Nakamura scored a quick escape and barely held on for a narrow 3-2 victory. Penn's next meet will be the EIWA tournament at West Point, N.Y., on March 5-6. The EIWAs also serve as qualifiers for Nationals.
(02/17/99 10:00am)
Two of Penn's wrestlers are undefeated in 1999. One, of course, is 197-pounder Andrei Rodzianko, owner of an unblemished 14-0 record. The other is senior heavyweight Bandele Adeniyi-Bada. Adeniyi-Bada has done a workman-like job in winning 10 consecutive matches, providing consistently strong performances for the Quakers. These recent achievements, however, have gone largely unnoticed due to Rodzianko's heroics. But the senior from Kent, Ohio, does not feel underappreciated. "I don't feel overshadowed by any particular individual," Adeniyi-Bada said. "The way I see it, each person makes a name for themselves. I don't really think any individual glory outshines any other." The Quakers heavyweight, ranked 10th in the nation, has not faced a wrestler ranked higher than him during his winning streak, but Penn coach Roger Reina cannot help but be encouraged by the progress of Adeniyi-Bada. "Just after Midlands and the trip to Hawaii, he made a deeper commitment to being successful in the sport and that has shown in his performances," Reina said. Perhaps the resurgence of "Bear" can be attributed to the return of Rodzianko, Adeniyi-Bada's roommate on roadtrips and training partner in practice. "We have fun working out together," Rodzianko said. "We have intense workouts together, and maybe a little rivalry in the wrestling room." Together, Adeniyi-Bada and Rodzianko are 19-0 in 1999 and have won 24 consecutive matches overall. · Prior to this season, the NCAA implemented a new rule regarding the order of matches in dual meets. Previously, meets started at the lowest weight class, proceeding in increasing weight order to the final heavyweight match. Under the new rule, a random draw is conducted one hour before the meet to determine which weight class will start the meet. The matches then proceed in order of increasing weight, with the 125-lb. match following the heavyweight bout. "In some ways it's added some excitement to the sport," Reina said. "It used to be that always the heavyweight would decide the outcome of the meets. Now it could be any weight class." Although Reina and the Penn wrestlers do not believe the rule change has affected the outcome of meets, they agree that it has been difficult to adjust to the uncertainty of when they will wrestle. "It takes you out of your routine," Rodzianko said. "You have to plan what you're going to eat and when your warmups are going to be. It adds a little twist and juggles the pressure around." · With Rodzianko grabbing the headlines at 197 pounds, wrestling fans may be wondering what happened to Mike Fickell. The junior who stepped in for Rodzianko in the fall earned an impressive first-place finish at the Keystone Classic but has not been heard from since. The reason for this absence has not been performance-related, however. Fickell has been recovering from an injury that will keep him sidelined for the remainder of the season. "It's definitely different [not being able to wrestle]," Fickell said. "I've never been watching meets -- I've always been wrestling. It's something I've had to adjust to, and it makes me hungrier for next year." Reina said it was "possible" Fickell would have wrestled at 184 lbs. this season had he not been injured. Next year, Fickell will likely start at 197 lbs., replacing the graduating Rodzianko. · Although half of Penn's starters are listed as seniors, the Quakers will likely only have three new starters next year. Both 133-pounder Jason Nagle and Adeniyi-Bada should be back again for the 1999-2000 season. Nagle has another year of eligibility remaining. For the second year in a row, he will have to battle junior James Brennan for a starting spot. Reina, meanwhile, will petition for a fifth year of eligibility for Adeniyi-Bada because of a prior medical hardship. "I think it's a justified reason so I expect that we'll get it [a fifth year of eligibility for Adeniyi-Bada]," Reina said. Rodzianko, 141-pounder Mark Piotrowsky and 174-pounder Ryan Slack will be lost to graduation, however. · The EIWA Championships, Penn's qualifying meet for Nationals, will take place on March 5 and March 6 at West Point. Starting times are noon on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday. The dates had been misprinted in several sources.
(02/12/99 10:00am)
The 16th-ranked Penn wrestling team heads to EIWA rival Lehigh. When Penn 149-pounder Brett Matter's name is announced tonight at Grace Hall, all the Lehigh students in attendance will erupt into a chorus of boos. All, that is, except for Lehigh freshman Michi Matter, Brett's sister. "She's a Penn fan all the way, probably my biggest supporter," Matter said. "But, to be honest with you, I think [the Lehigh fans] have a genuine dislike for the Matter family." The dislike started with wins by Brett's father, Andrew, over Lehigh wrestlers nearly 30 years ago. It has continued with Brett and his brother Clint, a two-time EIWA champ who graduated from Penn in 1997. While the crowd regularly rides the Matters in matches, Lehigh wrestlers have not beaten a member of the Matter family since 1971. Ryan Bernholz, No. 5 in the nation, will try to end that streak tonight. He will face No. 8 Matter in one of the premier bouts in the clash between No. 16 Penn (6-0-2) and No. 20 Lehigh (7-4) at Grace Hall. Matter, after a rough middle of the season, got back on track last weekend with two impressive victories. "[The midseason slump] affected me in a lot of ways," Matter said. "Things just piled up. But now I feel a lot better about the way I'm wrestling. The inner arrogance I carry around when I wrestle -- it's hard to explain but when I'm on top of my game it's there -- that's back." Lehigh seems to have found its stride as well. "Some losses in the beginning of the season had our guys thinking they weren't any good," Lehigh coach Greg Strobel said. "But we had a real good win against Rider [last] weekend that has really helped our confidence." Lehigh destroyed Rider, then ranked 17th in the nation, 33-11 on Friday. Rider had beaten Cornell earlier in the season, a team Penn wrestled to a draw two weeks ago. "The transitive property doesn't really work in sports and it definitely doesn't work in wrestling," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "[Rider] had some freshmen that didn't handle the pressure well at Lehigh. We've got a lot more experienced crew than Rider has. I think we match up much better with Lehigh than Rider did." Part of the pressure Rider had to deal with included the crowd of more than 2,000 at Grace Hall. Strobel compares the atmosphere of the 2,600-seat arena to that of the Palestra during a basketball game. Lehigh has used its home crowd to its advantage, compiling a 15-2 home record over the last three years. The Quakers are not strangers to large crowds, having competed in front of 8,000 last year against NCAA champion Iowa, but they have not beaten Lehigh on the road since 1942. Granted, the two have met only three times in the last 42 years, but the only match at Grace Hall, in 1997, was a Lehigh victory. Still, Penn is not overly concerned. "We've had maybe one guy [who] hasn't wrestled against that crowd," Reina said. "We've addressed that in practice this week. Our team is going to be well-prepared." Individually, the three biggest matches will be in the middleweights. Besides Matter-Bernholz, fans can look forward to tight matches at 165 and 157 pounds. Penn will send out No. 9 Rick Springman against Lehigh's Travis Doto, No. 15, in the 165-lb. bout. Both wrestlers have been hyped as the most exciting on their teams. Springman, who defeated Doto 6-5 in this meet last year, has been on a roll lately. He has won 8-of-9 matches, all by at least a major decision. His only loss was to No. 2 Rangi Smart, and that came by just one point. At 157 pounds, No. 11 Yoshi Nakamura will square off with No. 7 Chris Ayres of Lehigh. Nakamura pinned similarly named Brown wrestler Chris Ayers last Friday, but this match will not be as easy for the Penn sophomore. Nakamura and Ayres have split their two matches, but Matter is 4-0 lifetime against last year's EIWA champion. "Chris and I have battled a bunch of times," said Matter, who faced Ayres in the old 142-lb. weight class. "I've come out on top but he's a tough wrestler. I think that Yoshi's got the ability of pulling out a victory. [Ayres] wrestles into a lot of Yoshi's strengths." Last weekend Reina stressed a more aggressive gameplan, a strategy that seemed to work in victories over Brown and Harvard. Penn will try to focus on its offense even more against Lehigh tonight. "We want to be more aggressive than we were against Cornell," Springman said of the tie against the Big Red two weeks ago. "We kinda froze under the pressure there." The near-capacity crowd will be pulling for an upset at Grace Hall, but the Quakers can count on the support of at least one renegade Mountain Hawk. Just like in any other match, Michi Matter will be sitting among the Red and Blue, cheering for her brother.
(02/08/99 10:00am)
The Penn wrestling team improved to 3-0-1 in the Ivies by downing Brown and Harvard at home in the Palestra. It took 157-pounder Yoshi Nakamura less than three minutes to nail Brown's Chris Ayers to the mat in Friday's opening match, giving Penn a 6-0 lead over Brown. The Quakers never looked back. Penn (6-0-2, 3-0-1 Ivy League) fed off Nakamura's explosive start to down Ivy foes Brown (7-9, 1-1) and Harvard (5-4, 1-1) at the Palestra this weekend by a combined score of 50-22. Despite the two big victories, Penn coach Roger Reina was not completely satisfied with the team's performance. "Coming out of the Cornell meet, the main thing we've been concentrating on has been creating more offense," Reina said. "I think we might have hit 60 to 70 percent of the amount of offense I'd like to see in a match." That offensive mindset was evident in Nakamura's match Friday, but the Penn sophomore was not as aggressive on Saturday against Harvard's Kevin Kurtz. After two periods, Nakamura trailed 2-0, thanks to a stalling call and an escape for Kurtz. But Nakamura came back in dramatic fashion, taking down Kurtz at the mat's edge with 12 seconds left to tie the score and send it to sudden-death overtime. In OT, though, Kurtz took down No. 11 Nakamura to earn the win. Questionable officiating may have contributed to Kurtz's win, however. The second-period stalling call on Nakamura drew jeers from the crowd and exasperation from Reina. But the coach made no excuses. "If you don't want the official involved in the match you need to have a big enough pointspread," Reina said. "It's the responsibility of our guys to create enough of a lead that [the officials] can't make that much of a difference and we didn't do that." Officiating was also a factor in Friday's 125-lb. match, as Brown's Pete Poretta used two stalling points and a penalty point to beat Justin Bravo 8-2. "In this match Justin really never hit his stride," Reina said. "He [controlled] the first period, but the official started getting involved in the outcome and that was a distraction for Justin." Bravo rebounded on Saturday, soundly defeating Harvard's Kevin El-Hayek 16-6 in the opening match. The Quakers got off to a big lead against the Crimson, but consecutive Harvard victories at 174 and 184 cut their advantage to just two points. Senior tri-captain Andrei Rodzianko (197 lbs.) clinched the victory for Penn, though, when opponent Brad Soltis, down 10-2, was forced to withdraw with an injury. "I went on a follow-through shot at the same time he was coming in to take a shot," Rodzianko said. "I got a lot lower than him so his teeth kinda hit the back of my head. I think the back of my head got the better of his teeth." Harvard coach Jay Weiss was not happy about the incident, though he did not blame Rodzianko directly. "[Soltis] got his teeth jammed way back," Weiss said. "Rodzianko was in control and I just thought it was stupid -- he [Soltis] is in a lot of pain and I don't know what the orthodontists are going to do." Another of Penn's tri-captains, Brett Matter (149 lbs.), also had a strong showing this weekend. Though struggling lately, he got back on track with a 9-4 victory over nationally-ranked Joel Friedman of Harvard. "I liked the transition Brett Matter's making to being more offensive again," Reina said. Strong offense also helped Jason Nagle and Mike Gadsby pull off big upsets. Nagle, starting at 133 pounds for the injured James Brennan, knocked off Harvard's Matt Picarsic, ranked No. 3 in the EIWA, 8-4. Gadsby (184 lbs.) earned a hard-fought 5-4 win over another EIWA No. 3, Nate Burroughs of Brown. "Mike's been struggling lately so that was a real breakthrough win for him," Reina said. "[Burroughs] was a nationally-ranked opponent and Mike's gone close with several nationally ranked opponents earlier this year but wasn't able to come up with the takedowns to win it. Mike really turned the corner this weekend." Mark Piotrowsky (141 lbs.), the third of Penn's captains, came up short in his own bid to turn the corner this weekend. After beating Brown's Ernest DeLeon 5-1 on Friday, Piotrowsky lost 9-5 to Harvard's Dustin DeNunzio. "He's a tough kid," Piotrowsky said. "We match up well and he just got some good shots on me." A disappointment of another sort occurred in Saturday's 165-lb. bout, as an injury to Harvard's Joey Killar, No. 2 in the EIWA, prevented a matchup with Penn's Rick Springman, ranked No. 1 in the EIWA. "[Killar] is out for a while," Weiss said. "He popped out a rib -- twice, actually. Did it and took two weeks off and came back and did it worse. That hurts. Our backup 157-pounder [Tom Kiler] had to wrestle at 165. It's tough -- Penn is well-balanced and we don't have the depth." The depth came through for Penn this weekend, as nine of their 10 wrestlers won at least one match. "Penn has a very strong team and they showed it," Brown coach Dave Amato said.
(01/29/99 10:00am)
The winner of the Penn-Cornell match will likely take this year's Ivy title. Technically, the team that walks off the mats tonight at Newman Arena will have a 1-0 record in the Ivy League. In reality, the winner can lay claim to the Ivy League Championship. In a match of the top two teams in the league, Penn (4-0-1) will face Cornell (7-2) at 9 p.m. on the Ithica, N.Y. campus. The Quakers are slight favorites, since their wrestlers are ranked higher than those from Cornell in seven of ten weight classes, but Penn coach Roger Reina puts little credit in those rankings. "Paper doesn't wrestle," he said. "Every match is winnable, but every match we're going to have to earn." The two teams could not match up more evenly. Each star will wrestle a star from the opposing team; no grappler will have an easy match. In fact, four pairs of wrestlers who have faced each other previously have split their matches. One of these matchups is at the 275-pound weight class, where Penn's Bandele Adeniyi-Bada will square off against Cornell's Seth Charles. Adeniyi-Bada, who scored a 9-6 victory against Charles in Penn's 22-15 victory last year, knows what he needs to do to come out victorious. "It's just a matter of capitalizing on opportunities," Adeniyi-Bada said. "I force him into many opportunities, but sometimes I just stand back instead of going for it." Another one of the most intriguing matchups should be at the 125-pound weight class. Penn's Justin Bravo, ranked first in the EIWA, takes on No. 4 Aaron Taylor. Last year Taylor beat Bravo 9-6 in this dual meet, but the Quaker sophomore avenged that loss in November with a 3-1 victory in the Ivy League Kickoff Classic. Fellow Penn sophomore Yoshi Nakamura is not just looking to win, but to win big against his 157-pound opponent Leo Urbinelli. Nakamura pinned him in the Kickoff Classic, and hopes to repeat that performance tonight. "I'm not taking this guy lightly, but I'm going to try to dominate him," Nakamura said. "Like Coach (Reina) said, we need bonus points, and I'm going to push for a pin." The two matches with most national significance are at 149 pounds and 197 pounds. At 149, the Quakers' Brett Matter (No. 6 in the nation) will be wrestling Cornell's Shawn Bradley (No. 9). Matter finished ahead of Bradley in the Kickoff Classic, but the Big Red wrestler took fifth in Midlands, a tournament in which Matter failed to place. As for the 197-pound weight class, Penn's Andrei Rodzianko is looking to run his record to a perfect 11-0, but he will not have an easy match against Cornell upstart Bob Greenleaf. "Bob Greenleaf is a really big surprise," Cornell head coach Rob Koll said. "He went from being a non-starter at the beginning of the season to No. 13 in the country." Although they know Greenleaf and the rest of the Big Red will prove to be a tough test, the Quakers are expecting a victory. And they are definitely psyched. "Coach (Reina) came in the wrestling office and he was just off the wall," Adeniyi-Bada said. "At first people just shook their heads, but then everyone got real loose and confident. The team has its own aura of confidence, top to bottom." While the focus of this confidence is Cornell, the Quakers will also face another Ivy League team, Columbia on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Levian Gymnasium. Penn is heavily favored, but the early afternoon start following the late Cornell match the night before should offer the Quakers a sufficient test. "The timing of it is relatively similar to that of the tournaments at the end of the season," Reina said. "So it'll be good practice for us." The Cornell-Penn match is the one to watch, however. The Quakers are No. 20 in the nation and No. 1 in the EIWA, while the Big Red are No. 18 in the nation and No. 2 in the EIWA. But this matchup is about more than numbers. "It'll be a great match," Koll said. "Worth the price of admission."
(01/21/99 10:00am)
"It was one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Penn wrestling." -- Penn coach Roger Reina The date: March 9, 1997. The place: the EIWA Championships. As the referee raised the right hand of Penn sophomore Andrei Rodzianko, the Palestra crowd erupted. In front of a hometown crowd, Rodzianko -- out since January 5 with a rib injury -- had achieved the impossible, pinning Syracuse's Doug Joseph in overtime to claim the 190-pound title. Two months earlier, Rodzianko lifted North Carolina's Scott Stay off the mat in a Penn-UNC dual meet. A victory would have secured the Quakers' first-ever win over the Tar Heels. But as Rodzianko slammed Stay to the mat, he suffered an excruciating cartilage tear in his ribcage. With the injury default, the Quakers lost the match, 24-15. After two months out of action, Rodzianko made his return just in time for the EIWAs. The No. 5 seed, Rodzianko reached the semifinals, where he defeated Cornell's Carlos Eason -- the fourth-ranked wrestler in the country -- in double overtime. Skeptics wondered whether Rodzianko had emptied his tank in his 8-7 win over Eason. But even after two months of rehabilitation and two full days of intense competition, Rodzianko knew he could summon all his remaining energy for the championship match. In the final, Rodzianko and his opponent, Doug Joseph of Syracuse, wrestled to a tie in regulation. Sudden-death overtime awaited the exhausted wrestlers. The winner would earn the coveted trip to the NCAAs. Rodzianko did not back down. He pinned Joseph 38 seconds into the overtime to claim the championship. Today, almost two years after the win over Joseph, Rodzianko's EIWA title has become the stuff of legend. "On the first day of practice all I knew about Andrei was that he cracked his ribs the previous year and came back to win EIWAs," Penn sophomore Yoshi Nakamura said. But Nakamura soon found out what his teammates already knew -- that Andrei Rodzianko is more than just a wrestler. Much more. He plays the violin and the piano. He was recruited in three sports -- lacrosse and football, as well as wrestling. And then there's academics. His friends and teammates have called Rodzianko, a senior in the Management and Technology program, everything from "brilliant" to "a genius." "I'll take classes with him," teammate Brett Matter said, "and the professor will ask a question. I'm sitting next to Andrei and I hear him whisper an answer under his breath -- he won't raise his hand -- and what's amazing is he's always right." Not everything has come so easy to Rodzianko, however. Proud of his Russian heritage, he sometimes found it difficult as a child to deal with the misconceptions and stereotypes that the other kids believed about Russians. "Being Russian is something that's important to our family," Rodzianko said. "But here it was kind of misunderstood. People assumed we were Communists just because we were Russian." Rodzianko himself grew up in a suburb of New York, but his grandparents and great-grandparents went through some difficult times in their exodus from Russia. His family had been Whites, those displaced by the "Red" Bolsheviks after the Russian Revolution. Forced to leave by the new regime, they ended up in the United States after brief sojourns in Germany and the former Yugoslavia. Motivated by his heritage, Rodzianko chose to study abroad in Moscow last semester. He was far from alone in Russia. "My family and my oldest sister are currently in Russia," Rodzianko explained. "But I also wanted to improve my language skills and see how Russian history is taught differently there than here." Rodzianko returned from Russia just eight days before one of this season's biggest tournaments -- the Midlands Open at Northwestern. Most people questioned how well the senior tri-captain would wrestle after more than nine months away from wrestling. Most people not wearing Red and Blue, that is. "I was working out with the guy Andrei met in the finals [Zack Thompson] over the break and he wanted to know how Andrei would be affected," Penn senior heavyweight Bandele Adeniyi-Bada said. "I told him that the layoff wouldn't hurt him. He's so mentally tough he can will pretty much anything. That kid [Thompson] knew he wouldn't have an easy match." And he didn't. Rodzianko defeated Thompson 3-2 in the finals to become the first Quaker ever to win a Midlands championship. He showed no letdown three days later in the Aloha Classic either, dominating his three opponents. Currently undefeated, Rodzianko is ranked first in the EIWA and fourth in the nation. Rodzianko has not achieved wrestling stardom in the usual way, however. While fellow tri-captains Matter and Mark Piotrowsky have been around wrestling all their lives, Rodzianko started at age 11. Matter's father is a two-time NCAA champion and Piotrowsky's dad is a wrestling coach in New Jersey; Rodzianko's dad wrestled one year in high school. And while Matter and Piotrowsky were nationally known recruits, Rodzianko had only qualified for one state tournament before coming to Penn. "[Rodzianko] was underrated coming out of high school," Reina said. "Unlike a lot of highly recruited wrestlers, he didn't spend all year wrestling. He played in different sports and participated in a lot of activities." Free to concentrate solely on wrestling while at Penn, Rodzianko has transformed himself into a potential All-American. Want evidence of just how much Rodzianko has improved? Take Rodzianko's quarterfinal match at Midlands this season against Nick Muzashivili. The Michigan State star had twice beaten Rodzianko in high school -- including the state finals in 1995 -- but the Penn 197-pounder finally got the better of him last December. Though Rodzianko will be working as an investment banker by the end of the year, his wrestling career is not over yet. Rodzianko gets a chance for his second EIWA title on March 6-7 at West Point. Last year, Rodzianko lost in the EIWA finals -- to another Cornell wrestler, Joel Holman -- but in typical Rodzianko fashion, avenged the loss with a 2-1 win over Holman at the NCAAs two weeks later. A mere six weeks before EIWAs, Rodzianko -- gunning for his third NCAA appearance -- is favored to capture another individual championship. Once again, Rodzianko could be facing a Cornell wrestler in the finals, as the Big Red's Bob Greenleaf is the 2nd-ranked 197-pounder in the EIWAs. Only this time, the Quakers tri-captain won't need a comeback to go out with a bang.
(01/14/99 10:00am)
Maybe next year Penn should encourage all its wrestlers to study abroad in Russia. It's worked wonders for Andrei Rodzianko. The senior tri-captain, who spent last semester studying Russian language and history in Moscow, returned to competition over winter break and did what no other Quaker wrestler had done before -- place first at Midlands. Even All-American Brandon Slay could only manage a pair of second-place finishes at Midlands. Rodzianko was far from hibernating in Russia, however. "I wrestled while I was over there," the two-time NCAA qualifier said. "The quality of coaching over there is really excellent. Overall, they're better at technique. In practice they really emphasize technique all the time. It's a different kind of wrestling." Still, Rodzianko had been back in the U.S. for only a week before Midlands. "People were mostly home for break, so I worked out with a few guys, but had no formal practice before it," Rodzianko said. Even with intensive training in Russia, a season-opening victory after a long layoff from competition is no easy task, but junior Brett Matter offers an explanation: "I think going to Russia definitely helped Andrei. It helped him to feel relaxed, and he always wrestles better relaxed." Rodzianko's road to the championship was anything but relaxing, though. He may have had a close match with Iowa State's Zack Thompson in the finals, but his most difficult matches were probably in the quarterfinals and semifinals. In the quarterfinals, Rodzianko defeated rival Nick Muzashvili of Michigan State. "I wrestled him twice in high school and he beat me both times," Rodzianko said. His opponent in the semifinals was defending NCAA champion Lee Fullhart, who was ranked second nationally at the time. Coincidentally, the two were selected to face off again in the prestigious National All-Star Match in Oklahoma City. Rodzianko declined invitation, however, for academic reasons. · The new EIWA Rankings are in, and Penn continues to have a stranglehold on the top spot in the conference. The Quakers hold the edge over second-ranked Cornell. Harvard, which finished ahead of Penn in the Ivy League Kickoff Classic, is ranked fourth. In addition, half of the top-ranked individuals wrestle in Penn's Red and Blue. The five Quaker No. 1s are: Justin Bravo (125 lbs.), Brett Matter (149 lbs.), Rick Springman (165 lbs.), Andrei Rodzianko (197 lbs.) and Bandele Adeniyi-Bada (275 lbs.). Cornell, meanwhile, has no wrestlers ranked at the top of their respective weight classes. The strong depth of the Big Red gives them the edge on the rest of the conference, but Penn remains the consensus favorite. · The Quakers are currently in the midst of a three-week break from competition, but they are not resting. "We're using this time to do a lot of individual work," head coach Roger Reina said. "At this point of the season we want to work toward solidifying each individual strength and work on each individual weakness." The Quakers will need to hone their strengths and overcome their weaknesses to defeat their next opponent, Central Michigan on January 23. The Chippewas, ranked eighth in the nation, will pose the toughest test among dual meets for Penn. "Absolutely we can beat them," Matter said, "But some guys are going to have to step up. I know they have a bunch of All-Americans, but there's no reason we can't win." Matter is among those who will need to step up. After first-place finishes in both the Kickoff Classic and the Keystone Classic to open the season, the junior has had some tough early-round losses in recent tournaments. Among those losses was one at Midlands against Greg Mayer from Central Michigan. The two will face off again in the dual meet, where Matter will need to avenge his loss for the Quakers to pull the upset.
(01/12/99 10:00am)
The Penn men's swimming team improved to 3-1 with a victory over Drexel Saturday. January is only a week and a half old, and already Penn's men's swimming team has equaled its victory total from last year. The Quakers soundly defeated Drexel at Sheerr Pool Saturday, 147-96, to bring their record to 3-1. Coming off a 3-7 season last year, Penn's quick turnaround is due to both experience and a strong freshman class. "We swim as a team and more people contribute," senior co-captain Paul Poggi said. "This year everyone has done a little more and we have more new faces to do more." After a strenuous winter break that included a trip to Miami, the Quakers could hardly have been expected to be in top competitive shape against Drexel. "We weren't expected to feel rested, but that's the point," Poggi said. "Our goal was to see how fast we could swim tired, and we did quite well as a whole." Quite well may be an understatement, as Penn recorded nine first place finishes en route to a 51-point victory. Leading the way for the Quakers was sophomore Blake Martin, who finished first in the 500-meter freestyle with a time of 4:48.97 and the 1,000-meter freestyle at 9:53.86. Penn also took first in both of the relays. The 200-meter medley relay was won by the team of Matt Reilly, Poggi, Brian Cohen and Matt Bissonette in 3:37.66, while Jon Maslow, Dave Hausladen, Amir Rozwadowski and Vincent Connors combined to win the 400-meter freestyle in 3:15.09. Penn also swept the top three spots in the 1,000-meter freestyle and the 200-meter freestyle. In the 1,000, Graham Rigby and Ian Bowman finished second and third, respectively, behind Martin. Nick Sheremeta won the 200, with Craig Nelson and Connors close behind. The diving competitions were not friendly to the Quakers, though, as Drexel swept both events, outscoring Penn 32-6. The outcome of the meet was really never in question. Penn led 15-2 after the first event and never looked back. Because the meet was such a runaway, coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert could afford to be creative in structuring her lineup. "I was very confident the men would squash Drexel, so I wanted to do some different things," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "I wanted to get Ben Schmidt some more action, so I put him into the 200 backstroke." With Kenneth Goh, the Quakers' top backstroker, unable to swim because he had just competed in the Asian Games, it made sense to give Schmidt his experience in this meet. The freshman proved Lawlor-Gilbert right with a third-place finish. Penn cannot afford to be as liberal with its training and lineup in their double dual meet this Saturday. With Army and Brown on the schedule, the Quakers will need every possible point. "I think we're kinda equal to Army -- that meet should be a real slugfest," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "But Brown might pose a little more of a threat. They're a little deeper than we are." With a win against either team, Penn would eclipse its win total from last year, an impressive accomplishment for a team with three-quarters of its members in the freshman or sophomore class. "I think we can compete against absolutely anybody, but they know that on any given day," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "They don't walk in and say, 'Oh, they're better.' I've had teams that sometimes look at the league and assume that the other teams are better, but the upperclass guys remind the younger guys that almost anybody can beat anybody."
(12/01/98 10:00am)
After second-place finishes at two straight tournaments, Wrestling heads to Penn State to face tough competition. Considering its top-10 aspirations, Penn's wrestling team cannot help but be disappointed with back-to-back second-place finishes in tournaments to open the season. Especially considering the way they have been beaten. "I can't remember the last time we've had to essentially compete without one of our wrestlers in two straight meets," Quaker coach Roger Reina said. Mike Fickell (197 pounds) was disqualified for biting in the Ivy League Kickoff Classic and Mark Piotrowsky (141) did not receive medical clearance to compete in the Keystone Classic. Penn still managed to nearly win each of those tournaments with only 90 percent of their team in action. In fact, Harvard's margin of victory in the Kickoff Classic -- 14 points -- was exactly the same number of points Fickell had accumulated before his disqualification in the semi-finals. "The biting was entirely unintentional, as Mike was leading 14-1 at the time and nothing had led up to the incident," Reina said. "Sometimes in wrestling you have your mouth open and you just happen to catch a forearm in the mouth." In the Keystone Classic, the Quakers would have been in position to knock off Arizona State with top-seeded Piotrowsky in the lineup. If he had been victorious, Penn would have been able to edge the Sun Devils on points. The Quakers should be at full strength at the upcoming Penn State Open on Sunday. Piotrowsky is fully recovered and slated to be back in the lineup. Fickell, for his part, has already recovered, winning his weight class at the Keystone Open. · Brett Matter, undefeated through two tournaments, will face a stiff test on Sunday. Withstanding any upsets, he should meet up with Penn State's Jamar Billman in the finals. Billman, a sophomore, is ranked second in the nation, while Matter is fourth. The two have not faced each other before. · Making weight has always been an important, but sometimes dangerous, part of the sport of wrestling. A new rule put into effect this season changing weigh-in time from the night before to two hours before a meet has tried to curb this danger. "Although it has required changes and some fine-tuning in our weight management system, this is a better system for the athlete," Reina said. The rule change removes the advantage of rapid weight loss and starvation, as wrestlers no longer have the night to recover and refuel in typical fast/binge fashion. With weigh-ins taking place the morning of the meet, such dangerous practices no longer benefit wrestlers or maximize performance. With several wrestlers dying in the past year of complications associated with their rapid weight-cutting, the NCAA has been trying to crack down on unhealthy methods of weight loss. The Quakers, for their part, have been model citizens in upholding safety rules. They have all passed the first stage of a two-step process that insures weight is being cut safely and gradually. And they are 90 percent through the second stage. Reina is concerned with one aspect of the change. Now that wrestlers are recovering from weigh-ins on the day of the tournament, they face an added energy concern in the grueling, day-long tournaments. · On the surface, Rick Springman's performance in the Keystone Classic may seem unimpressive. When you consider his competition, though, his third-place finish seems more significant. Rider's Chad Liott, the winner, was ranked seventh in the nation, while second-place finisher Steve Blackford of Arizona State was ranked fifth. Just to finish third, Springman had to beat out another top-20 opponent, Jim Harshaw of Virginia. Things don't get any easier for Springman on Sunday, as he will need to defeat top-ranked Ryan Cunningham of Central Michigan to win. Last year at Nationals, Cunningham beat Springman in a close match en route to a fourth-place finish. · Ryan Cunningham's brother Casey will also provide prime competition for the Quakers on Sunday. At 157 pounds, Yoshi Nakamura should have his hands full with two top-five wrestlers -- Casey Cunningham and Penn State's Clint Musser.
(11/25/98 10:00am)
You would think just qualifying for the NCAA Cross Country Championships would be satisfaction enough for a former walk-on. But Penn senior runner Rita Garber is not just any former walk-on -- and she didn't become one of the best runners in the nation by merely being satisfied. In Monday's NCAA Championships at the Rim Rock Farm Course in Lawrence, Kan., Garber proved she belonged with the elite runners in the country, placing 101st out of 254 qualifying runners. But as usual, she's not quite satisfied. "I was happy to be there coming from my humble beginnings," Garber said, "but I'm not completely pleased with my performance. When I crossed the finish line, I just knew I could have run faster." Her time -- 18 minutes, 16 seconds -- was fast for the hilly five-kilometer course, and she finished ahead of all but two Ivy League runners. But Garber suffered from a lack of aggression early in the race. "I ran solidly but too conservatively. I was worried too much about starting out too fast and falling apart later in the race," Garber said. The front pack traversed the first half-mile in a blistering 2:17, a pace that Garber didn't try to match. With little flat land in the course, she had trouble making up ground as efficiently as she would have liked. But just making it to nationals is a huge accomplishment, as no Penn woman had made it to the NCAA Championships in cross country since Chris Lundy in 1992. Furthermore, Garber qualified in what coach Tony Tenisci called "probably the hardest region in the nation." National champion Villanova and fourth-place Georgetown both qualified from the same region as Garber. To capture the national championship, Villanova had to hold off Brigham Young and Stanford in a close battle. The Wildcats scored 106 points, with the Cougars four points behind and the Cardinal five back. "That was just an incredible race up front," Tenisci said, "especially when you consider the fact that a 10 second difference can mean 25 places." Individually, Katie McGregor from Michigan held off Arizona's Amy Skieresz to win in a time of 16:47. Garber, meanwhile, quietly finished among the top 40 percent of a group of the most elite runners in the nation. "It's great to run in a race like that because you know everyone who was there deserved to be there," Garber said. And for the first time in her career, Garber was among those who deserved to be there. While many of the other runners were veterans of national competition, the experience was completely new to Garber. "It's an amazing feeling," Garber said. "I got caught up in the atmosphere, and when I was on the line, I said to myself, 'Oh my god, I'm running in nationals!' It really didn't hit me until then." Unfortunately, being a senior, Garber won't have another opportunity to make it to nationals in cross country, but she still has indoor and outdoor track to look forward to. "This will give her tremendous confidence for the rest of the year," Tenisci said. "Now she knows how good she can be." But no matter how good she becomes, Rita Garber will never be completely satisfied. She's gone from rags to riches, but nothing short of the Hope Diamond will be enough for her.
(11/23/98 10:00am)
Joe Montana started at quarterback for the 49er teams of the late 1980's, but Steve Young filled in when Montana couldn't play without the 49ers missing a beat. Andrei Rodzianko normally starts at 197 pounds for Penn, but Mike Fickell showed he can fill in when Rodzianko can't play without the Quakers missing a beat. The only problem for Penn was that their Jerry Rice, senior tri-captain Mark Piotrowsky, was hurt. Penn, ranked 17th in the preseason Intermat poll, knocked off 11th ranked Rider by three and a half points yesterday, thanks to Fickell's emergence, but without Piotrowsky, No. 12 Arizona State proved too much for the Quakers to handle. "It's not easy to win when you only have 90 percent of your team competing," Penn captain Brett Matter said. Piotrowsky, the top seed in the 141 pound weight class in the tournament, had to be scratched only hours before the start of the meet when he didn't pass a medical test because of a skin infection. Quakers coach Roger Reina, under such short notice, did not replace Piotrowsky, leaving Penn without a wrestler at 141 pounds. So what could have been one of Penn's biggest strengths turned into its biggest weakness. The Sun Devils loaded up on points in the 141 pound weight class, taking first and third places, while Rider's Derek Jenkins took advantage of Piotrowsky's absence by placing second. Things nearly evened out for the Quakers yesterday, however, as a potential weakness at 197 pounds turned into a pleasant surprise. Normally occupied by senior tri-captain Andrei Rodzianko, the 197 pound spot in Penn's lineup took a crushing blow when its star decided to study abroad in Russia for the semester. However, junior Mike Fickell made Penn forget about Rodzianko, if only for a moment, with his performance yesterday. Coming off a disconcerting showing in the Ivy League Kickoff Classic in which he was disqualified for biting, Fickell proceeded to knock off three straight opponents en route to a first place finish in his weight class. "I knew I could beat these guys today. It was just a matter of getting the job done, of finally putting it all together," Fickell said. It's not as if Fickell came out of nowhere to win, though. He was the second seed in the tournament and had placed in numerous meets, but had never claimed an individual championship -- until yesterday. The Quakers could not take advantage of Fickell's emergence yesterday, however. It's obvious that Penn has all the pieces to be one of the top teams in the nation, but they need consistency to win. Yesterday, even excluding the freak injury to Piotrowsky, Penn lacked that consistency. With early-round disappointments and a subpar day from the lighter weight classes, the Quakers fell behind Arizona State early. Despite a late-round surge and victories in three of four championship matches against the Sun Devils, Penn found it almost impossible to gain ground. You get the feeling that the Quakers will be a dangerous team later in the season, however. Reina likes to use these early meets as learning experiences, and with the whole team together and no letdowns from anyone, the Quakers could beat almost any team. And when Rodzianko returns, Fickell will move down to fill a hole at 184 pounds, so the Quakers could be better than those 49ers, finding a way to play both Montana and Young. They need Piotrowsky to get healthy again, though, as Jerry Rice can't catch any passes when he's catching rashes.
