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(04/19/00 9:00am)
Penn's women play in the spring, the men in the fall. Both clubs enjoy their time in the water at Sheerr Pool. This past weekend, the Penn women's water polo club traveled to Villanova to play in the Mid-Atlantic Conference Championships, finishing sixth out of seven while playing without roughly half of their team. Spring Fling festivities as well as injuries helped deplete the 16-member squad. Although the tournament ended their season, the Red and Blue will be losing only one starter to graduation and are looking forward to a strong showing next year. "They have a lot of raw talent and should do really well with the talented new freshmen coming in," said volunteer coach Chris Lee, a freshman who plays for the Penn's men's water polo club. The men compete during the fall, making it easy for the two clubs to help each other out. Similar to Lee, women's co-captain Liz Greig, a junior, coaches the men's team. Water polo may be growing on college campuses across the nation, but here at Penn it receives little attention, especially when compared to schools with varsity programs. "Water polo, especially women's, is taking off across the country," Greig says. "It's very en vogue." At Penn, both the men's and women's squads operate as club teams even though they compete against many varsity programs. Men's water polo, in fact, was one of the first club sports, having been established in the '70s. The women's team is newer, roughly a decade old. For women's water polo, this season marked the last in which every team competed within the same league regardless of their status. Next year, women's polo will gain recognition as an official NCAA sport, creating a clearer division between the varsity and club programs. Penn will continue as a club team. Men's polo already exists at the NCAA level, and club teams compete within the separate Collegiate Water Polo Association. This year, the Penn women's team was one of two club teams in the Mid-Atlantic Division among the other varsity programs. Princeton and Villanova placed first and second in this weekend's championships and rank among the top 20 teams in the nation. Penn's division record of 2-12 (5-12 overall) reflects this strong competition. The Penn women also compete against other Ivy League teams and non-league opponents. This year's Ivy Championships, however, were canceled because no venue could be secured. In addition to beating West Chester twice, Penn has recorded wins against Cornell, Colgate and Bucknell. In water polo, seven people play at a time -- six "field" players and a goalkeeper. Running the offense is the holeset, situated in front of the goal. The other five players form a semi-circular arc around the holeset. The point is the position at the top of the arc; closer to the goal on either side are the flats/drivers; and finally two wings are nearest to the goal. On the offensive end, players try to shake their defenders and drive to the goal -- even by setting picks. The defensive position that guards the holeset is the two-meter defender. Among other strategies, teams play man-to-man or double-team the holeset. With four seven-minute quarters, the games can be grueling, especially for newcomers to the sport. Regulation pools are 30 meters in length and of course can't be shallow enough to stand in and catch a breath. For the women, light practices begin in November when they have a preseason tournament. Things really pick up, however, after winter break with four practices a week. It's definitely not like a varsity practice -- overweight, middle-aged men usually walk around Sheerr Pool in their Speedos -- but that gives it some ambience. Some of the players on the women's team played in high school, but success stories of those beginning in college are not uncommon. Greig, originally from the Philadelphia area, played water polo while at Andover where she was an All-American. Senior co-captain Jen Goldstein, however, started playing as a sophomore at Penn. Other key players for the Quakers include sophomore Natalie Dunn, one of the leading scorers. At the two-meter defender position is Deborah Robbins, another sophomore from California. The women try to keep the program an instructional one as much as possible in order to encourage new members to join. "Penn, by accident, gets phenomenal water polo players, but doesn't take advantage," Greig says. "You can only do so much as a club." Lee also recognizes that it's tough being competitive against other teams that practice year-round. "Half of the team was new players," Lee says. "But they played really well and were a lot of fun to be with." Penn's men had a very strong fall season, consistently ranking among the top 15 club teams nationally. They finished in the middle of their 10-team division. Two-time junior captain David Stone was named to the Mid-Atlantic first team and sophomore Donald Kwon was named to the second team. "They're a great group of guys and really talented," Greig says. Lee shows his talent at every women's practice. In fact, the freshman parks himself in front of the cage as the team takes shooting practice.
(04/19/00 9:00am)
Two umbrella student groups put Penn Six on probation for a number of rule infractions. Just days after being thrown in the hot seat for an alleged disrespectful display during a concert with a Princeton University singing ensemble, the popular a cappella group Pennsylvania Six-5000 was placed on probation last night by two student administrative bodies for a number of independent rule infractions. The A Cappella Council and the Performing Arts Council -- umbrella organizations for Penn performing arts groups -- both decided at meetings held over the last two days to place the group on administrative probation for activities which, group leaders say, had nothing to do with the Princeton Wildcats debacle on April 6. "Currently, [Penn Six] is on probation from the performing arts community due to previous attendance and postering issues," ACC Chairman and College sophomore Abraham Lo said. "The issues that were dealt with today will be in effect for the entire year." According to PAC Chairwoman and College junior Cassandra Georges, the punishment was handed down to deal with what were considered long-standing differences between the performing arts community and Penn Six. "Basically, the concerns were regarding their membership being conducive to a PAC community," Georges said. "That's what we were there to discuss -- how to make them better members." Under the terms of the probation, the group will lose voting rights and other privileges of organizational membership until they successfully re-petition for membership by completing community service. The group will retain their performance privileges. "[Penn Six is] still a part of both organizations -- a very vital part of the a cappella and the performing arts communityƒ and it would be detrimental to that community and to the University if they were prevented from performing on campus as a singing group," Lo said. Penn Six members reacted with anger to the news of probation. "I am completely outraged by what has transpired over the past week in the PAC community," Penn Six Business Manager and Engineering junior Jake Peters said. "I have been completely disrespected by other students who should be there to support other members of the performing arts community but have taken part in a biased and unprofessional proceeding which should have been handled differently from day one," he said. At the next meeting of the Student Activities Council -- the body which ultimately governs both PAC and ACC -- next Wednesday, the two groups will recommend that SAC enact further probation upon the group. Such probation, if approved by a majority of SAC representatives, could result in Penn Six losing its SAC funding. "A representative of PAC will be addressing the SAC community and will suggest that the body address the same concerns," Georges said. "From there, a final decision will be made." Revelations of these separate rule infractions were uncovered as PAC and ACC leaders began investigations into alleged acts of sexual harassment during a Penn Six concert with the Princeton Wildcats a cappella group about two weeks ago. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Stacy Humes-Schulz contributed to this article.
(04/19/00 9:00am)
The University's sweatshop task force met yesterday in preparation for its final recommendations on which of two rival organizations Penn should join to monitor the production of its logo apparel. Ad Hoc Committee on Sweatshop Labor Chairman Howard Kunreuther said the task force -- charged with advising University President Judith Rodin on sweatshop-related issues -- would likely release a statement by early next week. "We have been in touch with both groups," said Kunreuther, chairman of the Operations and Information Management Department. "We are now putting together a letter for President Rodin." In February, the committee recommended that Penn withhold its membership from both the Fair Labor Association and the Worker Rights Consortium until both groups responded to concerns about the representation afforded to colleges and universities on their governing boards. After being dissatisfied with the responses provided by both groups last month, the committee suggested that Penn continue to remain outside both the FLA and the WRC, and asked Rodin to contact the organizations again with Penn's concerns. Penn withdrew from the FLA in February following a nine-day sit-in by members of Penn Students Against Sweatshops, who favor the WRC, saying it is less influenced by corporate concerns. Representatives from the committee made a presentation to the FLA's board of directors last Thursday in which they outlined Penn's position, which called for more balanced representation for colleges and universities on the FLA board. FLA Executive Director Sam Brown called the meeting "useful and productive," saying that other FLA member schools had raised similar concerns about representation. The FLA currently allocates only one of the 13 seats on its board for a representative of its 134 member schools, with the other 12 seats divided among apparel companies and human rights groups. The WRC, which held its founding conference on April 7, allocates three of the 12 seats on its board to its 45 member schools, with three additional seats going to students from United Students Against Sweatshops and six seats to members of the WRC Advisory Council, which includes human rights and labor experts, politicians and university professors. WRC Coordinator Maria Roeper said yesterday that the WRC had not made a specific response to Rodin's most recent letter to the group, noting that the WRC denied Penn's request to send observers to the founding conference because only member schools' representatives were allowed to attend. At the conference, administrators from several schools expressed concerns about the composition of the WRC board, and a working group was created to look at possible changes.
(04/19/00 9:00am)
Karin Brower was an assistant with the Tigers for two years. Her Quakers visit them today. The hits just keep on coming for the Penn women's lacrosse team. Since defeating La Salle on April 4, the Quakers have dropped three straight games against Harvard, Rutgers and Dartmouth. And things won't get any easier today when the Red and Blue (5-5, 1-4 Ivy League) travel to Princeton this afternoon. After losing 18-7 to No. 9 Dartmouth last Saturday, Penn coach Karin Brower said the Big Green were definitely in a "different league" than her young squad. And judging by Princeton's perfect league record, 11-1 overall mark and No. 2 national ranking, Penn will likely get another taste of that superior league today at Old Nassau. "It's definitely hard to play them back-to- back, but I think we played better against Dartmouth this year than we have in years past, so it's easier to think about playing Princeton now," Penn junior goalkeeper Christian Stover said. "I think it's going to be a fun game. We really have nothing to lose." Stover noted one thing that should make her job in the cage a bit easier than in last year's 17-3 loss, explaining that Penn will not have to contend with Princeton's Christi Samaras on attack this time around. The Tigers 1998-99 star captain has graduated after scoring an impressive 44 goals last season. Brower isn't too comforted by Samaras' departure, though, and she is certainly well-versed on Princeton lacrosse after serving as an assistant coach with the Tigers for two years before coming to Philadelphia. "Honestly, this team is doing so well as a team. It's not like they have any outstanding players like Samaras," Brower said. "They weren't expected to do as well as they're doing this year, but they're just really playing well together. Every single position is scoring." But the Tigers do have one standout whom Brower remembers -- junior Julie Shaner, a former Ivy League Rookie of the Year who has 19 goals this season. "She's going to be a problem for us," Brower said. "She's just very tenacious. She's just one of those kids who, when you check her, she comes back at you." Shaner is one of just four Tigers leftovers from Brower's coaching days, so the former assistant said she won't have much inside information to help her cause against the Ivy League powerhouse. Brower is sure of one thing, however. When the Quakers face Princeton this afternoon, they will witness firsthand the type of play that she is always encouraging from her new team. "They all move off the ball like I'm trying to get my kids to do, but [Penn is] just not at that level yet," Brower said. "Princeton understands attack movement, and they understand team defense because they've been in that system for a while and they've had those older kids to look up to, which I don't have. "It will be great for my kids to play them because they will finally get to see what I'm always talking about." According to Brower, last week's contest with the Big Green showed how far Penn's attack will need to go before it can compare with the nation's best. But whereas Dartmouth's strength lay in its offense, Brower feels Princeton will teach the Red and Blue a thing or two about defense. Penn attacker Traci Marabella said the Quakers are ready and willing to treat today's contest as a learning experience, but the sophomore had a few other things on her mind, too. "With a little luck, and maybe if they happen to have an off game then maybe we could pull off the upset."
(04/19/00 9:00am)
In the final meeting of University Council this spring, University President Judith Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi will report on the status of Penn's budget and academic priorities for next year and receive a report calling for a new International Center on Locust Walk. The session, which is open to all members of the Penn community, will begin today at 3 p.m. in McClelland Hall. In addition to the reports on the University's financial and academic plans, there will also be brief status reports by the leaders of many of Penn's other governing bodies, such as the University Assembly, the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly and the A-3. Council will also be updated on the progress of four of its standing committees, with year-end reports by the Bookstore, Communications, International Programs and Personal Benefits committees. According to International Programs Committee chairman Eric Weinberg, the committee will recommend that the University create an International Center on Locust Walk. The center would house a number of internationally oriented campus groups, provide meeting areas for international scholars and students, house new interdisciplinary academic programs and alleviate the Office of International Programs' space crunch. "We had informal discussions with the provost's office and I know that they were considering this as one of the groups that would go into Locust Walk," said Weinberg, a Biology professor. But when Rodin and Barchi released their plans for the future of Locust Walk two weeks ago, the International Center was not on the list of programs to receive space, and Weinberg said he now wants to make it a priority. Weinberg said the International Center could be incorporated into existing plans for other campus groups such as the proposed graduate student center, which will be housed in the top floors of the Veranda. The International Programs Committee will also take issue with the lack of short-term housing on campus for visiting researchers and provide updates on the state of study abroad programs. The Bookstore Committee, chaired by Management Professor Daniel Raff, will make suggestions for improving the availability of textbooks and briefly discuss the state of independent bookstores and online booksellers on the textbook trade. Communications Committee Chairman Martin Pring said he will discuss the group's progress on a number of issues including PennTrex, the modem pool and the University Web site. "I don't expect to say much about electronic privacy, but there are a number of other issues that the committee addressed such as PennTrex, the modem pool," said Pring, who is the director of Residential Computing and Information Technology for the School of Medicine. Council's annual transitional meeting will be held next Wednesday, when a number of year-end committee reports will be given so that new Council members will be familiar with the issues they will face in the coming year. University Council is an advisory group comprised of 92 students, staff and faculty members that meets monthly to discuss issues of relevance to the Penn community.
(04/19/00 9:00am)
The Lindback Awards are presented annually in recognition of excellence. The University awarded its prestigious Lindback Awards yesterday to eight faculty members who have displayed excellence in education. Sponsored by the Lindback Foundation to honor distinguished teaching, the awards are given annually to eight Penn professors -- four from within the health-related schools and four from the other University schools -- after a lengthy and rigorous selection process. This year's recipients in the non-health schools were Finance Professor Robert Inman, Computer and Information Science Professor Max Mintz, Legal Studies Professor Philip Nichols and English Professor Peter Stallybrass. In the health schools -- comprising the Medical, Nursing, Veterinary and Dental Schools -- the awards were given to Medical School Deputy Dean Arthur Asbury, a professor emeritus of neurology; Psychiatry Professor Cabrina Campbell; Cindy Christian, a Pediatrics professor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; and Nursing Professor Ann O'Sullivan. The awards -- which carry a $3,000 prize -- are among the most prestigious teaching awards the University offers, according to Terry Conn, an assistant vice provost for University life who oversees the Lindback Award selection process. "I think it demonstrates that Penn values good teaching," she said. "And we do have a number of good teachers at the University." For many Penn professors, the Lindback Awards are the pinnacle of teacher commendation because, unlike other teaching awards, winners are recommended by both students and faculty. "Not only do the students judge you, but your teaching peers judge you," O'Sullivan said. "That combination makes this the most important award I've ever received in my life." Also recognized yesterday were Geology Professor Gomaa Omar and Nursing Professor Mary Ann Lafferty-Della Valle, who received the Provost's Awards for non-standing faculty members. The Lindback Awards, begun in 1961, are given by universities across the mid-Atlantic region. Each school has its own selection committees and criteria. At Penn, there are two separate committees to review candidates in the health and non-health related schools. The non-health committee is made up of six faculty members -- all former Lindback winners -- and four students. The individual departments nominate professors for the awards and request letters of recommendation from students and faculty. The selection committees then create candidate dossiers -- which include recommendations and course evaluations -- and eventually select the eight with the strongest dossiers, after reviewing the candidates for months. Nichols, who has been at Penn since 1992, said he tries to put himself in his students' shoes. "I try to be the teacher that I want to teach me," Nichols said. "I try to think of, when I'm sitting instead of standing, who did I want to be teaching me?"
(04/19/00 9:00am)
Around 20 students traveled to Washington, D.C., to join in the IMF and World Bank protests. Most of the Penn campus spent last weekend partying their way through Spring Fling. But a group of about 20 students -- mostly members of Penn Students Against Sweatshops -- skipped Fling and traveled to Washington, D.C., to join the protests against the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Protesters have argued that the organizations, which were meeting in D.C., are not effective in fighting global poverty. Thousands filled the streets on Sunday and Monday for the protests -- which included both a legal march and an illegal attempt to shut down the IMF -- including students from colleges and universities nationwide. "I wanted to go down to Washington to let them know that things they were doing are unacceptable," College freshman Emily Quesada said. "A lot of their policies benefit the richest nations and hurt the poorest people and the poorest nations." College senior Miriam Joffe-Block explained why protesting against the IMF was especially important for PSAS. "We feel the connections between the lending policies and their conditionalities is creating in many countries a sweatshop economy," Joffe-Block said. She also said that the national United Students Against Sweatshops organization played a major role in organizing the protest. One Penn student, College sophomore Roopa Gona, spoke publicly at the rally. In discussing the role of students in the protests, Gona said, "I wanted to stress the importance of students getting involved right now, not only for our children, but for the world we're going to inherit some day," she said. While all of the Penn students at the protest participated in the march, a few also joined other protesters in trying to illegally block IMF conference delegates from going to work. "My activist experiences in the past have shown me that direct action is really the only way to make a difference," said Quesada, who participated in the makeshift blockade. About 600 protesters were arrested for taking part in the illegal activity. But although there were numerous reports of police using pepper spray and tear gas, no Penn students were injured at the demonstration. "At the intersection the Penn kids were at, there wasn't much of a police presence," College junior Ali Blum-Ross said. Joffe-Block said she was impressed that the police officers present did not, for the most part, use excessive force. "They were pretty restrained and handled the situation pretty well," she said. "They did a fairly good job and I appreciated that." But Quesada was not as happy with the police officers' behavior. "I saw a police officer beating a girl with his night stick about a foot away from me," she said. "I saw someone trampled by a horse. I saw a puddle of blood. I saw the suspension of the Constitution for a weekend."
(04/19/00 9:00am)
Malhar Saraiya will be vice chairman. Michael Krouse will serve as treasurer and Dana Hork was elected secretary. At a marathon six-hour transition meeting last night, the Undergraduate Assembly elected its executive board for the next year, choosing three-year UA veteran and College junior Michael Bassik as chairman. The 25 members elected five executive board members -- chairman, vice chairman, treasurer, secretary and University Council representative -- at the annual meeting held in Stouffer Triangle last night. Bassik, the two-time highest vote getter in the College, served as the UA's treasurer this year and vice chairman of the body before that. He ran for chairman last year and lost out to College senior and outgoing UA Chairman Michael Silver. With four candidates in the running, the chairman election took three rounds of voting. A candidate must receive a majority of the votes -- if no one wins the necessary 13 votes then the lowest vote getter is eliminated and another round of voting is held. At the beginning of the vote for all five positions, each candidate made a statement, followed by a question-and-answer session with the body. Wharton junior Jonathan Glick, this year's Facilities Committee chairman, was eliminated in the first round and College sophomore and Communications Committee chairwoman Dana Hork was knocked out in the second. In the third and final round, Bassik beat Wharton and Engineering sophomore Michael Krouse, vice chairman of the Student Life Committee. Bassik's appointment continues the recent tradition of having a Greek member in the UA's highest position. He is a Zeta Beta Tau brother and the previous three UA chairmen were members of Phi Kappa Psi. Bassik had tears in his eyes after he won, as he explained that this will be a banner year for the UA. "Together we will truly enter the golden age of the UA, which will have a strong internal structure, strong ties with the administration and be truly respected by the student body," he said. With over 20 candidates running for the five positions, the evening dragged on long after the vote for chairman had ended. The race for vice chair was one of the most competitive races of the night, with six people running for the job and Engineering junior Malhar Saraiya emerging victorious. Hork and Krouse accepted nominations for the position after they lost the race for chair. They were joined by Saraiya, Wharton sophomore and West Philadelphia Committee Co-Chair Dana Becker, Wharton freshman Ethan Kay and College junior Alex Moskowitz. Moskowitz was eliminated in the first round of votes, followed by Becker and Krouse. In the third round, Saraiya was elected vice chair. "[This year] exec is extremely talented. It's going to be the best UA since I've been at school," Saraiya said. Saraiya was also elected recently to serve as next year's Senior Class Board vice president, and has expressed intent to run for chair of Ivy Council. Another UA newcomer, Wharton and Nursing junior Kisimbi Thomas, ran for UA treasurer. He was met by stiff combination from two UA incumbents and one newcomer. Krouse and Kay accepted nominations for the treasurer position after unsuccessfully running for vice chair. And College freshman Seth Schreiberg also ran for the position. Becker, Hork and Glick declined nominations for the position. Glick was the treasurer last year. Krouse was elected in the first round. "[Treasurer] is a very important position. I think I'll gain a lot of experience. I think things turned out for the best," he said. Though only one candidate -- UA newcomer and Engineering sophomore Eric Chen -- had declared the intent to run for secretary before the meeting, several other members dropped down into the race for the position. Joining Chen were UA incumbents Hork and Kay. Hork unsuccessfully ran for the position last year as a newcomer to the body. After Kay was eliminated from the first round of votes, Hork was elected to the post. The last election of the night was for UC representative. Six members were nominated for the position: Glick, College freshman Lara Bonner, Kay, newcomer Jed Gross, Chen and Thomas. Moskowitz and newcomer Kimberly Dobson were also nominated but declined. Gross and Thomas were eliminated after the first round of voting and Bonner was eliminated in the second. Glick won in the third round of voting. While there is less than a month left in the school year, the newly elected UA will hold its first meeting before the end of the semester.
(04/18/00 9:00am)
'Brad34,' a Penn student, apologized for attributing incorrect quotes to Valentine. New developments are continuing to surface in the ongoing saga of New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine, who made several controversial comments about his team in a speech at the University last week. The Penn student who started the controversy apologized on Sunday for posting a message on the Mets official Web site that stated his interpretation of Valentine's remarks, which included several disparaging comments about his players and the team's management. "If I were to know that the [original] post would end up in the hands of the vast media, I never would have made such a post," wrote the student -- whose name is being withheld by The Daily Pennsylvanian -- on the Mets site. "Most of the information included in the [original] post was not factual." The New York media, however, is continuing to keep a close watch on the Penn campus, and Valentine's face is still plastered on the back pages of the New York tabloids. Yesterday, the DP published the first verbatim excerpts of Valentine's speech from an audio recording of the first half of the event. The recording contained previously unpublished remarks about Mets outfielder Rickey Henderson, Atlanta Braves reliever John Rocker and the politics of baseball in New York City. UTV-13 also revealed yesterday that it is in possession of a videotape of the event but will not release the footage. Station President and General Manager Eric Gordon, a College junior, said the station's executive board made the decision to "minimize the risk that this would pose to the station." The student's initial Web post last week and the subsequent media interest prompted Mets General Manager Steve Phillips to make an unscheduled flight to Pittsburgh to discuss the matter with Valentine. The Mets said that the existence of the audio tape confirming some of the comments Valentine was alleged to have made would not cause the manager to lose his job. "Regardless of whether there was a tape, whether there was no tape? we're just prepared to move on and concentrate on the baseball season," Mets spokesman Jay Horowitz said yesterday. "[Phillips and Valentine] were together on Friday and Saturday," Horowitz added. "They spoke about the situation, and Steve heard all Bobby had to say about it." On Friday, Valentine contacted a DP reporter to request that the tape not be released. She told him she would need to speak to her editor. And Wharton Wide World of Sports -- the club that sponsored the event -- requested over the weekend that all copies of the tape be handed over to them. Wharton Wide World of Sports declined comment. According to the audio tape, Valentine sprinkled his remarks with statements like, "I'm willing to handle all those questions as long as this isn't going to be seen on 20/20." Valentine, who had earlier praised some of his ballplayers for being "worldly in their ventures," is heard on the tape relating a story about Henderson. Valentine was reading The Wall Street Journal on the team bus when Henderson boarded. "[Henderson] said, 'Hey, Bobby, what are you reading?' I said, 'The Wall Street Journal.' And he said, 'You mind if I look at the sports page when you finish?'" Valentine said, provoking laughter from the audience. "Worldly, he's worldly." Valentine was also critical of his team's failure to sign Japanese reliever Kazuhiro Sasaki over the winter. "I was a proponent during the offseason to say 'Let's boost our bullpen?But the group who makes the decisions decides that wasn't a good idea."
(04/18/00 9:00am)
Jordan's Queen Noor will visit campus to accept an award for promoting peace. The Wharton School has often been hailed as the crown jewel of the Penn empire. Now, the prestigious business school will play host to actual royalty when Queen Noor of Jordan visits campus on May 8. Noor, 48, is the wife of the late King Hussein I. She will be on campus to receive HOPE Worldwide's Unity Award for the work she and her late husband have done to bring peace to the Middle East. Each year, the Philadelphia-based HOPE Worldwide humanitarian organization presents its Unity Award to a person or couple "who has sacrificed personal liberties for the sake of uniting many in peace." The ceremony will take place at 12:30 p.m. at an invitation-only luncheon at the Inn at Penn. The award is accompanied by a two-year, $50,000 Wharton scholarship given to an admitted MBA student of the recipient's choice. Past Unity Award winners include former South African President Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalyn. Noor is the first world leader to accept the award on Penn's campus. According to Penn officials, plans for the visit include an afternoon tea with University President Judith Rodin and a private meeting with Wharton Dean Patrick Harker. While security plans have not been finalized, University Police officials said that they did not anticipate any problems in providing the Queen with appropriate security. "Dignitary protection is one of those things we get a lot of practice with around here, so we'll certainly have the appropriate level of protection," Deputy Chief of Investigations Tom King said. "Some of that will probably come from outside agencies, and we fill in those areas that they don't cover." Noor, a Princeton University graduate whose original name was Lisa Halaby, became the first American-born queen of an Arab country when she married Hussein in 1978. Despite her status as a foreigner coming from an extremely liberal background, the Jordanian people soon warmed to the union as they saw her commitment to the royal household -- including raising four children -- and concern for improving Jordan's educational resources. Although Noor's political involvement has been decidedly behind the scenes, she's been an advocate for increased educational and employment opportunities for Arab women and a leader on several international boards devoted to peace. She stood by her husband until his death in February 1999, supporting his work toward creating a lasting peace in the Middle East -- including the 1994 peace treaty he signed with former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, which ended 46 years of war between the nations. Noor will join a long list of world leaders who have visited Penn's campus in recent years. In February, President Clinton was the inaugural speaker of the School of Arts and Sciences' Granoff Forum on the New Economy. Former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed students about world politics at last September's Connaissance lecture; President Carter gave the 1998 Commencement speech; and First Lady Hillary Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin came to campus in 1997.
(04/18/00 9:00am)
the opening of the student center will mark the end of the Perelman Quad construction. The ship carrying marble for the floors is still in transit on the Atlantic Ocean and "Go Flyers!" is scrawled across the wall allocated for the Penn shield. But University officials say that Houston Hall is on target to be available for limited use by July 22 and to open completely by the end of August. The completion of the renovations to Houston Hall, the University's historic student union that has been closed since the end of the 1997-'98 school year, will mark the conclusion of the $87 million Perelman Quadrangle project. Perelman Quad encompasses College, Williams, Logan and Houston halls and Irvine Auditorium. By July, all of the conference rooms will be open, but the food service and retail in Houston Hall will not be available until the end of August. Officials had originally planned to open Houston Hall next month, but a delay in obtaining marble from Italy for the floors pushed back the date. Wynn Common, the landscaped corridor linking Perelman Quad's buildings, will be open from the Logan Hall side beginning May 12, according to Tom Hauber, who will manage the Perelman Quad upon its completion. Work on Houston Hall is proceeding from the top down, with renovations to the second and third floors now largely complete. Workers are expected to finish and lock off those floors at the end of the month. The third floor -- which will provide office space and lockers for student performing arts groups -- is finished except for furnishings. The floor will also have general purpose meeting rooms -- one of which was sponsored by a donation from University President Judith Rodin, and is named for her father, Morris Seitz, a 1930 Wharton graduate. Construction on the second floor is not yet done. When finished, a large student government suite, to be accessible at all hours via PennCard, will occupy one wing of Houston Hall's second floor. Also located on the second floor is a blackbox theater, with a movable stage and stadium-style seating. A hallway has been built around the theater to allow the space to be locked when not in use, something that was not previously possible. Open lounge space overlooks the staircases. Workers are in the process of rebuilding a staircase that had been removed in 1969, and the area has been remodeled to allow in more light. The first floor is the least complete -- much of the floor has yet to be laid and most of the walls are bare. When it is finished, the first floor will feature "the Bistro," a food service area in a large open room which will operate when the main foodcourt is closed. The main food court -- called the "Houston Market" -- will be run by Bon Appetit and will offer a range of fast food including pizza, pasta and grilled selections. It will be located in the building's vast stone basement, along with a card store, copy center and game room. The kitchen and mechanical room are located in a new section of the basement excavated under Wynn Commons. Many of the rooms in Houston Hall are being sponsored by donors, including the auditorium, meeting rooms, lobby, rehearsal room and office space. "There are very few public spaces in the building that aren't named," said Joanne Hanna, an official in the University's development office. "Houston Hall is, of all the buildings in Perelman Quad, the one that alumni have the most nostalgic feelings for." Hanna said that donations for named spaces in Perelman Quadrangle ran from $50,000 to $3 million. Houston Hall is scheduled to be used for events during the Republican Convention, to be held in Philadelphia from July 31 to August 3. Director of Conference Services Jeff Barta said that although nothing has been confirmed, the University hopes that the Republicans will hold events and receptions in Perelman Quad.
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Freshman Stacy Kress took fifth for Penn at the Ivy Championships. The Penn women's golf team ended its first season of varsity play on a high note this past weekend after its better-than-expected showing at the Ivy League Championships. The Quakers shot a two-day total of 784 to finish sixth out of six teams in the 36-hole event held this past weekend at the par-72, 5,892-yard Pine Barrens Golf Club in Jackson, N.J. The Red and Blue were led by spectacular freshman Stacy Kress, who shot a 161 (80-81) to finish in a tie for fifth place and earn first team All-Ivy honors. Kress finished only eight strokes behind the champion, Yale's Sarah Seo, who shot a 153 (78-75) in the two-day tournament. The Quakers finally broke 400 this spring with a 394 on Saturday, only to better it with a 390 on Sunday. The two-day total of 784 put the Red and Blue 36 strokes behind fifth-place Harvard. "We were very excited to break 400 both days," Penn junior Jen Schraut said. "The most exciting [part] was Stacy [Kress] getting All-Ivy and fifth place. It was awesome." "We were happy with the improvement from the last tournament [at William and Mary]," Kress said. "We played to have fun, and we did." This year's performance was a drastic improvement over last year's 902 in the tournament. Penn's score, however, did not count toward the official standings last year. Yale won the team title for the third time in four years with a score of 640 (315-325). Princeton finished 10 strokes behind the Elis with a 650 (328-322). Schraut finished 23rd overall with a score of 190 (95-95), while Rachel Slosburg shot a 202 (104-98) for 26th place. Senior captain Natasha Miller finished 29th with a score of 231 (115-116). In Saturday's rain-soaked first round, the Quakers shot a 106-over-par 394. Kress fired the low round of eight-over-par 80 to finish tied for sixth. Schraut posted a 95, and Slosburg shot a 104. "Given the conditions, we played OK," Schraut said. "The greens were pretty slow, though." One of the Quakers' goals this season was to have fun and constantly improve, rather than focus on individual scores and results. The Quakers set expectations at shooting below 400 on a consistent basis. Penn broke 400 back-to-back days at the Rutgers Invitational in October, but followed that up with an unsatisfactory performance at William and Mary this spring. The Quakers will look to carry the momentum from a successful first season into next fall. "I think we're happy with how we've done this year," Schraut said. "Hopefully we can come together next fall and keep improving and having fun." "I think having more experience in tournament golf will help out," Kress added. The six competing schools were playing for a new trophy this year, as the Arthur A. Brennan Family Trophy was dedicated at a banquet on Friday night. The Brennan family recently donated the trophy in honor of both the Penn women's team gaining varsity status and the family's long-time association with Penn and its athletic department. Columbia and Cornell are the only Ivy schools without women's golf programs.
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The 25 members of the Undergraduate Assembly will pick their new executive board at a meeting tonight. The newly elected Undergraduate Assembly will elect its 2000-2001 executive members at its annual transition meeting tonight, which will be held at 8 p.m in the basement of the Stouffer Triangle. While the 25 members will vote to fill five executive positions -- chair, vice chair, treasurer, secretary and University Council representative -- the hottest race is expected to be for chair. Four candidates are currently in the running. Two of the candidates -- current UA Treasurer Michael Bassik, a College junior, and former Treasurer Jon Glick, a Wharton junior who this year chaired the UA's Facilities Committee -- have held executive positions before. Bassik ran for chair last year after serving as the student government body's vice chairman. He lost to the current chair, Michael Silver. Communications Committee Chairwoman Dana Hork, a College sophomore, and Student Life Committee Vice Chairman Michael Krouse, a Wharton and Engineering sophomore, are also running for the UA's top position. The current members of the UA will elect the new chair and the rest of the executive board during the traditionally lengthy transition meeting, which stretched to six hours last year. Although there are more candidates this year than usual, the race seems to have narrowed down to two candidates -- Bassik and Krouse. Bassik has had the most executive board experience of anyone running and was the UA's top vote-getter this year. Krouse has worked on race relations dialogues between the UA and the United Minorities Council, and this year he wrote the UA's financial aid proposal. Many UA members said this year's election should be a close one. "I'm voting for [Bassik] because he's been on the UA for a long time," one UA member said. "[He's got] a lot of experience and and he's very qualified." But another member said, "I will vote for Krouse because I think he's got a good vision of where to take the UA in the future." Bassik is a Zeta Beta Tau brother and Hork is a member of Sigma Delta Tau. Neither Krouse or Glick are Greek. The past three UA chairmen have been Phi Kappa Psi brothers. Four UA incumbents are planning to run for the position of vice chair. Wharton sophomore Dana Becker, Engineering junior Mo Saraiya, College junior Alex Moskowitz and Wharton freshman Ethan Kay have all confirmed their intention to run for vice chair. UA newcomer and Engineering sophomore Eric Chen is running for secretary. Another new member, Nursing and Wharton junior Kisimbi Thomas, is running for treasurer. And College freshman Lara Bonner has indicated an intent to run for University Council steering representative. The number of candidates who run for these positions, however, will undoubtedly vary. Candidates that are not elected chair will be allowed to "drop down" and run for vice chair. This rule applies to all candidates, allowing them to run for more than one position. With four people already having declared their intentions to run for vice chair, the race is expected to be particularly competitive. The transition meeting comes after a particularly successful UA election year, with approximately 30 percent of students voting. The Nominations and Elections Committee attributed the increases to the new online voting system.
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A near-brawl and inclement weather did not prevent the Quakers from faring well at Villanova this weekend. Although the Penn men's track team might have done very well relative to the competition at Saturday's unscored Villanova Invitational, many Quakers were less than thrilled with their individual efforts. "It was not a particularly competitive meet," junior thrower Ben Williams said. The seven-team field featured Division III schools such as Franklin and Marshall and Haverford, a far cry from the likes of Princeton and Navy whom Penn will oppose at the Heptagonal Championships in mid-May. If the Red and Blue want to search for bright spots from Villanova, though, they need not look too far. The sprinters and middle-distance runners found much success on Jumbo Elliott Track, named after the late Wildcats track star and coach -- not the New York Jets offensive lineman. Penn's most gratifying victory, though, occurred in the 4x400-meter relay, in which controversy loomed large. Senior Craig Douglas, who ran the third leg of the race for the Quakers, was in second place when a Temple runner attempted to illegally pass Douglas on the inside. Douglas responded with an elbow to his opponent, who then countered with a shove of the Penn sprinter. Rather than allowing the scuffle to degenerate into an all-out brawl, Douglas simply shoved back, and with both men somewhat unsettled, he dashed to Sam Burley, who ran Penn's last leg, while the frustrated Temple foe was left in the dust. Some Penn athletes, meanwhile, were able to achieve success while avoiding the trauma that Douglas endured. Shawn Fernandes, one of Penn's top sprinters, won his heat in the 100 dash with a time of 11.05, but several other Penn runners emerged with impressive results as well. Freshman Greg English won his heat in the 800; sophomore Laethe Coleman -- enjoying what he is calling a "breakthrough year" -- won both the 200 and 400; and sophomore Tyler Mullins took first in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 16.19. "I was happy about the way that my race went," Mullins said. The Soquel, Calif., native and others were quick to insert a disclaimer, however. They pointed to Penn's lack of opposition rather than dazzling times that won them many events. One exception to Mullins' theory was Penn's Matt Gioffre. The sophomore distance runner won the 5000-meter race with a time of 15:10.09, a personal best by nearly 25 seconds. Penn also enjoyed success on the field at Villanova. Thrower Matt Pagliasotti, quite possibly the Red and Blue's steadiest and most reliable performer, established a new Penn record in the hammer throw. The senior from Paris, Texas, put forth what would have been a memorable effort even if conditions in Philadelphia had been ideal on Saturday. When an intermittent rain, cold and wind are factored in, that performance is all the more laudable. "Considering the weather conditions, we had a number of good performances," junior sprinter Josh Seeherman said. "It was raining on and off, and it was always cold and muddy," Williams said. In fact, the playing surface was at one point rendered so unsafe as to compel Villanova officials to cancel the high jump event, robbing Penn freshman David Arundel of a likely first-place finish. So, in light of the adverse weather and lesser quality competition, the Quakers had tempered enthusiasm regarding their efforts. "I wasn't satisfied, but I wasn't dissatisfied," Williams said. "On the whole, it was an OK meet."
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The UA realized many of its goals for this year, including an increase in minority membership. The executive members of next year's Undergraduate Assembly have big shoes to fill, judging from the positive reviews of their predecessors' accomplishments. When he entered office last spring, UA Chairman Michael Silver, a College senior, outlined two basic goals for the UA: bringing the body to a higher "level" in terms of effectiveness, outreach to students and campus-wide respect; and making the UA a more unified body. This year's UA has achieved many of those goals, embarking on several major initiatives including a financial aid proposal; a petition for outside basketball courts; and an effort to increase minority membership on the UA and improve relations with the United Minorities Council. "The UA has in the past and will continue to make profound impact as long as there's persistence and consensus -- a unified UA can do great things," Silver said. Still, the body has struggled with internal attendance problems over the past year and has had difficulty reaching out to the campus at large. It also has been criticized for being hesitant to support student causes, most notably the Penn Students Against Sweatshops' nine-day sit-in at College Hall. One of the UA's biggest accomplishments was its financial aid proposal -- which exempts students from having to contribute one year of summer earnings to their tuition, enabling them to engage in public service or an unpaid internship. The proposal has received approval from the administration and may go into effect as soon as this summer. "Financial aid has traditionally been an issue the UA has shied away from," Silver said, adding that the issue has often been perceived as one too large for the UA to handle. Another issue the UA tackled was the need for outdoor basketball facilities. UA members collected 1,100 signatures and drafted a proposal to build outdoor basketball courts on campus. The proposal received approval from the administration and a court will be located on top of the parking garage behind the 1920 Commons dining facility as soon as next fall. Provost Robert Barchi, who has worked extensively with the UA on its major projects, lauded the work that the students have done on both proposals, as well as the UA's efforts to improve student life in general. "They have been very helpful as a wise and considerate sounding board -- making me aware of what students' concerns are," Barchi said. "I take their advice very seriously." Barchi added that the two projects "could not have been possible without UA initiative." The UA also tackled major issues with the help of its fellow student organizations. Realizing the lack of diversity on the UA, the body launched a joint collaborative with the United Minorities Council to encourage more minorities to run for the UA. Those efforts resulted in a marked increase in the number of minority students running and being elected to the UA. Next year's UA will have at least seven minority members. "Definitely from the UA standpoint they've made great strides in working with the minority community," said UMC Chairman Jerome Byam. In a joint project with the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, the UA worked to propose an extension to New Student Orientation. Starting this fall, NSO will be one week long -- three days longer than usual. "The work we've done in conjunction with them was fantastic," said SCUE Chairman Josh Wilkenfeld, a College junior. "I think it's a model of what collaboration should be." But the UA still has a few projects that haven't been fully completed. The Facilities and West Philadelphia committees have been working with Executive Vice President John Fry to try and bring more retail options to campus, including a late-night video store and a 24-hour greasy spoon diner. These plans are still unfulfilled. Another UA initiative this semester was the UA Visions survey, which sought student opinions on the Penn experience. Members are still compiling the results and hope to present them to the administration by the end of the semester.
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For the first time in five years, Penn students were able to enjoy their Spring Fling concert under the stars. After years of indoor venues, about 6,000 students showed up at Hill Field Friday night for a concert held against the backdrop of a lit Philadelphia skyline. But while the outside setting was universally praised, students had mixed responses to the actual performances, with many saying the music dragged at times and that the line-up was poorly arranged. First on the bill was DJ Young Eller, who pumped up the crowd before co-headlining bands took the stage. The Roots played a pounding energetic set of hip hop, rap and soul, while Ben Folds slowed the night down with their eclectic piano-based ballads. "This concert is a long time coming," College junior Jeff Apostol said. "It is better than last year's acts." But others disagreed. "I have had more lively laxatives than this concert," College freshman Mike Foelster said. Still, Friday's turnout was even better than expected, with close to twice the attendance of last year's concert. According to Engineering junior Kyle Turley, a Social Planning and Events Committee member, 6,000 tickets were sold, which fills Hill Field's capacity. When they took the stage at around 8:30 p.m., the Roots had the crowd up and dancing with their powerful mix of rap and hip hop. The ground vibrated with the heavy base, and many students joined in on the lyrics. The Roots' lead singer interacted with the crowd. For example, when he asked the question, "How many people in Philly love music," he received a thunderous response. "The Roots were good, especially the medley at the end," Wharton junior Oggie Kapetanovic said. The energy level lagged after the Roots left the stage. And during the hour-long lull before Ben Folds Five appeared, many chose to leave the concert altogether. Ben Folds Five -- a guitar-free piano trio, known for their bittersweet love songs with lilting melodies -- played a more mellow set to a considerably smaller audience. After hearing the slow tempo, darker music from that group, many students said they would have preferred the Roots to have ended the show. "I loved the selection of bands," College freshman Andrew Pettit said. "But the order was poorly planned." Pettit added that the excitement and energy level of the crowd would have been built up if the Roots had played after Ben Folds Five. Some, however, were quick to laud the overall performance. College junior Mike Silverstein, co-chairman of the Fling planning committee and a 34th Street editor, said attendance was better than in years past mostly because the headlining bands were so well known. "Even people who weren't big music fans had heard of these groups," Silverstein said. "And each group had their own following as well." Last year, Run DMC and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones headlined the six-hour Fling concert. This year's show -- with two fewer opening bands -- lasted four hours. "It was wonderful," said Engineering senior Ari Jaffess, a member of SPEC's Concerts Committee. "I could not have imagined it going much better."
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Howard Berkowitz has such a high-profile job that he speaks regularly with leaders like Yasser Arafat, Bill Clinton and Jesse Jackson. Yestserday, the national chairman of the Anti-Defamation League took some time off from his schedule to discuss anti-Semitism with about 50 Penn students and staff members. In a talk co-sponsored by Civic House, Penn Hillel and the Greenfield Intercultural Center, Berkowitz discussed, "Making a Difference: Fighting Racism, Anti-Semitism and All Forms of Bigotry." The ADL is a human rights organization formed 87 years ago by a group of Jewish leaders in Chicago in order to protect Jews from discrimination. "I have always been a believer that people should give back to the community," he told the crowd, which included people of varied ethnicities and racial backgrounds. Through the ADL, Berkowitz has worked to promote tolerance and eradicate anti-Semitism. The ADL now works with the NAACP and different Latino and Asian groups. "If there is any racist or bigotrist action, we will speak up and stand together," said Berkowitz, a Wharton graduate. Berkowitz also discussed the Holocaust and its lasting effects. He noted that there were only two countries where 100 percent of the Jews were saved during World War II. "Where people said, 'No, why should we hurt Jews?' the Jewish population was saved," he said. "Stand up and say, 'It cannot happen here.'" A member of the audience then asked about the proposed Holocaust memorial in Berlin. Berkowitz explained that the mayor of Berlin did not want the memorial erected. Berkowitz himself traveled to Berlin in hopes of reasoning with the mayor. "I am an activist," Berkowitz said. "Silence in my opinion is not an answer." In addition, the ADL is currently involved in a highly publicized attempt to get the acquittal of 13 Jews accused of espionage in Iran. Berkowitz said he considered the conditions of the trial to be unfair -- the prosecutors and the judges are the same, there is no jury and the defense attorneys are not allowed to talk to their clients. "If Iran carries this forward, they will be ostracized by the world community," he said. Berkowitz also discussed several educational initiatives the ADL has undertaken to promote tolerance and understanding. In one program, students travel to Washington, D.C. to undergo a tolerance-training program and visit, among other sites, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Several members of the audience later said they were quite impressed by Berkowitz's commitment. "I think he is a phenomenal leader and activist," said Rachel Saifer, a student in the Graduate School of Social Work. "We have a lot we can learn from him." "I think the work of the ADL is some of the most important in the country," added College sophomore Ari Alexander, a Jewish Renaissance Project fellow. "For those of us engaged in such work, it is important for us to hear about what they do."
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The Penn women's crew team lost all four of its races on Saturday at the Orange Challenge Cup against Northeastern and Syracuse. But if you ask the Quakers about their performance, they'll tell you that winning isn't everything -- at least not this past weekend in upstate New York. "We're really happy about the race in general. We were in control the whole way. It was a much better race than at Yale [on April 1]," Penn senior co-captain Loren Berman said. Northeastern was victorious in the varsity eight, junior varsity eight and novice eight, while Syracuse took first place in the varsity four. However, perhaps most importantly for the Red and Blue, all of the Penn boats finished no more than 16 seconds behind the first-place boat. The Quakers entered the regatta two weeks removed from their last competition. As a result, they were physically and mentally refreshed after two weeks of concentrating on refining their own skills. "It was great racing across the board," Penn coach Barb Kirch said. "The two weeks of specific training and conditioning was clearly evident in their racing. The other crews were just faster." Heading into the regatta, the Quakers knew they would be up against solid competition, especially with the Huskies in the water, whose varsity eight remains undefeated. "We knew Northeastern was going to be a strong team. We had a boat meeting the night before, and we planned where we were going to be and that actually ended up happening," Berman said. The racing conditions of the course on Lake Onondaga were far from ideal, which in the end worked against the Red and Blue. "The course was really choppy. We had trouble setting a rhythm through the body of the piece," Penn junior Dara Friedman said. All in all, the Quakers feel that they are back on track after a disappointing loss to the Elis. "At Yale, when they started to move on us, we panicked and didn't react. With Northeastern, we kept our composure and moved right with them," Berman said. "The whole way down, the three boats were jockeying for position." Despite the fact that the Cup remains with Northeastern for the fifth consecutive year, the race results provided a needed confidence boost heading into the prime of the season. "When you're a second away from winning, it shows that we have enough energy and strength to stay with a good team. We're looking forward to beating them at Sprints [in May]," Friedman said. This Saturday, the Quakers hope to continue to improve upon their solid performance at Syracuse in their regatta against Cornell and Rutgers on the Schuylkill. "We're really looking forward to racing Cornell, especially on the home course," Friedman said. Heading into the upcoming weekend, Penn's confidence is on the rise. "There's definitely room for improvement, but now it's a matter of fine-tuning," Berman said. Now at the halfway point of the spring season, the Quakers look to utilize their growing confidence and racing experience to help them race well in May at the Eastern Sprints and NCAA Championships.
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Although they did not bring home the Childs Cup, the members of the Penn men's heavyweight crew team returned home from Carnegie Lake optimistic after a strong performance against the Princeton Tigers. Even the rain could not put a damper on their high spirits and prevent them from enjoying the remainder of Spring Fling weekend. Saturday's race came down to the wire, with both crews fighting hard for the lead from start to finish. In the end, Princeton emerged victorious with a time of 5:44.8, with Penn a close second, clocking in at 5:45.51. Columbia and Temple placed third and fourth, respectively, neither posing a serious threat. Temple was a guest in the regatta. Penn coach Stan Bergman was very pleased with his team's performance. "Our guys did a great job and only lost by about two feet," he said. "All in all, it was a great race and came down to the last couple of strokes." The level of intensity was high right from the start. The Tigers and Quakers raced the entire course without any more than a two-seat margin. "It was thrilling to be in that competitive of a situation, and it was a kick in the balls to lose by only 7/10 of a second," Penn captain Greg Jenemann said. "Technically, it was a great race and gives the team much optimism for the rest of the season, because Princeton is always tough." After a slightly disappointing performance at the San Diego Crew Classic over April's first weekend, the Red and Blue have shown marked improvement, rowing with more confidence and cohesion and, therefore, producing greater boat speed. "We have made so much progress since the Crew Classic two weeks ago," senior Lew Goettner said. "As long as we keep it up at this level and each row up to our potential, we'll be in good shape for the Eastern Sprints." The Quakers look forward to racing the Tigers again in May after such encouraging results this weekend. "It was an incredibly competitive dogfight as the lead shifted back and forth the whole way," junior Keith Sutter said of Saturday's regatta. "It was a great race -- it showed the heart and balls of the whole team." The varsity race was by far the most exciting. The Quakers' second varsity crew finished in third place behind Princeton's second and third varsity boats, while Penn's first and second freshman crews each took second place behind the novice Tigers. The Quakers look to progress further during practice this week as they prepare to race at Columbia with the Lions and Yale this weekend. They will compete for the Blackwell Cup on the Harlem River in New York. After starting off their cup racing season on a high note, the Quakers anticipate an exciting and successful season. The No. 7 Red and Blue also hope to improve in the rankings after coming so close against the No. 4 Tigers. "Neck-and-neck tight races like these are why I love rowing," Goettner said of Saturday's exciting competition. Bergman echoed Goettner's sentiments regarding his team's results. "It was a gutsy performance by our crew," Bergman said. "I hope we will continue to improve and work hard on all levels."
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Penn missed a good chance to move up in the Ivy League race. The third time was certainly a charm for the Penn men's tennis team on Saturday when it beat Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H. Unfortunately for Penn, there's no adage about a fourth time, as the Quakers fell to Harvard, 1-6, on Sunday in Cambridge, Mass., breaking their three-match Ivy winning streak. Penn (11-9, 3-2 Ivy) began its day against Dartmouth by sweeping all three doubles matches. Although the courts were lined by a large number of Dartmouth students, the Quakers managed to keep their concentration and defeat their opponents. The notable exceptions were at the No. 1 and No. 5 positions, with Fanda Stejskal and Joey Zupan both losing. Stejskal had been favored to win his match, and Zupan suffered his first Ivy League singles defeat this year. However, the rest of the Penn team was able to make up the difference, as the Red and Blue glided past the Big Green 5-2. "Fanda and Joey Zupan lost, but other guys like Rob Pringle and Brian Barki stepped up," Penn coach Gordie Ernst said. "It was a good team victory. We were the favorite for the first time, and we played like it." The Quakers took the momentum from their three-game winning streak to Cambridge, but were unable to manage a win over the Crimson. Penn only won one doubles match at the No. 3 position, with Pringle and Brett Meringoff defeating William Lee and Dalibor Snyder. Penn did not perform well in singles either, with only a singles win by Stejskal in the top spot. Stejskal defeated John Doran, 6-4, 6-1. His win was in stark contrast to the defeat of the previous day, especially since Doran is considered one of the best players in the Ivy League. "I started off really bad. I was told that he played a big game, and I expected him to be like Sampras and for him to kill me," Stejskal said. "I thought I was going to have to play like Agassi to beat him. I was down three-love; I had lost my serve; and then I decided to play my own game and I killed him. "I still think we had a shot at Harvard, and the results sound kind of brutal, but I think it was a lot more even than that." Despite the loss to Harvard, Penn's season so far has shown the Ivy League that the Quakers are not the team they were a year ago. Already 4-2 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis League, Penn has turned the tables on teams like Dartmouth -- the Quakers lost 1-6 at home to the Big Green last year. "The team commitment at the start of the year that they were going to hold each other responsible for missed practices and missed runs and that they were not going to accept mediocre work effort -- that's been the difference," Ernst said. "There were guys last year who brought the whole team down. I got rid of them. Now we have a true team attitude, and we have a true care for the results of the matches. My job is to remind them how bad it felt to lose to these teams last year." Although Penn was unable to defeat Harvard on Sunday, the Quakers will have another chance to prove that they have advanced to the upper echelon of the league when they face Columbia on Friday. "The unfortunate thing is that we went to Harvard with confidence, but we didn't play well. A lot of people went out there and played not to lose instead of playing to win," Ernst said. "Columbia has beaten everyone except us and Princeton, and when we play them we have to play to win. We can do it, and there is no pressure. But we have to play to win."
