Search Results
Below are your search results. You can also try a Basic Search.
(04/13/00 9:00am)
Billy Reidy's goal for Penn was disallowed with five seconds left. Continuing its change from an unsettling early-season form, the Penn men's lacrosse team got of to a very fast start against Villanova. Unfortunately for Penn, the Wildcats(7-3) were also on fire, and the Quakers (5-6) dropped a double-overtime 15-14 nail-biter in front of 300 frostbitten fans. "It was a real difficult loss," Penn coach Marc Van Arsdale said. "It was a tough, closely played lacrosse game, as we'd anticipated. We just did a few things over the course of the game that cost us." The Quakers took a commanding 6-3 first quarter lead on the strength of senior co-captain Pete Janney's three goals. Villanova made up some ground in the second, and the Red and Blue took a precarious 8-7 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Quakers misplaced their offense for a while in the middle of the game, as Villanova pulled off a 9-2 run from the 5:10 mark in the second quarter until 12:48 remained in the fourth. "We turned the ball over a few times in there," Van Arsdale said. "I thought we had a good possession with the man advantage at the opening of the third quarter, and we scored right away. But then after that we hit a spell where we didn't score any goals." The Wildcats helped to limit the Quakers offensive production by shifting their defensive scheme to focus on Janney, who found the back of the net four times in the first half but scored only once in the second. "In the second half, they decided to shut me off," Janney said. "They didn't let me touch the ball at all, and we adjusted to that the best we could." Janney, junior Todd Minerley and freshman midfielder Alex Kopicki each scored goals midway through the fourth quarter to tie the game at 13. These goals came out of transition, before the Red and Blue could get into any offensive sets. "With [Villanova] taking me out of the offense, we were forced to run a little bit of a ragtag, fast-paced offense, where there's not a lot of structure to it," Janney said. Then, after Villanova attackman Eric Dauer put the Wildcats back on top, Minerley hit his fifth goal of the game with 28 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime with the score 14-14. Minerley's ball wasn't the last Quaker shot to get past Villanova goalie Matt Wilk in regulation -- it was just the last one to count. With five seconds remaining in the game, Penn middie Billy Reidy jumped in the air directly in front of the Wildcats net and fired the ball while he was parallel to the ground. While the Quakers sideline was celebrating prematurely, the referee was waving the goal off, claiming that Reidy had landed in the crease, thus voiding the score. "To tell you the truth, I couldn't tell if I was [in the crease or not]. I got back up so quickly," Reidy said. "The refs made the call, and you can't do anything about it." The Quakers charged into the first overtime, keeping the ball in the Villanova zone for most of the first extra four-minute period. The Quakers got off three shots in the first minute, two of which were very near-misses by Janney. "I was pretty tired at that point, being forced to run away from the ['Nova] shut-off the way I did," Janney said. Villanova didn't get off any shots in the first extra period, but they took several in the second, all but one of them either flew wide or were saved by freshman goalie Ryan Kelly, who made some incredible stops and got the Quakers fired up. "I think anytime a goalie steps up and makes a big save in a tight situation like that it gets the team rolling, thinking that we'll get the ball out of our end," Reidy said. The Wildcats' Dauer finally put one past Kelly for his fifth goal of the game and a thrilling Villanova win. This is a painful loss for the Quakers -- who had been undefeated against city opponents thus far this year -- because they failed to avenge last year's upset loss to Villanova on the Main Line and to climb back over the .500 mark.
(04/13/00 9:00am)
Greg Lee earned his first career save and Kevin McCabe had four hits as the Quakers beat Tenple. On a chilly, windy afternoon at Murphy Field, the Penn baseball team's bats were anything but cold. The Quakers (14-13) slugged out 14 hits against four Temple (12-18-2) pitchers yesterday en route to a 10-3 victory over the Owls that put the Red and Blue back over the .500 mark. Center fielder Kevin McCabe led the Penn attack with a 4-for-4 day at the plate that included his second home run of the season. "He's having a great year, pushing 40 hits," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. McCabe's first hit of the day was his 36th of the season. The senior surprised the Temple infield by dropping down for a bases-empty bunt single in front of home plate in the second inning. The next time McCabe came to the plate, Chris May was on base. Owls third baseman Sam Sabolchick, expecting more smallball, crept in on the infield grass. But McCabe did not cooperate, hitting a home run to give Penn a 3-2 lead. "I feel like when I have my bunting game going, I usually have good games," McCabe said. "I certainly didn't plan [the home run]. When the third baseman's in like that, usually I like to try to put one over his head, but I got a nice, fat inside fastball and just kept my head down and kept going." After the homer, McCabe added two more singles. His knock to lead off the sixth inning started a rally for the Quakers that broke the game wide open. McCabe scored from first on second baseman Nick Italiano's triple to left center field. Italiano then scored on Oliver Hahl's single. Hahl advanced to third on James Mullen's single and scored on Glen Ambrosius' sacrifice fly to left. Mullen came around on Jeff Gregorio's double. All of a sudden, Penn led 8-3 and the game was out of reach for the Owls. Penn sophomore Greg Lee pitched 4 2/3 innings for his first career save to make sure that it was out of reach. Lee entered the game in unusual circumstances. With one out and runners on first and second in the top of the fifth inning, Temple's leading hitter, Rob Cucinotta, hit a one-hopper off the face of Penn reliever Nick Barnhorst for an infield single. Barnhorst was OK, but could not continue pitching. Lee had been warming up in the bullpen, but he found himself on the mound earlier than expected with the bases loaded and one out with Penn holding a tenuous 4-2 lead. "I just wanted to try and throw some strikes, try and end the inning quickly and let us get in and hit," Lee said. Lee did the job, getting designated hitter Kyle Sweppenhiser to pop up to second base and Sabolchick to hit a weak roller to first base for two easy outs to get out of Dodge. "We had bases loaded with the fourth and fifth hitters up and couldn't get the ball out of the infield," Temple coach Skip Wilson said. "Not much you can do about that, we have to give [Lee] credit." Lee made only one bad pitch in his time on the hill yesterday, serving up a gopher ball to Temple left fielder Keith Ramsey, a .180 hitter who had not gone deep all season. Ramsey's blast brought the Owls to within a run, and Lee immediately settled down, not allowing another hit until there were two outs in the eighth inning and Penn had a 10-3 lead. Lee did encounter some trouble closing out the game in the ninth, though. A leadoff walk and two infield hits loaded the bases for Sabolchick, but Lee struck him out swinging on a nice low changeup to end the game. "I knew with a lefty up, my changeup would be the best pitch to go to," Lee said. "I'd thrown a couple of good ones already, so I just thought I'd put a changeup on the outside corner, let him see if he could hit it hard. He tried, and he didn't make contact. That's all I was going for."
(04/13/00 9:00am)
Freshman Dina Parise lost a no-hit bid and the game in the nightcap as Penn's bats were silent. A Penn softball team that is struggling mightily to score runs ran into the last thing it needed to run into yesterday when the Quakers faced off against Drexel's excellent pitching staff. Drexel (11-12) used impressive outings by Laura Tynio and Lori Swanson to quiet the Quakers' bats and sweep the doubleheader. The Dragons won the first game easily, 4-1, and then outlasted Penn in a pitchers' duel, 1-0. In the first game, Swanson showed why she is the reigning America East pitcher of the year by tossing a brilliant game. In a dominating performance, Swanson struck out 13 Quakers, including, amazingly, the first eight Penn batters of the game en route to a two-hitter. "Lori Swanson is probably one of the best pitchers that we will face this season, and we just didn't adjust," Penn sophomore Jen Moore said. "She's definitely a good pitcher, but that shouldn't happen where we get dominated like that." For Penn, freshman hurler Becky Ranta pitched well, allowing only six hits and three earned runs in six innings. Penn's only scoring in the game took place in the fifth inning after a double by freshman Heidi Albrecht broke up Swanson's no-hit bid. Sophomore Lindsay Wagner, pinch running for Albrecht, advanced to third on a ground-out and scored courtesy of a wild pitch by Swanson. "I feel like we are kind of doubting ourselves," Moore said. "We do have a lot of talent, so we just need to play aggressively and believe in ourselves." In the second game, freshman Dina Parise of Penn -- in just her third career start -- pitched superbly and took a no-hitter into the seventh and final inning. In the seventh, the Dragons led off with a double by Kelly Donahue and eventually scored a run when Jodi Devine hit a clutch two-out double. The game went from a no-hit bid to a Parise loss in a matter of moments. "I was just trying to keep the ball down and get a grounder to the left side," Parise said. "But she managed to tap it over the fielder's head and that was the game." Despite taking a tough loss, Parise was pleased with an effort that saw her take a no-hitter into the last inning as a freshman and also saw her toss her first complete game. "I was feeling really good, and I finally stepped out onto the mound and said to myself that this was my game," Parise said. "I had been really nervous at the start of other games, but today everything came together and I pitched my best." The loss for Penn is the sixth consecutive and the ninth in the last 11 games. The Quakers have been plagued by an inability to consistently score runs over the last 16 games. Following an early season four-game winning streak that raised the team's mark to 8-10, Penn has gone 3-12-1. The Quakers have also scored a disappointingly low total of five runs over the last six contests. "It's frustrating because we know that we can pound teams offensively, but we're just not doing it," Parise said. "We need to bring all three aspects [pitching, hitting and defense] together and give 100 percent and then we'll get some wins." After a two-game hiatus from their Ivy League schedule, the Quakers will return to league play this Friday in a home doubleheader against Princeton. The Quakers, winless in four Ivy League contests, could have their hands full this weekend against a Tigers team that boasts a record of 4-0 in the Ivies. "We know how to hit. We do it everyday -- it's routine for us -- but we're just not executing and coming through in games," Moore said. "We look really good in warm-ups, but unfortunately that doesn't put a 'W' on the board. We know that we're capable of beating Princeton. We just need to come out aggressive and believe in ourselves."
(04/13/00 9:00am)
The Penn men's heavyweight crew team will be spending the beginning of Spring Fling weekend across the Delaware in New Jersey. The Quakers open their season of Ivy League cup races at Princeton against the Tigers and Columbia. With spring sprint racing now in full swing, the Quakers will have many opportunities to race hard against other Ivy crews before facing them all again at the Eastern Sprints. After competing for the first time at the San Diego Crew Classic two weeks ago, the Quakers have spent their practice time refining their race plans to build boat speed and row with a higher level of finesse. "Ideally, we hope to perform well and learn from our race in San Diego," senior varsity rower Lew Goettner said. "We've now seen where we stand against many of the teams we'll be racing in the upcoming weeks. We know they're well within our reach, and we know what we need to focus on before we see them again." This weekend, the Red and Blue will attempt to reclaim the Childs Cup. Although the cup has been held by the Tigers for the past seven years, the Quakers head to Carnegie Lake bursting with confidence. "I know all of us in the boat are ready to race," sophomore varsity rower Paul Falcigno said. "We have been waiting for this event for a long time and we are ready to show the rest of the Ivy League that Penn is a serious contender." Penn will face its other Ivy nemeses between now and mid-May before the Red and Blue's season culminates at Eastern Sprints in Worcester, Mass., on May 21. With each cup race, the Quakers anticipate an increase in speed as well as in the number of jerseys they bring home, as a crew tradition mandates that the losing rowers give their uniforms to the victors. "There are no negative sentiments going into our season-opener because we know we have the potential to go fast," Falcigno said. "Princeton is going to be a tough race, but we are all ready to meet the challenge. Coach Bergman has trained us well, and our boat knows we can beat them." Despite their losses and injuries, the Quakers believe they are just as competitive as past victorious crews. "As long as we all perform up to our potential, we will pose a serious threat against our fellow Sprints teams," Goettner said. "From here on in, it's non-stop. We're ready to race hard and start winning."
(04/13/00 9:00am)
Joining together to celebrate a common heritage, nearly 1,000 Jewish students dined last Friday night in over 40 different locations for traditional Shabbat dinners. Sponsored by the Jewish Mentors Program of the Steinhardt and Neubauer Jewish Heritage Programs, 45 Shabbat dinners, each attended by between 15 and 60 students, were held in locations ranging from college houses to fraternity and sorority houses. The dinners were organized by interns with the Mentors Program, an organization that counsels young Jews about success in professional fields. Currently, about 70 interns from Penn are involved in this program. Rachel Baum, a University of Delaware alumna who works for the JHP and helped organize the dinners, said she was very pleased with the number of participants. "I was very excited that we reached 975 students," she said. "I think that it totally helped build the Jewish Heritage Program." Many of the students who attended the dinners had never attended a Shabbat dinner before, according to Baum, who added that this outreach was facilitated by the informal organization of the dinners. "It's so amazing that so many people are doing Shabbat dinners that never experienced a Shabbat before," she said. Rabbi Menachem Schmidt, a director of the Jewish Heritage Program, said he was also highly pleased by the diverse people reached by this event. "It's really important in terms of community building and also for education about their heritage," he noted. "Most of the people involved in this program would probably not be having Shabbats otherwise." Students who attended the dinners were also very pleased by the outcome. Erica Keenholtz, a College sophomore and member of the program's steering committee at Penn, said she felt that the informality of the event helped make it so popular. "I thought it was extremely successful because people were able to have them in their own houses," she said. The evening's festivities included a raffle to raise money for P'tach, a charity which provides support to Jewish special-needs children. The raffle raised about $300. The Jewish Heritage Program started at Penn seven years ago, and now includes 11 other college campuses. The program is named for Michael Steinhardt and Joseph and Jenet Neubauer, all of whom are mentors and large contributors to the program. According to Baum, the Shabbat dinners were very much in keeping with the aims of the program. "I think all of our supporters, like Michael Steinhardt and Joseph and Jenet Neubauer, would be very proud of us," she said. According to Baum, the program's seven-year history at Penn has been very successful in getting Jewish students who are otherwise unaffiliated with Hillel active in the community.
(04/12/00 9:00am)
Matt Langel and Michael Jordan were selected by the Atlantic City Seagulls and Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs of the USBL. Penn senior men's basketball co-captains Michael Jordan and Matt Langel were selected in the United States Basketball League's eight-round draft yesterday. Langel was taken in the fourth round (41st overall pick) by the Atlantic City Seagulls, while Jordan (49th) was taken in the fifth round by the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs. Neither player has decided whether he will ultimately choose to play in the USBL -- an 11-team league with a season that lasts from April 21 to June 25. Langel has contacted Atlantic City about playing in the league, but he is not certain whether he will report later this week for the Seagulls' first practice. "It's something I have to think about," Langel said. Jordan, meanwhile, has not yet discussed his situation with the Bethlehem-based ValleyDawgs. "I need to sit down with some people to decide," Jordan said. "It may depend on my money situation." The league season would conflict for both players with a basketball camp held for professional hopefuls in Houston later this month, although Langel said that USBL teams would be understanding of such prior engagements. Jordan and Langel both received invitations to the Houston camp, which takes place April 26-30. Langel estimated that 55 players will be in attendance, running drills and playing full-court games in front of scouts for leagues in the United States and overseas. Jordan played last weekend at the Portsmouth Invitational, a camp in Virginia that traditionally includes about 10 future NBA draft picks. Jordan believed he played well at the camp -- but not exceptionally well. "My numbers weren't great, but they were OK," Jordan said. Jordan and Langel were both named first team All-Ivy this year, with Jordan winning Ivy League Player of the Year honors. Both Quakers guards have also scored over 1,000 points in their careers. The two guards intend to continue their basketball playing careers in some fashion. While both harbor hopes of being selected in the NBA draft in June, neither Jordan nor Langel has ruled out playing in the CBA or in Europe. "Realistically for me, something overseas will probably be the best option," Langel said. The USBL owners tend to select players in the draft with regard to both talent and the possibility that they will choose to play in the league. Oklahoma State's Doug Gottlieb was chosen first in the draft.
(04/12/00 9:00am)
Penn coach Karin Brower wants her team to go to the net more aggressively. A little more than halfway through her team's season, and heading into a game tonight at Rutgers, Penn women's lacrosse coach Karin Brower is less than thrilled. Sure, the Quakers are 5-3, with already four more wins than they had all of last season, but Brower is not happy with what she has seen on the field of late. "I'm sick of hearing that we're better than last year, because it's a different team," Brower said. "We should be better than last year, and each year from here on. I don't know if they're settling on that, like, oh great we have five wins. But we can lose the rest of the games, and I've told them that. It's up to them. It's in their hands as to how they want to end this season." Brower was particularly upset about Penn's showing in Sunday afternoon's 11-9 loss to Harvard in which the Quakers were outscored 8-1 to open the game. The Red and Blue seemed reluctant to take the ball to the net against the Crimson until the waning moments of the game when Penn mounted a nearly memorable comeback. "We were a little hesitant until the end, which is frustrating," Penn senior tri-captain Brooke Jenkins said. "I guess people on Sunday weren't confident going to goal, taking their girl when they really could have, including myself. It was frustrating." The reluctance to go to the net was the most baffling aspect of Sunday's loss for Penn. This lack of aggressiveness is particularly vexing for a team that has done a fine job rebounding from adversity. A 1-12 1999 season had most thinking that the Quakers had absolutely nothing to lose in 2000. "They don't know how to go, 'We're losing. Somebody needs to go to goal and it's gonna be me,'" Brower said. "We have to get them to understand that when you're down five goals, there's nothing to lose, go to goal?. This whole year they have nothing to lose, and I'm baffled as to why they don't play that way. We're not supposed to beat anybody." · The Scarlet Knights (4-6) throttled Penn at home last year, 15-3. That Rutgers side, however, is very different from the one that Penn will play today, as the best of last year's New Jerseyans were seniors. When the Scarlet Knights came to Franklin Field last year, they were ranked 11th in the nation and carried an 8-2 record with them. Ten players scored for Rutgers en route to the win, while only Amy Weinstein and Traci Marabella found the net that night for the Quakers. · Marabella's goal against Rutgers last season was one of 12 for her on the season. Now a sophomore, the attacker has scored 20 goals in Penn's first eight games, becoming the first member of the Quakers to tally 20 since Darah Ross and Emily Hansel did it in 1998. "I think I won't be happy until I reach at least 30," Marabella said. "But it feels good. I feel like it's something that I probably should have been able to do last year, and it's nice knowing I have a coach who can push me and bring out my potential." Marabella was named to the Ivy League's weekly honor roll yesterday for her hat trick against the Crimson on Sunday and two goals against La Salle last Tuesday night. · When Penn beat the Explorers eight days ago, it extended their non-conference record to an impressive 4-0. While the teams that the Quakers have played outside of the Ivy League have not been as tough as their Ancient Eight foes, the Scarlet Knights are comparable to Harvard. "[Rutgers] is our chance to really prove that we really are a better team," Marabella said. "Everyone knows that we're better than 1-12, but the teams we've played aren't very strong. This is a big game for us because it'll show that we are really a different team." · So far this season, five of the Quakers have notched 10 or more goals. Last year, only three -- Jenkins, Marabella and Weinstein -- did so. This year, Marabella and Jenkins have been joined by 10-goal scorers freshmen Crissy Book (13), Jayme Munnelly (10) and Kate Murray (10).
(04/12/00 9:00am)
The Quakers look to rebound from a four-loss Ivy homestand today against city rival Drexel. Two West Philadelphia neighbors will do battle at Drexel Field today. The Penn softball team won't travel far to play a doubleheader against the Drexel Dragons at 4:00 this afternoon in a fight for University City bragging rights. Thus far this season, the Quakers boast a 4-1-1 record in the City Six, an informal but still very competitive league comprised of the Philadelphia Big 5 and Drexel. The Red and Blue swept La Salle and recorded a win and a tie against Villanova before splitting with Temple on April Fool's Day. The team will look to continue its winning ways against their Philly foes today against the Dragons. "You'd love to be the team that won the City Six," said sophomore left fielder Clarisa Apostol, who is second on the Quakers in batting average with a .286 mark. "It's great to be known as the Philly team that came out the best." "We want to prove that we're a power in the city," freshman designated hitter Heidi Albrecht added. But to come out victorious against the Dragons, the Quakers will have to fix some of their recent problems, including their lack of consistency and meager offensive production. Penn (11-20-1, 0-4) is coming off a four-game losing streak in which the Quakers were only able to produce four combined runs, while stranding a whopping 26 runners on base. For the Quakers, some of the hitting has been there, but the team has simply been struggling to get the key hits to drive runners home. "We're a good hitting team, and we've been putting hits together," sophomore second baseman Jamie Pallas said. "But we've left a lot of runners on base, and we can't do that if we want to win." The Red and Blue will look to turn this around today and hopefully keep it going for the rest of the season. "We're looking for more hits with runners in scoring position," Albrecht said. "We've simply got to get more runs on the board." Consistency has been another problem that has plagued the Quakers so far this season. "We need to bring defense, pitching and offense to each and every game," Penn coach Carol Kashow said. "We haven't executed in games the way I would like." The Red and Blue hope to fix some of these problems and get back on the winning side this afternoon. But blocking their path is a strong Drexel squad led by star pitchers Laura Tynio and Lori Swanson. The sophomore and junior hurlers have nice movement on the ball and excellent velocity. "It's not too often you find that combination," Apostol commented. "It's definitely going to be challenging. Nevertheless, the Quakers look to get back on track and end their four-game skid before heading back into their Ivy League schedule, which includes an important doubleheader against rival Princeton on Friday. But the Red and Blue will take one game at a time and not look ahead to their upcoming battle with the Tigers. "It's important not to get far-sighted," Kashow said. "We just have to try to take each day as it comes." And in today's games, the Quakers will try to finally bring runners home from scoring position and put all of the pieces together as the regular season winds to a close. "We definitely haven't played to our potential -- it's disappointing to see how well we practice and then not see the results," Apostol said. "Hopefully against Drexel we can put it all together." "We're definitely just trying to focus on playing good ball," Albrecht added. "We've got to get ourselves back together." And once the Quakers talented squad does succeed in bringing all assets of its game together, they believe the sky's the limit. "We have a lot of talent, and we will put it together soon," Pallas said. "And when we do, we're gonna rock."
(04/12/00 9:00am)
The Penn men's golf team traveled to the U.S. Naval Academy this past weekend, where it finished a respectable seventh at the Navy Spring Invitational. The tournament spanned only one day due to the 30-mile-per-hour winds and snow that descended on Annapolis, Md., on Sunday. The Quakers, who combined for a 26-over 310, finished behind longtime rival Princeton. The Tigers won the event by shooting a 15-over 299. "We didn't play as well as we could," Penn freshman Chad Perman said. Todd Golditch and Perman led the Quakers with rounds of five-over 76. Senior Rob Goldfaden shot a six-over 77; Kyle Moran posted a 10-over 81; and Peyton Wallace fired a 15-over 86. If these inflated scores seem like an aberration for the Quakers, that's because they were. "It was very windy," Perman said. "The greens were extremely fast and undulated." According to Golditch, the Quakers would have liked to played the second day of the tournament. "It would have been nice to get in one more competitive round before the Ivy League Championship," Golditch said. After 12 holes of the tournament, Golditch led the 19-team field with a score of one under par. "Things sort of fell apart on the 13th and 18th holes, where I made double bogey," he said. Golditch watched his hopes of winning disappear after he played the final four holes in four over par. However, his confidence in himself and in his team remains high. "I feel really good going into next weekend," Golditch said. "It's been Rob [Goldfaden]'s, Kyle [Moran]'s and my goal to win the Ivies for a long time. I feel extremely confident in my team's ability and our chances next week." The Quakers will have four days of practice this week before they depart for the Ivy League Championships in Jackson, N.J., on Friday morning.
(04/12/00 9:00am)
The Penn men's lightweight crew team fell again this weekend in its race for the Matthews-Leonard Cup at Cornell. All five Penn boats finished behind Cornell and Harvard, leaving the Quakers with nothing to show for their effort. The varsity boat finished last in its heat, with a time of 6:02.55. Cornell placed second with a time of 5:57.9, and Harvard won with a race time of 5:50.06. Despite their loss, the Quakers made many improvements in this past weekend's race. The varsity boat finished six seconds faster than last week at Rutgers, and the Quakers agree that their overall performance has improved in many aspects since the fall. "We are faster than we were in the fall," varsity rower Garrett Cameron said. "If we go six seconds faster each race, we'll be flying by the time [Eastern] Sprints come around." Cameron was also happy with the improved race strategy over last weekend's race. Penn didn't go out as quickly in the early going on Saturday and had more energy to finish the race off with improved speed. The second varsity boat also placed last in its heat. The Harvard and Cornell boats collided at the beginning of the race and were allowed to row the race again. The Quakers, however, weren't granted the right to a re-race due to their initial loss to both of the other boats. Many Penn rowers were disappointed with the official's decision not to grant them another chance at the race and blamed it for their defeat. "They didn't allow us to race again," sophomore rower Brendon Tavelli said. "That might have had something to do with our performance." The third varsity boat and the two freshman boats also finished behind Cornell and Harvard. Harvard won in the third heat, and Cornell won in both freshman races. Despite the definitiveness of their most recent loss, the Quakers are trying to remain positive for the rest of their season. "We can't blame ourselves," Penn commodore Michael Smolenski said. "We just need to get out and try as hard as we can every day at practice." The Quakers are also trying to use last weekend's competition as a source for further improvements. Many of the rowers are switching boats for this weekend's race at Columbia, where the Quakers anticipate a tough race against Yale and the Lions. "There are many personnel changes," Tavelli said. "Hopefully they will improve our performance." Included within these personnel changes, the varsity boat will race without one of its strongest rowers, junior Dave Wilson, who will be taking the MCAT. Nevertheless, the Quakers hope for a good race. "We're not throwing the towel in yet," Smolenski said. "We still have a lot of time left in the season."
(04/12/00 9:00am)
The Penn men's golf team traveled to the U.S. Naval Academy this past weekend, where it finished a respectable seventh at the Navy Spring Invitational. The tournament spanned only one day due to the 30-mile-per-hour winds and snow that descended on Annapolis, Md., on Sunday. The Quakers, who combined for a 26-over 310, finished behind longtime rival Princeton. The Tigers won the event by shooting a 15-over 299. "We didn't play as well as we could," Penn freshman Chad Perman said. Todd Golditch and Perman led the Quakers with rounds of five-over 76. Senior Rob Goldfaden shot a six-over 77; Kyle Moran posted a 10-over 81; and Peyton Wallace fired a 15-over 86. If these inflated scores seem like an aberration for the Quakers, that's because they were. "It was very windy," Perman said. "The greens were extremely fast and undulated." According to Golditch, the Quakers would have liked to played the second day of the tournament. "It would have been nice to get in one more competitive round before the Ivy League Championship," Golditch said. After 12 holes of the tournament, Golditch led the 19-team field with a score of one under par. "Things sort of fell apart on the 13th and 18th holes, where I made double bogey," he said. Golditch watched his hopes of winning disappear after he played the final four holes in four over par. However, his confidence in himself and in his team remains high. "I feel really good going into next weekend," Golditch said. "It's been Rob [Goldfaden]'s, Kyle [Moran]'s and my goal to win the Ivies for a long time. I feel extremely confident in my team's ability and our chances next week." The Quakers will have four days of practice this week before they depart for the Ivy League Championships in Jackson, N.J., on Friday morning.
(04/12/00 9:00am)
Penn hopes to get back at Villanova for an upset loss on the Main Line last year. The Penn men's lacrosse team (5-5) will have revenge in mind when the Quakers face Villanova tonight at 7 p.m. at Franklin Field. In what was probably the biggest upset of the 1999 season for Penn, the Red and Blue dropped a 7-5 heartbreaker to the Wildcats last year on the Main Line, allowing four goals in the final quarter. "We have a bad taste in our mouths from last year," Penn co-captain Pete Janney said. "That's really pushing us to work hard for this game." The Quakers are coming off their first Ivy League win, a 7-4 victory over Dartmouth this past Saturday, marked by an impressive defensive effort. The backline must continue its strong play tonight against a Wildcats team that boasts a high-octane offense. Villanova returns 13 seniors, including its three best players -- Chris Lawson, Eric Dauer and Jack McTigue -- in the midfield. Lawson leads the team with 19 goals; Dauer has tallied 16 thus far this season; and McTigue has 25 assists to go along with two goals. "They are all strong, very powerful athletes," Penn coach Marc Van Arsdale said. "The midfield line is probably as good as we're going to see all season." Those three players had the biggest impact for the Wildcats in last season's game against the Quakers. In that contest, Penn got off to a slow start when Lawson put a crisp shot past Matt Schroeder, the Red and Blue's goalie of a year ago. Just minutes later, Dauer scored when the ball bounced off a defender's stick and into the goal. The Quakers rebounded, however, and held the Cats scoreless for the rest of the half. After two goals from Janney and one each by Scott Solow and Todd Minerley, the Quakers took a 4-3 lead into the fourth quarter. But that was when Penn shut down. Villanova stormed back to tally four goals in the last quarter, including Lawson's second goal of the game. McTigue assisted on every goal of the quarter, as the frustrated Quakers could not net one and were upset, 7-4. In a display of futility, the once-strong Penn offense was not only held to a meager four goals, but was also outshot, 36-27. The defeat sent the Red and Blue into a downward spiral as the team lost its last two contests by a combined 12 goals. Despite last year's game being being billed as an upset, the Wildcats have no reason to believe they can't beat the Quakers again. Villanova (6-3) is coming off a convincing victory last weekend against Fairfield. The Wildcats jumped out to a 2-0 advantage at the end of the first quarter and extended that to 5-2 at the half. Villanova continued its strong play in the second half and defeated the Stags, 12-7. Dauer totaled three goals, while Lawson added two and McTigue tallied three assists. "They are very confident right now," Van Arsdale said. "They've been playing very well recently, and the game should be two evenly matched teams with some momentum coming off wins." While the Wildcats offense has been given much attention by opposing teams, adversaries must also be mindful of their reliable defense. In last year's game, junior defender Brian O'Hagan shut down Minerley, which prevented the Quakers offense from getting quality feeds. A win at Franklin Field today would give the Quakers their first winning streak since the first two games of the season, when Penn upset Notre Dame it its home opener and followed that up with a win against Bucknell. The victory would also give the Red and Blue confidence going into the tough three-game stretch that ends their season. Before the month is out, the Quakers will face Brown, Syracuse and Delaware -- Penn lost to all three last season. "Syracuse is one that will probably take a little more than extra on our part and a little less on theirs," Van Arsdale said. "But the other two games are very winnable." If the Quakers can pull of a win tonight, maybe they can get used to the feeling of revenge and end their season on an upswing.
(04/12/00 9:00am)
The Quakers will look to avenge their loss to Temple in this March's Liberty Bell Classic this afternoon. Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Unfortunately for the Penn baseball team -- which has lost 10 of its 13 games by two runs or less -- almost doesn't count in baseball. But today at Murphy Field at 3 p.m., the Quakers have a chance to get one of those close losses back. Penn (13-13) welcomes Temple (12-17-2) to the West Side, looking to avenge its heartbreaking 5-4 loss to the Owls in 10 innings at the Liberty Bell Classic on March 28. On a drizzly day at Veterans Stadium, the Quakers squandered a 4-1 lead and an excellent outing from sophomore Mike Mattern, as the Owls rallied to hand Penn its eighth consecutive loss at the Liberty Bell Classic. The Quakers appeared set to cruise to a victory when they tagged Temple starter Chris Joyce for two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth. But Joyce and reliever Jeff Rugg stymied Penn's bats after the fifth, allowing just one hit -- Chris May's leadoff triple in the eighth inning. But Penn's bats have not been very quiet since. After the Temple game, the Quakers have averaged almost 12 hits a game, including an amazing 33-run, 27-hit outburst against La Salle. But the pitching staff has been another matter. Penn's relievers let the team down last weekend, as the Quakers dropped three of four games to Ivy rivals Dartmouth and Harvard to fall into a three-way tie for first place in the Ivy League's Gehrig Division. Cornell, Princeton and Penn all have 4-4 league records, while Columbia is one game back at 3-5. "Pitching had a rough weekend," said catcher Jeff Gregorio, who leads the Quakers with four home runs and 34 runs batted in. "We're swinging the bat well right now, so that's going to carry us along." Junior Brian Burket starts for the Quakers today. Burket, who is second on pitching coach Bill Wagner's staff with a 4.08 earned run average, has made six appearances in relief for Penn this season. "Brian is kind of a middle guy, but he'll throw strikes," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "Temple swings the bat. We would love to have a left-handed pitcher for this game." Seddon expects up to four or five pitchers to see action in today's game, mostly ones who will not be depended on for extensive work this weekend, when Penn officially opens its new ballpark at Murphy Field with two doubleheaders against Cornell. Even though the midweek game does not have ramifications for the Quakers as far as postseason play is concerned, the Quakers insist they are not looking past Temple to the weekend series. "It's not an Ivy League game, but you still want to brush up," Gregorio said. "The last thing we want to do is fall below .500." Further spurring Penn is the bitter taste left by the 5-4 loss at the Vet. "We probably should have beat them the first time," Gregorio said. "That's one motivating factor that'll drive us to play better." While Seddon has his lineup mostly solidified, outfielder Jeremy McDowell and catcher Ralph Vasami will see action today. With freshman Andrew McCreery out sick earlier in the year, the senior McDowell made the most of his opportunity to play. McDowell leads the Quakers with a .444 batting average, and in 12 games he has 12 hits and 10 runs scored. The Quakers bench will be a little short today. Sophomore catcher Brian Fitzgerald and freshman standout Zach Hanan are both troubled by back problems. In 14 games, Hanan has managed a .378 batting average, second-best on the Quakers, and he leads the team with a .622 slugging percentage. May has been playing through a pulled groin, and freshman pitcher Kevin Wells' arm problems further stretch a struggling pitching staff.
(04/12/00 9:00am)
The Wildcats, a female a cappella group, complained about their treatment at the Penn Six show. The final song of the Princeton Wildcats' set during last Thursday's Pennsylvania Six-5000 show was Aretha Franklin's "Respect," but the visiting all-female a cappella group felt they were treated with anything but. The Wildcats e-mailed University President Judith Rodin a letter of complaint yesterday about Penn Six's conduct at the Irvine Auditorium show, entitled "Busted Interface." In the letter, the Wildcats expressed their anger over what they perceived as offensive actions by members of Penn Six and Penn Six fans. "We felt in retrospect that we had been invited specifically to be made fun of," the Wildcats wrote. The Princeton group's chief complaint, according to Wildcats President Jessica Williams, was that several men streaked across the stage during the Wildcats' set and allegedly touched some of the women. In the letter, the Wildcats wrote, "Members of a fraternity with ties to the Penn Six-5000 and likely with the knowledge of the singing group ran naked across the stage during one of our songs. There was unwanted physical contact made between these men and two of our members." But according to Penn Six Business Director and Engineering junior Jake Peters, the group had no prior knowledge of the incident. "We had no idea that was going to happen," Peters said. "We were backstage, we heard the noise and we came, but we missed it." The Wildcats were also upset about several other incidents that occurred at the show -- their names in the show's program were listed as suggestive names such as "Heywood Jablomi" and "Mike Hunt," Penn Six alumni were allegedly loud and disrespectful during the Wildcats' performance and members of Penn Six came onstage in costume during the Wildcats' last song. Williams said that many of the incidents taken alone would not have bothered the group, but that the "combination of everything created a situation that made us feel uncomfortable." Penn Six Musical Director Andrew Tam, a Wharton sophomore, said that antics such as the made-up program were meant to be funny. "The names were completely farcical," he said. "In addition, they introduced themselves as those names." Peters added that Penn Six's alumni denied saying anything derogatory to the Wildcats. Penn Six also received mixed reviews for an appearance at Princeton on March 25, with Princeton a cappella group the Roaring 20. According to Williams, Penn Six's antics at that performance should have clued them in. Adam Friedlander, president of the Roaring 20, said that "the general a cappella community here is really pissed off." Friedlander also said that when Penn Six performed at Princeton, the members did some things the Roaring 20 felt were not "quite appropriate for the 11-year-old cousins in the audience," including using profanity and making jokes about masturbation. Peters said the response Penn Six received from the audience at the Roaring 20 show was "one of the most warm and welcome receptions from a road show. We didn't hear one negative thing about that show."
(04/12/00 9:00am)
Even though the Cold War ended nearly a decade ago and more and more former communist-block countries across the globe are adopting the ideologies of democracy, one bitter battleground remains. North and South Korea, 55 years after their first division, are now trying to enter a new era of economic relations, and eventually, national unification. This effort was the main theme of talks given by Hong-Koo Lee, South Korean ambassador to the United States, and Stephen Bosworth, the American ambassador to South Korea, both of whom spoke to about 50 students and faculty members in Vance Hall yesterday. The talk was co-sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies and the Korean Economic Institute of America, and was part of the 2000 Korea Caravan, a lecture tour of major American cities. To start the discussion, Lee spoke of the turbulent history of the Korean peninsula in the 20th century. "In 1910, Korea was taken over by Japan," he said. "It was an age of imperialism, and Korea was a victim." However, in spite of this foreign occupation and the ensuing split between North and South, Lee insisted that South Koreans have struggled to earn prosperity. "Koreans have been working very hard to build up their country," Lee said. Stressing the economic progress that has been made, Lee compared the current per capita income of South Korea, which is around $10,000, to the meager per capita income in the 1950s. "At the end of the Korean War, our per capita income was $70 or $80," he said. After praising the South Korean economic recovery, Lee explained that re-unification will be an arduous -- but necessary -- task. "North Korea is a textbook example of a totalitarian regime," he said. Lee then turned the lecture over to Bosworth, who reinforced his fellow ambassador's message. He commended the South Korean people's recovery from the recent Asian economic crisis. "It was remarkable for me to be there at that time and watch how, from the depths of crisis, in a period of a few days, Koreans began to work to recover," Bosworth said. The chances of re-unification, he added, are bolstered by the recent decision of North and South Korea to hold a summit. Several students in attendance said they were not discouraged by the two men's skepticism that the reconciliation will come soon. "I think that in the context of 50 years, a little more time isn't going to matter," College sophomore Angie Kim said. Similarly, College senior Ji-Ye Hwang said she believes a slow re-unification is actually necessary, and that the world should not expect North Korea to fall apart. "That's probably the only way," she said. "China wouldn't let North Korea collapse."
(04/12/00 9:00am)
The Arizona senator will talk Friday as part of a program encouraging youth to vote. After losing the race for the Republican presidential nomination, it might seem that John McCain would stop campaigning. Yet on Friday, the Arizona senator will be stopping in Philadelphia to encourage young people to get involved in the political process and vote in the upcoming presidential election. McCain will kick off the We the Future 2000 national convention -- sponsored by the Foundation for Individual Responsibility and Social Trust -- at noon. The event, which will be held at One Liberty Place, is free to Penn students with valid identification. The specific topic of McCain's speech is not yet known, FIRST Associate Director Melinda Scott said last night. The former presidential candidate will also attend several other events in the Philadelphia area on Friday evening. Continuing the weekend's activities, University President Judith Rodin will introduce Jason Nastke -- the 20-year-old mayor of Valatie, N.Y. -- to audiences at the Penn Tower Hotel on Friday night. The three-day convention is designed to let people in the 18-to-35 age range "come together to discuss what issues are important to them and present them to the presidential candidates," Scott said. She added that the presumptive presidential nominees, Al Gore and George W. Bush, were invited to attend the event but are sending campaign representatives instead. People from both campaigns will face off in a debate on Saturday afternoon at Drexel University. The event is open to students. Approximately 1,000 delegates from across the nation -- who can register to attend the convention online -- are expected to travel to Philadelphia for the convention this weekend. On Saturday, Chuck D of the rap group Public Enemy will address delegates about the importance of First Amendment rights, and Marian Wright Edelman, president of Children's Defense Fund, will also speak. Delegates will spend Sunday attending skill-building workshops on topics such as grass roots organizing, lobbying, handling the media and running for office in their home town. Scott said the idea was to give delegates "action they can take in their own communities? to make a positive impact." FIRST was developed in 1995 when current president John Smith, a Philadelphia-area lawyer, wrote a newspaper column "calling for a bill of responsibilities to match the bill of rights," Scott said. "The basic idea is that not only is it your right to vote, but it's your responsibility," she added. FIRST has hosted dozens of regional conferences in the past several years in an effort to re-engage young adults in the political process. This weekend's convention marks the third national convention FIRST has hosted. At the convention, delegates will put the finishing touches on a Generational Action Plan -- a three-year-old document that has passed from convention to convention -- designed to give young people ideas for how to become more politically active in their own communities. The final version of GAP will be presented to delegates on Sunday night.
(04/12/00 9:00am)
Police will be present at all Fling events to minimize underage drinking this weekend. For most Penn students, the phrase "Spring Fling" is synonymous with alcohol -- and lots of it. But the University Police will join forces with the state Liquor Control Enforcement bureau this weekend to combat the underage drinking that has historically characterized the annual event. University Police Chief Maureen Rush said that, similar to last year, numerous Penn Police, Philadelphia police and LCE agents will be present throughout the weekend's activities to minimize underage drinking. "We're working on a protocol with the college house system, and we'll be using Spectaguards," she said. Rush added that the LCE is expected Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and the agency will be using the University Police headquarters on Chestnut Street as a base of operations. "[The LCE] is looking for underage drinkers, establishments serving underage drinkers and houses serving underage drinkers," Rush said. "We help [the LCE] in any way we can." LCE officials could not be reached for comment yesterday. Unlike last year -- when there was a ban on alcohol at most on-campus undergraduate parties following an alcohol-related death -- University security officers are not conducting mandatory searches for alcohol in students' bags at all dormitory entrances. According to University Police Deputy Chief of Operations Michael Fink, security guards will only check "suspicious" packages to ensure underage students aren't bringing alcohol into dorms. However, from Thursday until Saturday, no alcohol -- regardless of whether the student is of legal drinking age -- will be permitted into the Quadrangle, Hill College House or Hill Field. For Fling events in the Quad, no beverage containers will be permitted to be brought into the area. Any individual bringing alcohol into one of the other college houses may be required to show identification for proof of age. University officials emphasize that the current alcohol policy will be strictly enforced throughout the weekend, adding that University Police will give citations to those found with alcohol at Fling events. Last year, only 16 students were cited by the University Police and the LCE for violating University policy or state law -- down significantly from the 180 students cited in 1996. Cited students must either plead not guilty at a hearing, risking a large fine, or pay $100 to attend a three-hour alcohol awareness class on Saturdays. And students who receive citations will lose their driver's licenses for 90 days, regardless of which state issued the license.
(04/12/00 9:00am)
Deejay Young Eller will open the concert, which will feature the Roots and Ben Folds Five. The lineup is finally set for Friday's Spring Fling concert. Joining the Roots and Ben Folds Five will be New York-based deejay Young Eller. According to SPEC Concerts co-director and Engineering senior Ari Jaffess, the organizing committee selected Young Eller to open because he plays an eclectic selection of music. "We wanted both headliners to have a lot of time," Jaffess said of the committee's decision to hire an opening deejay. "And the bands both wanted a lot of time as well." So far, ticket sales for the concert, which will be held on Hill Field rain or shine, have been steady, according to SPEC Chairman Jon Herrmann. With a total capacity of 6,000, Herrmann said the event organizers were hoping to sell more than 4,000 tickets. As of yesterday, 2,900 total concert tickets had been sold, Jaffess said. Of that number, Jaffess estimated that 2,250 were sold to students, and 650 to the general public. Last year's show, headlined by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Run DMC, sold about 2,500 tickets. Tickets have been for sale on Locust Walk since March 27, and will continue to be sold on the Walk from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. today and tomorrow. They are priced at $15 for Penn students and $23 for the general public until Thursday. "Ticket sales have been going crazy on the Walk," Jaffess noted. "We have been averaging about 400 tickets per day." The concert has also been advertised on radio stations, and tickets were made available to the general public through Ticketmaster. Herrmann said he believes the big-name bands headlining this year's Fling played a role in the high sales. "Ticket sales are always defined by who is playing," Herrmann said. "And this year is a bigger show, with more popular bands." The day of the show, tickets will be sold at the concert with student tickets priced at $20 and general public admission at $25. Students will be admitted onto Hill Field at 7 p.m., while the concert itself is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. The theme for this year's Spring Fling is themed "Fling Me Baby One More Time," inspired by teen singing sensation Britney Spears' hit single. Philadelphia-based rap and R&B; group The Roots have been making waves on the music scene since 1987 with their unique blend of vocals and drum beats. Their recent album, Things Fall Apart, brought them critical and commercial success. Ben Folds Five, a unique guitar-free trio, made a mainstream name for themselves with their hit single "Brick" in 1997. Their album Whatever and Ever Amen went platinum that same year.
(04/12/00 9:00am)
In addressing a packed room of Wharton graduate students yesterday afternoon, motivational speaker and best-selling author Stephen Covey used a seemingly unconventional teaching technique to convey a rather conventional lesson: It is always best in business to join together and work toward a common goal. Covey, the internationally known author of The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, asked the roomful of students to close their eyes and then point north. When nearly everyone began pointing in opposite directions, Covey told the audience that, "The essence of leadership is to get people pointing in the same direction." Covey came to Penn as part of the Zweig Executive Dinner Series Committee. His appearance in one of the largest rooms of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall proved so popular that every seat was taken, leaving groups of students standing in the aisles and sitting on the floor. Covey was recently named one of Time magazine's 25 most influential people. Over the past 30 years, Covey has worked as a consultant with international companies, focusing largely on leadership and time management skills. But he is perhaps best known for his motivational book, which was a mainstay on The New York Times bestseller list for several years. Covey discussed several of his now-famous "seven habits" of success in his talk yesterday. Drawing on both personal and professional experiences, Covey, dressed in a stylish black suit, lectured for the first half of his hour-long talk on what he considers to be four qualities of good leadership: modeling, pathfinding, aligning and empowering. Making his talk Penn-specific, Covey also applied his common goal theory with Wharton's program of team-learning. "I think that is so important, so valuable, that you are having team-learning experiences," Covey said. "The world is very interdependent. You cannot think independently in an interdependent world." To draw an example, Covey equated being overly independent with trying to play tennis with a golf ball. "You can do it, but it doesn't work well," he joked. When asked what advice he could give to graduating seniors, Covey offered some tips that could well be relevant to all students at Penn. "Write a personal mission statement and live by it," the author said. "Read and take full advantage of the learning opportunities here. Try to get the job that taps into your passions." Writing a personal statement is one of the "seven habits" of success that Covey outlined in his book. Calling his experience on campus "tremendously pleasurable and positive," Covey wished the students luck in finding the jobs that they wanted. Many of the students who attended Covey's talk were at least familiar with the "seven habits," but had not necessarily read his book. "My husband has read several of his books, and he says that they are very good," said Vanessa Pfeiffer, a second-year Wharton student pursuing her master of business administration degree. "My friends said that I shouldn't miss this opportunity." First-year MBA student Dave Sturek added, "I thought it was very interesting. It was very typical of what I heard and discussed before, but he is very inspirational and gives a lot of people hope that they can live their lives in a similar way that he does."
(04/12/00 9:00am)
An East meets West cultural extravaganza came to Irvine Auditorium on Friday night. Hindi a cappella group Penn Masala performed with jazz a cappella group Counterparts for a one-night-only performance dubbed Curry and All That Jazz. The show marked the first time a minority a cappella group has performed with an English singing group in Penn's history. Though Counterparts and Penn Masala have appeared at each other's shows in the past, this was the first time they held a formal joint show. "We guest performed for [Counterparts] last year," said Penn Masala singer Abhi Patwardhan, a Wharton senior. "They're an awesome group." More than 1,000 students were in attendance. Audience members said they enjoyed the contrast between the two distinguished singing groups. "I'm very delighted by it," Engineering junior Kevin Chan said. "It's a good mix. Penn Masala is very entertaining and funny, and Counterparts is an excellent group." The performance opened with a spoof of Michael Jackson's Beat It, in which the two groups duked it out on stage to an applauding audience. Counterparts, decked out in tuxedos and black dresses, performed from its vast repertoire of jazz and pop classics, while Penn Masala, garbed in colorful punjabees, sang popular Hollywood hits and English pop songs. Both groups mixed a good dose of humor with their musical talent. Penn Masala provided comic translations of some of their songs and poked fun at South Asian stereotypes with their song Show Me The Meaning of Being Desi, a parody of the popular Backstreet Boys song. This was also the last big performance on campus for each of the groups this year, and they took the opportunity to honor their outgoing seniors and their alumni, who came on stage to sing a few songs with them. The two groups came together for the show's grand finale, in which they performed popular Hindi song Tu Cheez Badi Hai.
