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(02/15/01 10:00am)
Losing to Princeton isn't the end of the world.
At least that's what Penn men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy told his players.
Tuesday night's 14-point loss at the Palestra put Penn a game behind Princeton in the Ivy League standings, but Dunphy isn't taking a fatalistic approach.
"We can't dwell on it,"Dunphy said. "We let a lot of people down [on Tuesday], but the only way we can [bounce] back is to keep playing hard."
The Quakers' situation now in the Ivy League is similar to 1998-99. That year, Penn lost its first contest to Princeton at home (in the infamous 'Heartbreak at the Palestra') to fall a game back in the Ancient Eight.
But three days after defeating Penn in February of 1999, Princeton lost to Yale. The following weekend, the Tigers fell to Harvard.
Meanwhile, Penn ran the table in the Ivy League and sealed the title with a 25-point victory at Jadwin.
However, there are several differences in the two situations. Penn's only league loss was to Princeton in 1998-99, while the Quakers have already dropped a decision to Harvard this season.
And the 1998-99 Quakers, who went 8-4 in their non-conference regular season schedule, defeated Big 5 rivals Temple, La Salle and St. Joseph's.
The 2000-01 Quakers are 3-12 outside of the Ancient Eight and finished 0-4 in the Big 5.
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Penn had a day off from practice yesterday.
It certainly wasn't a reward for losing by 14 to Princeton on Tuesday.
But it wasn't a punishment either.
The NCAAdictates that a team take off one day a week, and because the Quakers worked out on Sunday and Monday to prepare for Princeton, Penn's day off happened to be yesterday.
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Penn guard David Klatsky is closing in on the Quakers' single-season assist record.
The record, set by Dave Wohl in 1971-72 and tied by Paul Chambers in 1991-92, is 151.
Klatsky currently has 120 assists through 22 games, an average of 5.45 per game. He needs to average 4.43 assists per game in Penn's final seven contests to break the record.
"If it happens, that'll be great for David,"Dunphy said. "But we can't do anything out of the ordinary to get him the record."
Wohl averaged 5.21 assists per game in 1971-72, while Chambers averaged 5.80 assists per game in 1991-92.
Klatsky is currently second in the Ivy League in assists, behind only Harvard's Elliot Prasse-Freeman (128 in 20 games).
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The Quakers' other starting guard is also on pace to break a team record.
Lamar Plummer has 70 three-pointers through 22 games, an average of 3.18 per game. He needs to average 3.0 three-pointers in Penn's remaining seven games to tie Matt Maloney's mark of 91, set in 1992-93.
Plummer's 70 threes is already tied (with Matt Langel's mark from a year ago) for fourth-best in team history.
With just three more three-pointers, Plummer will pass Jed Ryan and Garett Kreitz to move into second place.
Plummer currently leads the Ivy League in threes. He has 13 more three-pointers than the runner-up, Yale's Chris Leanza.
*
Penn committed 10 fouls in the last 1:56 against Princeton on Tuesday, leading to 19 Tigers free throws. Koko Archibong committed Penn's last foul with 16 seconds remaining and the Quakers trailing by a seemingly insurmountable margin of 13 points.
Princeton fans -- and even some Penn fans -- booed the incessant fouling, but Dunphy defended his decision.
"Why would it be fouling too much?" Dunphy said. "Later in the year, we might be down by less than that and need to foul and we might make a few threes.
"You have to instill a mentality that there's a never-quit attitude out there in your players."
*
Princeton made 17 of those 19 free throws in the last two minutes.
"They came through at the foul line,"Dunphy said on Tuesday. "They needed to make them and they did."
Princeton guard Ahmed El-Nokali, who sank all 11 of his free throws on Tuesday, said that Princeton coach John Thompson III makes his players take 50 foul shots a day.
"We're ready for those situations,"El-Nokali said on Tuesday.
Penn, meanwhile, continued its free-throw struggles on Tuesday, shooting just 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) from the line. And Quakers guards Lamar Plummer and Dave Klatsky were a each a dismal 0-for-2.
Penn is last in the Ivy League in free-throw shooting at 61.7 percent.
Princeton leads the Ancient Eight with a 72.2 percent mark from the foul line.
(02/14/01 10:00am)
This wasn't the February 9, 1999 game -- when Princeton came back from a 26-point deficit to win, 50-49.
This wasn't the March 2, 1999 game -- when Penn smacked the Tigers by 25 in Jadwin.
This wasn't even the March 7, 2000 game -- when the Quakers capped a perfect Ivy season with a 73-52 win and a net-cutting ceremony.
No, last night's 67-53 Princeton win over the Penn men's basketball team at the Palestra was rather ordinary.
The game was ugly at some times, sloppy at others. It was rarely a basketball clinic.
But it was still Penn-Princeton. And it still had a monumental effect on the Ivy League standings.
Princeton (11-8, 6-1 Ivy League) now has a one-game lead over Penn (8-14, 5-2) with seven league games remaining for each team.
"It's Penn-Princeton. It's what college basketball is all about," Princeton coach John Thompson III said. "This is a big win for us."
But although Princeton never trailed in last night's game, it wasn't exactly easy for the Tigers.
Late in the second half, the Quakers entertained thoughts of revenge for that monumental Princeton comeback two years ago.
For Penn, it wouldn't have been quite as big of a comeback. The Quakers largest deficit had been 14 -- not 26, as Princeton's was two years ago.
But it was certainly something. After a pair of Koko Archibong free throws, Penn had sliced the lead to six with 4:11 to go.
And the Quakers fans were vibrantly alive. White balloon sticks were waving and the Palestra shook like a kettle drum.
But the excitement and thoughts of a comeback were fleeting. Princeton guard Ahmed El-Nokali drove for a crushing layup that pushed the lead to eight.
And then, following a Geoff Owens free throw, Princeton's Kyle Wente found himself open after a Penn trap and drained a three-pointer.
The lead was at 10 and would increase to as much as 18 in the fouling frenzy of the last two minutes.
Princeton had done what Penn couldn't two years ago -- stave off the comeback.
"There was no sense of panic at all," said El-Nokali, who led all scorers with 17 points.
The key to Princeton's win last night in the sold-out Palestra was patience. The Tigers had it. The Quakers did not.
Sure, Princeton committed 11 turnovers. But the Tigers were content to run the shot clock down until they found a good shot. In the first half, most of those good shots were threes -- Princeton took 16 and made five. In the second half, the Tigers found openings inside with layups and the presence of 6'8" freshman Konrad Wysocki (12 points and 10 rebounds on the game).
Penn, meanwhile, did have some opportunities --"To be quite honest about it, they just missed shots," Thompson said -- but the Quakers often rushed shots and had fewer open looks than the Tigers.
"We're not a well-oiled machine by any stretch offensively," Dunphy said.
Lamar Plummer, Penn's leading scorer this year entering last night's game, totalled just four points on 2-of-12 shooting and missed all six of his three-pointers.
"I think we made a conscious effort knowing at all times where Plummer was," El-Nokali said.
But it wasn't just Plummer who struggled offensively. Excluding center Geoff Owens, who led the Quakers with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, Penn shot 26 percent from the field.
The Quakers scored only 13 points in the first half and trailed by 12 at the break.
Penn had won the opening tap, but Plummer missed a three-pointer and Princeton forward Andre Logan hit a one-handed turnaround to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Penn would get no closer the rest of the game.
"I would say that it's very, very disappointing right now," Owens said. "This was one of my last home games at the Palestra and my last Princeton game at home. A win would have given us a leg up in the Ivy League."
News and Notes
Of the last 24 Penn-Princeton games, 15 have been decided by 11 or more points... The team to win the first Penn-Princeton game has swept the series in nine of the last 10 years. The lone exception is the 1998-99 season.... The Tigers took 19 free throws in the final 1:56 last night. They made 17.
(02/13/01 10:00am)
Oh Princeton basketball, I feel sorry for you. I really do.
You play your home games in the corner of a building everyone knows should only be used as an indoor track.
Your Halloween-esque school colors are the same as the putrid Cincinnati Bengals.
Your fans continue to think they're clever when they yell, "Sit down, you suck," whenever an opposing player heads to the bench for a breather.
The train route to your campus includes something pathetically called the Dinky.
And your retention rate is worse than the XFL's -- much worse.
I hate to do this, as I know it must hurt as bad as getting a novocaine-less root canal from a less-than-steady-armed dentist, but I've just got to run through the list once more.
Your All-Ivy center, Chris Young, left to play minor league ball for an organization whose major league team hasn't been within sniffing distance of the playoffs in nearly a decade.
Your head coach, Bill Carmody, left to accept a position with a school that has a permanent seat in the basement of the Big Ten.
Your shooting guard, Spencer Gloger, left for the school he wanted to attend in the first place.
Your top assistant coach, Joe Scott, fled for the Air Force.
Eugene Baah left your team.
Chris Krug took a leave of absence.
Ray Robins took a year off.
That's five players and two coaches. None graduated, but none are with your fine program at the moment.
(I told you there'd be no novocaine.)
Oh Princeton basketball, I feel sorry for you. I really do.
That's why I especially applauded your university when it announced last month that it will eschew loans for grants and scholarships.
The timing is just so perfect. Maybe now you'll be able to convince a few players to stay.
I guess those incredibly pretentious-sounding eating clubs haven't been enough of a draw. And neither has the socialist basketball on the court.
But some green for the blue bloods? That'll surely do it.
If not, then you'll be playing with a another brand-new quintet at Jadwin.
Oh Princeton basketball, I feel sorry for you. I really do.
I know. It's tough fielding a basketball team when your admissions standards are just so far above everyone else's.
I know. It's tough when a school like Penn can put real athletes on the basketball court.
I know. It's tough when you have to go up against guys like Koko Archibong and Geoff Owens and Ugonna Onyekwe, guys with the slam dunk in their repertoire.
I know. It's tough.
Why don't you just go cry about it?
I know it must be disheartening when you can only beat a Division III team like The College of New Jersey by 10 points.
I know it must be rough thinking about how Penn clocked you twice last year.
I know it'll be even worse for you today, when a not-quite-as-good-as-last-year Penn team still clocks you, 64-46.
Whatever five castaways you masquerade as starters (and let me remind you that they haven't been the same in any game this year), they just can't match up with the Quakers' first five.
And all those defections and desertions certainly haven't helped your bench.
So be prepared for a somber ride home -- and don't expect the mood to get any better back at Old Nassau, where your women's team hosts Penn tonight. The Quakers' women have a 13-game winning streak, while the Tigers have one win (and 18 losses) all season.
Oh Princeton basketball, I feel sorry for you. I really do.
(02/09/01 10:00am)
The non-conference schedule is over.
The hopes for a big regular-season upset have vanished.
The dreams of anything better than a 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament are all but dashed.
But that doesn't mean the Penn men's basketball team will sleepwalk through the rest of its schedule -- not with the Ivy League title on the line.
"Obviously, we're disappointed with the way our non-conference schedule played out," Penn captain Geoff Owens said. "But from the beginning of the season, our goal has been to win the Ivy League, and it's still an achievable goal."
The Quakers (7-12, 4-0 Ivy League) travel to Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend for a pair of Ancient Eight games -- a pair of Ancient Eight games that are anything but shoo-in victories.
Owens knows how tough it is to win a game at the Crimson's Lavietes Pavilion. In the three times he's played there, the Quakers have lost an overtime game, won by a five-point margin, and barely escaped defeat when a Dan Clemente buzzer-beater was a little off the mark.
"I've never had an easy game up at their place," Owens said. "This is a game we're not looking past."
Harvard (11-7, 4-2) has dropped league games to Yale and Columbia, but has downed Dartmouth twice and beaten Ivy foes Brown and Cornell.
A bit of an enigma? Perhaps. But the Crimson have more than their share of weapons.
Clemente is a deadly shooter; he's averaged 18.3 points per game and has shot 81 percent from the foul line and 37 percent from three-point range.
And Clemente hasn't even been Harvard's most effective shooter this season. Patrick Harvey has hit 44 percent of his three-point attempts and has posted a league-best 85.5 mark from the foul line.
"They have guys that can make threes and make plays," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said.
And Harvard has been a pesky team on the defensive end. The Crimson have recorded 202 steals -- 37 more than their opponents. Guard Andrew Gellert has 59 of those steals.
"Harvard does a nice job defensively," Dunphy said. "They steal a lot, so we'll have to be extra careful with our passes."
Dartmouth, meanwhile, doesn't seem to pose as much of a threat to Penn. After all, the Big Green are just 1-5 in the league and 6-13 overall.
But the travel is never beneficial.
"A Saturday night Ivy League game on the road is always tough," Owens said.
And Dartmouth had a three-point halftime lead against Penn at John W. Berry Sports Center last year.
"Dartmouth -- they can go off," Dunphy said. "[Guard Greg] Buth can go off. [Forward Mark] Kissling can go off. [Center Ian] McGinnis is a nice rebounder. And I like Flinder Boyd, their point guard."
Buth is averaging 17.8 points per game. Kissling is shooting 38 percent from three-point range. McGinnis has averaged 13.8 points and 10.8 rebounds in league play. And Boyd is averaging more than five assists a game.
But Buth and Clemente and company aren't what worries Penn senior guard Lamar Plummer.
"To be honest, I don't see what other teams can do to hurt us," Plummer said. "I see us hurting ourselves. And that's what's been hurting us from day one."
The Quakers have not done as well as they hoped this season. Penn's RPI is currently 217 out of 319.
The Quakers have played seven teams in the RPI's top 100, but lost each game. And Penn hasn't won a game against a team currently ranked higher than 250th. In fact, the Quakers' biggest victory, according to current RPI standings, was against No. 256 Yale last Friday.
This does not bode well for the Quakers when tournament seedings are announced next month.
But, then again, the Quakers aren't quite as concerned with that at the moment.
"Our goal is the same as the beginning of the season -- to win the Ivy League," Penn guard David Klatsky said. "If we do win it and get a 15 or 16 seed, so be it."
(02/08/01 10:00am)
Penn fencer Kim Linton has been invited to compete in the Maccabiah Games, a Jewish Olympic-style competition.
The games take place on July 16-26. To be eligible, a fencer had to complete an application of his or her best results and own a national ranking on the Senior's Open points list.
Linton, a sophomore, competed in the NCAA Individual Championships last year (she finished 18th) and at the Canadian Elite in 1999 (she finished 32nd). She also won the epee division of the Temple Open in November.
Linton will compete as an individual in the epee division and as a member of the U.S. team at the Maccabiah Games.
"I'm excited about competing in the Maccabiah Games," Linton said in a press release. "It has been my goal to make the team since the last one four years ago."
Linton, a Vorhees, N.J. native, has a 29-7 record this season.
Dave Micahnik, the Quakers' fencing coach, is a two-time Maccabiah coach.
Linton was 10-5 in the Ivy League last year and placed 10th in IFAs. She was an All-Ivy selection in 1999-2000.
(01/30/01 10:00am)
Penn men's basketball team guard Duane King will be sidelined for three weeks after an MRI yesterday revealed that he has a sprained right knee.
King suffered the injury in the first half of the Quakers' loss to St. Joseph's on Saturday. He had to be helped off the court and did not return to action.
Penn coach Fran Dunphy had feared King's injury was a season-ending torn MCL.
This is the Penn sophomore's second major injury of the season -- and both were on the same leg.
King underwent surgery on October 6 for a broken bone in his right foot and missed the first six weeks of the season.
He returned against Temple on December 29 and scored nine points in 23 minutes.
Overall, King has seen action for 84 minutes in nine games this season. He has averaged 3.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. King has also recorded five steals.
The Louisville, Ky., native played in 23 games last year, scoring 27 points and grabbing 20 rebounds.
King's injury leaves Penn somewhat understaffed up top. Charlie Copp and Dan Solomito have gotten significant time behind starters Lamar Plummer and David Klatsky. But freshman Jeff Schiffner -- who has totalled just 53 minutes this season -- now likely becomes Penn's third guard off the bench.
(01/29/01 10:00am)
How do you stop Ugonna Onyekwe?
Last year, St. Joseph's had no idea. This year, the Hawks had their answer -- junior forward Bill Phillips.
A year ago, Onyekwe scored 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting in Penn's 68-65 win over St. Joe's. The Penn forward had five offensive rebounds, three blocks and basically gave the Hawks fits all night.
But the outcome was quite different on Saturday night. With Phillips guarding him one-on-one for most of the game, Onyekwe's numbers -- 3-of-15 for six points and two rebounds -- were anemic. And, more importantly, St. Joe's was victorious this year.
"I think [Onyekwe] is awful gifted," St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said. "But Billy plays such a smart game that sometimes he doesn't get credit for how hard he plays. He's a hard-playing dude."
And that hard play -- hard, clean play, for that matter, as Phillips was only tagged for one foul -- troubled Onyekwe all night.
Granted, Onyekwe has been a lot more inconsistent this year. And his shot has often resembled Chris Dudley from the free-throw line.
Sure, Onyekwe had some easy opportunities against Phillips. Sure, Onyekwe's shooting was as off the mark as it has ever been.
But Phillips' defense facilitated those struggles. Two inches taller and 15 pounds heavier than his counterpart, Phillips prevented Onyekwe from getting position inside. And he didn't allow Onyekwe to get many good shots, shots last year's Ivy League Rookie of the Year could drain with any sort of regularity.
In fact, of the three shots Onyekwe hit from the field, only one -- a turn-around hook in the first half -- went in cleanly. Onyekwe's other two shots rolled or bounced around in the cylinder before finally falling.
It wasn't just defense, though. Phillips also prevented Onyekwe from grabbing his usual lion's share of boards. St. Joe's outrebounded Penn, 44-26, on Saturday night, and nowhere was that disparity more evident than at the power forward spot. Phillips had a dozen rebounds -- 10 more than Onyekwe.
Other teams have tried to double-team Onyekwe in stretches this season, but on Saturday night, it was almost exclusively Phillips versus Onyekwe on the Penn side of the floor.
"We end up leaving our inside guys almost one on one because we're so emphatic about the three-pointer," Martelli said.
And right from the start, it was evident that Phillips had the better of his matchup with Onyekwe.
Phillips forced Onyekwe to travel twice in the first four minutes, and after that, the Penn forward never really seemed comfortable.
Phillips didn't have the same kind of matchup with Onyekwe on the other end of the floor, as the Quakers often played a 2-3 zone.
But the St. Joe's forward was no less effective on offense. He scored 14 points and missed only one shot from the field.
"[Phillips] is just a good player," Martelli said.
(01/26/01 10:00am)
You know the Penn women's squash team is good.
Or maybe you don't.
You know the Penn women's squash team won the national championship last year.
Or maybe you don't.
But even if you say you know, I'd be willing to bet a Super Bowl-sized chunk of change that you don't really know.
We're talking champions here. National Champions. The equivalent of the Michigan State men's basketball team. Or the Oklahoma football team.
Think about it. If you were at Michigan State or Oklahoma, you'd probably be a regular at Spartans and Sooners games (if you could get tickets before they sell out).
But I'll go double or nothing and say you've never been to a Penn women's squash meet.
The largest crowd Holleran can recall at the Ringe Squash Courts is just a couple hundred.
And those couple hundred people were exclusively alumni, family and friends.
That's not a surprise to squash players, however.
"It's not exactly a spectator sport like basketball or baseball," Penn senior Rina Borromeo said.
But it's not like squash is spectator-unfriendly. The setting is intimate. The play is fast and furious. And matches usually last no more than an hour.
"All of my friends who have never seen the sport before, when they come, they get really psyched about the sport," Borromeo said.
The problem, however, isn't really getting people to like the sport once they've witnessed it -- squash's worldwide popularity demonstrates that at least some people get it -- but not enough people here at Penn give it that first chance.
You should give it that chance.
Why? Because this team is so good.
You can experience squash for the first time while watching a dominating team, a team like the mid-90s Chicago Bulls.
Well, maybe that's an overstatement, but we're talking Lakers not Clippers, Ravens not Browns, White Sox not Cubs.
I can't stress this enough. The Penn women's squash team won a national championship last year.
And last year wasn't a fluke. The Quakers aren't one-hit wonders. They aren't the Baha Men.
Maybe Penn won't repeat, but these aren't exactly lean times for the Quakers.
"Worst-case scenario, we'll be fourth in the nation," Penn coach Demer Holleran said.
Fourth place? At worst?
Wow. We're talking about a women's squash equivalent of the late-80s Miami Hurricanes.
We're talking about a team that's significantly better, relative to its competition, than any other team at Penn.
Yeah, the wrestling and fencing teams are good, but they aren't national championship-caliber.
And yeah, the sprint football squad won the CSFL title last year -- but that's a five-team league.
It's the women's squash program that truly stands out. Like Randy Moss at Marshall. Or Jerry Rice at Mississippi Valley State.
But sadly, Penn's squash success has not translated into anything more than a passing notice here on campus.
Maybe you've read an article or two about the Quakers' women's squash team. Maybe sophomore No. 1 player Runa Reta is in one of your lecture classes. Maybe you've congratulated freshman No. 2 player Dafna Wegner on a recent victory.
But I'll go out on a limb with another wager here -- you have no idea where the Ringe Squash Courts are (they're behind Hutchinson Gymnasium).
I know, I know. Maybe you're a die-hard, face-painting, sign-making men's basketball fan.
But last I checked, the Penn men's basketball team was just 5-10. And while most would still bet that the Quakers will once again win the Ivies, let's face it, they won't be NCAA champions.
They won't be the women's squash team.
"Our basketball team could be 0-22 and they'll still get more attention than us," Holleran said.
And that's fine. That's expected. Holleran and company aren't hoping for sell-out crowds.
But a national championship squad should expect at least a smattering of support from the average Penn student.
The Penn women's squash team plays its next home match against Harvard on February 10. If you aren't attending the men's basketball game at Dartmouth that day, maybe you should head down to the squash courts to watch the women's squash team.
After all, they are national champions.
(01/24/01 10:00am)
Question: Who would have thought that, on an average summer day eight years after he had graduated, Paul Chambers would be golfing with Penn men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy? Answer: Nobody. At least not 13 years ago.
You see, 13 years ago, Chambers was a freshman at Penn with only dreams of playing at the Palestra.
He had been recruited to play football for the Quakers. And he did, as a safety and cornerback.
But the Episcopal Academy (Pa.) graduate's football obligations caused him to miss varsity basketball tryouts. So Chambers walked on to the JV squad.
It was an inauspicious beginning for Chambers, and certainly not one that hinted at any future Dunphy-Chambers golf matches.
But part of the reason for that was the fact that Dunphy was not yet a coach at Penn.
Tom Schneider held the Quakers' reins during the 1988-89 season - Chambers' first year at Penn - but the coach didn't exactly keep the freshman guard back.
Chambers garnered some varsity minutes that first year due to injury - but it was Dunphy who allowed the undersized point guard to become a starter in his sophomore season.
"Dunph was the one who gave me a chance to play, and I'm always thankful and indebted to him because of that," Chambers said.
Dunphy, though, seemed to help himself out as well.
By the end of his three-year career, Chambers was No. 1 on Penn's all-time assists list. His mark of 396 has since been surpassed by Jerome Allen and Michael Jordan, but Chambers still holds Penn's per-game assists record at 4.63.
"Most of it was due to hard work," Dunphy said of Chambers' success. "But he had great speed and quickness, and made good decisions, and was a tough guy."
And Chambers provided leadership to the pre-Allen-and-Maloney Penn team. He was captain of the 1991-92 team and helped Dunphy mold a team that would post a 42-0 Ivy League record in the three years after Chambers graduated.
"He and Vince Curran [1992 Penn graduate] taught me as much about coaching basketball as I've ever learned," Dunphy said. "It was just the way they approached the game every single day. They appreciated their opportunities."
That competitive flair is still evident in Chambers. Each year, he returns for the Penn alumni game.
This year he ended the game on the floor in despair after his team, the Earthquakes, missed a last-second three-pointer that could have sent the game into overtime against the Jordan-led Highballers.
"The competitive juices are just always in you as an athlete," Chambers said.
But Chambers - who owns a commercial printing and copy business in Malvern, Pa. - doesn't play much basketball any more.
He had competed in various men's leagues in Upper Marion, Pa., and Media, but now his athletic passion is golf.
"In golf, you don't have to be in that good of shape," Chambers said with a laugh.
He golfs occasionally with Dunphy - quite unbelievable considering what each was doing a decade-and-a-half ago.
But maybe even more amazing than that was what transpired when Dunphy and Chambers hit the links in Maryland last summer.
On the eighth hole, Chambers' tee shot went right into the cup. A hole-in-one for the man Dunphy describes as a "great competitor."
"It was a pleasure to watch it go in," Dunphy said dryly. "Of course, I had to hear about it the whole rest of the night, too."
(01/18/01 10:00am)
Hobart College's Hall of Fame ceremony on October 6 has all the makings of a Van Arsdale family reunion.
Current Penn men's lacrosse coach Marc Van Arsdale, a 1985 Hobart graduate, will be among those inducted.
But Marc won't be the only Van Arsdale heading to the Statesmen's Hall of Fame this year. His older brother Guy and father William will also be inducted.
"To go in with my brother and father makes it extra special, without a doubt," the Penn head man said.
Van Arsdale was a first team All-American and the Division III National Attackman of the Year in 1985. He was also a two-time Most Outstanding Player of the Division III National Championship game.
The four-time Hobart letterman is currently 12th on Hobart's all-time scoring list and has the 13th-most goals in Statesmen history.
Van Arsdale is in his fifth season as Penn's head coach, where his record is 21-32. In his first season at the helm, Van Arsdale led the Quakers to their first Ivy League win in three years and their first .500 season of the decade.
Guy Van Arsdale was a goalie for the Geneva, N.Y., school and led the Statesmen to four straight National Championships. He is currently in his 13th season as the head coach at Rochester Institute of Technology.
William Van Arsdale was Hobart's chief financial officer from 1973-85 and will be inducted as an athletic benefactor.
The Van Arsdale trio will become the first brother-brother-father threesome to be inducted into the Hobart Hall of Fame.
October's Hall of Fame ceremony, however, will not be the first one to feature multiple Van Arsdales. Marc and Guy were both inducted into the Geneva Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
(01/16/01 10:00am)
I won't lie to you. This was going to be a column about how Penn and Princeton are still the teams to beat in the Ivy League.
Was.
But, in just a minute and 40 seconds, Steve Donahue changed that.
The former Penn assistant coach and current Cornell head coach walked into the postgame press conference on Saturday and gave a teary-eyed speech on what it was like to come back to the Palestra as an opposing coach.
"When I came like a week ago, I said I'm not going to be emotional about this return," Donahue said. "And I thought I did a pretty good job of it.
"But when I'm going through the [handshake] line, to be honest with you, I'm looking those players in the eyes, and..."
And Donahue could only breathe out in a puff of choked-up emotion.
Suddenly, that Penn-Princeton column went on the backburner.
Those backdoor cuts and highlight-reel dunks, those Ivy crowns and NCAA tournament games -- they just didn't seem so important anymore.
You can stand there and discuss how Princeton's still winning, despite the fact that the number of orange-and-black blazer-wearing fans who can recite the Tigers' starting five is roughly equal to the number of passes Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper completed on Sunday.
You can stand there and discuss how there's no way Penn would have started oh-and-eight if the Quakers played like they did last weekend.
But Donahue reminded me that there's a whole lot more to this game than that.
Donahue's eyes weren't watery in that press conference because his team was dominated on the court, or because Cornell might need a miracle to get back in the Ivy race.
"This business is all about people and relationships," Donahue said. "And that was what got me. Nothing about the game. Nothing about this building, although I love it. It's all about who I worked for and the players I coached and the people that supported the program."
Donahue was an assistant coach here for 10 years.
Ten years. Think about it. That's a heckuva long time. About nine years longer than Hanson or Vanilla Ice were popular. About five times as long as the average marriage.
Heck, for Donahue, this was a marriage. In those 10 years, he probably spent more time with Penn head coach Fran Dunphy than his wife Pamela.
Donahue was in the office early in the morning. He was coaching from the sideline or studying film late into the evening.
He's known Geoff Owens for nearly five years. He's known the Cornell players for a few months.
So it's understandable that Donahue came into that press conference talking about his former players and coaches, rather than Ray Mercedes' eight points or Cornell's 16 first-half points.
And, along the same lines, it's understandable that the Quakers players couldn't quite avoid looking over at the visiting bench during Saturday's game.
"Once the game started, I tried to put it out of my mind," Penn senior Geoff Owens said. "But I could still hear his voice and his distinctive whistle he would use that always made me turn my head."
Yeah, when teary-eyed Steve Donahue gave his press conference speech, I felt those thoughts of that Penn-and-Princeton-are-still-good column seeping out of my head like body heat on a mid-January night.
Donahue finished his mini-speech with a sort-of nervous smile. He had spent nearly two minutes discussing something other than the normal minutiae that sports writers obsess over.
But that wasn't a bad thing. Those two minutes weren't wasted.
"I just got off my soapbox there," Donahue said. "Any questions?"
Do you think Penn and Princeton are still...
Wait, nevermind. No questions, Steve. I think I understand.
(01/13/01 10:00am)
The Penn men's basketball team spoiled Steve Donahue's return to the Palestra with a 64-49 victory over Cornell on Saturday night. Donahue, who was an assistant coach at Penn for 10 years, is in his first season as head coach of the Big Red.
The Quakers (3-9, 2-0 Ivy League) went on a 24-5 run early in the first half and cruised to their 23rd consecutive victory in the Ancient Eight. The last time Penn lost in the Ivy League was on February 9, 1999, when the Quakers blew a 33-9 halftime lead and fell to Princeton, 50-49.
Penn's frontcourt dominated against Cornell (4-10, 0-2), as Geoff Owens, Koko Archibong and Ugonna Onyekwe combined for 42 points and 19 rebounds on 16-of-22 shooting. Owens led all scorers with 17 points.
The Quakers defense was solid for the second consecutive night, as Penn held Cornell to 30.5 percent shooting from the field.
Penn committed 19 turnovers, but shot 56.1 percent from the field and a better-than-usual 14-of-19 from the foul line.
The Quakers return to action on Wednesday night at Delaware.
(01/12/01 10:00am)
For the ninth straight year, the Penn men's basketball team won its Ivy League home opener. The Quakers (2-9, 1-0 Ivy League) defeated Columbia (4-9, 0-1), 65-44, on Friday night at the Palestra.
Four of Penn's five starters scored in double figures, led by sophomore forward Koko Archibong''s 18.
Chris Wiedemann led Columbia with 12 points and nine rebounds.
The Quakers, who have now won 22 consecutive Ivy League games, went on a 13-point run midway through the first half to swell a one-point lead to 14. Ugonna Onyekwe blocked two Lions' shots and Lamar Plummer had a steal during that run.
Overall, Penn had four blocks, six steals and held Columbia to 35.7 percent from the field.
"I would like to think our defense was what got us going tonight," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "I think it's defense that fuels our team."
However, the Quakers' offense was more than servicable against the Lions. Penn shot 49.1 percent from the field and dished out a season-high 20 assists. Onyekwe had 15 points, seven boards and seven assists, while center Geoff Owens had a double-double - 10 points and 11 boards.
But Penn's leading scorer, guard Lamar Plummer, was held in check by Columbia guard Craig Austin. Averaging 17.3 points per game prior to Friday night's contest, Plummer only scored five points and took only five shots against the Lions. And his only first-half shot was a fast-break layup miss.
"I thought Craig did a terrific job," Columbia coach Armond Hill said. "(Plummer) was their leading scorer and we felt he was the guy that we were supposed to stop"
Penn's next game is Saturday night at the Palestra against Cornell, a team coached by former Quakers assistant Steve Donohue.
(01/10/01 10:00am)
The Penn men's basketball team lost for the ninth time in 10 tries this season, falling on Wednesday night to neighborhood rival Drexel, 68-63.
The Dragons (6-7) extended their three-point halftime lead to 13 with 11:26 remaining, but the Quakers clawed back. Penn cut the deficit to one at the 5:39 mark, but would get no closer, as Drexel snapped a three-game losing streak against the Quakers.
"This is a great win for our program," Drexel center Joe Linderman said. "I'm so excited right now."
Linderman caused troubles for Penn all night. The Dragons' big man scored six straight points in one stretch in the second half and finished with a team-high 20.
"I don't think we made him make a decision as quickly as we would have liked to," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said.
Penn was led by senior guard Lamar Plummer, who rebounded from a 3-for-11 shooting performance on Sunday to score 22 against Drexel. Plummer hit 6-of-8 from three-point range and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line.
Koko Archibong chipped in 14 and grabbed nine boards for Penn.
But poor shooting stifled the Quakers. Penn shot just 35.6 percent from the field and a horrid 47.8 percent from the foul line.
The Quakers open their Ivy League season this weekend, hosting Columbia on Friday and Cornell on Saturday.
Although Penn has won two consecutive Ivy titles and was the consensus pre-season favorite to three-peat, Dunphy admits that his team is, by no means, invulnerable in the Ancient Eight.
"We're inconsistent, and that's what really bothers me," Dunphy said. "Both of those teams are going to come in and think they can beat us at home."
(12/04/00 10:00am)
Led by freshman Mason Lenhard's second-place finish in the 125-pound bracket, Penn placed six wrestlers in the top six yesterday at the Penn State Open.
Lenhard won three bouts to reach the finals, but lost, 3-2, to Penn State's Josh Moore in the first-place bout.
Penn shined brightest in the 141-pound division, placing three into the top five. Penn sophomore Chris Hanlon knocked off freshman teammate Kyle Bernholz, 5-2, in the third-place bout, while Quakers' frosh Max Galka placed fifth after winning a 10-0 major decision against the Nittany Lions' Eric Narkiewicz.
Aside from Hanlon, two other Quakers earned third-place finishes in the meet.
Senior 197-pounder Mike Fickell pinned Virginia's Ryan McGrath in four minutes and 49 seconds to claim his bronze.
Meanwhile, Penn junior 149-pounder and Nebraska transfer Joe Henson finished third by virtue of his 3-1 overtime decision over Lock Haven's Jamarr Billman.
Henson won two early decisions, but was pinned in the semifinals by American's Marc Hoffer -- the eventual 149-pound champion and Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
Fickell, on the other hand, used pins to his advantage throughout the tournament. He pinned Josh Walker of Penn State and Matt Dunn of UNC Greensboro to advance to the semifinals, but was pinned himself by the Nittany Lions' Pete Mielnik in the semis.
There was no team scoring in the Open, but Bloomsberg and Penn State dominated the first-place medals. Three Bloomsberg wrestlers captured golds, while two Nittany Lions finished first.
Yoshi Nakamura, a qualifier for nationals in 1999, did not compete in the University Park, Pa., tournament.
Three other Quakers were defeated in their respective third consolation bouts. Heavyweight Mike Faust and 165-pounder Tim Ortman both dropped 2-1 decisions -- Faust to UNC Greensboro's Ryan Adams and Ortman to Penn State's Jeremy Sauve.
Sophomore 157-pounder Jody Giuricich lost his third consolation bout to the Nittany Lions' James Woodall, 7-3.
(12/01/00 10:00am)
If the Crispin brothers do well, Penn State does well.
End of story.
On Saturday, Joe and Jon Crispin were as hot as branding irons; they teamed for 57 points and hit a blistering 59 percent of their three-point attempts.
And the Nittany Lions knocked off then-No. 22 (AP) Kentucky at Rupp Arena.
On Wednesday night, the Crispin brothers were colder than Happy Valley in mid-January; they connected on just six of 35 field-goal attempts and combined for just 15 points.
And Penn State dropped an 84-76 decision against middle-of-the-pack ACC foe North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C.
"As they [the Crispin brothers] go, Penn State goes," Penn guard Dave Klatsky said.
It's an axiom both the Wildcats and Wolfpack have learned.
It's an axiom Penn will be exposed to first-hand tomorrow.
At 2:00 p.m., the Quakers (0-3) take on the Crispin-led Nittany Lions (2-1) at Bryce Jordan Center.
And Penn realizes that beating Penn State requires the neutralization of Pitman, N.J., natives Joe and Jon Crispin.
"We've got to shut down those Crispin boys," Penn center Geoff Owens said. "[Wednesday] night, they were taking bad shots. That's what we've got to make them do.
"We know they're each going to take almost 20 shots a game, and we have to make sure they don't make a good percentage of them."
Last year, Penn held one of the Crispins in check; then-freshman Jon scored just two points in 35 minutes.
But then-junior Joe netted 20, and the Quakers lost by three at the Palestra to the Nittany Lions.
Joe and Jon are similar in build; the elder Crispin stands six-feet tall and weighs 185 pounds, while the younger Crispin is a 6'2", 195-pounder.
Their styles aren't quite so similar, however.
Joe, a second-team All-Big Ten selection last year, is the point guard, the playmaker, the creator. Jon, a three-year All-State honoree in high school, is the two-guard, the pure shooter.
But both are dangerous.
"The thing with those two is, if you guard one, the other one could explode at any time," Klatsky said. "So you've got to guard both of them."
Still, Penn State is not just a pair of Crispins and three stiffs. Senior Titus Ivory scored 25 against N.C. State. And starting forwards Tyler Smith and Gyasi Cline-Heard have combined for 16.7 points and 14 rebounds per game.
"If the Crispins don't go crazy on us, that will be a help," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "But even though the Crispins went crazy at Kentucky, they all had to play well for them to be able to get a win at Kentucky."
Indeed, those other Nittany Lions played well; they committed just nine turnovers in the game.
Penn State has averaged only 12.3 turnovers in its three games this season. In contrast, Penn has turned the ball over an average of 18 times per game.
But what the Quakers lack in the taking-care-of-the-ball department, they make up in height.
Sure, Penn State has seven-footer Scott Witkowsky -- but he has only played 16 minutes all year.
The Nittany Lions' three-guard starting lineup includes no man taller than 6'8".
Penn, meanwhile, has started 6'11" Owens and 6'9" Koko Archibong in each of its three games this season. Plus, 6'10" freshman Adam Chubb regularly comes off the Penn bench.
And you can't forget last year's Ivy League Rookie of the Year, 6'8" forward Ugonna Onyekwe.
It's a height mismatch -- a mismatch the Quakers plan to exploit.
"I think we're really going to try to go inside," Owens said. "I think that's really going to be effective for us, especially with their two talented guards. Hopefully that'll counteract [the Crispin brothers]."
The Quakers will count on Owens to provide that inside presence. Thus far, Penn's senior captain has averaged 10.7 points per game.
News and Notes
Onyekwe hit a would-be game-tying three-pointer a split-second after the final buzzer went off in Penn State's 59-56 victory over Penn last year at the Palestra... Penn also played against N.C. State this year. The Quakers dropped a 77-64 decision in their season-opener in Raleigh on November 17.
(11/16/00 10:00am)
There's a cozy, familiar place Josh Sanger hangs out at quite often these days.
It's a place former teammate Michael Jordan rarely frequented, a place current teammate Ugonna Onyekwe doesn't show his face too much anymore.
It's a place the average fan never steps foot into, but Sanger all but has a permanent seat there.
The place is The Fringe of the Spotlight, and while you won't find it on any map, there are other ways to locate it.
Plastered to the wall of the Penn's men's basketball office is a poster of former Kansas center Raef LaFrenz winning an opening tipoff.
The opposing center in the poster? Sanger, basking in The Fringe of the Spotlight.
Four years ago, the Carolina Warriors -- an AAU team from North Carolina that included current University of North Carolina hoopsters Brendan Haywood and Kris Lang -- finished fifth in the nation.
A top sub on that team? Sanger, in The Fringe of the Spotlight.
It may not be quite bright enough. It's definitely not his idea of the perfect locale. But entering The Fringe of the Spotlight for Sanger is like putting on a pair of worn-in jeans, an old T-shirt and a beat-up baseball cap -- he's used to it.
Sanger has been the backup center to Geoff Owens for each of the last two years. He's used to being the forgotten man, the guy who comes in, gives Penn five to 10 minutes of solid but unnoticed defense. He's used to spending most of the game cheerleading off the bench.
He's used to it. He deals with it. But he's never quite content with it.
"There are times when I look out at the court and think I could be playing a lot better than that person," Sanger says. "But you just sit back and wait your turn."
The soft-spoken Southerner is just 21, but he speaks like a world-weary middle-aged man -- a guy who's been there, done that and learned from it.
Maybe that's because has been there and done that. His journey to The Fringe of the Spotlight included a lengthy stop in the Spotlight.
Sanger started playing basketball almost as soon as he was able to walk. An old video shows Sanger's father, John, blocking the shot of his three-foot-tall son.
And from the start, Sanger was a star on the court. Always a little taller than everyone else his age, he used his height and practice-honed skills to dominate shorter players.
By the time he entered Harding High School, other basketball players inched closer to Sanger in height and skill. But the 6'8", 235-pound big man still had an edge. Scoring points with putback jams and post-up shots, Sanger was All-Conference as a senior.
But that spotlight was fleeting. Once he came to Penn, he was no longer a bass in a puddle. He was a minnow in the ocean.
He was perched on The Fringe.
"In high school ball, I was basically the man," Sanger said. "Here I'm basically one of the subs."
Coming in, Sanger's role was to back up Owens. That's what he expected. That's what Penn coach Fran Dunphy expected.
But then a medical condition forced Owens to sit out the 1997-98 season, thrusting Sanger into the starting center spot.
The Spotlight turned back on Sanger. But its glow was a familiar one for the Charlotte, N.C., native.
"I didn't see that transition at the time as that big," he says.
He was a starter in high school. Now Sanger was going to be a starter in college. It wasn't a big deal -- until he stepped out on the court for the opening tip of the season against Rice. That's when it hit Sanger. He was playing Division I college basketball.
Sanger scored two points in that game on a 10-foot transition jumper from the left side. But he also committed four fouls in just 11 minutes.
He realized the Spotlight shone a little brighter on the Palestra floor.
"There was pressure," Sanger admits. "The starting position always has that pressure on you."
Sanger started 15 more games that season. He averaged 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds a game. He played solid defense. But it was far from enough to supplant Owens.
Come sophomore year, Sanger was back on The Fringe, back to being Owens' personal substitute.
And that's where he has stayed, incessantly battling Owens in practice but unequivocally deferring to the 6'11" captain in games.
It's not a glamour spot for Sanger. The average fan doesn't know about -- much less appreciate -- the Owens-Sanger practice wars. The average fan doesn't get to see Sanger's Owens-stifling defense.
But Owens sees it. And he appreciates it.
"It's so hard to score on Josh," Owens says. "Defensively, he reacts so well. You make a move and he's usually right there. The only way I can score is to make a tough shot. You rarely get an easy one with Josh guarding you."
Dunphy appreciates that textbook defense too. But with Owens, Ugonna Onyekwe and Koko Archibong returning and 6'10" freshman Adam Chubb entering the mix, Penn's coach can't exactly reward Sanger with a fistful of playing time.
"I don't think his role will change from what it's been since he's been a freshman here," Dunphy says. "I don't think any of us will root any harder for anyone than we do Josh Sanger. He's a good man, but we are just talented up front."
Everyone seems to root for Sanger. His warm smile and genuine modesty make it tough for anyone to wish him harm.
"Josh is just a great human being," says Jon Tross, a senior forward. "There's no other way to describe him."
Well, not entirely. Sanger's sister Terres -- a Penn sophomore who lives three floors below him in Harrison College House -- says that his pun-driven jokes are often directed at his friends.
But it's all good-natured, part of a sense of humor that makes people smile but not laugh.
"Once you get a chance to know him you realize how funny he is," Owens said. "He's got the dry Southern wit a little bit. His mind's always three steps ahead of you, so he's always going to have something to say in response."
But Sanger's mind has been known to wander. He knows he watches too much television. And he's been known to spend some classroom time on non-academic endeavors.
"I look over and he's drawing plays on his book," says women's basketball forward Diana Caramanico, who's in a sports law class with Sanger.
Sanger admits most of the plays he diagrams aren't very good.
"My friends look at them and say, 'Turnover. Steal,'" Sanger says.
But drawing them is just another way to study the game.
Sanger's favorite play is one he didn't draw up -- "14 lob for the post." A play with a whirlwind of screens and misdirections, it has worked several times in Penn's games, leading to wide-open dunks by Onyekwe.
The Quakers have run the play in games for Sanger, but, fittingly, each time it has fallen apart before Sanger could sneak back into the Spotlight with a thundering dunk of his own.
Sanger craves that spotlight. It's what made him choose basketball instead of football -- a sport in which he earned All-Conference honors as a receiver/tight end in high school.
"When you step on the court, you get this feeling inside of you that everyone's there to watch you," a wide-eyed Sanger says.
But while he wants that spotlight, Sanger accepts the comfort of The Fringe. He doesn't complain. He just toils away at practice and in his limited minutes in games.
"It has been a little hard on me, but I keep my spirits up," he says. "When I get in there, I try to make the coach notice me."
It's all he can do to escape The Fringe.
(11/14/00 10:00am)
OK, ready.
Lift to waist level, hold, grab the feet, extend the arms, hold steady hold steady, hold steady...
Drop.
He grimaces a little and takes a deep breath.
OK, ready...
It's Election Night and David Rittenhouse Laboratory is bustling with activity -- last-minute campaigning and last-minute voters.
A hundred meters south, Franklin Field is bustling with its own activity -- sprint football practice and the usual corps of evening runners, joggers and walkers.
Between the two, nestled in the less-than-cozy gymnastics room in the southeastern corner of Hutchinson Gymnasium, the pace is just as quick, but the setting is a little more reclusive.
Lift to waist level, hold, grab the feet, extend, wait wait...
Drop.
Another grimace.
OK, ready...
This is Penn Cheerleading practice, and co-captain Jonathon Frerichs -- one of four men on the 14-person squad -- is trying to master a basic lifting stunt.
Two years ago, the College sophomore would have laughed if you told him that he would be at a cheerleading practice on a Tuesday night in November.
He'd have been in stitches and tears if you informed him of his future cheerleading technical knowledge -- that he'd appreciate the two-high stunts with a double base that colleges, but not high schools, utilize.
Two years ago, Frerichs was about as far removed from cheerleading as one could be. He was a football player and a track athlete. He was on the field. He was the one for whom the cheerleaders were cheering.
His high school didn't have male cheerleaders, but if it did, Frerichs knows how he would have acted.
"I definitely would have made fun of them," Frerichs says with little hesitation.
Yet here he is two years later, not only a cheerleader but a co-captain, leading the Penn Cheerleading team's Election Night practice alone.
*
Frerichs usually has help, but Penn's other co-captain, bubbly Nursing junior Melissa Roman, is at an *NSYNC concert with her boyfriend's little sister.
Roman will miss this practice, but this is the only one she's missed all year. Cheerleading is more than a sport or activity to her -- it's a passion, and has been since she was 10, spurred to pom-poms by a cheerleader babysitter.
"I thought she was like the coolest person in the world," Roman remembers.
So Roman emulated. And then she realized she had found a passion. So out into the world of cheerleading Roman ventured.
She cheered at youth football games; she cheered at high school football games; she cheered at competitions; she cheered at camps.
Roman gave up cheerleading cold turkey her freshman year at Penn, but all it took was a little encouragement from a friend and she was back to stunts and pom-poms. She tried out for Penn's team last year and made it.
And this year, she's a co-captain.
*
Men and women on Penn's cheerleading squad are vastly different breeds.
Most of the women cheered throughout high school. All of the men donned their first cheerleading uniform at Penn.
For most of the female cheerleaders at Penn, cheering collegiately feeds the addiction to the sport they developed in high school. They're drawn back to cheering; less a habit, it's a passion they don't want to quit.
College junior Liz Uhlhorn, a dancer turned cheerleader, was on her high school team for four years. She's cheered each of her three years here.
Nursing sophomore Patti Paik cheered throughout her high school years, often in big competitions. This is her second year cheering at Penn.
The women want to cheer. Roman estimates that six or seven tried out last year. And this year, 25 women gave cheerleading a shot.
Out of those 30-plus females, only three made the varsity squad.
*
There's not that competition for spots among men. Not at all. If you're a guy and you want to cheer at Penn -- if you seriously want to cheer -- you're all but on the squad.
"We always need more guys," Roman says in an almost pleading tone.
Ideally, a squad would have an equal number of males and females for stunting purposes. But Penn currently has 10 women and four men.
As you can imagine, recruiting guys isn't easy. Boys tend to fantasize about being the star quarterback or sharp-shooting two-guard -- not about being a base in a pyramid stunt.
And then there's the stereotypes: Effeminate. Unmanly.
Those kinds of things make it hard to find male cheerleaders.
"People are kind of weird about being a guy cheerleader because of the stigma," Roman says.
But once they become cheerleaders, that stigma starts to dissipate. Those stereotypes start to melt. It's really not so bad.
"I think it takes a lot for a guy to get out there, wear the uniform and anything," Paik says. "I think it takes balls."
"Guys aren't out there dancing around," Uhlhorn echoes.
Even Frerichs, an Army ROTC member with a shaved head and the build of a tight end, agrees that being a male cheerleader isn't such a scarlet letter anymore.
"I've gotten more criticism for being in my ROTC uniform than for being in my cheerleading uniform," Frerichs says.
Frerichs was introduced quite warmly to the world of cheerleading a little over a year ago. Three woman cheerleaders approached him at the freshman picnic at Hill Field and asked him to try out.
Frerichs tried out. He made the team. And now cheerleading's about stunt technique and practice to him -- not about "cheerleading chicks."
"Initially there was the appeal of female cheerleaders as a young freshman boy, but it grew into respect and enthusiasm for the sport," Frerichs says.
College senior Jeremy Lawson wasn't exactly rapping at Penn Cheerleading's front door either. But he missed the camaraderie of team sports, and his friend convinced him to go out for the cheerleading squad.
So Lawson tried out and made the squad. But his dad didn't initially embrace the idea.
"He said, 'What did you do that for for?'" the Psi Upsilon brother remembers. "He thought I'd come out in a skirt and pom-poms."
Of course, that wasn't the case. In his first game, Lawson came out with T-shirts.
He tossed them at the screaming fans and became hooked on cheerleading after becoming immersed in the empowering situation in and around the Palestra stands.
"I had in my hand the only thing people wanted and I was the only one who had it," Lawson recalls.
*
The Penn cheerleading squad is plenty diverse.
There's experience among the females. There's experience among the males. There's a guy cheerleader from Uzbekistan. There's a female cheerleader from Palm Beach County, Fla.
But it's no matter; the Penn cheerleaders are successful at what they do -- cheering at Penn football and basketball games.
And although the Quakers won't be entering any competitions, they are in a different sort of competition.
Penn applied over the Internet to be in a Bring It On-like cheerleading movie, The New Guy. And although only two teams will actually be in the movie, the Quakers have a chance -- they made it to the 30-team finals.
But the movie is a future priority. The team hasn't even worked on its film routine yet.
What's important on this Election Night is immediacy. For those at DRL, it's the election results. For the runners on Franklin Field, it's the mileage. For Melissa Roman, on this night, it's the concert.
And for Frerichs, the former football player, it's getting this stunt right. Unlike in his high school days, however, this stunt won't have anything to do with pass-rushing. It's all about cheerleading.
OK, ready. Try again.
Lift, hold, grab the feet, extend, hold steady, hold steady...
Down. Good.
(11/03/00 10:00am)
When Penn (4-3, 3-1 Ivy League) travels to Princeton (2-5, 2-2) tomorrow, you'll get to see a guy who has to deal with a question about as confounding as Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?".
Meet Princeton coach Roger Hughes, and pity his conundrum: Who's the Tigers quarterback?
Two months ago, Hughes would have no trouble answering that question. Junior Tommy Crenshaw, who had thrown for 1,662 yards in eight games in 1999, was entrenched as the Tigers' signal-caller.
But that must seem as far back in the past to Hughes as Abbott and Costello themselves.
Crenshaw broke his wrist in Princeton's third game -- and so began the Tigers' QB wheel of fortune.
Enter senior Jon Blevins. He led Princeton to an overtime victory over Columbia, but he sprained his ankle the following week against Colgate.
Enter freshman David Splithoff. In his first start, he led Princeton to a 55-28 victory over Brown and became the first freshman ever to be named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week.
But Splithoff's star was short-lived. He broke his jaw in his second start.
Re-enter Blevins. He came back from his ankle sprain with no trouble, but injured his elbow last week -- in his second game back.
Enter pre-season fourth-stringer Brian Danielewicz. He completed six-of-seven passes for 88 yards in leading Princeton back in the two-minute drill last week. And he hasn't gotten injured.
At least not yet. But the way things have been going for Hughes, it's only a matter of time.
"I'm hoping some guys there... have a little eligibility left," Hughes joked when addressing members of the media by phone at a luncheon on Wednesday. "I'd like to suit them up because we may need them the way things are going."
It's quite a contrast to the rosy quarterback situation at Penn, where Gavin Hoffman is about as entrenched in the Red and Blue starting position as Peyton Manning is in the blue and white of the Indianapolis Colts.
Hoffman -- who was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week for his 476-yard passing performance against Brown last week -- is omnipresent on the Division I-AA passing leader boards.
He's second in completions per game (26.9), seventh in pass efficiency (149.7) and seventh in total offense (300.9 yards per game).
It's not as if the Princeton quarterbacks are doing poorly -- the Tigers are averaging 276 passing yards per game -- but there hasn't been any consistency under center.
Only once in Princeton's last five games has the same quarterback taken the first and last snap -- Splithoff against Brown.
And even without any fresh Tigers' QB injuries, the platooning could continue this week. Both Blevins and Danielewicz have taken snaps with the first unit in practice this week.
"Right now, we don't know who's going to start," Hughes said. "It's going to depend on how Jon's hand holds up and how Brian does picking everything up."
But no matter who takes the Tigers' snaps, Penn has a difficult task on its hands tomorrow, as this game will not take place in the spacious-but-cozy confines of Franklin Field.
The Quakers are a perfect 4-0 at home, but are winless in three games on the road, all of which have been played on grass.
But Penn's home opponents have a combined record of 10-19. Meanwhile, the Quakers' road foes are a lofty 18-5.
"Us not winning on the road has to do with who we're playing on the road," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said.
But the Quakers do have some history on their side. Penn won its game against the Tigers on the grass at Princeton Stadium two years ago.
Princeton won the first 28 meetings between the two schools. But the Quakers and Tigers have been virtually even in the 63 meetings since then. Princeton has won 32, Penn 30 and the two have played to one tie.
(10/19/00 9:00am)
Shoulder to the chin -- it wasn't Lamar Plummer's dream "welcome back" greeting.
After taking a leave of absence from Penn and the men's basketball team last semester, the senior guard officially returned to the court Saturday in the Quakers' first practice of the season.
But Plummer was out again as quickly as he had come back. He left the court dazed with a light concussion after a teammate's shoulder made contact with his chin.
Plummer, who averaged 2.3 minutes in six games last season, was still able to practice with the team on Sunday and Monday.
But Plummer continued to feel the effects of the collision and was forced to roam the sidelines yesterday as the Quakers returned to the court following their Tuesday off-day.
"I've been having headaches from time to time, and I was feeling very sluggish," Plummer said.
Plummer, who launched three-pointers after practice yesterday, hopes to return to the court today.
Despite the physical bump in the road, though, his return has been smooth.
"I still feel like I'm a part of the team," the six-footer said. "I don't feel like a newcomer at all. I actually feel like a veteran that just had a long injury.
"I think that being back here, the team looks up to me as being the older guy."
Compared to his backcourt-mates, Plummer is, far and away, the old wise man. With last year's All-Ivy starting backcourt -- Michael Jordan and Matt Langel -- lost to graduation, the only other Penn guard with more than spot duty under his belt is sophomore David Klatsky.
And while Plummer will be looked upon to provide backcourt leadership, Klatsky will lead by default. He may only be a sophomore, but he's the point guard.
"It's definitely different," Klatsky said. "Last year, I'm in there with Mike and Matt. I'm trying to get them the ball, just trying to keep away from them. Now it's my ball; I'm finding guys. It's my team now. Now I have to make sure everyone's involved."
Of course, a bulk of Penn's leadership will rest on the shoulders of fifth-year senior Geoff Owens. But the 6'11" center isn't exactly known for being outspoken on the court.
"Geoff's not the most vocal leader we've ever had," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "But he's as respected as any leader we've ever had, and that's as important as anything."
Except for Plummer's slight concussion, Penn has managed to escape injury thus far.
"Number one, everybody's pretty healthy, which is a big concern as you start to get into the full practice schedule," Dunphy said.
Conditioning is a top priority at this stage. Dunphy had his players panting in yesterday's practice as they struggled through suicide runs at the conclusion of practice. Dunphy also made his team take four stabs at a difficult 60-second layup drill.
"Our conditioning needs to improve," Dunphy said. "That's why we're trying to do [the lay-up drill] at the end of practice. If you can concentrate when you're tired, then you have a pretty good chance of being ready to play in the [end of the game]."
But the Quakers are beginning to form at least an outline of the team they hope to be.
As expected, turnovers were a problem in yesterday's scrimmage, but between the miscues, flashes of the solid team that is expected to dominate the Ivy League were hard to miss -- Duane King finishing on a fastbreak, Ugonna Onyekwe blocking a shot, Owens sinking a baby hook.
"We're coming along," Klatsky said. "We might be a little out of shape, but I think we're starting to gel pretty well."
