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(02/19/01 10:00am)
Close, but not quite. That has been the story of the Penn wrestling team in dual-meet action this season.
The Quakers left Bethlehem, Pa., yesterday with another close-but-disappointing 21-18 loss to No. 10 Lehigh.
With the defeat, the Red and Blue (6-7) end their dual-meet season with a sub-.500 record for the first time in a decade.
However, the Quakers aren't too concerned about win-loss records or streaks.
"It doesn't really matter until the [Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships]," Penn freshman Mason Lenhard said. "We're on the right pace, and we've been improving a lot."
Of the 10 bouts between the Quakers and the Engineers (18-5), perhaps the most shocking was Penn junior co-captain Yoshi Nakamura's 2-1 tiebreaker loss to Lehigh senior Ryan Bernholz at 157 pounds.
Nakamura -- currently ranked No. 3 in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News -- was undefeated in NCAA-sanctioned matches until his loss to No. 17 Bernholz yesterday.
After a 1-1 tie at the end of three periods and a scoreless overtime period, Nakamura -- who won the coin toss -- chose the bottom position for the 30-second tiebreaker.
Unfortunately for Penn, Nakamura was unable to escape as Bernholz rode him out to victory.
Lehigh's senior co-captain credited his victory to the 2,017 screaming fans that gathered at the "Snake Pit" yesterday.
"I knew it was going to be a tough bout," Bernholz said. "But with the match being in Grace [Hall], I knew the fans would be behind me."
Nakamura, now 19-1 overall and 9-1 in dual-meet action, was obviously disappointed at the outcome.
However, the Penn wrestler, who embodies the very essence of konjo -- the Japanese word for "fighting spirit" -- will be back to redeem himself.
"[Penn coach Roger Reina] gave me a one-liner and said, 'What counts now is how you respond to it,'" Nakamura said. "I'm going to respond like a champion, come back and win."
Penn also lost two other key swing matches. Senior Tim Ortman suffered an 8-6 loss to Lehigh's Chris Vitale, while freshman heavyweight Mike Faust lost a 3-2 decision to Lehigh's Shawn Laughlin.
On a positive note for the Quakers, the team's freshmen performed especially well.
"A lot of the younger guys really stepped up today and showed what they're all about," Nakamura said.
Three of Penn's freshmen -- Lenhard, Jeff Eveleth and Marcus Schontube -- recorded victories for the Red and Blue at 125, 133 and 184, respectively.
Schontube was especially impressive, pinning Lehigh's Ted Dufresne in 5:30.
Also winning by fall for the Quakers was Penn junior Josh Henson.
The Nebraska transfer put Lehigh's Warren Stout -- who usually wrestles at 165 for the Engineers -- on his back in 2:17 and gave Penn some needed momentum with his win at 174 pounds.
The Quakers will get a chance to redeem themselves when they host the EIWA Championships at the Palestra in two weeks. The 10-team tournament will include the Engineers, who are currently No. 1 in the EIWA.
Nakamura welcomes the opportunity for a rematch.
"This is the time to peak," Nakamura said. "We are going to train very hard, try to leapfrog Lehigh and beat them at Easterns."
(02/16/01 10:00am)
No votes. Not even one. Perhaps there was a miscount. Or maybe the hole wasn't punched all the way through on one of the ballots.
Whatever the reason, the Penn wrestling team received zero points in the weekly national rankings from the National Wrestling Coaches Association for the first time all season.
Penn (6-6, 4-1 Ivy League), which takes on No. 10 Lehigh this weekend, was ranked No. 15 in the preseason polls but has since seen its national ranking slowly fall into obscurity.
It could easily be argued, however, that Penn deserves at least some points.
Buffalo, whom the Quakers annihilated 26-9 at this season's Virginia Duals, garnered two points in the latest poll. And Harvard, which fared no better than the Bulls in its 25-11 loss to Penn, received one point.
Penn State and Cornell, two other nationally ranked teams, only won by one point each against a Penn squad that wasn't at full strength in either match.
Do the Quakers deserve this insult from the NWCA, which happens to feature Penn coach Roger Reina as its president?
Probably not.
But maybe this is the wake-up call the Quakers need.
Penn has shown far too many times this season that it can't contend with the nation's elite.
But at the same time, the Quakers have been stellar against some not-so-good competition. Last Wednesday, the Red and Blue had no problem disposing of Princeton, 34-6.
Apparently in the NWCA Coaches Committee's books, that doesn't count for much.
But all hope is not lost just yet.
This Sunday, the Quakers will travel to "The Snake Pit" in Bethlehem, Pa., to face defending Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association champion Lehigh.
The Engineers (15-5) will be one of Penn's toughest opponents all season.
Penn freshman Mike Faust, the Quakers' grappler in the big man division, knows what his coach wants out of him and his teammates.
"I know [Reina] is looking for us to take the momentum we've had in the past couple of dual meets and step it up against a higher-level opponent," Faust said.
A lot rides on this weekend's meet at Grace Hall. The individual bouts can have huge implications for seeding in the EIWA Championships to be held in two weeks at the Palestra.
The Quakers have the upper hand on paper in four weight classes.
Penn freshmen Mason Lenhard and Jeff Eveleth, who wrestle at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively, should have no problems winning their bouts.
Penn will be expecting a win at 157, as well. Quakers senior co-captain Yoshi Nakamura, ranked No. 3 in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News, will face No. 17 Ryan Bernholz at that weight class.
The Quakers will also have the advantage at 174, where Nebraska transfer Josh Henson will suit up for Penn.
The rest of the weight classes will be tough wins for the Quakers. In four of the remaining six weight classes, unranked Red and Blue wrestlers will be facing Lehigh wrestlers ranked in the top 20 by AWN.
Faust, however, likes the challenge of grappling with opponents that are better on paper.
"I like wrestling guys that are higher ranked because it takes a little bit of the pressure off," Faust said. "They have to win to keep their ranking. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain."
The Quakers have fared poorly against higher ranked teams this season.
But perhaps the fear of having their first losing season in a decade will be motivation enough to pull off the upset.
(02/05/01 10:00am)
After three months of what some Penn faithful consider to be sub-par performances from the Penn wrestling team, the Quakers are finally re-emerging as a team that deserves national attention.
Last weekend, the Quakers defeated three hapless teams in Harvard, Brown and George Mason. The victories keep Penn's hopes alive of winning its sixth straight Ivy League title.
The first of Penn's (5-5, 3-1 Ivy League) victims was Harvard (2-5, 0-1), which visited the Palestra on Saturday. The Crimson managed to win only three bouts in their 25-11 loss to the Quakers.
The tone of the dual meet was set by the first bout, which featured Penn freshman Mike Faust against Harvard junior Dawid Rechul. Rechul -- who entered the bout atop the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association's heavyweight division -- did not look his best against the smaller and lighter Faust.
At the end of regulation, the score between the two heavyweights stood at 3-3. After a scoreless one-minute overtime period, Faust -- who won the coin toss -- elected to take the bottom position.
The Baltimore, Md., native's struggle against Rechul was reminiscent of Faust's battle with Brown grappler Bronson Lingamfelter in the 2000 Keystone Classic.
With the entire crowd behind him, Faust was able to roll out of Rechul's leg lock. He then scored a reversal at the buzzer, giving him the 5-3 upset.
Faust's victory put his team on the right track to victory on Saturday.
"I knew coming out first, that [my bout would] set the tone for the match," Faust said. "I just wanted to do well, and I did."
Harvard coach Jay Weiss was disappointed with his team's performance.
"Penn was tougher today and took it to us," Weiss said. "If you talk to any coach that only wins three bouts out of 10, I think 100 percent are going to tell you they're unsatisfied."
Interestingly enough, the meet against the Crimson was Penn's poorest effort of the weekend. Neither Brown nor George Mason -- Penn's guests at the Palestra yesterday -- managed to win three bouts. The Quakers picked up eight falls and two technical falls en route to beating the Bears and the Patriots by scores of 47-3 and 36-7, respectively.
Against Brown (8-7, 0-2), the Quakers opened up with four straight pins. The Bears never recovered from the 24-0 deficit, winning only one bout against Penn.
Penn coach Roger Reina was very positive about his team's performance.
"I think they found their confidence," Reina said. "So much of the success in the sport of collegiate wrestling comes down to mental preparation, and I think we really turned a corner this weekend."
Brown's lone bright spot against the Quakers was Lingamfelter, who avenged his 2-1 overtime loss to Faust earlier this season with a convincing 8-3 decision.
George Mason (6-2, 2-0 Colonial Athletic Association) also had little success against Penn. The top-ranked team in the CAA managed to win just two bouts against the Quakers.
Two of Penn's eight falls yesterday were registered by Yoshi Nakamura. The junior co-captain -- ranked third in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News at 157 -- remains undefeated overall (18-0) and in dual meets (8-0).
"I went out there and got bonus points off two pins. It was a productive day for both me and the team," Nakamura said.
Penn senior co-captain Mike Fickell, who pinned Harvard's Reggie Lee in just 60 seconds on Friday, also saw vast improvement in his team's productivity.
"We came out with a lot more intensity and were ready to wrestle," Fickell said. "We won the mental game this week that we haven't won the past couple of weeks."
The Quakers hope to maintain that intensity as they travel to the Southwest to face No. 15 Arizona State on Friday.
(02/02/01 10:00am)
Only one thing can explain the Penn wrestling team's mediocre 2-5 dual meet record -- bonus points.
Bonus points -- which only affect dual meets -- are unique to the sport of wrestling. They result from a scoring rule that rewards a wrestler for convincingly defeating his opponent.
Thus, a team is given anywhere between three and six points when one of its wrestlers decisively wins his match.
Unfortunately for the Quakers, three-point decisions seem to be all that they can get.
On Wednesday, the Quakers lost to No. 20 Penn State, 22-16, in Happy Valley, Pa. It was the third time this season that Penn has evenly split the 10 weight classes with its opponents, but ended up losing because of bonus points.
The Red and Blue suffered similar losses to No. 23 Indiana and No. 26 Cornell. The Hoosiers and Big Red won by scores of 21-17 and 16-15, respectively.
The Quakers will be looking for a reversal of fortune this weekend, when they host Harvard in dual-meet action tomorrow before welcoming Brown and George Mason for a tri-meet on Sunday.
The first of Penn's (2-5, 1-1- Ivy League) three opponents this weekend will be Harvard (1-4, 0-0). All four of the Crimson's losses have come at the hands of top-10 teams.
Harvard -- a fairly strong team across all weight classes -- will present a decent challenge to the Quakers. The Crimson are led by 184-pound senior Francis Volpe. Volpe -- ranked 10th in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News -- will be key if Harvard is to have a shot at the Quakers.
Also receiving national attention is No. 19 Jesse Jantzen, who wrestles at the 149-pound slot for the Crimson. The Harvard freshman will present a significant challenge to Penn's Joe Henson, who is one spot below Jantzen in the national rankings.
Other standouts for Harvard include sophomore 165-pounder Patrick O'Donnell -- who defeated 2000 NCAA runner-up Joe Heskett of Iowa State earlier this season -- and heavyweight junior David Rechul -- who is currently atop the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association's heavyweight division.
Penn freshman Mike Faust, who will wrestle Rechul tomorrow, knows the implications his match can have.
"Harvard's going to be a big match, because if we beat them, and they beat Cornell, we'll have a share of the title," Faust said. "For us to [beat Harvard], I feel like I have to go out there and beat [Rechul]. The fact that he's number one in the EIWA is important, but it's more important to get a win for the team."
Faust's match against Brown's Bronson Lingamfelter on Sunday will also have huge implications.
When the two heavyweights met in the semifinals of the 2000 Keystone Classic earlier this season, Faust pulled out a 2-1 victory in overtime. Lingamfelter, the EIWA's fourth-ranked wrestler, will certainly be looking to redeem himself in his return to the Palestra.
From Penn's perspective, Brown (7-5, 0-0) and George Mason (6-0, 2-0 Colonial Athletic Association) are beatable teams.
Besides Lingamfelter, the Bears' only other standout wrestler is freshman Clinton Hicks, who is currently second in the EIWA at 125 pounds -- behind Penn's Mason Lenhard.
Lenhard welcomes the challenge with confidence.
"I'm really positive and not really concerned," Lenhard said. "I know what I can do, and I don't really see a problem with [Hicks]."
The Red and Blue's Parma, Ohio, native will also be challenged by the Patriots' representative at 125 pounds -- sixth-year senior Sean Shea.
Shea -- whose eligibility has been extended due to two season-long injuries over the course of his college wrestling career -- was an AWN freshman All-American selection and 1996 CAA Rookie of the Year.
The Patriots' other dominant wrestler is No. 5 Donnie DeFillipis at 141. DeFillipis placed second at the Midlands Open earlier this season.
Reina only has three things on his mind for this busy weekend.
"I'm concerned about 100 percent focus, 100 percent intensity and 100 percent trust from 100 percent of our team," he said.
With all his preseason projected starters wrestling together for the first time this season, Reina may get just that.
(01/30/01 10:00am)
LANCASTER, Pa. -- The 2,800 spectators that piled into Mayser Gymnasium looking for some of the best wrestling action in the country were not disappointed.
Last night, Franklin and Marshall hosted the 34th Annual National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic, an event that showcases some of the best collegiate wrestlers in the country.
In the mix of 22 grapplers were seven top-ranked wrestlers and seven second-ranked wrestlers. And five of the 11 matches were between the top two wrestlers in their weight class.
Also in the mix was Penn's very own Yoshi Nakamura. And the Quakers' senior co-captain did not disappoint. He defeated Cole Sanderson of Iowa State in a 9-3 decision.
Nakamura, who is currently ranked fifth in the nation, was originally slated to take on No. 2 Bryan Snyder of Nebraska. Snyder pulled out, however, so Nakamura ended up wrestling Sanderson, the nation's seventh-best wrestler at the 157-lb. slot.
The last minute change was upsetting for both Nakamura and Penn coach Roger Reina.
"I was very disappointed," Nakamura said. "I wanted to push myself to the limit and wrestle the best competition, and he backed out. There's nothing I can do about that."
Though Nakamura knew this would not be a chance for him to move up in the national rankings, he nonetheless had something to gain from beating Sanderson.
"Yoshi had wrestled Sanderson in high school, and it was one of his few losses during his junior year," Reina said. "So that was a good opportunity for him to redeem himself and show how he's improved."
Nakamura did just that in his six-point victory. And with the win, he remains undefeated in NCAA-sanctioned matches (14-0).
The match began very slow, with no scoring in the first period. It appeared that Nakamura had a takedown at 1:43, but he was unable to keep his feet inbounds before the referee would have called it.
The second period also fostered little action. Sanderson earned the first point of the match off an early escape just four seconds into the period, but Nakamura's takedown later in the second gave him the 2-1 advantage going into the final period.
Once the bell signaled the beginning of the last two minutes, Nakamura began to take control.
Sanderson gave him a free escape to start the period, making the score 3-1.
Just seconds later, Nakamura picked Sanderson up off the ground. This would lead to the first of Nakamura's three takedowns in the period. Sanderson's only points the entire match were on three escapes.
With just 15 ticks left on the clock and the score standing at 9-3, the match looked to be over without any further excitement.
But the 1999 EIWA Champion always finds a way to make things just a little more interesting. In the closing moments, Nakamura moved in on an unsuspecting Sanderson and nearly pinned him.
"I thought I had the pin, but you can't count on that," Nakamura said. "I just kept wrestling tough until the match ended. Unfortunately, I didn't get the pin, but I still won the match."
Of the five top-ranked wrestlers that competed last night, two were upset. Most notably, 165-pounder Joe Heskett of Nebraska lost to No. 2 Don Pritzlaff of Wisconsin, 3-2, when he was unable to ride Pritzlaff out for 30 seconds in overtime.
At the meet's conclusion, Reina summed up the magic of the night.
"It's just great to be here and be involved," Reina said. "To have one of our athletes compete, and compete well... made it an amazing night."
(01/26/01 10:00am)
The Penn men's track team has found limited success so far this season.
But this weekend, the Quakers will have a chance to turn some heads against very tough competition.
The Quakers travel to Happy Valley today to participate in the Penn State Invitational. Year after year, this meet attracts some of the strongest teams in the country, including perennial powerhouse Georgetown.
This year will be no different.
Penn junior Tuan Wreh looks forward to facing his toughest competition all season.
"Some of the best guys in the country are going to be at the meet, so the competition will be a significant step up," Wreh said.
The jump specialist out of Rockyville, Md., has performed especially well lately. Wreh took first place in both the long jump (6.75 meters) and triple jump (14.95 meters) at a tri-meet against Navy and Wake Forest on January 13.
Wreh will be focusing on the technical aspects of his jumps this weekend.
"I am looking to do well technically," Wreh said. "As long as I'm working on my technique and that's improving, that's going to set me up to jump far as the season wears on."
But Penn coach Charlie Powell cannot rely only on his junior standout.
"I think [Powell] is looking for a team effort," Penn sophomore Sam Burley said. "We've had good individual performers at different times, but as a team we haven't really pulled it together."
Burley will also be a key factor if Penn wants to place well. This weekend, he will run the 800 for the first time this season -- a big increase from his previous long race of the year, the 500.
"I don't really know what sort of 800 shape I'm in," Burley said. "I'd just like to figure out where I'm at."
Brian Abram, a sophomore on the men's track team who currently lives with Burley, is confident his roommate will do well this weekend.
"[Sam] is running the 800 for the first time this year, but I think he'll do really well," Abram said.
Abram, Penn's fastest in the 400, must have a strong performance in his event, as well, for the Quakers to do well in the team rankings.
Abram will be looking to replicate his recent success. He finished first at the Cornell Invitational last weekend.
"Our team's looking for a really strong turnout," Abram said. "[We want to] show that we've worked hard the whole season, and everything hasn't been done for nothing."
Burley agrees, and looks at this meet as an opportunity.
"We haven't had a really great meet yet this year. If everyone shows up and does their thing at the right time, we should be a pretty good team."
(01/25/01 10:00am)
There are only seven words on a plaque that sits in Roger Reina's office. But those seven words -- "Energy and Persistence will Conquer all Things" -- are enough to capture the essence of the Penn wrestling coach's philosophy.
Those seven words have motivated Reina to turn around a Penn program that was mired in disarray.
When Reina took over as head coach of the Penn wrestling team back in 1986, the Quakers had won just two Ivy League matches in four years.
But in the 15 years since, Reina has become the winningest coach in Penn wrestling history.
And this success is a direct result of the Penn headman's energy and persistence.
Reina, who spent most of his youth in Pennsylvania, began wrestling at a young age.
"My older brother wrestled, and I had some good friends that got involved with it in elementary school," Reina said. "So between my older brother and friends that were interested, that's how I got started."
Reina also played soccer, and at the end of high school, he had to decide between the two.
"Wrestling, to me, was much more of a personal battle and an individual sport [than soccer]," Reina said. "It had a lot more personal intensity with it, and challenges both mentally and physically."
Reina thus chose to wrestle while enrolled at Penn -- a choice that would prove to be quite beneficial. The veteran coach said that his years at Penn were full of the kinds of experiences that helped him grow individually.
"Penn's a very challenging place," Reina said. "As an undergraduate, often times it's hard to recognize how those challenges are going to be helpful to you in later life. But the further away I am from graduation, the more I realize just how valuable the education is and how important those challenges are in terms of personal growth."
Reina definitely left a mark on Penn's wrestling program. He started all four years and was named co-captain his senior year.
A leader on the mat, he was also honored by being named to the all-Ivy team in his final season of wrestling.
"First and foremost is mental toughness," Reina said of the keys to becoming a successful wrestler. "That's something that I think has been a real central aspect to Penn [wrestling]."
But Reina's leadership role extended beyond the mat. He graduated on the dean's list with a degree in American History. And his emphasis on the academic aspect of being a student-athlete has not faltered over the years. In an interview with Noel Hynd of The Pennsylvania Gazette back in 1998, Reina highlighted the academic accomplishments of the stellar teams he has coached.
"The academic success of our student-athletes must be stressed," Reina said. "[We're] in the top 10 of all teams nationally in terms of GPA. Penn offers the highest level of wrestling and academics anywhere in the U.S. This is what we're about."
After graduation, Reina stayed at Penn to enroll in graduate-level courses and take on the role of an assistant coach.
"I didn't have the intention of being a college coach," Reina explained. "When my coach Larry Lauchle chose to step down during my second year as an assistant coach, I thought, 'Wow, what a wonderful opportunity.'"
Perhaps more than he realizes, Reina taking on the role of head coach in 1986 was equally wonderful for the Penn wrestling program. His teams have compiled a record of 165-80-6, and have been above .500 in 12 of his 14 seasons.
Reina's impressive record at the helm of Penn wrestling has certainly not been without accolades. He was elected president of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association and chairman of the Ivy League Wrestling Coaches Association. In 1997, he received the Pennsylvania Amateur Wrestling Federation's "Contributor of the Year" Award and has been a National Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year nominee for the past four years.
"You have to have a clear vision of what it takes to be successful and communicate that vision to the captains and the athletes on that team," Reina said. "Another component is not settling for anything less than someone's best efforts. I think we all face challenges in our lives, athletically, academically and in other ways. Too often we're willing to sell ourselves and our friends short."
Reina has been very successful at conveying that message to his team.
"He demands the most out of his athletes," Penn senior co-captain Mike Fickell said. "Whenever he's around you, it just lifts up the intensity in the room and really pushes you to reach your potential."
Despite enormous success, Reina remains humble about his knowledge of the sport.
"Wrestling is a sport that anyone who's paying attention can learn indefinitely," he said.
But that is not to downplay Reina's knowledge. He has made a career out of paying attention to the finer nuances of the sport. In fact, his never-ending desire to learn more about wrestling has not gone unnoticed.
"Strategically, coach [Reina] is one of the smartest coaches I know of," senior co-captain Yoshi Nakamura said. "He studies the sport, learns from it and takes all the different components [of wrestling] and puts them together."
And yet, with so much success, Reina still finds things that motivate him as a coach.
"Seeing someone who breaks through, believes in themselves and accomplishes something they've never done before -- that spark is the most motivating thing by far as a coach," Reina said.
Reina, who is an avid rock climber, now has a new project in the works. With the fourth-ranked recruiting class in the nation at Penn last fall, he has the opportunity to mold those grapplers into a team that is consistent and dominant at all weight classes.
Though only time will tell if Reina is successful with this new batch of Quakers, his philosophy of "Energy and Persistence" shouldn't allow him to stray too far from his goals.
(12/14/00 10:00am)
After two years away at the University of Nebraska, wrestlers Joe and Josh Henson have came home to the state of Pennsylvania, where the twins were born and raised.
The pair of juniors are not returning just to drop by their hometown for a few weeks and return to school, however.
This time, the twins are here to stay. Their new home is the University of Pennsylvania.
The Hensons' old home is in Hanover, Pa., a city in South Central Pennsylvania where the two of them grew up. Being twins, Joe and Josh were each other's entertainment.
"We pretty much were each other's companions the whole time," Joe said. "That's how we were competitive and that's how we started in sports."
Joe and Josh tried every sport. One day in kindergarten, Josh decided that he wanted to take a shot at wrestling.
"[Josh] begged my dad to let him wrestle," Joe said. "My dad didn't want him to, but finally he begged enough, so my dad let him."
Joe, on the other hand, thought he was destined for something else.
"I thought I was going to do gymnastics," Joe said. "But then I saw him win a couple of medals; and he got to wear a uniform. So in first grade, I decided, 'Enough gymnastics.' I was going to wrestle."
The brothers kept up each other's interest in the sport. They used their living room as practice space, and spent many an afternoon trying to pin each other.
"[We used to wrestle] a lot in the living room," Joe said. "There's not a lot space to be offensive in the living room; that's why we're both real solid defensively."
They also continued to wrestle, quite simply, because they were good at the sport.
"That's what we were the best at, so that's what we did," Joe said. "If we would have been 6'5", we would have played football."
The Hensons, who are a good half-foot shy of 6'5", only got better as they got older. By the end of their senior year, both had been Pennsylvania High School State Champions.
After high school, both of them went to the University of Nebraska, where their success continued. Joe was a two-time NCAA qualifier and first-team All-Academic Big 12.
Josh became a University National Greco Roman Champion.
Following the 1999-2000 season, the two of them decided to transfer from the University of Nebraska to Penn.
"There were some coaching changes, so we re-evaluated where we were and what our goals were, academically and athletically," Josh said. "It just seemed like a smart move to transfer here. [Penn is] the top academic-athletic combination in wrestling."
Despite recognizing the value of an Ivy League education, the Psychology majors jokingly admit they have no idea what they want to do in the future yet.
"Well, we're going to graduate some day," Joe said sarcastically.
"I don't think we've formulated any specific career goals at this point," Josh added.
Since arriving at Penn, Josh has had nerve problems in his shoulder. He hopes to be back early in the new year to continue wrestling.
"I've been trying to do some cross-training, stay in shape and stay mentally focused," Josh said.
Joe, meanwhile, does not seem to have lost a step from his Cornhusker days. In his debut in a Penn wrestling singlet at the Keystone Classic, he was runner-up to a wrestler ranked in the top-10 nationally, Marc Hoffer of American University.
At the Penn State Open, Joe took third place after defeating 2000 All-American Jamarr Billman, 3-1, in overtime.
Despite not being entirely sure of their career goals, Joe and Josh are very clear about what they want in their remaining years of college wrestling.
"The main goal is to be an All-American, and eventually become a national champion," Joe said.
These goals are not entirely out of the question, either. Since Joe wrestles at 149, and Josh wrestles at 165, it is even possible for the two of them to claim titles simultaneously.
When asked how it was that they came to wrestle at such different weight classes despite being twins, their self-declared sarcasm came out again.
"That'd be one for the Biology Department to take up," Joe joked.
"I guess I just ate more," Josh said. "Scientists have been pondering that for a long time."
They may be full of jokes off the mat, but the two brothers and roommates are all business on the mat. And the Henson brothers will certainly be a force to be reckoned with for the next few years.
(12/06/00 10:00am)
Despite having six wrestlers place in last Saturday's Penn State Open, the Penn wrestling team still had reason to be disappointed with its performance.
The Quakers came home to Philadelphia with no individual titles and five wrestlers came within one match of placing.
Two of those five men -- freshman Greg Hallahan and senior Tim Ortman -- represented Penn at the 165-pound weight class. Both wrestlers went 3-2 and lost tough matches that prevented them from placing.
The tournament was organized in a very unique format. Each weight class was structured in a five-round, 32-man, double-elimination bracket. However, in order to reduce the number of matches that took place, competitors losing in the first round were not given a second chance.
By incorporating the 'one-and-out' rule in the first round, there is a very real possibility that the second-best wrestler in a weight class would be eliminated early simply because he performed poorly in his opening match.
This hurt the Quakers, especially in the 133-pound weight class, where Penn was represented by three freshmen. All three of them -- Dan Mousetis, Rob Dolan, and Jeff Eveleth -- lost their opening matches and did not compete again for the rest of the day.
The Quakers showed the most depth in the 141-pound weight class, where they went 3-4-5. Sophomore Chris Hanlon led the way; he went 4-1 and placed third after defeating teammate freshman Kyle Bernholz.
Bernholz, who finished fourth, posted three straight wins before losing to eventual champion Corey Ace of perennial-powerhouse Edinboro. Sophomore Max Galka rounded out the weight class by taking fifth.
Penn's strongest individual performance this past Saturday came from freshman Mason Lenhard.
Lenhard -- the 2000 Keystone Classic Champion at the 125-pound weight class -- finished second at the Penn State Open. After defeating four opponents by fairly close margins, he lost a 3-2 nail-biter to Penn State's Josh Moore in the finals.
There was a good amount of controversy concerning the outcome of this match. Some believed that Mason had the winning takedown at the very end of the third period, but the referee did not call it.
Senior co-captain Mike Fickell also performed well. His third place finish included a 4-1 record and three pins.
Like his teammate, Nebraska transfer Joe Henson gave a good effort for the Quakers. The junior out of Hanover, Pa., went 4-1 and placed third at the 149-pound weight class.
Henson lost his semifinal match to eventual champion Marc Hoffer of American -- a wrestler who defeated Henson earlier this season in the finals of the 2000 Keystone Classic.
But Henson came back in the third place match by defeating Jamarr Billman of Lock Haven, 3-1, in overtime.
Senior co-captain Yoshi Nakamura did not travel with the team to Happy Valley last Saturday. In place of the tournament at State College, Pa., Nakamura elected to attend the Henri Detlane Tournament in France, where he placed first in the freestyle competition.
The tournament -- named after France's former Olympic wrestling champion -- attracts teams that represent countries from all over Europe.
En route to capturing the freestyle crown, Nakamura convincingly defeated four opponents from four different countries -- Spain, France, Bulgaria, and Tunisia.
Nakamura's victory marks his second consecutive tournament crown. At this year's Keystone Classic, Nakamura defeated four opponents -- two by technical fall -- to obtain the title at 157. Nakamura was also given the Outstanding Wrestler Award at that tournament.
Needless to say, the Penn co-captain's presence was sorely missed at the Penn State Open.
Sophomore Jody Giuricich was Penn's only notable representative at 157, ending up just shy of placing in a fairly-loaded weight class. Giuricich won his first three matches, but then dropped his quarterfinal match and his match to place.
The Quakers will have a few weeks to train before heading off to Northwestern University to attend the Midlands Open at the end of the month.
(11/22/00 10:00am)
The confidence and toughness that Penn wrestler Yoshi Nakamura possesses when he steps onto the mat strike deep in the heart of his opponents. Even scarier, perhaps, is the manner in which he outmaneuvers and overpowers each and every one of them.
But now, enter the other Nakamura, the one that's off the mat. The one that has faced as much adversity in his life by age 21 as the average guy faces his entire life.
Nakamura was born and raised in Elyria, Ohio, just west of Cleveland. At the age of two, Nakamura's father began training him in judo. At age 11, he captured his first national title.
Two years after that huge moment, Nakamura's father died.
"He was a real big part of my life," Nakamura said. "It was emotional, and things were really rough for a long time. I had a younger brother and sister, and so I had to fill in that role of the older, more mature role model."
Just 13 years old, Nakamura turned to his late father's good friend, three-time Olympic wrestling coach Tadaki Hata.
"Tadaki Hata took me under his wing," Nakamura said. "Before my dad passed away, he had told Tadaki Hata, 'take care of my son,' and he did."
Hata sent Nakamura to Saint Edward High School, a private institution where Nakamura's wrestling career began.
"Through that time, it was pretty hard for my mom and I," Nakamura said. "We struggled, but we made ends meet, and things turned out OK."
Things turned out more than OK. Nakamura continued his judo career through high school, winning eight straight national titles in the martial arts form.
His success in a gi has been matched only by his success in a wrestling singlet. In his junior year of high school -- just two years after being introduced to wrestling -- Nakamura won his first of two Ohio state wrestling titles.
Nakamura's wrestling style has been greatly influenced by his training in judo.
"The balance, strength and agility has definitely played a key role in my wrestling," Nakamura said. "I can also bend in and out of a lot of positions that other people can't. It's been a real plus."
Nakamura's success in wrestling has continued at Penn. In 1999, he won both the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championship and the University National Freestyle Championship at 157 pounds.
Nakamura finished his sophomore season with 33 wins, tying the Penn single-season record set by Olympic gold medalist Brandon Slay.
Underlying Nakamura's ability to overcome adversity and tack credential upon credential to his already impressive resume is his konjo -- the Japanese word for fighting spirit.
"My dad was very strict, and I was always told to be tough, especially being so young in competition," Nakamura said, referring to his participation in national judo competitions. "I just carried that over when I got into high school and wrestling, and now into college. If you have a fighting spirit, then you can pursue anything."
Nakamura believes that many people have helped him in his journey to the top.
There was obviously his father, and his mother. Nakamura's high school coach and his assistant coaches at Penn have also been pivotal, as have his fellow wrestlers, especially Slay and Clint and Brett Matter.
And of course, there is the man who has led the Penn wrestling program to unprecedented success -- head coach Roger Reina.
"It goes all the way up and down the line," Nakamura said. "I attribute my success to everybody."
In 1999, Nakamura sustained a back injury. His condition worsened throughout the year, so he elected to sit out the season.
Now, however, Nakamura is back, stronger and smarter than ever before.
"I've really grown from my experience and my time off," Nakamura said. "When you get a chance to sit out and look at your sport from the outside, you really see the mistakes that you made in the past."
At this season's opening meet, the Keystone Classic, Nakamura -- ranked No. 8 in the nation at 157 by Amateur Wrestling News -- showed just how much he had grown since his injury. He went a perfect 4-0 in his matches, winning his weight class and capturing the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award.
Nakamura's goals for the season, however, go far beyond last Saturday's tournament.
"I want to be able to finish the season this year and have no regrets," Nakamura said. "I want to win a national championship. I don't want anything less than that."
Beyond this season, Nakamura's goals are even loftier.
"I've really been leaning towards sticking around and training for the next Olympics in 2004," Nakamura said. "It's one of my lifetime goals."
Nakamura's konjo can only lead him to bigger and better things.
(11/20/00 10:00am)
There were no surprises in the final team rankings at this year's Keystone Classic. As expected, the Penn wrestling team finished first in a field of seven teams on Saturday at the Palestra.
The Quakers scored 111.5 points en route to capturing the overall team title. Rider, which edged Penn out for the title last year by 4.5 points, finished a fairly distant second (100.0). Virginia took third place (93.0), and Seton Hall was right behind the Cavaliers in fourth place (90.0). Brown, American and the Citadel finished fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively.
One of the big stories of the tournament was the tremendous effort from the Penn freshmen. Ranked as the No. 4 recruiting class in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News, the youngest of Penn's wrestlers proved just how good they were.
"We expect these freshmen to step up to the collegiate ranks and compete with confidence in their abilities," Penn coach Roger Reina said.
Penn freshman Mason Lenhard won the 125-pound weight class. En route to winning his bracket, the third-seeded Lenhard defeated both of the higher-seeded wrestlers at 125. First, he knocked off second-seeded Willie Harris from American, 7-3, in the semifinals.
Lenhard then won an 8-6 decision over top-seeded Jerold Limongelli from Rider. Lenhard's two-point takedown with 20 seconds left in the final period, which put him up 8-5, sealed the victory.
"It's good to start off [the season] that way, beating a good kid in the finals," Lenhard said. "I'm glad things went well this tournament, and look forward to doing this all year."
Penn's Mike Faust, the No. 5 seed in the heavy weight bracket, also showed that he is a force to be reckoned with.
The Baltimore native defeated top-seeded Bronson Lingamfelter from Brown, 2-1, with an overtime escape in the semifinals. With the entire Palestra crowd behind him, Faust escaped the clutches of Lingamfelter with just three seconds left in the fifth period.
Faust ended the day as the runner-up after losing, 2-1, on an overtime escape to second-seeded Josh Etu from Virginia.
Two other freshmen also placed. Jeff Eveleth finished third at 133, and Greg Hallahan took fifth at 165.
Besides Lenhard, three other Penn wrestlers won their brackets, including senior Tim Ortman. The former Penn sprint football star defeated top-seeded Denis Alampiev from American, 11-7, in the finals to win at 165.
This victory came after an unexpectedly close semifinal match against Rider's Nick Catone. After three two-minute periods and a one-minute overtime period, the score stood at 2-2. Ortman lost the coin toss, and consequently had to ride Catone for 30 solid seconds. In the face of immense pressure, Ortman did just that.
"I knew that if I went to his ankle, I could hold him down, because he was pretty tired," Ortman said.
Co-captain Mike Fickell was equally impressive at 197. In a weight class with only six wrestlers, the Penn senior automatically advanced to the semifinals. Fickell, who won last year's Keystone Classic at 197, defended his title by winning both of his matches by fall at 2:55.
Perhaps the most impressive sight on Saturday at the Palestra was the manner in which senior co-captain Yoshi Nakamura dismantled his opponents. Although he didn't pin any opponents in his four wins, Nakamura did win twice by technical fall. He dominated each match -- winning by scores of 21-6, 11-3, 17-6 and 20-4.
"In beating my guy in the finals by a tech fall, it really shows that I've grown from my injury, and that I've learned from it," Nakamura said. "All things happen for a reason, and you've got to learn from it and go on to new things."
Nakamura was also given the Champion of Champions Award at the end of the tournament.
Rounding out Penn's place winners were Nebraska transfer Joe Henson, who finished second at 149; sophomore Jody Giuricich, who finished third at 157; and junior Craig Melcher, who finished fifth at 174.
The Quakers will return to action on December 3, when they travel to Happy Valley for the Penn State Open.
(11/16/00 10:00am)
This weekend, the Penn wrestling team will be a strong contender for top honors at the sixth annual Keystone Classic to be held at the Palestra.
The matches, which begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, will be organized in a 16-man, single-elimination bracket for each of the 10 weight classes. Each team attending this year's Keystone Classic will be allowed two wrestlers per weight class.
Six of the seven teams participating this weekend -- American, Brown, Rider, Seton Hall, Virginia and Penn -- also competed in last year's tournament. The newcomer is The Citadel, which will replace last year's third-place team, Central Michigan.
The Quakers have high hopes for this weekend.
"I think Pennsylvania and Rider are the two favorites going into it," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "Virginia should also have some pretty tough guys."
The Quakers, who finished second last year with 122.0 points, will look to overtake defending champion Rider this weekend (126.5). Both teams have four wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in their respective weight classes by Amateur Wrestling News.
At the 125-pound weight class, the favorite will be Rider junior Jerold Limongelli, ranked 10th in the nation in his weight class by AWN.
At the 133-pound weight class, none of the seven teams have a phenomenal wrestler. The Quakers have no veterans in the 133-pound division, so two freshmen will get the nod.
The favorite in the 141-pound weight class will be Rider sophomore P.J. Sargent, who is ranked 19th in the nation at that weight.
American's Marc Hoffer, The Citadel's Wayne Watts, Virginia's P.J. Bory and Penn's Joe Henson all have a shot at the 149-pound title this weekend.
Watts, a two-time Utah 5A high school state champion, will likely see immediate action despite being a freshman. Bory, who was last year's ACC Champion at 141, has decided to move up to 149 where his coach says he will be more comfortable.
Henson, a transfer from the University of Nebraska, was an NCAA qualifier in each of his two seasons with the Cornhuskers. He looks to surpass the No. 5 national ranking he achieved as a sophomore.
The 157-pound weight class should be dominated by Penn tri-captain Yoshi Nakamura. The senior out of Elyria, Ohio, was the EIWA Champion at 157 and the University National Freestyle Champion in his sophomore year. Nakamura, who is currently ranked eighth in his weight class, did not wrestle last season due to injury.
At 165, Penn fifth-year senior Tim Ortman and American senior Denis Alampiev should duke it out for the title. Alampiev is ranked 17th in his weight class.
Penn standout Rick Springman should have little problem at 174. Last year, the All-American NCAA semifinalist and 2000 EIWA champion set the single-season Penn record for most falls (11), shattering the old mark of seven held by seven different wrestlers.
Rider senior Shawn Scannell will likely dominate the 184-pound bracket. An NCAA quarterfinalist last season, Scannell looks to improve on his current No. 6 ranking in his weight class.
The 197-pound weight class will be closely contested between seniors Mike Fickell from Penn and Marc DeFrancesco from Rider. Fickell was last season's Keystone Classic champion in this weight class.
With the loss of All-American Bandele Adeniyi-Bada to graduation, Penn will have to look to a younger wrestler to take the heavyweight crown. The favorite in that bracket will be Brown junior Bronson Lingamfelter.
The Quakers are definitely ready to wrestle this weekend.
"I'm very confident with our preparation," Reina said. "We're real excited going into the competition to just see where we are."
(11/15/00 10:00am)
Three months and 30 matches later, the Penn volleyball team has shown that youth and inexperience don't automatically spell disaster.
The Quakers ended the season with an overall mark of 22-8, their best finish since 1987, when the team went 24-10. In the Ivy League, Penn went 5-2, finishing second only to eventual Ivy League champion Princeton (20-7, 6-1).
Penn did a great job all season avoiding the effects of inexperience. Most novice teams suffer the fate of long losing streaks because they are unable to bounce back from tough losses. Penn, on the other hand, lost consecutive matches only once this entire season, and never had a winning streak of less than three.
"The heart of this team is impressive and it is to their efforts that these players pushed through for some major victories this season," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "We never quit, never let up, never said die, even at the end."
The backbone of Penn's success this season has been its defense. The Quakers finished the regular season ranked first in the Ivy League in blocks (271.5), digs per game (18.79) and digs (1879).
Penn's dominance at the net can be mostly attributed to three players -- right side hitter Stacey Carter and middle blockers Kelly Szczerba and Heather Janssen.
All three of these players finished in the top 10 on the Ivy League blocks per game list. Most notably of Penn's trio of blockers is Szczerba, who led the Ivies in blocks (125) and blocks per game (1.42).
Penn's floor defense was equally exemplary. In the backcourt, the Quakers were led by outside hitters Stephanie Horan and Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan. Horan finished second in the Ivies in digs per game (3.86), and Kwak-Hefferan finished seventh in the same category (3.14).
Although Penn was outdug by its opponents this season (1,958-1,879), this discrepancy should be attributed to problems with offensive execution, not defensive play.
One of the main reasons why the Quakers were not untouchable this season was the inability of their hitters to consistently put the ball down.
Penn finished dead last in the Ivies in kills per game (12.76) and assists per game (11.12). The Quakers also had no representation in the Ivy individual hitting percentage and kills per game lists.
"We have the defense," Major said. "[We need to] expand our offensive capabilities so that we are not so predictable in what we can and can't do."
In a few matches scattered throughout the season, the Quakers did have strong offensive games. One example was Penn's meeting with Harvard on October 7, when the Quakers amassed 60 kills and hit .257 en route to a straight-game victory.
For the most part, however, this offense did not show up consistently. The Quakers hit sub-.100 in several matches this season, including their losses to Cornell and Princeton.
Penn's hitters became predictable in those two matches, and key opposing blockers -- Cornell's Ashley Stover and Princeton's Emily Brown -- were able to single-handedly shut down Penn's offense.
The Quakers have many things going for them, however, come next year. One advantage Penn will have over all other Ivy League teams is that it will lose no one to graduation this May.
"Cornell loses their MVP, Robin Moore," Major said. "Princeton loses Sabrina King, their defensive star, and Emily Brown, their top middle. We lose no one. That has got to be an advantage at the beginning of the season."
Penn -- a team composed of three juniors, three sophomores and nine freshmen -- will use this season as a learning experience and come back even stronger next year.
"I expect the team to work hard and improve in the offseason and during summer workouts," Major said. "My hope is to be the team to beat by midway through the season."
(11/13/00 10:00am)
The Penn volleyball team played well, but came up short in the Ivy League Championship Tournament this past weekend, losing in the league semifinals.
The Quakers entered the Malkin Athletic Center in Boston with the No. 2 seed and a very realistic hope that they would meet Princeton in the finals.
Penn's first match was against the home team, No. 7 seed Harvard. In the regular season contest between the two teams, Penn easily defeated Harvard, 3-0. This time, however, the match would be much closer.
One reason why the Crimson were almost able to pull off the upset was their vast improvement since the two teams first met on October 7.
"I think they improved a lot since the last time we met them," Penn freshman Katie Brandt said. "They studied our game, and knew exactly how we were gonna come after them."
With the home crowd behind them, the Crimson jumped out to an early lead and took the first game, 15-10. They were up 10-6 when Penn's hitting finally came alive. The Quakers bounced back with a 9-0 run to take the second game, 15-10.
Penn and Harvard then took one game each out of the next two. In the fifth and deciding game, the see-saw battle that characterized the match up to that point continued. Penn fought hard and won, 15-11.
The Quakers were led by freshman outside hitter Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, who picked up 16 kills and 16 digs.
"We were able to keep coming back from runs they made, and we never gave up," Kwak-Hefferan said. "Even if we did get into a little funk, we were able to pull ourselves back out of it."
Junior middle hitter Kelly Szczerba, Penn's lone representative on the 2000 Ivy All-Tournament team, continued to dominate at the net. She added her second triple-double in three matches, gathering 15 kills, 12 digs and 13 blocks.
Junior Stephanie Horan was stellar in the backcourt, picking up a match-high 31 digs.
The Crimson were led by outside hitter Erin Denniston, who finished the regular season atop the Ivy League kills list (357). The Harvard junior out of Irvine, Calif., racked up 20 kills in the five-game marathon match.
Penn then awaited the outcome of the match between No. 3 Cornell and No. 6 Brown.
The Bears played well, but were unable to contain Cornell's Robin Moore and Jennifer Borncamp. The two amassed 45 kills as Cornell took the match, 3-1.
On Saturday, the Quakers met the Big Red at 1 p.m. in the semifinals. Penn was very aware that Cornell would come out on fire in an effort to avenge its 3-0 loss to the Quakers two weeks ago.
Cornell would get its revenge, as it downed Penn, 3-1.
Cornell took the first game, 15-11, and Penn took the second, 15-12. It looked as if a long match was in store for these two teams.
But this would not be the case. After Penn jumped out to the early 4-1 lead, it would never again be on top. Cornell came back in the third game to tie it up at 10-10.
The Big Red then went on a 5-0 run to end the third game on top, 15-10. The momentum from this run took Cornell to victory in the fourth game, 15-8, and gave the Big Red a trip to the finals.
"They jumped on us right from the start," Brandt said. "They got the momentum; they got the confidence; and they had that the whole game."
Cornell's big three came alive in this match. Moore, Borncamp and freshman outside hitter Debbie Quibell -- who were held to just 39 kills and 41 digs in their team's October 27 meeting with the Quakers -- combined for 55 kills and 61 digs on Saturday.
Brandt, Szczerba and Kwak-Hefferan were the bright spots for Penn. The three combined for 41 kills, 42 digs and 10 blocks in their team's losing effort.
"It was a tough battle," Brandt said. "We stayed with them; we never gave in; and we gave a pretty good effort."
In the upper half of the bracket, No. 1 Princeton easily rolled over No. 8 Columbia in straight games, and No. 4 Yale disposed of No. 5 Dartmouth in a similar manner.
Princeton and Yale met in the semifinals. The Tigers were too much for the Elis, and Princeton won easily, 3-0.
In the finals, Princeton and Cornell both played great matches. The two teams were tight throughout the match, but Princeton came out with the eventual victory, 3-2. Princeton's victory marks its fifth Ivy League title in seven years.
Besides Szczerba, five other players were named to the All-Tournament team. They were Princeton setter Ana Yeorg; Yeorg's teammate outside hitter Kellie Cramm; Yale setter Stephanie McMahon; Cornell's Borncamp; and Borncamp's teammate Moore, who was the tournament MVP.
(11/08/00 10:00am)
Over the past two months, the Penn volleyball team has spent hour after hour, day after day in the gym working on their game.
This weekend, all that work will be put to the ultimate test when the Quakers face the rest of the Ancient Eight in the Ivy League Championship Tournament.
The Quakers will travel to the Malkin Athletic Center in Boston, where all matches will take place. The tournament will be in an eight-team, single-elimination format on Harvard's home court.
The Quakers have high hopes.
"I hope we can play the best we've played all season and come away with the Ivy League championship," Penn freshman Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan said.
In the first round, No. 2 Penn (5-2 Ivy League) will take on the home team, No. 7 Harvard (2-5). In the meeting between the two teams during the regular season, Penn racked up 60 kills and hit .252 en route to defeating the Crimson in straight games at the Malkin Athletic Center.
Once again, Harvard will have the benefit of its roaring fans.
"The crowd is very loud, very obnoxious," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "But we were so focused on the match, and so into our game, that we tuned it out for the most part. I'd like to see that same thing happen [on Friday]."
In addition, the Quakers know that the Crimson will have revenge on their minds and will bring their "A" game.
"We can't take them too lightly," junior middle hitter Kelly Szczerba said. "Even though we beat them in three [during the regular season], they are a very good team."
The Quakers must shut down Harvard junior Erin Denniston, the Crimson's go-to hitter. Denniston finished the regular season ranked first in the Ivy League in kills (357) and second in kills per game (4.15).
If Penn beats Harvard, it will face the winner of the match between No. 3 Cornell (4-3) and No. 6 Brown (2-5) in the semifinals. Penn beat both of these teams during the regular season, taking out the Big Red in straight games and beating the Bears, 3-2.
In spite of the fact that Penn had a tougher time with Brown, and that Cornell fell to the Bears, 3-2, during the regular season, Major predicts that the Big Red will come out on top.
"I think we're gonna face Cornell," Major said. "They're a stronger team on paper, and I don't think we saw their best match [when they played] against us."
Penn's key to success against Cornell will be silencing its big three, something the Quakers did quite well in the regular season meeting. Middle hitter Robin Moore was the Big Red's lone bright spot, picking up 15 kills and hitting .234 in her team's losing effort.
Cornell outside hitters Debbie Quibell and Jennifer Borncamp had sub-par matches, with Quibell's hitting percentage in the red and Borncamp's at .104.
If Penn faces Brown, the Quakers must not underestimate the Bears. Despite being ranked sixth or lower in the Ivy League in all but one team category, Brown has the potential to upset a higher-ranked team.
In the upper bracket, No. 1 Princeton (6-1) will face off against No. 8 Columbia (1-6). Afterward, No. 4 Yale (4-3) will take on No. 5 Dartmouth (4-3). Most coaches, including Major, expect Princeton to come out on top in the upper half of the bracket.
"I think Princeton has something to prove, and other people feel that [the Tigers] have to come out on top," Major said.
If all goes according to plan, the underdog Quakers will get the opportunity to avenge their earlier 3-0 loss to the Tigers.
Princeton manhandled Penn in Old Nassau in that meeting. Princeton freshman Kellie Cramm had a stellar match, picking up 22 kills and hitting a very convincing .366.
For her team to have a chance, Major must make several adjustments on defense.
Most importantly, Penn's blockers must be able to read Princeton's southpaw setter Ana Yeorg. The six-footer moves the ball around very deceptively, and also attacks effectively on the second touch.
On the court, Penn's backrow players must be able to switch smoothly between perimeter defense and rotational defense.
The tournament will begin at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon with the Princeton-Columbia quarterfinal match, and will conclude with the championship match taking place at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.
The Quakers are fired up and ready to play this weekend.
"Each game of the season we've improved," sophomore Stacey Carter said. "We've met every single goal we've had throughout the entire season. I think we're very ready."
(10/30/00 10:00am)
The Penn volleyball team entered this season hoping to improve on its low No. 6 seeding in last year's Ivy League Championship Tournament.
That hope has now become reality.
The Quakers took out Cornell in three straight games on Friday and beat Columbia in a two-and-a-half hour marathon, 3-2, on Saturday. By winning both matches, Penn secured the No. 2 spot in the Ivy Tournament, which gets underway November 10.
Penn (20-7, 5-2 Ivy League) entered the Palestra on Friday night expecting Cornell (14-8, 4-3) to be playing at the top of its game. The Big Red were tied for first in the Ivies, and they knew they needed to beat Penn in order to have any shot at maintaining that ranking.
Cornell started the match very sluggishly. The team had problems communicating on the floor, allowing Penn to jump out to a quick lead and eventually take the first game, 15-10.
Penn obtained a big lead twice in the second game. The Quakers led 8-1 and 13-8, but Cornell came back to tie it up both times. Penn finally capitalized on Cornell hitting errors and won the second game, 16-14.
"They never ever give up," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "I knew when we came back out after the second game we had to play even tougher in the third game."
The Quakers were up to their coach's challenge. Penn junior setter Jodie Antypas did a great job moving the ball around and watching opposing blockers. She attacked on the second touch when appropriate and set the ball with great precision.
Penn's blocking also came alive in the third game, and at the same time Cornell's offense started to struggle. The Quakers rolled easily in the third game, 15-4, and took the match.
The Quakers played well in all aspects against Cornell.
"I think most of it was staying mentally tough," Penn middle hitter Kelly Szczerba said. "The skills have been there; we just haven't been able to put it all together until tonight."
Penn did a great job containing Cornell's key hitters. Middle blocker Robin Moore and outside hitters Jennifer Borncamp and Debbie Quibell combined for only 39 kills and jointly hit a very weak .104.
Penn had a little more trouble with Columbia (15-9, 1-6) the following night. Lions setter Julia Topik, who picked up 77 assists in the match, did a great job finding her key hitters, middle hitter Kathy Lavold and outside hitter Madia Willis.
The first game was very closely contested. Lavold's quick approach and arm swing gave Penn blockers some timing problems. She was key in Columbia's eventual victory in a 45-minute first game, 17-15.
"I think we were surprised at their defense and their tenacity," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "We weren't mentally ready to play defense the way we did the night before."
In the next two games, Columbia was plagued by 23 hitting errors and passing problems. The Quakers took the second and third games, 15-3 and 15-11, respectively.
In the fourth game, Lavold and Willis took over. Lavold hit Topik's sets cross-court into open space, and Willis put one ball after another down the line and in. Coupled with Penn's failure to adjust its floor defense, Columbia took the game, 15-10.
In the rally-scoring fifth game, the two teams matched each other kill for kill. In the end, strong play at the net would allow the Quakers to take the game, 15-11, and the match.
While both victories were a total team effort, Szczerba played especially well. Against Cornell, she had 22 kills en route to hitting a stellar .553. Against Columbia, she picked up the elusive 'triple-double' by getting 13 kills, 15 digs and an astounding 12 blocks.
"The passes were there, and Jodie [Antypas] was setting great, so it was easy," Szczerba said.
The Quakers have now won 20 matches for the first time since 1987.
(10/27/00 9:00am)
The month-long battle for top regular season honors in the Ivy League volleyball race will reach its climax this weekend.
The four teams still in the hunt -- Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth and Penn -- each have two Ancient Eight matches this weekend. These matches will determine the seeding for the Ivy League Championship Tournament, which starts two weeks from today.
Penn (18-7, 3-2 Ivy League) will take on Cornell (14-6, 4-1) tonight at 7 p.m., and will play Columbia (15-7, 1-4) tomorrow at 4 p.m. Both matches will be at the Palestra.
The Quakers will definitely have their work cut out for themselves against the Big Red. Cornell currently sits atop the Ivy League in kills per game (14.73) and assists per game (13.22).
"They're the same kind of team [as we are], so what you're gonna get is a war," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "We'll see who can outcoach, outhustle and outplay [the other team]."
Penn will have to shut down Cornell's "Big Three" -- middle blocker Robin Moore and outside hitters Debbie Quibell and Jennifer Borncamp -- if it wants to have any chance of winning.
The three players are 1-2-3 on the team in digs and kills, and all three players are in the top 10 in the Ivy League in kills per game.
Moore, a first team All-Ivy selection in 1999, is coming off an amazing weekend in which she picked up 32 kills in two matches. She now has 1,075 career kills, a new Cornell record.
Quibell and Borncamp have also been dominant. Thus far, the two players have combined for 528 kills and 408 digs. Each has been named Ivy League Player of the Week once this season.
The Lions, led by sophomore middle blocker Kathy Lavold, will also provide a tough challenge for the Quakers.
"We gotta put them on defense right away," Major said. "Then they won't be able to get the ball to her."
Lavold is an all-around star, ranked first in the Ivy League in hitting percentage (.359), fourth in blocks per game (1.03) and fifth in service aces per game (.39).
Penn will face tough serving for the second time this week when it plays Columbia. The Lions are currently No. 1 in the Ivy League in service aces per game (2.31), with three of their players in the individual top 10.
The Quakers did not fare so well in their first encounter with tough serving, giving up nine aces to La Salle last Tuesday night.
Overall, Penn needs to continue to do what it has done all season: play great floor defense and dominate the net. The Quakers are tops in the Ivies in blocks (234.5), digs (1633) and digs per game (18.56).
"If you don't have the defense, you can't run the offense," Penn outside hitter Stephanie Horan said. "The offense will come with those passes, the great digs and the effort."
Penn also needs to get out of the cellar in key offensive categories -- kills per game (12.40) and assists per game (10.82) -- to be successful.
If the Quakers win both of their matches this weekend, they will be guaranteed at least a tie for second place in the final standings.
(10/25/00 9:00am)
The first thing one notices when looking at the stats of the Penn volleyball team is defensive dominance. But once in a while, the team's offense shines through as well.
Penn put on one of its best offensive displays of the season last night as it defeated La Salle, 3-1, at Tom Gola Arena. The Quakers have now won 11 of their last 13 matches.
Penn (18-7) jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead over La Salle (12-14) in the first game.
La Salle responded, however. After the lead grew to 9-3, La Salle junior Kristin Russo was up to serve. Her jump serve, which gave Penn's back row passers major problems all night, earned four straight points for the Explorers and forced Penn coach Kerry Major to use a timeout.
"I think it surprised us," sophomore outside hitter Stacey Carter said. "With a team of float servers on their side, a jump server mixed in just kinda throws us off."
The timeout produced immediate results. Junior setter Jodie Antypas took the initiative to get a sideout for her team by attacking the ball on the second touch. Antypas would end the night with five kills, which is fairly high for a setter.
"They had a wide base on their defense," Antypas said. "The block was not going up with me, so it was easy for me to put it down."
The Quakers used that play as a turning point and recaptured the momentum. By going on a 6-0 run after the timeout, Penn won the first game, 15-7.
In the second game, the Quakers relied on strong blocking and good floor defense to obtain the early lead.
The lead quickly ballooned to 12-4, as La Salle setter Caitlin Keefe had problems connecting with her hitters. Many of her sets were unusually far off the net, forcing her hitters to adjust and making it difficult to get a kill. The Red and Blue went on to win the second game, 15-7.
The third game was a different story. After hitting a combined .319 in the first two games, the Quakers started having problems putting the ball down for a kill.
There were several lead changes in the early part of the game, and eventually the score was tied at nine.
That's when Russo came up to serve again. After three straight service points, including two of her match-total six aces, Penn coach Kerry Major saw the need for another timeout.
Despite being able to sideout a couple of times, Penn would eventually drop the game to La Salle, 15-9.
The fourth game was even more closely contested. Penn's offense was revived in this game, as the team gathered a combined 21 kills.
Strong play at the net from Carter and junior middle blocker Kelly Szczerba kept the Quakers in the game. The two players combined for 13 block assists.
"We've been working on blocking in practice for the past couple of days," Carter said. "We've been working on reading [opposing hitters], so I think that came out today."
After brief spurts by both teams, the score was tied, 11-11. The Quakers then had problems communicating with each other, and La Salle found itself serving for the game at 14-11.
The Quakers then turned themselves around. A bullet from outside hitter Katie Brandt and a block by Carter put Penn within one of tying the game. La Salle coach Jason Klotkowski then called a timeout to get his team to refocus its thoughts.
The timeout was to no avail, however. A kill by Brandt and a couple of La Salle hitting errors allowed Penn to complete its comeback and take the fourth game, 16-14, and the match.
"We turned it on when it counted," Carter said. "We stepped out there in the last five points. We didn't have any errors and put it away."
Brandt led Penn's attack by attaining a match-high 20 kills and hitting an unbelievable .429. The 5'9" freshman from Irvine, Calif., also led the team with 19 digs.
"I was just fired up and ready to play," Brandt said. "I didn't want them to win, because we heard that they've beaten us in the past and they're cross-town rivals!"
Fellow outside hitter Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan had a great offensive night as well, picking up 18 kills en route to hitting a whopping .425.
Penn will have a few days to practice before playing in its fourth and final weekend of Ivy League matches. The Red and Blue will take on Cornell on Friday at 7 p.m. and play their final regular season Ivy League match against Columbia on Saturday at 4 p.m. Both matches will be held at the Palestra.
(10/23/00 9:00am)
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Strong defense can often make up for a mediocre offense, but that's a moot point if a team's defense isn't playing up to its potential either.
That was the scenario on Friday night as the Penn volleyball team fell to Princeton in straight games for the second season in a row. With the win, Princeton joins Cornell atop the Ancient Eight as the Quakers slipped to fourth place.
Penn (17-7, 3-2 Ivy League) knew Princeton (14-7, 4-1) had a punishing offense. But the Quakers traveled to Dillon Gym in Princeton, N.J., believing they had a chance because of their equally tough defense.
That strong defense did not show up until the third game at Old Nassau, however.
"In the first two games, we had trouble adjusting," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "We weren't disciplined in where we had to go."
In the first game, tough serving from Princeton senior Sabrina King gave the Tigers an early 5-1 lead. The lead would grow to 7-2 before Penn responded.
On two consecutive plays, junior middle blocker Kelly Szczerba stuffed Princeton hitters, closing the gap to 7-4 and forcing Princeton coach Glenn Nelson to call a timeout.
Nelson's timeout had immediate results. After a King kill produced a sideout, Princeton freshman Kerry Song came in off the bench to serve. Her use of the float serve -- a type of serve with no rotational spin and a lot of directional movement -- brought the momentum back to Princeton's side.
That momentum would be enough to carry the Tigers to victory in the first game, 15-6.
Penn would respond in the second game, though. By capitalizing on several Princeton hitting errors, the Quakers jumped out to a 6-0 lead.
The Tigers would come back by relying on freshman outside hitter Kellie Cramm, who ended the night with a match-high 22 kills.
Princeton's back row also acrobatically dug several bullets from Penn's key hitters, and the Tigers went on to win the second game, 15-9.
"They had great defense," Szczerba said. "We would go up and hit the ball so hard, and they would bring it back five or six times."
The third game was much closer than the previous two. After several lead changes, the Quakers found themselves serving for the game at 14-12.
On the ensuing play, the first referee ruled that King hit the ball out of bounds, and the Quakers started celebrating their victory in the third game. However, the second referee overruled the call, saying that one of Penn's players touched the ball.
Eventually, Penn ended up dropping the third game, 16-14, and the match along with it.
"Even though I disagree with the call [at 14-12], that is not why we lost," Major said.
One of the reasons Penn lost was that its backrow players had problems digging Princeton's hitters throughout the match.
Penn played a "perimeter defense" -- where the back row players are situated on the court's perimeter to dig a kill -- characteristic of most collegiate volleyball teams. However, most of the balls that dropped were at the center. Penn failed to adjust its defensive strategy and suffered the consequences.
"We just hit where they weren't," King said. "You have to know where the block is, and hit around them, hit off their block, and tip."
Nonetheless, King recognized Penn's formidable talent.
"Penn is good," she said. "If they are playing at the top of their game, they're pretty much our hardest game in the Ivy League."
The Quakers also had problems shutting down 6'0" junior Ana Yeorg, Princeton's southpaw setter. Yeorg caught Penn players off-guard several times during the match by using her height advantage to deceptively attack the ball on the second touch.
Penn's final away match of the regular season will be against La Salle tomorrow at 7 p.m.
(10/20/00 9:00am)
If the outcome of every match was decided just by counting which team had the most number of veterans, the Penn volleyball team would be 0-23 right now.
But the Quakers aren't winless. In fact, their 17-6 overall record is the best in the Ivies. So what does Penn have that trumps its lack of experience? Young talent, team unity and an admirable fearlessness.
On a 15-person team with no seniors, the nine freshmen have looked to the three juniors on the squad for guidance.
"They've been really supportive," freshman outside hitter Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan said. "They give us confidence [by telling us] that we all have the skills and talent to be here."
Kwak-Hefferan certainly has the skills and talent. She is one of only two freshman starters for the Red and Blue, and has earned her spot with strong play.
Currently, Kwak-Hefferan leads her team in kills (180), service aces (24) and digs (257). She is also fifth in the Ivy League in digs per game (3.29), behind junior teammate Stephanie Horan, who is fourth (3.82).
Penn's other freshman starter, middle blocker Heather Janssen, agrees that the juniors have provided strong leadership.
"[The juniors] have collegiate experience, so they've taught us to play at the college pace," Heather Janssen said.
Clearly, Penn's upperclassmen have also taught its freshmen a thing or two about how to play defense. Penn is now ranked No. 1 in the Ivy League in all of the major defensive categories, including blocks (224.5), blocks per game (2.64), digs (1582) and digs per game (18.61).
Janssen is a major reason why opposing teams are shut down at the net in matches against the Red and Blue.
By learning effective blocking strategy from the Ivy League's leader in blocks per game, junior Kelly Szczerba (1.36), Janssen has moved her way up to sixth place in the same category (0.98).
As a product of the coaching provided by the Penn juniors, the freshmen have also learned how to focus on the mental game, something Penn coach Kerry Major has stressed throughout the entire season.
"They believe in us, and that really helps us believe in ourselves," Kwak-Hefferan said. "They help us with the mental aspect of the game, and help us not be overwhelmed."
Junior setter Jodie Antypas is one of "The Three Musketeers" -- Penn's nickname for its three juniors -- who have helped the freshmen bond with each other and with the whole team.
"There's one of each personality out there, and I think the freshmen have gelled really well and adapted," Antypas said.
The Quakers do seem to get along very well with each other, and are always willing to help each other out both on and off the court.
"I really like our team. We're a really good group of girls, and we have fun," Janssen said.
Freshman setter Meghan Schloat agrees.
"These girls are so great, and I wanna show them that not only am I their friend, but I wanna be a really great volleyball player with them," Schloat said. "I want us to mesh together so well."
The feeling of team unity has been key in Penn's success this season, especially as of late. The Quakers have won five straight and 10 of their last 11 matches.
"We're young and talented, and we're keeping our heart and our spirit in the right place," Major said. "We're doing a lot of things emotionally and mentally to make up for our lack of experience."
Penn's "young and talented" volleyball team will travel to Old Nassau to take on arch-rival Princeton tonight at 7:30 p.m.
