Search Results
Below are your search results. You can also try a Basic Search.
(04/25/00 9:00am)
Thousands of fans and athletes will descend upon Penn for this weekend's track carnival For 19 years, Brigham Young assistant women's track coach Patrick Shane was satisfied with track meets in the West, content with not traversing more than one time zone to find competition for his Cougars. But a pair of sisters from Clifton, Va., were not satisfied. BYU distance runners Jessica and Laura Heiner had both competed in the Penn Relays while at Centreville High School, and both pleaded with Shane for another chance to run in what they thought was the pinnacle of track meets. For four years, Jessica was unsuccessful, but last year Laura finally got Shane to cave. The Cougars would take one -- and only one -- trip to the Penn Relays. That trip, however, would turn out to be much more than a one-time tool of appeasement for Shane. After a late-April weekend last year spent in and around Franklin Field -- a weekend of seeing more than 40,000 fans pack the stadium and thousands more athletes re-baptize the rubberized track with their blood, sweat and tears -- Shane vowed BYU would make the trek to the Penn Relays every year. "I just didn't realize what we were missing," Shane says. Shane learned his lesson. Once he came to Philadelphia for that storied weekend in April, he came to realize what the country's most spectacular track carnival is all about. · Coming from the west coast, Shane's ignorance was understandable. The Penn campus has no such excuse, yet it seems largely unaware of an event that brings almost 100,000 people to its eastern fringe every April. "A lot of people on campus don't understand what Penn Relays is about," Penn distance runner Sean MacMillan says. And unless you've experienced it first-hand, it's hard to comprehend exactly what the Relays are about. On the surface, the Penn Relays seem to be, plain and simple, one of the most competitive and high-profile track meets in the world. This is a track meet where you can see the pure greatness of Michael Johnson blistering through an anchor leg on the Nike relay team and the sheer competitiveness of 32 guys who can run under 50 seconds for a quarter-mile in the college men's mile relay. And this year "USA vs. The World" sprint relays and a Kenyan team trying to break a world record in the 4x1500 meter relay -- along with tape-delay coverage on ESPN on Sunday -- make the Relays even bigger on the scale of athletic grandeur. But the Relays are not just about athletic excellence. If you're looking for the acme of athletic greatness, turn to the Olympics. The Penn Relays, on the other hand, represent something more, albeit something a little less tangible. "The Olympics embodies all of the nations of the world," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci says. "The Penn Relays embodies every level of society, so it becomes such a human event." Put simply, the people that compete in the Penn Relays are not all world-class athletes like Marion Jones and Maurice Greene. Most of the people that compete in the Penn Relays are a lot more like Bassey Adjah. · Adjah -- a junior at Penn -- is a good jumper and sprinter by Ivy League standards, but at the Penn Relays she blends in as just another competitor, just a speck of red and blue amidst the spectrum of colors that permeates the event. Adjah practices nearly every day on the track and turf at Franklin Field, and while the clay-colored, 10-lane track and bright-green turf should be old hat to her, sometimes she can't help but marvel. Sometimes she can't help but look up at the clock and scoreboard or the rows and rows of empty bleachers with visions of Penn Relays dashing through her head. "All those stands are going to be filled, and I still can't fathom it," Adjah says in obvious awe. "Penn Relays just gets bigger and bigger every year." The first time Adjah came to the Relays was when she was a sophomore in high school, and her first impression of the event was like that of so many other athletes. "It was a lot to take in," Adjah says. "There were so many people, it was scary. I was in awe the first time I walked in." Adjah's team won its heat of the 4x400 meter relay that day, and four years later, she was a part of Penn's school record-breaking 4x200 relay team. Her Relays success, however, hasn't dimmed Adjah's reverence for the nearly week-long event. "Every single year I walk in awe," Adjah says. · It's not just the athletes who walk in awe -- it's the thousands upon thousands of spectators. Penn Relays Director Dave Johnson stumbles as he tries to describe his first Penn Relays experience, trying to reach for the right words to describe those initial impressions. "The first time I walked in, I was standing under the clock looking at that whole grandstand, in the east end, in the upper deck," Johnson says. "Seeing the whole place filled is just an amazing sight." Johnson, like Adjah, was introduced to the Relays as a runner in high school. But Johnson never actually competed in the Relays. Too slow to run in his Swarthmore High School team's mile relay, he first attended in 1968 with the team's alternate ticket. The highlight of the Relays that year was Larry James' 43.9 quarter-mile leg in Villanova's winning mile relay. But Johnson was outside the stadium -- his team had left early to beat the traffic -- and only heard a roar from the track when James became the first to split a quarter-mile under 44 seconds. "All I knew was something big had happened. We didn't know what," Johnson says. "I didn't learn it until I read the paper the next morning, and then I realized I'll never leave before the last event again." · The idea for the Penn Relays was spawned in 1893, as Chair of the University Track Committee Frank B. Ellis staged a mile relay race on Penn's athletic field, located where the Quad now stands. Two years later -- on April 12, 1895 -- the Relays were born at Franklin Field. Penn won that first official mile relay race in an atmosphere far different than that to which today's spectators and athletes are accustomed. Back in 1895, the Relays were just a one-day event that took place on a dirt track with the only seating being one wooden bleacher. Today, the five-day Relays take place on a synthetic track surface with automatic timing and thousands of metallic benches and plastic chairs for spectators. And the Relays are now officially called the Penn Relays Carnival -- an appropriate title given all that goes on outside the stadium. During the day, music blares as vendors set up shop along 33rd and Walnut streets and the surrounding streets become nearly impassable due to the crowds of track devotees. And when the sun goes down, Franklin Field releases its masses into the city, making the night air buzz with the electricity fans and athletes transfer to parties. · A big part of that carnival atmosphere at the Penn Relays stems from the Jamaican presence -- a presence that makes this more than just an ordinary American track meet. The stereos of the vendors unleash reggae onto the streets. Dreadlocks have a peculiar ubiquity in the stands, and the streets are filled with people carrying Jamaican flags. "It seems like a lot of people suddenly become honorary Jamaicans," MacMillan says. Typically, Jamaican supporters -- usually athletes from the island and expatriates from the Philadelphia or New York area -- take up residence in a certain section of the stands, making the divide between islanders and non-islanders quite tangible. Last year, the scene in the stands for the boys' high school 4x400 relay was one to watch. The race matched up several strong Jamaican squads with several strong American squads, and it seemed everyone was either chanting, "U-S-A" or screaming and waving a Jamaican flag. "I don't know if we could recruit Jamaicans if we didn't go to the Penn Relays," Texas Christian University coach Monty Stratton says. "It's a big homecoming for them because all of the high school contingent and all of their coaches and friends and family that comes in." · Obviously, the Penn Relays represent almost a Mecca for some, but others -- like many students on Penn's campus -- just don't seem to understand. And Dave Johnson can certainly see why. "If you're not tied in with the sport or the cultural flavor of the Relays, you have a difficult time truly appreciating it," Johnson says. But the Relays do open up new avenues for people who don't usually follow track. "It seems like everyone wants to run track for this one weekend," Penn jumper Tuan Wreh says. And for die-hard supporters, the Penn Relays is a celebration of the sport and a celebration of everything connected with it. Tenisci likes to relate a story about a man he met on the track, a man who related just how important the Relays were to him. "The two greatest moments in my life have been the birth of my children and my Penn Relays medal," the man told Tenisci. Patrick Shane would have scoffed at such a statement about the Penn Relays two years ago, but maybe now he's beginning to understand. Maybe now he's beginning to realize how, in this one weekend, track and its fans have a chance to crawl out of the woodwork -- to momentarily emerge from the usual shadows and, whether seeing the Penn Relays for the first or 71st time, return awestruck.
(04/25/00 9:00am)
Starting next year, Penn will observe MLK Day as a University holiday. Mark your calendars. University President Judith Rodin announced yesterday that Penn will officially observe Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday starting next January. To celebrate the legacy of the slain civil rights leader, all classes will be canceled for students and faculty and staff will be given the day off. The holiday is observed on the third Monday of January, which next year falls on January 15. The change means that the spring 2001 semester will begin on Tuesday, January 16. "Many members of our University community have strongly felt that Penn could not fully pay its respect to Dr. King's memory and legacy as long as it failed to observe his birthday as a holiday," Rodin said in a statement. "I hope this will encourage the creation and expansion of more events and enkindle even greater participation from all of us." While they were pleased with Rodin's announcement, some members of the Penn community said the University was slow to act. "I am very grateful. It has been a long time coming," said A-3 Assembly Chairwoman Debra Smiley-Koita. "The African-American community has asked for this day off for many years." Peer institutions like Harvard, Columbia and Brown universities remained closed for the day this year. Rodin had initially proposed that Penn observe the holiday this year, on the condition that it had the approval of the Council of Deans. Over the past few months, University administrators discussed her recommendation and unanimously agreed to add the holiday to Penn's academic calendar. The decision means that Penn will lose one teaching day during the spring semester. It remains to be determined how and if that day will be made up. Rodin's announcement has drawn praise from students, faculty and staff who say that the new policy will allow them to attend memorial celebrations without getting behind in work. "It is such an important day about such an important man," former United Minorities Chairman Chaz Howard said. "It's totally positive and I'm thrilled to hear Dr. Rodin felt that way." Undergraduate Assembly Chairman Michael Bassik echoed Howard's statement. "We're excited that the administration has decided to afford the students the opportunity to commemorate the legacy of MLK," the College junior said. "This will give students the chance to attend MLK events." The decision to have the University officially observe MLK marks a significant shift in Penn's official attitude toward the holiday. In the past, students were allowed to miss class to observe without academic penalty, but the University officially remained open. Sponsoring a series of events and engaging in meaningful discussion, University officials argued, was the appropriate way to honor an ardent supporter of education like King. But times have changed, and Provost Robert Barchi said he hoped that by having the University observe MLK Day, it would encourage students and faculty to celebrate King's legacy. "This shouldn't be looked at as a day off where everybody takes a long weekend," he said. "What we are hoping is that this will be a day for people to participate." In the past, minority leaders have said that attendance at many campus events was hurt by the absence of students concerned about missing class.
(04/25/00 9:00am)
After its first official year of varsity competition, the Penn women's golf team will look to carry the momentum of its progress into next fall. Overall, the Quakers competed in five tournaments and also spent a week practicing in Florida this spring. Their most impressive performance as a team was a 12th-place finish at the Rutgers Invitational in October, an event in which the Quakers shot under 400 on both days. The highlight of the season was without a doubt the individual performance of freshman Stacy Kress at this year's Ivy Championships. Kress' fifth-place finish was good enough for first team All-Ivy honors. "[Kress' performance] was a real thrill for all of us on the team," coach Francis Vaughn said. "Playing well [in the Ivy Championships] was a great story for the first year of women's golf at Penn." Vaughn -- who also coaches the men's team -- set the team's goals for its first year in terms of progress, not scores. Over the span of their first season, the Quakers clearly made a good bit of that. In their final tournament of the year -- the Ivy Championships -- the Quakers shot a two-day total of 784, breaking 400 on both days. While the Red and Blue still finished in the Ivy cellar, this effort was an improvement over the 19th-place finish at the Yale Invitational last September. "I think we're happy with how we've done this year," junior Jen Schraut said. "Hopefully we can come together next fall and keep improving and having fun." "The team's highlight is the improvement of our ladies over the course of the year," Vaughn said. "Each of the players improved on their own golfing ability. We've reached our goals in making sure that each of them improved." The Quakers should have a solid foundation to build upon next year, as the only loss to graduation will be senior captain Natasha Miller. "Miller's leadership will be missed," Vaughn said. "She was a very diligent practicer and set a good example for the rest of the players on the team." In addition to four returning players, the Quakers will also have the benefit of Vaughn's first real year of recruiting. "We do have a couple of young ladies who have been admitted, and [they] are very excited about coming to Penn," Vaughn said. "They will complement the rest of our team very well." Adding to the list of developments for Penn, this winter, the Quakers had the use of a new computer system within their indoor practice facility inside Hutchinson Gymnasium. As the golfer hits the ball into a net, a video camera records her form. She can then set up a split-screen in which she can compare her technique to either another one of her own swings or that of a professional. Between now and next fall, the individual team members will all go work on their games during the summer. "The majority of the young ladies will work individually during the summer months so that they will be prepared for the tournaments in the fall," Vaughn said. The Quakers will look to carry the momentum from a successful first season into next fall. "I think having more experience in tournament golf will help out," Kress said. Next year the Quakers will get that tournament experience, as they will compete in four tournaments in the fall. If things go well, an additional tournament may be added to the three planned for the spring as well.
(04/25/00 9:00am)
From the White House to the New York Times op-ed page, Fareed Zakaria says, politicians have been describing globalization as an irreversible process of Americanization destined to bring the world closer together. But Zakaria, managing editor of Foreign Affairs -- the premier journal of the U.S. foreign policy establishment -- insists that that conventional wisdom is flat-out wrong. Before a crowd of about 100 students last night in Logan Hall, Zakaria lectured on the politics and culture of globalization. In defiance of popular sentiment, the youthful scholar-journalist tried to impress on the audience his belief that American domination will not last forever. "It is worth remembering that while you hear the idea that the world is totally different from anything in the past, that is not necessarily the case," Zakaria said. "I do believe that Americanization will fail." Over the last decade, globalization has become the popular -- but often misunderstood -- buzzword for the spread of American economic and cultural norms through the Internet and lightning-fast capital markets. Zakaria hoped to set the record straight by emphasizing that politics still matter in a world preoccupied with the Internet Revolution. "If you have a big political crisis," he said, citing for example a Chinese invasion of Taiwan that would destabilize the world economy, "all the economics in the world can't save it." Eschewing the microphone at the front of the lecture hall -- "Sometimes you just have to go with the Old Economy," he quipped -- Zakaria walked a fine line in his analysis. While saying that no one would be able to challenge U.S. military and economic strength for decades, he stressed that we are not witnessing any permanent change in the international system. "Beyond a very superficial level, it's not clear that this is as profound as anyone makes it out to be," he said, pointing to "the virus of MTV" and the Coca-Cola brand name as the best -- but nevertheless weak -- examples of globalization. "At the end of this phase, Thailand will still look like Thailand. It won't look like Kansas." Those in attendance were appreciative of Zakaria's contrarian perspective on the state of global affairs. "These are the types of issues [that are] discussed ad nauseam," College sophomore Hanny Hindi said. "I thought it was interesting to hear a fresh perspective." In 1993, Zakaria, then 28, became the youngest managing editor in the history of Foreign Affairs. He is a contributing editor to Newsweek and has taught at Harvard and Columbia universities. Calling him "the most important foreign-policy adviser of his generation," Esquire magazine named him one of the 21 most important people of the 21st century. Zakaria, a native of Bombay, India, and a graduate of Yale and Harvard universities, took questions for about an hour after his speech. Though several students prodded him to name a country he thought could challenge the U.S. in the future, he said he was unable to think of one, and added that China, Russia and the European Union were all unfit for the task. But Zakaria insisted that the U.S. would not remain on top in perpetuity. "If Rome and Sparta died," he asked, invoking French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, "can any republic last forever?"
(04/25/00 9:00am)
The Penn men's lightweight crew team kept its promise to beat at least one boat this past weekend when its varsity eight finished ahead of Navy. The Red and Blue finished in a time of 6:27.25, behind Princeton, which finished with a time of 6:15.81, but ahead of the Midshipmen, who finished in a time of 6:40.53. The Quakers had a similar performance in the fall, when they beat the Midshipmen in the Navy Day Regatta on the Schuylkill. While Penn's performance was good enough to place the Red and Blue above the boys from Annapolis, it proved insufficient when placed against Ivy powerhouse Princeton. The Quakers raced well for the first 1,500 meters, keeping within a boat length of the Tigers. But with about 500 meters left in the race, the Quakers began to fall behind and were soon an insurmountable distance behind Princeton. "We just didn't have the juice at the end," Penn varsity rower Joel Frankel said. "We didn't have the endurance to keep up with Princeton." The second varsity boat also had a good start. The Quakers were able to gain about five seats on Navy at the start, but couldn't keep their lead down the stretch. "We started out well," senior rower Eamon Jordan said. "But we started rowing sloppy and couldn't keep up." According to Jordan, the new lineup and changes in seat order that Penn tested out on Saturday did not prove to be very helpful for the Quakers. Penn finished in third place with a time of 6:46.31. The third varsity boat also placed last in its heat. The crew did not race as well as it could have, according to junior rower Ed Hetherington. "We were not rowing together. Everyone was doing their own thing," Hetherington said. "We kind of fell apart." A big factor in the loss was the fact that there was swamp weed caught under the boat, making it difficult for the rowers to gain speed. The Quakers were also rowing against a direct headwind. Both freshman boats also placed behind the Midshipmen and the Tigers. They finished in times of 6:46.94 and 7:11.28, behind Navy, which finished in a time of 6:45.32, and Princeton, which finished in a time of 6:27.36. The Quakers now have a month to prepare for the Eastern Sprints. With no other races in the meantime, the Quakers will be able to train more intensely for the Sprints than they have for any other event on their schedule. The varsity boat anticipates changes in its training over the next few weeks and hopes to gain speed for their next encounter with the Tigers. "The other teams won't know the speed we're gaining over the next few weeks," Frankel said. "We can surprise a couple of teams if we put together a complete race."
(04/25/00 9:00am)
Researchers working with human subjects are affected by the preliminary recommendations. Midway through its ongoing review process, a provost-led committee investigating Penn's human research protocols will submit to University President Judith Rodin today a list of procedural, interim recommendations aimed at more closely monitoring Penn's human research. In addition, the committee requested that a group from Penn's Center for Bioethics do a closer review of the University's Institutional Review Board system and that current Penn researchers be surveyed to provide the committee with feedback on the current review systems. The five recommendations include implementing external reviews of independent clinical research trials and the creation of an overarching formal code of standard operating procedures for all human research at the University. "I see these as mainly recommendations that will help us get to our conclusions," said Provost Robert Barchi, who chairs the 10-member internal committee of top administrators and faculty. "We are looking to receive the highest standards anywhere." Rodin, who is expected to approve the recommendations, charged the committee in January with reviewing Penn's procedures for using human test subjects as the scandal surrounding a controversial death in Penn's gene therapy program began to mushroom. The committee, which has been meeting regularly over the past few months, initially anticipated submitting its final recommendations by the end of this semester. But Barchi now says the committee needs more time to complete its investigation before releasing its findings, now slated to occur next fall. The internal University committee has been working in parallel with an external committee of experts charged with reviewing the research practices of Penn's Institute for Human Gene Therapy. That group was formed by Rodin after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration put on hold all Penn gene therapy experiments four months after the highly publicized death of 18-year-old Jesse Gelsinger, who was participating in an IHGT clinical study. The FDA claims that IHGT researchers violated various research protocols during the trial. Penn officials said, however, that the internal committee was not formed as a direct result of Gelsinger's death but as part of a regular review of Penn's research practices. Of the committee's five recommendations, the most substantial one calls for providing an external review group to oversee the clinical drug trials that Penn sponsors independently. About 15 percent of Penn's clinical drug trials -- including the study in which Gelsinger participated -- are sponsored mainly by the University itself, leaving no formal external oversight. The remaining 85 percent of Penn's pharmaceutical research is sponsored by drug companies or the National Institutes of Health. NIH-funded studies require their own review committees to ensure that the investigators follow separate, strict protocols. The committee also recommended that members of the Center for Bioethics conduct a formal review of the University's Institutional Review Board system -- a series of internal committees that must approve all research involving human subjects before actual experiments start. Using a site-based benchmark study, developed by Penn's Center for Bioethics and used by large research organizations like the RAND Corporation, the group will compare how Penn's research procedures stack up to peer institutions. The committee also called for Penn to develop a code of standard operating procedures, formally stating protocol that University investigators have traditionally followed. The procedures will provide general guidelines for human research, such as rules for obtaining informed consent. It also recommended that Penn investigators be required to formally disclose any proprietary interest in a product or procedure on all research proposals to the IRB. This would serve as an extension of the practice currently overseen by University department chairmen and deans. The final recommendation will primarily serve to aid the internal committee in its investigation. A Web-based survey will be conducted among all Penn investigators involved in human research, providing the committee with feedback about how to improve the IRB and the human-subject protocol review process. "The committee has decided that it better get more information from the investigator's point-of-view," said School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston, a member of the committee. The external review committee investigating the IHGT -- headed by William Danforth, chancellor emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis -- has come to campus several times to interview administrators and researchers. It is expected to submit a final report within the next month.
(04/24/00 9:00am)
Penn is currently in discussions with Blackbuster and Hollywood Video to bring a new bideo store to campus. With initial talks underway, students may soon have a place besides ResNet and Cinemagic to turn to for movie entertainment. University officials are in "preliminary discussions" with Blockbuster and Hollywood Video, according to John Greenwood -- a top official for the University's real estate company -- who explained that the University held introductory meetings with both companies over the past two months. "We would like to have a new store here this year," Greenwood said. University officials said they have had only "some interest" from Blockbuster and Hollywood Video at this early stage. "They are not beating down our door," said Tom Lussenhop, the University's top real estate official. He added that large corporations tend to be more methodical in their dealings, saying the University will learn their intentions in the coming weeks. "[The process is] moving along at a natural course," Greenwood said of the discussions with video retailers. The only video store currently on campus, the Video Library on the 4000 block of Locust Street, closes at 10 p.m. on weeknights and Saturdays. Philadelphia-based TLA Video had been in talks with the University since September about filling the vacant space adjacent to the Eat at Joe's diner on the 3900 block of Walnut Street. But following a boom in the eclectic distributor's online sales and speculation of old-fashioned video rental becoming obsolete, TLA opted not to open at Penn. Students have continuously asked for more video options on campus. A 1998 Undergraduate Assembly 40th Street Development Survey showed that 53 percent of the 470 students polled expressed a desire for a late-night video store. Outgoing UA Chairman Michael Silver, who met with the University to present the UA's recommendations for a video store in late February, called the survey results "eye-opening." "It's quantitative data that the University doesn't have," Silver said, adding that the survey should serve as incentive for video chains. The College senior gave Greenwood a hard copy of the results earlier this month. While UA members did not attend the introductory video store meetings with the two chains, both the University and Silver said students will be involved in future talks. "[The University has] said all along that they want us on board," Silver said yesterday. "It's been a very good partnership." Greenwood said he appreciates the student group's eagerness to participate. UA member Molly Siems, a College freshman, said several UA members have been discussing video store plans within the UA since the initial February meeting with the University, at which Siems was present. "I would really like to get together again to make sure everything is still moving forward," Siems said. The recommendation to bring a late-night video store to campus was also made last spring by Provost Robert Barchi's Working Group on Alcohol Abuse as a way to provide more non-alcoholic activities on campus. The University is primarily looking to fill the space next to Eat at Joe's, according to Lussenhop. Incoming UA Chairman Michael Bassik said he intends to work with the University until administrators secure a video chain. "We intend to meet with Executive Vice President John Fry within the next two weeks to let the University know that bringing a video store to campus is still a top priority for the UA," the College junior said.
(04/24/00 9:00am)
Penn's shot at a winning Ivy League campaign fell short with losses to league-leading Columbia and Cornell. The Penn men's tennis team could smell its winning Ivy season baking, and all that was needed was a dash of Cornell to make the recipe complete. Unfortunately for the Quakers, Penn couldn't get a hold of that crucial ingredient, and its season fell flat. On Friday, the Quakers were overwhelmed, 6-1, by league-leading Columbia. After losing all three doubles matches, freshman Ryan Harwood won the lone singles point for Penn at the No. 2 position. "We played doubles pretty closely but ended up losing the doubles point," Harwood said. "We fought in the singles, but they're a better team than us. I didn't see everyone play too much personally, but I played very well and had a big win over Steve Millerman. When I spoke to [the rest of the guys] they said it was up and down. Columbia has a good team. Next year it's going to be a different story, though." The Quakers were unable to pull themselves together for the Saturday match at Cornell. Penn was upset by the Big Red, 4-3, in a competition that the Red and Blue were favored to win. For the second day in a row, the Quakers lost all of their doubles matches, while in singles play the Quakers went 3-3. Sophomore Fanda Stejskal lost a close match at the No. 1 position. Stejskal battled back from set point at 2-5 in the third set, only to lose the game 10-8 in a tiebreaker. "I think that shouldn't happen, losing to Cornell at the end of the season. We lost the energy and just got outplayed," Stejskal said. "All of them were pretty easy matches. I don't think that we choked. They weren't matches that you choke -- you just get beaten or not." The lineup for Cornell was notably different than it has been for the rest of the season. Junior Joey Zupan was out due to torn cartilage in his shoulder, which he has been playing with most of the season but got worse after the Dartmouth-Harvard weekend. Zupan was replaced by senior Brett Meringoff at the No. 5 singles position. Stejskal replaced Zupan as Brian Barki's doubles partner. In another change, sophomore Kevin Strouse replaced Rob Pringle in singles play for the first time during the Ivy season. This weekend was the continuation of a doubles slump for the Quakers. Penn was relatively strong in out-of-league doubles play, but has only managed to win a single doubles point in the Ivy League, against Dartmouth. "The team did not play doubles great against Cornell, losing the doubles point, which has been repetitive this year," Harwood said. "Brett and I ranked 12th in the region in doubles in the fall. We got in a recession which set us back. It's something we have to work on." Although the Quakers were disappointed about their losses, they see this season as one of improvement and are looking forward to making the most of next year. "We're all a little disappointed. There is only so much you can do really. You can beat yourself up about it only so much before that becomes counterproductive," Pringle said. "We're looking to build on this season and have a good next season. "And if we can make the same kind of improvements that we did between last season and this season, we can be at the top of the Ivy League. That's what's on everyone's mind."
(04/24/00 9:00am)
Penn was tied with the No. 2 Orangemen at the half, but then faltered. A tough season for the Penn men's lacrosse team got a little tougher on Saturday when the Quakers suffered a disappointing loss to national No. 2 Syracuse. Penn (5-8) entered halftime tied 3-3 with the formidable Orangemen (10-1), but Syracuse went on a 6-0 run in the third quarter and ended up winning the game, 9-4. While the Quakers are upset with the loss, they know they put up a good fight against a national powerhouse. "Syracuse is a team that tends to have runs, and the third quarter was when they had theirs," Penn senior co-captain Pete Janney said. "The defense still played phenomenally, and [Penn goalie] John Carroll made some huge saves in goal." Despite giving up six goals in the third, not only did the Penn defense hold the Orangemen to their lowest goal output all season, but they also held Syracuse to only its second scoreless period of the season in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the Quakers, however, their offense couldn't hold up in the second half. "We were getting some really good possessions throughout the game, but we had a lot of problems finishing," Janney said. The statistics sheet shows that shooting accuracy was a problem for Penn, as the Quakers took 42 shots -- only three fewer than the Orangemen -- but Syracuse goalie Rob Mulligan was forced to make just 16 saves. Other offensive categories illustrate that the Quakers and the Orangemen were pretty evenly matched as well. Syracuse scooped 43 ground balls to Penn's 34, and the Red and Blue had four fewer face-off wins during the game. This parity was most evident throughout the first half. Both teams got off to slow starts offensively, and the first goal wasn't scored until Syracuse sophomore Michael Springer took a Ryan Powell feed and put the ball past Carroll with 4:51 left in the first quarter. The Quakers quickly countered when Billy Reidy scored 33 seconds later on an unassisted goal. Penn and Syracuse traded goals throughout the first half, ending the first quarter tied 2-2 and the second knotted at three. The last goal of the half, off the stick of Todd Minerley, came with 33 seconds left. Minerley also assisted on two goals. Coming out of halftime, the Quakers looked to continue to match the Orangemen's intensity, but that was not to be. With less than five minutes gone by in the half, Springer scored his third goal of the day on a pass from Josh Coffman. From there, Syracuse went on to score five goals over the next 7:03 of play to sink the Quakers' hopes of an upset. "We called a timeout to try to stop the run and were able to stop them from there," Janney said. "But it was too late because the offense couldn't counter. Reidy tallied his second score of the day early in the fourth quarter, but the Quakers failed to rally despite taking 13 shots on goal, winning two face-offs and holding their opponents scoreless. The game was slightly reminiscent of the meeting between these two teams last season. In that contest, the teams went into the second quarter of play tied at one, but the Orangemen erupted, scoring 11 out of the next 12 goals over the middle two periods. In the 2000 version, however, Penn was able to play as good and at times better than an athletically superior team for three out of four quarters. What can put the Quakers at ease even more is the fact that the Orangemen went on to smoke Princeton, 16-4, the day after the Penn-Syracuse meeting. The defeat was the Tigers' worst since a 1990 loss to Johns Hopkins. Springer continued his torrid weekend, tallying a career-high five goals -- he set his previous career-high the day before with four -- and Powell contributed with six assists and a goal. With the defeat, Penn can no longer finish the season with a .500 record, since it has only one more game on the road. The Quakers face Delaware away next weekend and would like to end their season like they started it, on a high note. Penn opened its season with an upset win over nationally ranked Notre Dame, but has since fallen on hard times, losing eight of its last 12. The game also represents the last for seniors Janney, Reidy, co-captain Bill Fowler and Mike Kehoe. "It's starting to hit me that this is our last game," Janney said. "It would really be great to go out on a positive note."
(04/24/00 9:00am)
Penn fell to three games back in the division, losing both games yesterday at Princeton. The Penn baseball team's Lou Gehrig Division title hopes -- not to mention its Ivy League title hopes -- took a severe blow yesterday afternoon when the Quakers dropped both games of a critical doubleheader to division-leading Princeton. The two losses dropped the Quakers (18-16, 7-7 Ivy) three games behind the Tigers (17-14, 10-4) in the Gehrig standings with six Ivy games to go. Penn, which had hopes of taking at least three out of four at Old Nassau before the weekend began, must now win both games of today's noon doubleheader at Princeton's Clarke Field to have any realistic shot for a pennant this season. "It puts us in a situation where we need to win two games [today]," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "What we need to do is to be in a position to still be alive in the final weekend." To have any shot at tying the Tigers and forcing a playoff, the Quakers would have to win both games at Princeton today and then sweep their two doubleheaders with Columbia this weekend. Cornell would also have to beat Princeton once. Should the Quakers and Tigers split today, Princeton would be three games up on Penn with four to play -- a virtually impossible deficit to overcome. If Princeton sweeps the double-dip from Penn today, it would clinch the Lou Gehrig Division title, and the Quakers would be eliminated. And with Princeton ace Chris Young -- arguably the Ivy League's most dominating pitcher -- on the mound in the first game today, things are looking bleak for Penn. "It won't be easy," Seddon said. "If we play good baseball, we can beat him?. We've got our hands full. We got beat twice [yesterday]. So it really doesn't matter who's pitching, we've got to play a little bit better." Young is 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in four pitching appearances this season. He has 26 strikeouts in 20 innings of work and has only allowed eight hits. To have any chance against Young, the Quakers will have to avoid the strikeout. In yesterday's two games, Princeton pitchers struck out 19 Quakers batsmen. "[It was] the biggest negative from our end," Seddon said. Princeton pitcher Jason Quintana punched the most Quakers out of the box yesterday -- nine, in his eight innings of work in the second game. In that second game, the Tigers took an early 4-1 lead off of an ineffective Ben Otero, who took the loss. Princeton's second run of the game was indicative of the way the afternoon went for Otero. The freshman hurler, who had put together a string of solid starts heading into the contest, got two quick outs in the bottom of the third with the game tied at one. But one of his pitches plunked Princeton first baseman Andrew Hanson, who then advanced to second on catcher Jeff Gregorio's passed ball. Hanson then scored on right fielder Max Krance's single to center. "He got hit," Seddon said of Otero, who gave up nine runs and was lifted in the fifth. "One of the problems was he got behind in the count early in the game, and when you're behind, it's kind of tough, because you've got to come in with a pitch that maybe you don't want to, and the location isn't right. He got hit hard." Quintana, on the other hand, settled down after allowing the Quakers to tie the score at four in the fifth. After his teammates gave him a five-run cushion in the bottom of the frame, Quintana shut the door, giving up only one Penn run before being lifted. Chris Higgins pitched a scoreless ninth to give the Tigers the 12-5 victory. "[They were] not overwhelming," Seddon said of Princeton's starters. "We didn't pitch well today; and we didn't make a couple of plays; and they hit the ball." Princeton hit the ball a lot less in the first game yesterday, but it was still good enough to beat starter Mike Mattern, 5-4. Mattern, who was looking to continue the recent success he had been experiencing, was not able to hold the early 3-0 lead that the Quakers had given him. After Princeton had clawed back to within 3-2 in the bottom of the third, Penn rightfielder Chris May hit a solo home run to left. But Mattern, who fell to 2-3, allowed the Tigers to tie the game in the bottom of the frame after second baseman Jay Mitchell drove in left fielder Ryan Achterberg with an RBI single to right-center. Achterberg then scored on designated hitter Jon Watterston's fielder's choice. Princeton took the lead for good in its next turn at bat, as third baseman Eric Voelker's sacrifice fly drove in Hanson from third base. Freshman Ryan Quillian, on the mound for the Tigers, shut out the Quakers after May's home run, going six innings and striking out eight before handing the ball to David Boehle in the seventh to seal the win. "[Quillian] tightened up when he had to," Seddon said. "He pitched alright." Young will pitch the first game for the Tigers today, and Tom Rowland will get the nod in the nightcap. For the Quakers, Mark Lacerenza, who has had several tough outings this season, will get the ball in game one, and freshman Andrew McCreery will start in the second game. The two doubleheaders were originally scheduled to be played at Old Nassau on Friday and Saturday, but inclement weather pushed the games to yesterday and today.
(04/24/00 9:00am)
It has been predicted that by the year 2050, Latinos will make up a quarter of the population in the United States. And by the next century, the thinking goes, they will make up half the population. Author Juan Gonzalez, an award-winning columnist for the New York Daily News, tried to explain this phenomenon in his new book, Harvest of an Empire: A History of Latinos in America. On Thursday night, La Casa Latina and the Greenfield Intercultural Center hosted a talk by Gonzalez at the House of Our Own Bookstore for promotion of his latest work, currently on the bestseller list in Puerto Rico. At his talk, Gonzalez discussed his inspiration for writing the book and described his process in writing it. "This book is meant to open it up for people to do much better research in this area," Gonzalez said. He added that he believes that not enough research is being done on the history of Latinos in the United States. In his book, Gonzalez recounts the history of the relationship between Latin Americans and Anglo Americans. The book then delves into the history of each Latino ethnic group and its respective relationship to the United States. By examining that history, Gonzalez explained, he tries to find out why the Latinos of each Latin-American country migrated to the United States. To conclude his book, Gonzalez explains the effect that the massive Latino presence has had on the modern United States in politics, as well as in other areas. "To explain how the migration happened, you must go to the source," he told the small audience of about 20 area college students and community members. With his book, Gonzalez looks to dispel what are called "myths" about Latin-American history and Latinos in the United States. Gonzalez wrote this book to primarily target Anglo Americans and African Americans who have little knowledge about Latino history, and Latino college students so that they might learn a more cohesive history about Latinos in the United States. Several of the audience members said they thought that Gonzalez was pursuing a noble task in putting an often overlooked history to paper. "It is good that Gonzalez gave sufficient facts in his book to dispel the myths about Latinos in America," said Meliza Reynoso, a Temple University senior. "His facts are very clear and precise." During the discussion, Gonzalez expressed his political views concerning Latinos both in the United States and abroad. He claimed that the reason why many Latinos migrate to the United States is to reclaim what the United States took from them. Otherwise, he said, there would not be as many Latinos presently living in the United States. "The massive Latino presence in the United States is an advent from the harvest that the United States created over the Latin Americans," Gonzalez said.
(04/24/00 9:00am)
April showers might bring May flowers. But they also wreak havoc on the schedule of the Penn softball team. Originally scheduled to play consecutive doubleheaders against Harvard and Dartmouth on Friday and Saturday, Mother Nature only allowed the Quakers to get in one game -- a 10-5 defeat at the hands of the Crimson in the opening game of Friday's doubleheader. Game two against Harvard was then rescheduled and postponed two more times due to the rainy weather and wet fields. The doubleheader against Dartmouth has also been postponed. "We were all waiting for the fields to dry, but it never happened," sophomore third baseman Jen Moore said. "It was a pain, but we can't help the weather." Penn will now play Harvard at Yale next Saturday before squaring off against Dartmouth next Sunday to round out its Ivy League schedule. The one game that the Quakers were able to squeeze in against the weather was a well-played contest, but in the end, the Crimson proved to be too strong. Harvard (12-17 overall, 5-0 Ivy League) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning when right fielder Sarah Koppel laced a two-run triple just inside the right field line before being driven home by starting pitcher Chelsea Thoke. But the Quakers fought right back, showing some of the come-from-behind ability that they displayed in their victories over Princeton and Cornell last weekend. Penn (13-25-1, 2-7) got on the board in the second with a sacrifice fly from sophomore second baseman Jamie Pallas to cut the lead to 3-1. The Red and Blue then exploded in the fourth inning, scoring four runs to take a 5-3 lead. The rally got started with two outs in the inning. The Quakers loaded the bases after two walks and a single before sophomore left fielder Clarisa Apostol drove home Pallas. Freshman shortstop Crista Farrell then smacked a base-clearing double to deep left, but she was thrown out trying to extend it into a triple to end the rally and the inning. "It was a considerable blast," Penn coach Carol Kashow said bluntly. The fourth-inning barrage sent Thoke to the showers, for, despite being last season's Ivy League pitcher of the year, she could not contain the Quakers offense. "We scored five runs against one of the better pitchers in the Ivies, and we knocked out two quality pitchers against Princeton and Cornell [last weekend]," Kashow said. "It shows that our offense is getting better and continuing to develop." The Red and Blue, however, could not hold their lead against the Crimson, who hold a first-place lead in Ivy play this season. Harvard scored one run apiece in the fourth and fifth innings to tie the game before erupting in the sixth, taking a commanding lead that they would never relinquish. After an RBI single from shortstop Cherry Fu, the Crimson hit back-to-back homers off Penn freshman pitcher Becky Ranta. Catcher Mairead McKendry hit a three-run blast for her seventh home run of the season before Koppel went yard to cap off the rally and give Harvard the 10-5 victory. "They just killed the ball in the sixth inning -- they just got a hold of the ball," Moore said. "That happens sometimes." Ranta gave up nine runs in 5 1/3 innings to take the loss and drop to 9-10 on the season, but Kashow was considerably happy with the freshman's performance. "It was a good job by Becky to keep her composure with adverse conditions," Kashow said. "We had a freshman on the mound against the No. 1 team in the Ivies -- it speaks well to her credit." Kashow was also pleased with Penn's comeback. Even though they could not pick up the win, it marked the third-straight series in which the Quakers came from behind against top Ivy League competitors. "It was a come-from-behind situation for us," Kashow said. "It shows that we can, in fact, come from behind against the tough teams in the conference." "The score was in no way indicative of how close the game really was," Kashow said. Penn will look to avenge its loss when it plays the Crimson next Saturday in a rescheduled game. They just better hope that the Heavens permit it.
(04/24/00 9:00am)
With the Penn Relays now just days away, the Penn men's track team could not be in a better frame of mind. The Quakers did just what they hoped to this past weekend, as they defeated Cornell and Birmingham (U.K.) at Franklin Field on Saturday in exciting fashion. And they couldn't have drawn the meet up any better themselves. The three-team meet not only included a number of standout individual performances by the Red and Blue, but Penn also delivered under pressure by winning a number of events late in the day. This clutch performance finally gave the Quakers some breathing room after being locked in a 111-111 tie with Cornell. The 5,000-meter race proved to be the turning point in the competition as Penn won going away, 159-148, over the Big Red. Birmingham, which strung together three first-place finishes in the running events, was considerably outclassed in the field events, capturing just 92 points. Penn team members finished first and second in the crucial 5,000 meters, but it was who earned those placements that made the race even more thrilling. Sophomore Matt Gioffre established a personal record in finishing first with a time of 14:39.2, while senior captain Scott Clayton took second with a mark of 14:40.9. Neither of these athletes traditionally run this event, but a joint decision between many of the distance runners and coach Charlie Powell resulted in some productive mixing and matching. This will presumably enable each performer to find his niche for Relays and the Heptagonal Championships, which will also be at Franklin Field, on May 13-14. "I'm happy for our team," said sophomore Tuan Wreh, who won the triple jump with a distance of 15.6 meters and placed second in the long jump with a mark of 6.88 meters. "We were able to show some intensity when it counted." One man who certainly showed some intensity on Saturday was senior thrower Matt Pagliasotti, who has made the practice of breaking school records a weekly routine. The Paris, Texas, native again topped his own record in the hammer throw, as he reached a distance of 62.42 meters. He also placed third in the discus, behind winner Brett Coffing of Cornell and Penn freshman Justin King. The Quakers throwers were not just supported by Pagliasotti, however. Senior Brent Stiles took first in the shot put with a mark of 15.52 meters and junior Seth Beaver won the javelin with a distance of 62.90 meters. Even in the absence of freshman phenom Brian Chaput and sophomore Chris Crisman, who were both sidelined with injuries, the Red and Blue managed to grab three of the top four spots in the javelin competition. Overall, there were very few, if any, negatives to find in the Penn victory. Even the predicted rain showers that forecasters warned of never really materialized after a whole day of rain on Friday. "The weather held up; we were in good spirits; and we did well," Wreh said. And the fact that it was rival Cornell is not to be lost in the pre-Penn Relays shuffle. Saturday's meet may have been a solid tune-up for the Quakers, but beating the Big Red and former Penn assistant coach Nathan Taylor made it even sweeter. "It's kind of a cockiness thing," said junior Darryl Olczak, who placed second in the 400. "We can't lose to our [ex]-coach." Olczak also pointed to a number of factors from the Cornell meet that could galvanize the Quakers for a late-season surge. Chief among these was Penn's strong effort in the 4x100, in which the Red and Blue placed second despite sophomore Steve Faulk straining his hamstring mid-race. "It was a good sign of what's to come next week at Penn Relays," Olczak said. Olczak was far from the only jubilant Quaker following the meet, as most enthusiastically applauded their team's performance. "We win when everyone comes to participate, and that's how we're gonna win Heps," junior sprinter Josh Seeherman said.
(04/24/00 9:00am)
Brown's six-goal run in the last 12:25 ended Penn's bid for a second Ivy win. It was the one that got away. Despite taking a two-goal lead deep into the second half against Brown on Saturday, the Penn women's lacrosse team could not hang on for the victory, falling 9-5 to the Bears. Six consecutive Brown goals to close out the contest undid the Quakers (5-7, 1-6 Ivy), who stumbled to their fifth straight defeat. "It's very frustrating right now. We're making the same mistakes over and over again," Penn coach Karin Brower said. "This is like Harvard [an 11-9 loss] again -- a team we can beat, and we don't play well. They were not doing what we were asking them to do. They weren't moving the ball quick enough in the midfield." Behind five scores from five different players, Penn took control of the game after falling behind 3-1 and staked itself to a 5-3 lead in the second half. But led by three second-half goals by senior Cristi Gigon, Brown (5-7, 2-4) roared back for six goals in the final 12:25 to deny the Quakers their second Ivy victory. Penn netminder Christian Stover made 18 saves, but she was unable to fully compensate for a series of defensive breakdowns and a rejuvenated Bears attack late in the second frame. "Today we found the determination to win, regardless of what Penn was doing," Brown coach Theresa Ingram said. "Penn came out there very strong in the second half, and I don't think we matched the intensity initially. But we did in the end." Shortly after the yearly awards had been given out to the Quakers' four seniors in a pre-game ceremony, it looked like Penn would be in for a long afternoon. Brown took advantage of a player left alone behind the net and a free-position shot to ring up two scores just six minutes in. But Brower called a timeout to settle her squad down, and the move worked. Crissy Book scored for the Quakers 60 seconds after the timeout to make it 2-1, and the teams settled in for 10 minutes of scoreless play. The Bears broke the drought on a free-position shot by Elise Roy, but Traci Marabella and Emily Foote -- a Daily Pennsylvanian sports writer -- put home a pair of scores to send the game to the half tied at 3. In the 15 minutes following the break, a stronger Penn team emerged. The Quakers spent a majority of the time in the Brown end as Foote, Marabella, Brooke Jenkins and Jenny Hartman all had strong chances. Hartman was the one to finally beat Bears keeper Niki Caggiano to give Penn its first lead at 4-3. Marabella lobbed a pass from behind the net, which Hartman received above her head and slammed home into the Brown net. After Quakers freshman Whitney Horton hit the post seconds later, Penn extended its lead to 5-3 with 15 minutes left on the first career goal of Bess Lochocki. Normally a defender, Lochocki scored from a free position in front of a crowd that included her high school's team. "I've only played attack a couple of times in a game, but I was bumped up to play both sides because we have some girls that play midfield that are injured," Lochocki said. "The free position was the second one I've had all season, and I was so happy to score on it. I knew my high school would be here, and I was really, really nervous." But for Penn, this first was also a last -- the Quakers did not find the net the rest of the afternoon. Meanwhile, a succession of Penn fouls leading to Brown free-position goals left the home contingent bewildered. "I would say that after we were up by the two goals, there was a wave of enthusiasm that went through the team. And then as soon as they scored again, it was like everyone dropped back down," Lochocki said. Two of Gigon's tallies came from the free position, and the third -- with 8:41 remaining -- was the difference in the game. "I [didn't have] a good first half, so I got a little bit frustrated and upset with myself. And for me, I play better when I get mad," said Gigon, who had a goal waved off late in the first half because she was in the crease. The game stayed at 7-5 in favor of Brown for six tense minutes, as a Jenkins effort went high on a free-position shot, an offensive foul was called in close on Hartman and a diving shot was sent wide right by Book. The Bears added two goals in the final 35 seconds for the final tally. "I think the thing that killed us was we were letting their girls catch it instead of playing up on them from the start," Stover said. "Our defense did really well, but we had a lot of lapses. And I think from the goals I let in, it brought the defense down a little bit." Strong Quakers efforts on defense were turned in again by Christy Bennett and Book. Both Book and Marabella played the full game despite heavily taped sprained ankles. These efforts, however, were overshadowed by a gaggle of Penn miscues, as a game that was eminently winnable slipped away. "We had stupid, stupid fouls. The too many players over the restraining line -- that's not thinking," Brower said. "I don't know what it takes. The next two games are winnable, but not if we play like that."
(04/24/00 9:00am)
More than 60 people gathered in King's Court/English House Saturday for an evening of swing dancing. The Class of 1938 Lounge in King's Court/English House was awake and swinging on Saturday night. Starting at 8 p.m., around 60 students and assorted Philadelphia residents enjoyed swing dancing to jazz tunes by artists ranging from The Nat King Cole Trio to Duke Ellington. Laughing, chatting and dancing away, the swingers partied until about 1 a.m. Wharton junior David Jacoby, the president of Penn's Ballroom Dance Society and the disc jockey for the event, explained that the event correlated well with Philadelphia's thriving swing dance community. "It was cool to have people from all different types of communities come to the dance," Jacoby said. The dance was preceded by a swing dance lesson taught by two current Ballroom Dance Society members, College freshman Bryan Hirsch and College freshman Clare Wang. Hirsch and Wang taught the basics of swing dancing by demonstration. Afterward, the instructors encouraged their students to join them on the dance floor. "I think people had a good time and I think that swing dancing is a lot of fun," Hirsch said after the event. "It's something that's relatively new as far as a Penn swing scene. Swing is just becoming popular on campus. We are definitely seeing that there is a growing demand for a swing-team on campus," he added. The dance was co-hosted by the Ballroom Dance Society and King's Court/English House. The college house provided refreshments. PennPM -- a program implemented by Penn to provide free activities for students during Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings -- also helped organize the dance. Other events this weekend, each of which were sponsored by different college houses, included a "Charleton Heston Night" in Stouffer College House and a scavenger hunt, sponsored by Spruce College House. The resident advisors and house managers from King's Court/English House were also involved in setting up the dance. "It's free and open to everyone, and it's in a fun, low-key atmosphere," Jacoby said. During the year, the Ballroom Dance Society offered dance lessons in the Class of 1938 Lounge for a set fee every Sunday afternoon. These classes varied by the level of difficulty and by the different dances taught. "On Sundays, you learn different dances. The idea is to come to these events and practice what you have learned. Their events are pretty successful," explained Ballroom Dance Society member Ehmd Coudy, a graduate student who lives in Philadelphia. "They have different styles of lessons. It's a lot of fun," Engineering junior Alex Wong said.
(04/24/00 9:00am)
The Quakers won a tight match with Columbia in New York, then defeated Cornell at home. Going into the last weekend of its Ivy League season, the Penn women's tennis team knew its matches against Columbia and Cornell wouldn't be easy. And despite adverse conditions -- including playing at Columbia in a cold indoor tennis bubble on clay, a surface the Quakers aren't used to -- Penn (13-10, 5-2 Ivy) came away from the weekend with two victories, winning an intense 5-4 battle with the Lions on Friday and ending the season with a 6-3 victory over the Big Red on Saturday. This weekend's wins secured at least a third-place Ivy finish for the Red and Blue, depending on Harvard's result against last-place Dartmouth on Wednesday. Penn's match against Columbia was especially important, since both teams entered the match tied for third with 3-2 Ivy records. "[The Columbia match] was a war," Penn coach Michael Dowd said. "They were a young, scrappy, nothing-to-lose kind of team. They played to win." Though freshmen make up over half of the Lions' lineup, their inexperience in Ivy matches didn't show. At No. 1 singles, Columbia freshman Laila Shetty overcame Penn's Lenka Beranova, 6-3, 6-1. And Penn senior co-captain Anastasia Pozdniakova fell to the Lions' freshman Tina Romic, 6-4, 7-6 at No. 2 singles. Though Penn sophomore Rochelle Raiss gave the Quakers their third singles loss at No. 6 singles, victories from Penn's Shubha Srinivasan, Louani Bascara and Jolene Sloat at Nos. 3, 4 and 5 singles, respectively, deadlocked the match at three-all. The Quakers needed to win two of their three doubles matches to secure the match. At No. 1 doubles, the duo of Beranova and Raiss pulled in an easy 8-3 win. Srinivasan and Penn senior co-captain Elana Gold paired up at No. 2 doubles and battled their way to 8-8, but fell 7-5 in a devastating tiebreaker. On the next court, Pozdniakova and Bascara were in a match similar to their teammates' -- but after being tied at eight, the Quakers won their match in a dramatic 7-5 tiebreaker, clinching the win for Penn. "The whole match came down to our No. 3 doubles," Beranova said. "They rocked them to the end." Then on Saturday, the Quakers faced an equally young Cornell team under a cold drizzle at Penn's Lott Courts. At No. 1 singles, Beranova lost her first set, 6-4, to Cornell freshman Suzanne Wright. Beranova struggled in the second set, hitting unnecessary shots into the net, and ultimately fell, 6-4, 6-2. "She didn't necessarily beat me," Beranova said. "I beat myself. [I could have won] if I was more consistent." Pozdniakova, Srinivasan and Sloat had little trouble with their opponents at Nos. 2, 3 and 5 singles, respectively. Sloat's victory completed an undefeated Ivy season for the sophomore. At No. 6 singles, Raiss lost the first set, 6-3, and brought the second set to five-all, but ultimately fell, 6-3, 7-5. With the match held at three-all, it was Bascara's intense three-set battle at No. 4 singles that gave the Quakers the lead heading into doubles. Bascara took the match, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. After the singles matches, the match was moved indoors to Levy Pavilion because of the weather. The duo of Raiss and Beranova quickly sealed the match for Penn, taking the No. 1 doubles match, 8-3. "We were right on top of them from the beginning," Beranova said. "They're sleeping with the fishes tonight." At No. 2 doubles, Gold ended her collegiate tennis career with a disappointing 8-5 loss with partner Srinivasan. In her last collegiate match, Pozdniakova teamed up with Bascara at No. 3 doubles. The Quakers had little trouble taking the match, 8-2. Despite her loss, Gold believes she is ending her Penn tennis experience on a positive note. "I don't think we played our best matches [this weekend], but we showed a lot of heart," she said. "Everyone did their job. It's good to leave on a winning note."
(04/24/00 9:00am)
The opening of the Barnes and Noble bookstore hs not hurt smaller area bookstores. In 1996, when the University announced the construction of a new campus bookstore run by one of the biggest names in the business, the campus' longtime independent booksellers -- namely the Penn Book Center and House of Our Own Bookstore -- feared that they would lose business to their larger rival. But four years since the announcement, it seems that the conflict between the book super-store and the independents never fully developed. Today, ask the owners of the independent bookstores how their businesses are doing and they'll say just fine -- Barnes and Noble and all. Then walk inside any of the three and the secrets to their respective successes will immediately become clear. Indeed, because the bookstores receive orders from different departments and often serve students with specified needs and interests, the independent bookstores and Barnes and Noble are engaged in a healthy competition that is based more on their differences than on their similarities. All parties seem to agree that the Penn community has reached an alternative solution to the corporate-versus-neighborhood bookstore conflict that has plagued college campuses across the county. "The three stores have actually coexisted now for almost 30 years," says Deborah Sanford, the owner of House of Our Own. "There is an amicable and cooperative sort of feeling among the three." "The stores are serving some very specific groups within their niche. In a university, you want that diversity to exist," adds Kevin Renshaw, the manager of the Penn Bookstore. A Long History of Service The House of Our Own and the Penn Book Center are long-standing booksellers on campus, having each existed for several decades. Over the years, the two have earned reputations for intimate service, deep knowledge of their stock and, above all else, their historical traditions. In 1962, the Nickles family opened the Penn Book Center on the corner of 34th and Walnut streets. Since then, the establishment has moved two blocks west, and then back. But it remains under the ownership of Achilles and Olga Nickles. The Penn Book Center was forced to move out of the former University Bookstore building at 36th and Walnut streets when it was demolished in 1998 to make room for Huntsman Hall. Surprisingly, despite its proximity to the new Penn Bookstore at Sansom Common, the location gives the store an advantage of sorts over their competitors. The Penn Book Center is located between two of the largest School of Arts and Sciences departments -- History, in the 3401 Walnut complex, and English, across the street in Bennett Hall. "When a professor orders from us, he/she knows exactly who they are speaking to," current Manager Keith Helmuth says. History Professor Bruce Kuklick has been purchasing books at the Penn Book Center since he was in graduate school at Penn in the 1960s. His entire department orders from the two independent bookstores, as does the English Department. "I am a firm believer in tradition, and Barnes and Noble is not my idea of a bookstore. Ultimately, they don't care about selling books, they care about making a profit. [At the Penn Book Center] they are not businessmen, they are book men," Kuklick said. English Professor Dan Traister, the curator of the Annenberg rare book and manuscript library, is a frequent shopper at the store. "The people at Penn Book Center care about you. It is nice to have two to three eyes watching the kind of things you buy and shmoozing with you about books." "Book People Who Care" For an almost entirely different group of people, House of Our Own, like the Penn Book Center, has provided the community with the service of "book people who care." Located in an old row house at 3920 Spruce Street, House of Our Own was started almost 30 years ago, when two Penn graduates decided to open a small bookstore on campus. Beyond stocking an eclectic mix of literary and academic texts, on the second floor of House of Our Own resides the only second-hand book collection in West Philadelphia. Like the Penn Book Center, House of Our Own's loyal clientele -- including many Penn professors in the humanities -- are largely responsible for its survival. "Not only do the faculty members shop consistently at House of Our Own, but professors try to get their students to utilize the resources of the independent bookstore," Sanford explains. Then there are the scenarios that play themselves out in the store each day. This time, it's a Penn student who walks in searching for a book for one of his classes. As he approaches the counter asking for assistance, Sanford immediately recognizes the course and the professor. When the student says the professor is running behind in the course syllabus, Sanford jokes that this book will take even longer to finish than the last one. "We cater to a different clientele," Sanford says. "You can see serious book lovers moving slowly from shelf to shelf." Yet, the owners say their intimate setting -- with cushioned rocking chairs waiting invitingly between the dusty shelves -- is the true selling point. Sanford says, "There is a quiet, reflective atmosphere which is very good especially for people developing ideas for dissertations for papers." But the store's smaller size, which accounts for much of its charm, is often a negative for some students. Indeed, in the beginning of the semester, when shelves and extra tables are crammed with books, students elbow their way into the narrow entrance and wait in lines that often stretch out the door. Still, people shop -- and will continue to shop -- at House of Our Own, Sanford explains, because there's no other bookstore quite like it on campus. "The important thing is that we connect people to books." The Corporate Giant What the Penn Bookstore does, according to its proponents at Penn and in the surrounding community, is provide for both the University and West Philadelphia as well. "The Bookstore is truly an anchor store in the neighborhood," Renshaw says. Figures do not lie: The Bookstore, the largest of all the Barnes and Noble-owned bookstores on college campuses, has approximately 15,000 transactions weekly. Situated in the middle of Sansom Common, and flanked by Xando, Urban Outfitters and the Inn at Penn -- among others -- the Penn Bookstore is part of Penn's attempt to help revamp University City. "The new bookstore certainly redefined the landscape, but at the same time, forces the smaller bookstore to strengthen its quality," explains Vice President for Business Services Leroy Nunery, whose office manages the bookstore. The Penn Bookstore now includes the Computer Connection, a cafe, a foreign language center and a reading section that has 135,000 books. Much to the happiness of the store's management, the sale of books not used for courses has doubled in size over the past two years. It's not to say that everything is perfect with the bookstore, though. Textbooks are often not available early in the semester because the professors have ordered them too late, and the sale of textbooks -- which include all of the sciences and most of the books used for Wharton and foreign language courses -- has been consistent since before the store's expansion. It is the only section of the store that has not seen an increase. "A lack of growth in textbook sales is due to the Internet," Renshaw explains, referring to the increase in online booksellers like Amazon.com.
(04/24/00 9:00am)
Penn is currently in discussions with Blockbuster and Hollywood Video to bring a new bideo store to campus. With initial talks underway, students may soon have a place besides ResNet and Cinemagic to turn to for movie entertainment. University officials are in "preliminary discussions" with Blockbuster and Hollywood Video, according to John Greenwood -- a top official for the University's real estate company -- who explained that the University held introductory meetings with both companies over the past two months. "We would like to have a new store here this year," Greenwood said. University officials said they have had only "some interest" from Blockbuster and Hollywood Video at this early stage. "They are not beating down our door," said Tom Lussenhop, the University's top real estate official. He added that large corporations tend to be more methodical in their dealings, saying the University will learn their intentions in the coming weeks. "[The process is] moving along at a natural course," Greenwood said of the discussions with video retailers. The only video store currently on campus, the Video Library on the 4000 block of Locust Street, closes at 10 p.m. on weeknights and Saturdays. Philadelphia-based TLA Video had been in talks with the University since September about filling the vacant space adjacent to the Eat at Joe's diner on the 3900 block of Walnut Street. But following a boom in the eclectic distributor's online sales and speculation of old-fashioned video rental becoming obsolete, TLA opted not to open at Penn. Students have continuously asked for more video options on campus. A 1998 Undergraduate Assembly 40th Street Development Survey showed that 53 percent of the 470 students polled expressed a desire for a late-night video store. Outgoing UA Chairman Michael Silver, who met with the University to present the UA's recommendations for a video store in late February, called the survey results "eye-opening." "It's quantitative data that the University doesn't have," Silver said, adding that the survey should serve as incentive for video chains. The College senior gave Greenwood a hard copy of the results earlier this month. While UA members did not attend the introductory video store meetings with the two chains, both the University and Silver said students will be involved in future talks. "[The University has] said all along that they want us on board," Silver said yesterday. "It's been a very good partnership." Greenwood said he appreciates the student group's eagerness to participate. UA member Molly Siems, a College freshman, said several UA members have been discussing video store plans within the UA since the initial February meeting with the University, at which Siems was present. "I would really like to get together again to make sure everything is still moving forward," Siems said. The recommendation to bring a late-night video store to campus was also made last spring by Provost Robert Barchi's Working Group on Alcohol Abuse as a way to provide more non-alcoholic activities on campus. The University is primarily looking to fill the space next to Eat at Joe's, according to Lussenhop. Incoming UA Chairman Michael Bassik said he intends to work with the University until administrators secure a video chain. "We intend to meet with Executive Vice President John Fry within the next two weeks to let the University know that bringing a video store to campus is still a top priority for the UA," the College junior said.
(04/21/00 9:00am)
Penn welcomes the Bears for the final Ivy game of the year - a battle for sixth place. Perhaps it is only fitting that on Easter weekend the Penn women's lacrosse team will try to resurrect its season. In the midst of a four-game skid, the Quakers (5-6, 1-4 Ivy) are hopeful they can right their ship and spring back into the win column when they host Brown (4-7, 1-4) at Franklin Field at 4 p.m. tomorrow. Both teams head into this contest on a downturn. The Bears come in as losers of six of their last seven, while Penn has dropped four consecutive games to Harvard, Rutgers, No. 9 Dartmouth and No. 2 Princeton. But although the Quakers' last two losses have been verifiable blowouts, 18-7 to the Big Green and 19-4 to the Tigers, the home squad still heads in on a high note of sorts. "Going into the stretch with Rutgers, Dartmouth and Princeton, I think we were all kind of intimidated that this was going to be a lot all at once," Penn defender Ella Masson said. "But I think we're going to take all of that sort of seeing-and-learning from them and show Brown what we are. I'm looking forward to it." This kind of attitude has permeated the Quakers locker room of late, as the team looks to win the battle for sixth place in the Ivies against an offensively-challenged Brown squad. "I think these two games didn't hurt us by any means," said Penn coach Karin Brower of the Dartmouth and Princeton losses. "Like I told them, I think we've gotten better since Harvard. We've played the whole game; and we hustled; and we played with heart. "We need to think of Brown as a Princeton and Dartmouth and do whatever it takes to play that hard, and I think we can beat them." A year ago, the Quakers closed out a dismal 1-12 campaign with a disappointing 13-2 loss to the Bears in Providence. Twelve months later, Penn is one win away from amassing its most victories since 1994 and may actually enter this game as a favorite. "We approach a lot of our games the same, but we know that Penn has done a lot better this spring," Brown assistant coach Missy Holmes said. "The way our season has gone this year, we can't take anybody for granted. And we really wouldn't do that for Penn, [after] seeing them play some of their games, and, obviously, with the new coach and some new excitement down there, they're going to be a threat for us on Saturday." Offensively -- at least on paper -- the Quakers seem to have a slight edge on the Bears. As a team, Brown has accumulated only 89 goals through 11 games, compared to 115 for Penn. Sophomore attacker Traci Marabella leads Penn with 27 goals, and is followed by senior tri-captain Brooke Jenkins, who has 22. Four freshmen --Crissy Book, Jayme Munnelly, Kate Murray and Whitney Horton -- have also reached double-digits in points for the Quakers this spring. By contrast, the Bears are led by senior Cristi Gigon's 21 tallies and six assists, as well as by senior Keely McDonald (18 goals in 1999). "Christi is just a really threatening attacker. She has the ability to go left and right, and she's a good feeder. She just has a lot of weapons and is good to have down there," Holmes said. "But we're a fairly young team -- we have seven seniors, but beyond that, a lot of the team is sophomores and freshmen, so we're still in the learning phase." Charged with stopping Gigon and the Brown front-line will be Quakers goalie Christian Stover, and Penn's defensive line of Masson, Lee Ann Sechovicz, Amy Weinstein and Christy Bennett. Stover made 22 saves at Princeton on Wednesday, but also faced an astoundingly high total of 41 shots. The Quakers defense has allowed an average of 16 goals in the last four games, but this has been against competition where Penn's backline had been forced to work serious overtime. Against the Bears -- who fell to Yale, 12-3, and Cornell, 11-6, in its past two appearances -- the Quakers will look to reverse that trend. "And I think if we can build on these last two games, it's a good way for us to go into Brown," said Brower after the Princeton loss. "I was proud of my team, especially defensively and of Christian in the cage." Tomorrow's contest is the Quakers final home match of the 2000 campaign and the final game at Franklin Field for seniors Jenkins, Sechovicz, Melissa Rantz and Bethany Stafford. The usual pre-game ceremonies are already scheduled, but what may be more important to the Quakers is that a postgame -- and post-win -- celebration take place as well. "This will be the end of my eighth season at Franklin Field," said Jenkins, who has also labored in the fall with the Penn field hockey team for the past four years. "I've never had a season off since I was seven -- I don't know what I'll do."
(04/21/00 9:00am)
The Student Activities Council gave funding to 127 organizations. The Student Activities Council will allocate a total of $329,722 next year to the 127 student groups it funds, a nearly 20 percent decrease from this year. SAC attributes the decrease to a smaller number of groups seeking funding. "Allocations went much more smoothly in terms of fairness to groups," SAC Chairman Jay Haverty said. The Wharton and Engineering junior said the SAC executive board ensured that allocations were fair by establishing strict budgeting guidelines and adhering to them. The groups had collectively requested more than $800,000 from SAC. Before allocations were made, SAC had originally intended to allocate just $270,000 because at the time, that was all the money the group had to give. In order to provide enough funding for its constituent groups, SAC had to take $60,000 from their reserve fund, effectively emptying it. "The reserve fund went down because we felt groups deserved legitimate funding" Haverty said. SAC received a total of $494,345 in funding this year from the Undergraduate Assembly, up by approximately $50,000 from last year. But 20 percent of that -- $98,869 -- will go into the group's contingency fund, and another $120,000 will cover administrative costs. An additional $50,000 of SAC's UA funding will go to technology and maintenance expenses. Exactly $30,000 of that is being invested in the groups' online budget tracking system. Scheduled to premiere in the fall, the system is meant to help SAC groups have immediate access to all of their financial records. While there is approximately $10,000 left in the reserve fund, Haverty explained that the money could not be allocated because it serves as a "safety net" for organizations who may go into debt. The fund will be replenished at the end of the school year when SAC groups return the unused portions of their money to the group. The estimated amount to be returned is $60,000, but it will probably all go towards paying off SAC groups' debt. The group voted to tap into its reserve fund in February after their contingency fund emptied out. There was $80,000 in the reserve fund -- which contains money unused by other SAC groups at the end of each school year. In February, $20,000 was allocated in contingency requests after the fund was opened and the remaining $60,000 has gone towards this year's allocations. SAC will hear the 10 budget appeals it has received -- down from last year's 24 -- at next week's meeting, but it cannot offer more than $5,000 total to these requests. If groups feel that the $5,000 limit will not satisfy appeals, SAC members will have to vote to open up its contingency fund. Doing so would jeopardize the amount of money that will be available to student groups in the future. According to Haverty, changes have been made to budgeting guidelines this year to ensure fair and efficient allocations. Advertising standards have been modified and SAC will not grant groups money to advertise in The Daily Pennsylvanian. That will save SAC over $25,000. Performing arts groups also receive a standard allocation of $2,500. In previous years SAC had allocated money by estimating each individual groups' costs. Most group members said this standardized funding was sufficient.
