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(04/13/00 9:00am)
Officials discussed three possible sites for a baseball stadium. They say you can't please all of the people all of the time. But in the ongoing deliberations over where to build the new stadium for the Phillies baseball team, it seems that no one will ever be pleased with a location. In a town hall meeting last night in City Hall, Mayor John Street joined City Council members, team representatives and about 200 community members to debate the merits of three proposed Center City sites for the future baseball stadium. Council has pledged to approve a stadium deal by the fall so that the Phillies will be in a new home by April 2003. For nearly three hours the recommendations released yesterday morning by the Stadium Subcommittee were discussed. The committee recommended three downtown locations for the stadium -- on the eastern and western ends of Broad and Spring Garden streets or on 12th and Vine streets. According to committee members, a downtown location would have a greater economic impact on the city -- an argument that former Mayor Ed Rendell had supported. "You can get a better return on dollars by having it closer to Center City," said committee co-chairman Kenneth Shropshire, a Penn Legal Studies professor. The 12th and Vine site was preferred by the committee, which said it posed the fewest logistical problems. But many community members, and indeed the Phillies themselves, said they do not agree. Team representatives yesterday said they want to construct the new stadium in South Philadelphia at the Sports Complex -- which includes the 29-year-old Veterans Stadium, the First Union Center and the Spectrum -- where the Philadelphia Eagles have long since committed to build. "We do not believe there is a viable site in Center City, with the amenities available, at this time," Phillies President Dave Montgomery said. Phillies management has said they believe that a downtown location will never be accepted by the surrounding communities, and they want to finalize plans to get the stadium built quickly. The downtown site up for consideration last fall -- at Broad and Spring Garden streets -- met with huge community outrage. The same fervor is in danger of killing the new plans. "I was shocked and appalled that 11th and Vine was chosen as a site of the new stadium," said Jennie Wang, a Chinatown community leader. "We oppose, we oppose, we oppose and we will lay our bodies down in front of the steamrollers if we have to." And backed by about 45 students and teachers, Lisa Cancelliere, the principal of Holy Redeemer School at 915 Vine Street, said that having a stadium nearby would threaten student safety and bring traffic problems to the area. "This is a neighborhood," she said. "Nobody would put a stadium in a neighborhood. It just doesn't belong." Although less vocal, residents from other areas under consideration also voiced their concerns. "I understand the appeal of Center City, where time and money can be spent before and after games," said Joan Marniman, a Spring Garden resident. "But it is important to consider at what cost." A Broad and Spring Garden site has been up for debate before. Last year, it was Rendell's favored location, but community outrage and disgust stalled those plans as they were debated into oblivion. The stadium plans were tabled last November when City Council ran out of time, and for the past several months the Street administration has been trying to bring them swiftly to a decision. Street has promised to decide on a location by June 30, with legislation following in September. University President Judith Rodin was also present at the meeting to protect Penn's interests in the ongoing debate. The postal lands at 30th and Walnut streets have been considered on and off for some time. Rodin said building a stadium at that location would ruin Penn's plans to build a high technology corridor in the space. Besides the postal lands, several other locations on the outskirts of Center City were considered by the committee, including Port Richmond and the city incinerator at Columbus Boulevard and Spring Garden. But the committee ultimately decided on a more central location.
(04/13/00 9:00am)
Neighboring residents say Spring Fling weekend is normally a trying time due to loud, late-night parties. For many area residents and bar owners, the prospect of Spring Fling isn't as exciting as it might be to students gearing up for this weekend's activities. The annual event is characteristically marked by rowdy, drunken hordes of students migrating from party to party on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Due to strict liquor controls in fraternities, much of the partying has been pushed off campus. And while Fling means different things for local bar owners and community members, they both agree it's far from the average weekend on campus. For those permanent residents of University City who live next door to houses packed with undergraduates, Spring Fling can mean a much louder, messier weekend. According to Joe Lasprogata, a homeowner on the 4100 block of Pine Street, littering, screaming, urination, vandalism and even fire have all been part of this weekend in the past. "One of the favorite stunts is for men to urinate on the sidewalks, which has now been emulated by the young ladies," he said. Today, Lasprogata added, he saw six kegs of beer delivered to one house. And when the students get drunk, they tend to start screaming until 2 or 3 a.m., he said. Although Lasprogata says he has appealed to the University for help, no one has responded. "No one will come out here at 2 o'clock in the morning to witness it," he said. "If they don't believe what I say, then come spend the night with me." When Pine Street resident Mary Goldman, Lasprogata's neighbor, learned that this weekend was Spring Fling, her immediate response was "Oh my. And I'm not going to be away." Goldman claimed that one of the biggest problems for neighbors about Spring Fling was that students tend to party late -- long after the rest of the world has gone to bed. "When they don't start Fling until midnight, it gets to be problematic," Goldman said. "It's when the music is put outside and played until 5 o'clock in the morning that people get a little distressed. And that's an understatement." Closer to campus, bar owners are making preparations for this weekend. Although the owners of many campus bars say there's not a dramatic increase or decrease in customers, they do notice a difference. Smokey Joe's owner Paul Ryan said he actually gets less business during Spring Fling, and the customers he does get are more likely to be students from other schools who have come to party at Penn. "It's not like a normal weekend because there's so much else to do," Ryan said. "We're a little slower, but the more people you can draw down to the campus to see how nice it is, the better." Meanwhile, the owners of both Cavanaugh's and The Blarney Stone said they will be stepping up security because of Spring Fling weekend. Blarney Stone owner Rich Roller said he expects an increase in business, but that it will be offset by the extra measures the bar will take to ensure safety -- including more employees and more bouncers. "We like to err on the side of caution," Roller explained. "Usually, when you have more people standing around with staff shirts on, it's a deterrent." Bill Pawlicvek, owner of Cav's, also remarked that he expects slightly more business in the next couple of days because of fewer parties on campus -- and that he intends to take extra caution for Spring Fling. "Everybody's on their toes because of the [Liquor Control Enforcement board]," Pawlicvek said. "You might not give someone the benefit of the doubt." He also added that the presence of off-campus parties draws a lot of students away from the bars. "If they're all at a party on Spring Fling weekend, then they don't have to worry about minor friends not being able to drink," Pawlicvek said.
(04/13/00 9:00am)
On a cold January morning last winter, Philadelphia Mayor John Street was sworn into office. And the next day, the new mayor sat down and wrote a promise to Philadelphians. He pledged to use his first hundred days in office to address 20 pressing issues -- focusing largely on education and neighborhood blight. Yesterday marked the official end of those first hundred days, beginning a detailed evaluation of Street's performance by local officials, citizens and scholars alike. While Street has done much to fulfill nearly all of the 20 goals set in his broad-stroked, aggressive 100-day plan, some outsiders argue that the new mayor's leadership style isn't well suited for the city of Philadelphia. 100 Day Plan The new mayor had tough shoes to fill, following the overwhelmingly popular two-term mayor Ed Rendell. While Rendell is credited with revitalizing the downtown area, Street's first 100 days in office have instead been characterized by a strict allegiance to the needs of neighborhoods. "He's certainly shown a greater friendliness to the neighborhoods than was seen in the Rendell administration," City Councilman David Cohen said. And Ira Harkavy, director of Penn's Center for Community Partnerships, added that he has seen "the sense of hope and possibility" Street has instilled in area neighborhoods. As part of his hundred-day promise, Street kicked off a plan over a week ago to tow 40,000 abandoned cars in Philadelphia in a 40-day period. Continuing with his neighborhood efforts, Street also unveiled a comprehensive set of initiatives this week to reduce crime -- including a lawsuit against the top handgun makers. "His effort to make this kind of difference throughout the city should be lauded," Harkavy said. After proclaiming the year 2000 to be the Year of the Child, Street has been developing a plan to address the fiscal instability of the school district -- but it is not finished. And, as promised, the mayor has held and attended town and education cluster meetings in all of the 10 City Council districts. "The work that he's done sends the message that he cares about the entire city," Penn Public Policy and History Professor Theodore Hershberg said. In all, Street has made progress on most of his 20 pledges, although one task is still glaringly undone -- filling all the currently empty posts in his administration. Managing Philadelphia But filling these positions, some say, will present Street's greatest challenge. Already Street has very publically dismissed two people, firing his former Communications Director Ken Snyder and ousting Alred Testa, former airport director. On these controversial administrative actions, Cohen said Street has shown he can be a tough, decisive mayor who is "used to making decisions all by himself." "The mayor's got to learn that government is a cooperative activity," he continued, stressing the importance of Street's dealings with City Council. Street generated the reputation of being difficult and highly inflammatory during his time on City Council, noted Cohen, who worked on council with Street for all 19 of those years. But the mayor's deputy communications director, Ray Jones, emphasized that Street has simply done what he deemed necessary to run the government. "The mayor is a hands-on mayor," Jones said. "He's done what he needed to do to get the job done." With three significant positions --the commerce commissioner, the streets department commissioner and the public property commissioner -- left open in his administration, the mayor continues to face the task of building a complete administration. Looking forward With the first hundred days past, Street must continue to move forward to achieve his goals. Cohen said he thinks the mayor needs to do more in the area of education, adding that he is worried that Street is going to be unable to resolve the school district's impending fiscal crisis. "He's got to deal with the schools," Cohen explained. Jones said education remains a top priority for Street, adding that the mayor will do his part in fixing the schools. "The mayor will do all he can do, and then it's up to Harrisburg," he added. Hershberg said that the mayor also faces the challenge of "evening the fiscal playing field" -- referring to the problem of taxes. But overall, Hershberg said he felt Street has proven his ability to lead the city. "I would not underestimate his ability," he said. "He's got the combination of intelligence and guts -- that's important."
(04/13/00 9:00am)
MGM recently acquired Jon Hurwitz's comedic screenplay 'Filthy.' "I haven't made it yet," Wharton senior Jon Hurwitz told 34th Street magazine last month. "My movie could never be sold. The door has just been opened a crack." Little did he know then that his door was about to open -- by far more than a crack. Hurwitz was at the movies a few days after the Street interview when the call came. Cell phone in hand, he slipped out of the theater. Agent Jewerl Ross' words were beautifully direct. "MGM is buying your movie. Congratulations: You're a Hollywood screenwriter." Late this February, Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg -- his co-writer and best friend from high school -- flew to Los Angeles with their screenplay for a movie called Filthy, a raunchy tale of two recent college graduates trying to figure out what comes next in life. Within a week, they had picked out an agent and a manager. Their script then landed on the desks of over 20 companies. And MGM, eager to get in on the lucrative American Pie genre, stepped up with the highest bid. And if it's raunchy comedy that MGM wants, the studio has struck some gold. "It's much raunchier than American Pie," Hurwitz says proudly. "Maybe even more than South Park." While signing with MGM does not guarantee that the movie will be made -- the studio's final answer will depend on rewrites and its continued interest in the script -- Filthy's chances of success look promising. The movie's producer Matt Berenson predicts that Filthy -- a story about two twentysomething friends, Ben and Evan, forced to grow up after college -- will "be huge at the box office, especially with 16-to-30 year olds." From a scene of Evan dressed as a giant penis to one of Ben masturbating with a picture of Hillary Clinton, nothing is taboo. "I was afraid to read it," Hurwitz's mother Ilene admits. (Says Hurwitz, "They like to think that the dirty lines are Hayden's.") Sold for an amount in the low six figures, the screenplay opens with a scene of Ben and Evan's college graduation party. Evan's dad informs his son, a jobless Beach State graduate, that he'll be kicked out of the house by the end of the summer. Ben, a Harvard grad, develops a plan to help Evan put his life together. In the months that follow, the two go through messy break-ups, awful jobs, romances, fights, beer kegs and some reality checks. "The jokes are executed really well," Ross says. "A lot of other movies really don't make you laugh out loud. This movie is comedy writing, not just a comedic screenplay." But according to friends and Hollywood folks who have read Filthy, the screenplay -- for all its outrageous hilarity -- hits some sober chords. "It is smarter and more 'real' than your typical broad comedy," Berenson says, "and it has a theme which I can relate to: Follow your dreams." The screenplay, whose title will be changed before it hits the theater, has already gone through about 15 drafts. In a few weeks, the two writers will be flying to L.A. for a rewrite with MGM. And in the last month, they've lined up over 20 interviews with curious members of the media. With more than 10 new ideas for future screenplays in mind, Hurwitz and University of Chicago senior Schlossberg plan to keep writing. In June, the two will be moving into an apartment in LA. If Hurwitz has his way, investment banking -- his alternate career option -- will be a thing of the past. "I think these guys are going to be enormously successful," manager Paul Young says, "much like the Weitz brothers who wrote American Pie and the Zuckers who did the Airplane movies." When they began writing two years ago, everyone saw Filthy as a fun summer project -- except Hurwitz. In high school, Hurwitz had written in Schlossberg's yearbook that one day the two would be writing for Hollywood. "Definitely none of this would have happened so fast if I didn't have a partner like Jon," Schlossberg says. "He was aggressive about getting? everything moving." Hurwitz had never read a screenplay before writing Filthy. His material, he says, comes from talking to a diverse group of friends. "I pay attention to how people phrase things. It's something I do unconsciously." A self-proclaimed "realistic optimist," Hurwitz says he's become more laidback recently because he now knows what he wants to do. "Jon is a bright, funny self-confident guy," Berenson says. "I think he has the potential to do whatever he wants in the film business." Both Jon and Hayden want to have some influence in the casting of Filthy. They're toying with the idea of Rob Schneider as a mental patient and Chris Elliot as the character Filthy Sid. And they've each requested a small role in the movie. "I eventually want to have my own production company," Hurwitz says. "I want to look for talented people who don't have an agent and help them develop." Two years ago, when Hurwitz and Schlossberg were starting to think about writing Filthy, Kevin Smith -- the director of Clerks, Chasing Amy and Dogma -- spoke at Penn. Recently, Hurwitz posted a note on the Web site of Smith's production company, View Askew, thanking Smith for his inspiration. In about two hours, 30 strangers had e-mailed Hurwitz with congratulations and requests for advice. So it comes as no surprise to know that life is different for Hurwitz these days. His cell phone rings a lot. The Hollywood Reporter has written about him. Random people ask him about his screenplay on a daily basis. But for Hurwitz, writing what he hopes will be "one of the funniest movies ever made" is only the beginning.
(04/13/00 9:00am)
Penn continues to excel, but injuries and soft spots linger as the team heads to Villanova. Last weekend's trip to Princeton was significant for the Penn men's track team for a couple of reasons. For one thing, the dual meet represented the Quakers' first scored meet of the season. For another, it was the Red and Blue's first opportunity of the spring to go head to head with their old rivals and reigning Heptagonals champions. Penn placed third in the four-team field as Penn State took first with 205 points, Princeton grabbed second with 195, the Quakers finished with 169 and Villanova found itself vastly overmatched, mustering just 83 points at Weaver Track and Field Stadium at Old Nassau. Though assessments of the meet from the Penn athletes didn't appear extreme in either direction, one concern the team did voice is something that has largely been viewed as a non-issue up until this point. The Quakers are carried by tremendous individual talent, but their depth is somewhat in question. While star performers such as thrower Matt Pagliasotti and jumper Tuan Wreh may win their events on a near-weekly basis, Penn lacks a much-needed supporting cast in some departments to accumulate more points in scored meets. "We could have done a lot better in a few places," junior pole vaulter Aaron Prokopec said of the Quakers' efforts at Princeton. "It's great to have a Penn guy finish first in his event, but if the other team takes second, third and fourth, the team is losing more points than it's getting," junior javelin thrower Seth Beaver said. This principle seemed to hold true in nearly all events last week. Among Penn's runners, Sam Burley won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:52.00, and Mike Aguilar placed second in both the 200-meter dash and the 110-meter high hurdles. That was the upside. The upsetting news is that no other member of the Red and Blue finished higher than fifth place in any of those races. Likewise, Wreh, Penn's top jumper, won the triple jump with a mark of 50'01" and came in second in the long jump, reaching 23'01". Again, no other Quaker placed better than sixth in those events. Even the throwers, often an exception to this trend, were victims of just what Beaver described across the Delaware. Both Pagliasotti, who blew away his competitors to take first in the hammer throw, and freshman Brian Chaput, who continued his brilliant season by winning in the javelin by a rather healthy margin, enjoyed little support from their teammates a week ago. And in this Saturday's Villanova Invitational in which Penn will travel to the school that posted by far the fewest points at Princeton, some notable Penn athletes -- including Chaput -- will not participate due to injury. The East Haven, Conn., native is afflicted with an ongoing elbow problem that will now force him out of action and most likely sideline him until Penn Relays. Chaput is hurt because he has reverted to his previously unsound throwing technique that caused him occasional pain throughout high school. Although Chaput has made significant strides in improving his form in practice, Beaver says that the stellar freshman still puts up fantastic numbers despite regressing to his old ways in actual competition throws. In addition, Penn's javelin team must cope with the loss of sophomore Chris Crisman, who suffered a groin injury last week and will probably not compete at Saturday's meet. Despite these injuries and a desire for increased consistency, the Quakers know they still have a couple of meets before their crucial late-season stretch consisting of Penn Relays and Heps in which to improve and regain their health. "To win Heps, we have to be hitting on all cylinders," Beaver said. It has been Penn's prime objective all year to peak at the end of the spring season, so it's unlikely that injuries will derail the Red and Blue.
(04/13/00 9:00am)
Despite six consecutive goals in the closing minutes, Penn lost its second straight to Rutgers, 15-11. NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- For the second consecutive game, the Penn women's lacrosse team used a late comeback to bring it to the brink of victory, only to not get the final push to put it over the top. On the strength of six goals from captain Liz Chambers, Rutgers (5-6) jumped out to a 9-3 halftime lead and held off a furious Penn (5-4) rally in the closing minutes to defeat the Quakers, 15-11. "I'm really happy with the first half. We did what we were supposed to do -- aggressive defense and attacking the goal cage," Scarlet Knights coach Anna Marie Vesco said. "And then in the second half, Penn just wanted it more." Penn senior Brooke Jenkins netted three goals while Jenny Hartman, Traci Marabella and Kate Murray each added a pair, but Rutgers goalie Lauren Gulotta made 12 saves to ensure the victory. "Defensively, everyone didn't do a good job of denying the ball. Our biggest thing was turning the ball over in the midfield and letting them come in on fast breaks," Penn coach Karin Brower said. "We had a great comeback for the last 10 minutes, but you can't get in a hole that big and expect to come back and win against a team of this caliber." Down 13-5 with 13 minutes remaining, Alison Polk-Williams found the net for the Quakers, spurring Penn on to another late comeback. On Sunday, the Quakers scored five straight late goals in an 11-9 loss to Harvard. Yesterday, behind Murray's two goals, a pair from Jenkins and a score from Marabella, Penn brought the Rutgers lead down to 13-11 with three minutes left. That was as close as the Quakers would get. "It's so frustrating. We know we have the potential to score all the time and to play that way, but it just doesn't hit us until the second half," Hartman said. Two goals by Chambers in the final minutes sealed the Quakers' fate. "I'm just glad we won," Chambers said. The start of the game, much like the final 10 minutes, looked promising for the Red and Blue. Jenkins started the scoring two minutes in off a pass from Jayme Munnelly, and Penn had several early opportunities deep in the Scarlet Knights zone. Rutgers tied it on a free-position shot by Andrea Boeheim, but Hartman responded 20 seconds later. The sophomore fired a shot off of Gulotta's mask, got the rebound and put it home to give Penn a 2-1 lead. "I was definitely pumped to score a goal and get ahead early, but then it kind of fell apart," said Hartman, ecstatic at having scored on Gulotta, a former high school teammate. "I think we have a tendency to score some early goals and then sort of relax." The entire night, the host Scarlet Knights proved to be difficult to handle on attack. A quick team, Rutgers constantly found themselves getting behind the Penn defense on fast breaks and on set plays. While Chambers was the focal point of the home squad's attack, the Scarlet Knights had four players score more than once. Quakers goalie Alaina Harper, in her first collegiate start, was peppered with shot after shot in the first half. The freshman made a number of saves, but nine Rutgers blasts found their way past her. "Of course I was nervous, but I knew the coaches and my teammates had faith in me, so that was comforting," Harper said. "As a team we decided to step it up -- we decided that 9-3 was not the team that we were." Penn junior Christian Stover, who started the Quakers' first eight games, took over in net for the second half. Stover fared slightly better against the slippery Rutgers attack, allowing six goals in the final 30 minutes. The keeper was helped immensely as freshman Christy Bennett and the Penn defense clamped down and forced a plethora of second-half turnovers. In a messy game with a number of turnovers on each side, the Quakers were also plagued by a spate of fouls. Nearly every call in the first 30 minutes seemed to give Rutgers the ball, and the home team scored three free-position goals on the afternoon.
(04/13/00 9:00am)
Billy Reidy's goal for Penn was disallowed with five seconds left. Continuing its change from an unsettling early-season form, the Penn men's lacrosse team got of to a very fast start against Villanova. Unfortunately for Penn, the Wildcats(7-3) were also on fire, and the Quakers (5-6) dropped a double-overtime 15-14 nail-biter in front of 300 frostbitten fans. "It was a real difficult loss," Penn coach Marc Van Arsdale said. "It was a tough, closely played lacrosse game, as we'd anticipated. We just did a few things over the course of the game that cost us." The Quakers took a commanding 6-3 first quarter lead on the strength of senior co-captain Pete Janney's three goals. Villanova made up some ground in the second, and the Red and Blue took a precarious 8-7 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Quakers misplaced their offense for a while in the middle of the game, as Villanova pulled off a 9-2 run from the 5:10 mark in the second quarter until 12:48 remained in the fourth. "We turned the ball over a few times in there," Van Arsdale said. "I thought we had a good possession with the man advantage at the opening of the third quarter, and we scored right away. But then after that we hit a spell where we didn't score any goals." The Wildcats helped to limit the Quakers offensive production by shifting their defensive scheme to focus on Janney, who found the back of the net four times in the first half but scored only once in the second. "In the second half, they decided to shut me off," Janney said. "They didn't let me touch the ball at all, and we adjusted to that the best we could." Janney, junior Todd Minerley and freshman midfielder Alex Kopicki each scored goals midway through the fourth quarter to tie the game at 13. These goals came out of transition, before the Red and Blue could get into any offensive sets. "With [Villanova] taking me out of the offense, we were forced to run a little bit of a ragtag, fast-paced offense, where there's not a lot of structure to it," Janney said. Then, after Villanova attackman Eric Dauer put the Wildcats back on top, Minerley hit his fifth goal of the game with 28 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime with the score 14-14. Minerley's ball wasn't the last Quaker shot to get past Villanova goalie Matt Wilk in regulation -- it was just the last one to count. With five seconds remaining in the game, Penn middie Billy Reidy jumped in the air directly in front of the Wildcats net and fired the ball while he was parallel to the ground. While the Quakers sideline was celebrating prematurely, the referee was waving the goal off, claiming that Reidy had landed in the crease, thus voiding the score. "To tell you the truth, I couldn't tell if I was [in the crease or not]. I got back up so quickly," Reidy said. "The refs made the call, and you can't do anything about it." The Quakers charged into the first overtime, keeping the ball in the Villanova zone for most of the first extra four-minute period. The Quakers got off three shots in the first minute, two of which were very near-misses by Janney. "I was pretty tired at that point, being forced to run away from the ['Nova] shut-off the way I did," Janney said. Villanova didn't get off any shots in the first extra period, but they took several in the second, all but one of them either flew wide or were saved by freshman goalie Ryan Kelly, who made some incredible stops and got the Quakers fired up. "I think anytime a goalie steps up and makes a big save in a tight situation like that it gets the team rolling, thinking that we'll get the ball out of our end," Reidy said. The Wildcats' Dauer finally put one past Kelly for his fifth goal of the game and a thrilling Villanova win. This is a painful loss for the Quakers -- who had been undefeated against city opponents thus far this year -- because they failed to avenge last year's upset loss to Villanova on the Main Line and to climb back over the .500 mark.
(04/13/00 9:00am)
Greg Lee earned his first career save and Kevin McCabe had four hits as the Quakers beat Tenple. On a chilly, windy afternoon at Murphy Field, the Penn baseball team's bats were anything but cold. The Quakers (14-13) slugged out 14 hits against four Temple (12-18-2) pitchers yesterday en route to a 10-3 victory over the Owls that put the Red and Blue back over the .500 mark. Center fielder Kevin McCabe led the Penn attack with a 4-for-4 day at the plate that included his second home run of the season. "He's having a great year, pushing 40 hits," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. McCabe's first hit of the day was his 36th of the season. The senior surprised the Temple infield by dropping down for a bases-empty bunt single in front of home plate in the second inning. The next time McCabe came to the plate, Chris May was on base. Owls third baseman Sam Sabolchick, expecting more smallball, crept in on the infield grass. But McCabe did not cooperate, hitting a home run to give Penn a 3-2 lead. "I feel like when I have my bunting game going, I usually have good games," McCabe said. "I certainly didn't plan [the home run]. When the third baseman's in like that, usually I like to try to put one over his head, but I got a nice, fat inside fastball and just kept my head down and kept going." After the homer, McCabe added two more singles. His knock to lead off the sixth inning started a rally for the Quakers that broke the game wide open. McCabe scored from first on second baseman Nick Italiano's triple to left center field. Italiano then scored on Oliver Hahl's single. Hahl advanced to third on James Mullen's single and scored on Glen Ambrosius' sacrifice fly to left. Mullen came around on Jeff Gregorio's double. All of a sudden, Penn led 8-3 and the game was out of reach for the Owls. Penn sophomore Greg Lee pitched 4 2/3 innings for his first career save to make sure that it was out of reach. Lee entered the game in unusual circumstances. With one out and runners on first and second in the top of the fifth inning, Temple's leading hitter, Rob Cucinotta, hit a one-hopper off the face of Penn reliever Nick Barnhorst for an infield single. Barnhorst was OK, but could not continue pitching. Lee had been warming up in the bullpen, but he found himself on the mound earlier than expected with the bases loaded and one out with Penn holding a tenuous 4-2 lead. "I just wanted to try and throw some strikes, try and end the inning quickly and let us get in and hit," Lee said. Lee did the job, getting designated hitter Kyle Sweppenhiser to pop up to second base and Sabolchick to hit a weak roller to first base for two easy outs to get out of Dodge. "We had bases loaded with the fourth and fifth hitters up and couldn't get the ball out of the infield," Temple coach Skip Wilson said. "Not much you can do about that, we have to give [Lee] credit." Lee made only one bad pitch in his time on the hill yesterday, serving up a gopher ball to Temple left fielder Keith Ramsey, a .180 hitter who had not gone deep all season. Ramsey's blast brought the Owls to within a run, and Lee immediately settled down, not allowing another hit until there were two outs in the eighth inning and Penn had a 10-3 lead. Lee did encounter some trouble closing out the game in the ninth, though. A leadoff walk and two infield hits loaded the bases for Sabolchick, but Lee struck him out swinging on a nice low changeup to end the game. "I knew with a lefty up, my changeup would be the best pitch to go to," Lee said. "I'd thrown a couple of good ones already, so I just thought I'd put a changeup on the outside corner, let him see if he could hit it hard. He tried, and he didn't make contact. That's all I was going for."
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Freshman Dina Parise lost a no-hit bid and the game in the nightcap as Penn's bats were silent. A Penn softball team that is struggling mightily to score runs ran into the last thing it needed to run into yesterday when the Quakers faced off against Drexel's excellent pitching staff. Drexel (11-12) used impressive outings by Laura Tynio and Lori Swanson to quiet the Quakers' bats and sweep the doubleheader. The Dragons won the first game easily, 4-1, and then outlasted Penn in a pitchers' duel, 1-0. In the first game, Swanson showed why she is the reigning America East pitcher of the year by tossing a brilliant game. In a dominating performance, Swanson struck out 13 Quakers, including, amazingly, the first eight Penn batters of the game en route to a two-hitter. "Lori Swanson is probably one of the best pitchers that we will face this season, and we just didn't adjust," Penn sophomore Jen Moore said. "She's definitely a good pitcher, but that shouldn't happen where we get dominated like that." For Penn, freshman hurler Becky Ranta pitched well, allowing only six hits and three earned runs in six innings. Penn's only scoring in the game took place in the fifth inning after a double by freshman Heidi Albrecht broke up Swanson's no-hit bid. Sophomore Lindsay Wagner, pinch running for Albrecht, advanced to third on a ground-out and scored courtesy of a wild pitch by Swanson. "I feel like we are kind of doubting ourselves," Moore said. "We do have a lot of talent, so we just need to play aggressively and believe in ourselves." In the second game, freshman Dina Parise of Penn -- in just her third career start -- pitched superbly and took a no-hitter into the seventh and final inning. In the seventh, the Dragons led off with a double by Kelly Donahue and eventually scored a run when Jodi Devine hit a clutch two-out double. The game went from a no-hit bid to a Parise loss in a matter of moments. "I was just trying to keep the ball down and get a grounder to the left side," Parise said. "But she managed to tap it over the fielder's head and that was the game." Despite taking a tough loss, Parise was pleased with an effort that saw her take a no-hitter into the last inning as a freshman and also saw her toss her first complete game. "I was feeling really good, and I finally stepped out onto the mound and said to myself that this was my game," Parise said. "I had been really nervous at the start of other games, but today everything came together and I pitched my best." The loss for Penn is the sixth consecutive and the ninth in the last 11 games. The Quakers have been plagued by an inability to consistently score runs over the last 16 games. Following an early season four-game winning streak that raised the team's mark to 8-10, Penn has gone 3-12-1. The Quakers have also scored a disappointingly low total of five runs over the last six contests. "It's frustrating because we know that we can pound teams offensively, but we're just not doing it," Parise said. "We need to bring all three aspects [pitching, hitting and defense] together and give 100 percent and then we'll get some wins." After a two-game hiatus from their Ivy League schedule, the Quakers will return to league play this Friday in a home doubleheader against Princeton. The Quakers, winless in four Ivy League contests, could have their hands full this weekend against a Tigers team that boasts a record of 4-0 in the Ivies. "We know how to hit. We do it everyday -- it's routine for us -- but we're just not executing and coming through in games," Moore said. "We look really good in warm-ups, but unfortunately that doesn't put a 'W' on the board. We know that we're capable of beating Princeton. We just need to come out aggressive and believe in ourselves."
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The Penn men's heavyweight crew team will be spending the beginning of Spring Fling weekend across the Delaware in New Jersey. The Quakers open their season of Ivy League cup races at Princeton against the Tigers and Columbia. With spring sprint racing now in full swing, the Quakers will have many opportunities to race hard against other Ivy crews before facing them all again at the Eastern Sprints. After competing for the first time at the San Diego Crew Classic two weeks ago, the Quakers have spent their practice time refining their race plans to build boat speed and row with a higher level of finesse. "Ideally, we hope to perform well and learn from our race in San Diego," senior varsity rower Lew Goettner said. "We've now seen where we stand against many of the teams we'll be racing in the upcoming weeks. We know they're well within our reach, and we know what we need to focus on before we see them again." This weekend, the Red and Blue will attempt to reclaim the Childs Cup. Although the cup has been held by the Tigers for the past seven years, the Quakers head to Carnegie Lake bursting with confidence. "I know all of us in the boat are ready to race," sophomore varsity rower Paul Falcigno said. "We have been waiting for this event for a long time and we are ready to show the rest of the Ivy League that Penn is a serious contender." Penn will face its other Ivy nemeses between now and mid-May before the Red and Blue's season culminates at Eastern Sprints in Worcester, Mass., on May 21. With each cup race, the Quakers anticipate an increase in speed as well as in the number of jerseys they bring home, as a crew tradition mandates that the losing rowers give their uniforms to the victors. "There are no negative sentiments going into our season-opener because we know we have the potential to go fast," Falcigno said. "Princeton is going to be a tough race, but we are all ready to meet the challenge. Coach Bergman has trained us well, and our boat knows we can beat them." Despite their losses and injuries, the Quakers believe they are just as competitive as past victorious crews. "As long as we all perform up to our potential, we will pose a serious threat against our fellow Sprints teams," Goettner said. "From here on in, it's non-stop. We're ready to race hard and start winning."
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Joining together to celebrate a common heritage, nearly 1,000 Jewish students dined last Friday night in over 40 different locations for traditional Shabbat dinners. Sponsored by the Jewish Mentors Program of the Steinhardt and Neubauer Jewish Heritage Programs, 45 Shabbat dinners, each attended by between 15 and 60 students, were held in locations ranging from college houses to fraternity and sorority houses. The dinners were organized by interns with the Mentors Program, an organization that counsels young Jews about success in professional fields. Currently, about 70 interns from Penn are involved in this program. Rachel Baum, a University of Delaware alumna who works for the JHP and helped organize the dinners, said she was very pleased with the number of participants. "I was very excited that we reached 975 students," she said. "I think that it totally helped build the Jewish Heritage Program." Many of the students who attended the dinners had never attended a Shabbat dinner before, according to Baum, who added that this outreach was facilitated by the informal organization of the dinners. "It's so amazing that so many people are doing Shabbat dinners that never experienced a Shabbat before," she said. Rabbi Menachem Schmidt, a director of the Jewish Heritage Program, said he was also highly pleased by the diverse people reached by this event. "It's really important in terms of community building and also for education about their heritage," he noted. "Most of the people involved in this program would probably not be having Shabbats otherwise." Students who attended the dinners were also very pleased by the outcome. Erica Keenholtz, a College sophomore and member of the program's steering committee at Penn, said she felt that the informality of the event helped make it so popular. "I thought it was extremely successful because people were able to have them in their own houses," she said. The evening's festivities included a raffle to raise money for P'tach, a charity which provides support to Jewish special-needs children. The raffle raised about $300. The Jewish Heritage Program started at Penn seven years ago, and now includes 11 other college campuses. The program is named for Michael Steinhardt and Joseph and Jenet Neubauer, all of whom are mentors and large contributors to the program. According to Baum, the Shabbat dinners were very much in keeping with the aims of the program. "I think all of our supporters, like Michael Steinhardt and Joseph and Jenet Neubauer, would be very proud of us," she said. According to Baum, the program's seven-year history at Penn has been very successful in getting Jewish students who are otherwise unaffiliated with Hillel active in the community.
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Matt Langel and Michael Jordan were selected by the Atlantic City Seagulls and Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs of the USBL. Penn senior men's basketball co-captains Michael Jordan and Matt Langel were selected in the United States Basketball League's eight-round draft yesterday. Langel was taken in the fourth round (41st overall pick) by the Atlantic City Seagulls, while Jordan (49th) was taken in the fifth round by the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs. Neither player has decided whether he will ultimately choose to play in the USBL -- an 11-team league with a season that lasts from April 21 to June 25. Langel has contacted Atlantic City about playing in the league, but he is not certain whether he will report later this week for the Seagulls' first practice. "It's something I have to think about," Langel said. Jordan, meanwhile, has not yet discussed his situation with the Bethlehem-based ValleyDawgs. "I need to sit down with some people to decide," Jordan said. "It may depend on my money situation." The league season would conflict for both players with a basketball camp held for professional hopefuls in Houston later this month, although Langel said that USBL teams would be understanding of such prior engagements. Jordan and Langel both received invitations to the Houston camp, which takes place April 26-30. Langel estimated that 55 players will be in attendance, running drills and playing full-court games in front of scouts for leagues in the United States and overseas. Jordan played last weekend at the Portsmouth Invitational, a camp in Virginia that traditionally includes about 10 future NBA draft picks. Jordan believed he played well at the camp -- but not exceptionally well. "My numbers weren't great, but they were OK," Jordan said. Jordan and Langel were both named first team All-Ivy this year, with Jordan winning Ivy League Player of the Year honors. Both Quakers guards have also scored over 1,000 points in their careers. The two guards intend to continue their basketball playing careers in some fashion. While both harbor hopes of being selected in the NBA draft in June, neither Jordan nor Langel has ruled out playing in the CBA or in Europe. "Realistically for me, something overseas will probably be the best option," Langel said. The USBL owners tend to select players in the draft with regard to both talent and the possibility that they will choose to play in the league. Oklahoma State's Doug Gottlieb was chosen first in the draft.
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Penn coach Karin Brower wants her team to go to the net more aggressively. A little more than halfway through her team's season, and heading into a game tonight at Rutgers, Penn women's lacrosse coach Karin Brower is less than thrilled. Sure, the Quakers are 5-3, with already four more wins than they had all of last season, but Brower is not happy with what she has seen on the field of late. "I'm sick of hearing that we're better than last year, because it's a different team," Brower said. "We should be better than last year, and each year from here on. I don't know if they're settling on that, like, oh great we have five wins. But we can lose the rest of the games, and I've told them that. It's up to them. It's in their hands as to how they want to end this season." Brower was particularly upset about Penn's showing in Sunday afternoon's 11-9 loss to Harvard in which the Quakers were outscored 8-1 to open the game. The Red and Blue seemed reluctant to take the ball to the net against the Crimson until the waning moments of the game when Penn mounted a nearly memorable comeback. "We were a little hesitant until the end, which is frustrating," Penn senior tri-captain Brooke Jenkins said. "I guess people on Sunday weren't confident going to goal, taking their girl when they really could have, including myself. It was frustrating." The reluctance to go to the net was the most baffling aspect of Sunday's loss for Penn. This lack of aggressiveness is particularly vexing for a team that has done a fine job rebounding from adversity. A 1-12 1999 season had most thinking that the Quakers had absolutely nothing to lose in 2000. "They don't know how to go, 'We're losing. Somebody needs to go to goal and it's gonna be me,'" Brower said. "We have to get them to understand that when you're down five goals, there's nothing to lose, go to goal?. This whole year they have nothing to lose, and I'm baffled as to why they don't play that way. We're not supposed to beat anybody." · The Scarlet Knights (4-6) throttled Penn at home last year, 15-3. That Rutgers side, however, is very different from the one that Penn will play today, as the best of last year's New Jerseyans were seniors. When the Scarlet Knights came to Franklin Field last year, they were ranked 11th in the nation and carried an 8-2 record with them. Ten players scored for Rutgers en route to the win, while only Amy Weinstein and Traci Marabella found the net that night for the Quakers. · Marabella's goal against Rutgers last season was one of 12 for her on the season. Now a sophomore, the attacker has scored 20 goals in Penn's first eight games, becoming the first member of the Quakers to tally 20 since Darah Ross and Emily Hansel did it in 1998. "I think I won't be happy until I reach at least 30," Marabella said. "But it feels good. I feel like it's something that I probably should have been able to do last year, and it's nice knowing I have a coach who can push me and bring out my potential." Marabella was named to the Ivy League's weekly honor roll yesterday for her hat trick against the Crimson on Sunday and two goals against La Salle last Tuesday night. · When Penn beat the Explorers eight days ago, it extended their non-conference record to an impressive 4-0. While the teams that the Quakers have played outside of the Ivy League have not been as tough as their Ancient Eight foes, the Scarlet Knights are comparable to Harvard. "[Rutgers] is our chance to really prove that we really are a better team," Marabella said. "Everyone knows that we're better than 1-12, but the teams we've played aren't very strong. This is a big game for us because it'll show that we are really a different team." · So far this season, five of the Quakers have notched 10 or more goals. Last year, only three -- Jenkins, Marabella and Weinstein -- did so. This year, Marabella and Jenkins have been joined by 10-goal scorers freshmen Crissy Book (13), Jayme Munnelly (10) and Kate Murray (10).
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The Quakers look to rebound from a four-loss Ivy homestand today against city rival Drexel. Two West Philadelphia neighbors will do battle at Drexel Field today. The Penn softball team won't travel far to play a doubleheader against the Drexel Dragons at 4:00 this afternoon in a fight for University City bragging rights. Thus far this season, the Quakers boast a 4-1-1 record in the City Six, an informal but still very competitive league comprised of the Philadelphia Big 5 and Drexel. The Red and Blue swept La Salle and recorded a win and a tie against Villanova before splitting with Temple on April Fool's Day. The team will look to continue its winning ways against their Philly foes today against the Dragons. "You'd love to be the team that won the City Six," said sophomore left fielder Clarisa Apostol, who is second on the Quakers in batting average with a .286 mark. "It's great to be known as the Philly team that came out the best." "We want to prove that we're a power in the city," freshman designated hitter Heidi Albrecht added. But to come out victorious against the Dragons, the Quakers will have to fix some of their recent problems, including their lack of consistency and meager offensive production. Penn (11-20-1, 0-4) is coming off a four-game losing streak in which the Quakers were only able to produce four combined runs, while stranding a whopping 26 runners on base. For the Quakers, some of the hitting has been there, but the team has simply been struggling to get the key hits to drive runners home. "We're a good hitting team, and we've been putting hits together," sophomore second baseman Jamie Pallas said. "But we've left a lot of runners on base, and we can't do that if we want to win." The Red and Blue will look to turn this around today and hopefully keep it going for the rest of the season. "We're looking for more hits with runners in scoring position," Albrecht said. "We've simply got to get more runs on the board." Consistency has been another problem that has plagued the Quakers so far this season. "We need to bring defense, pitching and offense to each and every game," Penn coach Carol Kashow said. "We haven't executed in games the way I would like." The Red and Blue hope to fix some of these problems and get back on the winning side this afternoon. But blocking their path is a strong Drexel squad led by star pitchers Laura Tynio and Lori Swanson. The sophomore and junior hurlers have nice movement on the ball and excellent velocity. "It's not too often you find that combination," Apostol commented. "It's definitely going to be challenging. Nevertheless, the Quakers look to get back on track and end their four-game skid before heading back into their Ivy League schedule, which includes an important doubleheader against rival Princeton on Friday. But the Red and Blue will take one game at a time and not look ahead to their upcoming battle with the Tigers. "It's important not to get far-sighted," Kashow said. "We just have to try to take each day as it comes." And in today's games, the Quakers will try to finally bring runners home from scoring position and put all of the pieces together as the regular season winds to a close. "We definitely haven't played to our potential -- it's disappointing to see how well we practice and then not see the results," Apostol said. "Hopefully against Drexel we can put it all together." "We're definitely just trying to focus on playing good ball," Albrecht added. "We've got to get ourselves back together." And once the Quakers talented squad does succeed in bringing all assets of its game together, they believe the sky's the limit. "We have a lot of talent, and we will put it together soon," Pallas said. "And when we do, we're gonna rock."
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The Penn men's golf team traveled to the U.S. Naval Academy this past weekend, where it finished a respectable seventh at the Navy Spring Invitational. The tournament spanned only one day due to the 30-mile-per-hour winds and snow that descended on Annapolis, Md., on Sunday. The Quakers, who combined for a 26-over 310, finished behind longtime rival Princeton. The Tigers won the event by shooting a 15-over 299. "We didn't play as well as we could," Penn freshman Chad Perman said. Todd Golditch and Perman led the Quakers with rounds of five-over 76. Senior Rob Goldfaden shot a six-over 77; Kyle Moran posted a 10-over 81; and Peyton Wallace fired a 15-over 86. If these inflated scores seem like an aberration for the Quakers, that's because they were. "It was very windy," Perman said. "The greens were extremely fast and undulated." According to Golditch, the Quakers would have liked to played the second day of the tournament. "It would have been nice to get in one more competitive round before the Ivy League Championship," Golditch said. After 12 holes of the tournament, Golditch led the 19-team field with a score of one under par. "Things sort of fell apart on the 13th and 18th holes, where I made double bogey," he said. Golditch watched his hopes of winning disappear after he played the final four holes in four over par. However, his confidence in himself and in his team remains high. "I feel really good going into next weekend," Golditch said. "It's been Rob [Goldfaden]'s, Kyle [Moran]'s and my goal to win the Ivies for a long time. I feel extremely confident in my team's ability and our chances next week." The Quakers will have four days of practice this week before they depart for the Ivy League Championships in Jackson, N.J., on Friday morning.
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The Penn men's lightweight crew team fell again this weekend in its race for the Matthews-Leonard Cup at Cornell. All five Penn boats finished behind Cornell and Harvard, leaving the Quakers with nothing to show for their effort. The varsity boat finished last in its heat, with a time of 6:02.55. Cornell placed second with a time of 5:57.9, and Harvard won with a race time of 5:50.06. Despite their loss, the Quakers made many improvements in this past weekend's race. The varsity boat finished six seconds faster than last week at Rutgers, and the Quakers agree that their overall performance has improved in many aspects since the fall. "We are faster than we were in the fall," varsity rower Garrett Cameron said. "If we go six seconds faster each race, we'll be flying by the time [Eastern] Sprints come around." Cameron was also happy with the improved race strategy over last weekend's race. Penn didn't go out as quickly in the early going on Saturday and had more energy to finish the race off with improved speed. The second varsity boat also placed last in its heat. The Harvard and Cornell boats collided at the beginning of the race and were allowed to row the race again. The Quakers, however, weren't granted the right to a re-race due to their initial loss to both of the other boats. Many Penn rowers were disappointed with the official's decision not to grant them another chance at the race and blamed it for their defeat. "They didn't allow us to race again," sophomore rower Brendon Tavelli said. "That might have had something to do with our performance." The third varsity boat and the two freshman boats also finished behind Cornell and Harvard. Harvard won in the third heat, and Cornell won in both freshman races. Despite the definitiveness of their most recent loss, the Quakers are trying to remain positive for the rest of their season. "We can't blame ourselves," Penn commodore Michael Smolenski said. "We just need to get out and try as hard as we can every day at practice." The Quakers are also trying to use last weekend's competition as a source for further improvements. Many of the rowers are switching boats for this weekend's race at Columbia, where the Quakers anticipate a tough race against Yale and the Lions. "There are many personnel changes," Tavelli said. "Hopefully they will improve our performance." Included within these personnel changes, the varsity boat will race without one of its strongest rowers, junior Dave Wilson, who will be taking the MCAT. Nevertheless, the Quakers hope for a good race. "We're not throwing the towel in yet," Smolenski said. "We still have a lot of time left in the season."
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The Penn men's golf team traveled to the U.S. Naval Academy this past weekend, where it finished a respectable seventh at the Navy Spring Invitational. The tournament spanned only one day due to the 30-mile-per-hour winds and snow that descended on Annapolis, Md., on Sunday. The Quakers, who combined for a 26-over 310, finished behind longtime rival Princeton. The Tigers won the event by shooting a 15-over 299. "We didn't play as well as we could," Penn freshman Chad Perman said. Todd Golditch and Perman led the Quakers with rounds of five-over 76. Senior Rob Goldfaden shot a six-over 77; Kyle Moran posted a 10-over 81; and Peyton Wallace fired a 15-over 86. If these inflated scores seem like an aberration for the Quakers, that's because they were. "It was very windy," Perman said. "The greens were extremely fast and undulated." According to Golditch, the Quakers would have liked to played the second day of the tournament. "It would have been nice to get in one more competitive round before the Ivy League Championship," Golditch said. After 12 holes of the tournament, Golditch led the 19-team field with a score of one under par. "Things sort of fell apart on the 13th and 18th holes, where I made double bogey," he said. Golditch watched his hopes of winning disappear after he played the final four holes in four over par. However, his confidence in himself and in his team remains high. "I feel really good going into next weekend," Golditch said. "It's been Rob [Goldfaden]'s, Kyle [Moran]'s and my goal to win the Ivies for a long time. I feel extremely confident in my team's ability and our chances next week." The Quakers will have four days of practice this week before they depart for the Ivy League Championships in Jackson, N.J., on Friday morning.
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Penn hopes to get back at Villanova for an upset loss on the Main Line last year. The Penn men's lacrosse team (5-5) will have revenge in mind when the Quakers face Villanova tonight at 7 p.m. at Franklin Field. In what was probably the biggest upset of the 1999 season for Penn, the Red and Blue dropped a 7-5 heartbreaker to the Wildcats last year on the Main Line, allowing four goals in the final quarter. "We have a bad taste in our mouths from last year," Penn co-captain Pete Janney said. "That's really pushing us to work hard for this game." The Quakers are coming off their first Ivy League win, a 7-4 victory over Dartmouth this past Saturday, marked by an impressive defensive effort. The backline must continue its strong play tonight against a Wildcats team that boasts a high-octane offense. Villanova returns 13 seniors, including its three best players -- Chris Lawson, Eric Dauer and Jack McTigue -- in the midfield. Lawson leads the team with 19 goals; Dauer has tallied 16 thus far this season; and McTigue has 25 assists to go along with two goals. "They are all strong, very powerful athletes," Penn coach Marc Van Arsdale said. "The midfield line is probably as good as we're going to see all season." Those three players had the biggest impact for the Wildcats in last season's game against the Quakers. In that contest, Penn got off to a slow start when Lawson put a crisp shot past Matt Schroeder, the Red and Blue's goalie of a year ago. Just minutes later, Dauer scored when the ball bounced off a defender's stick and into the goal. The Quakers rebounded, however, and held the Cats scoreless for the rest of the half. After two goals from Janney and one each by Scott Solow and Todd Minerley, the Quakers took a 4-3 lead into the fourth quarter. But that was when Penn shut down. Villanova stormed back to tally four goals in the last quarter, including Lawson's second goal of the game. McTigue assisted on every goal of the quarter, as the frustrated Quakers could not net one and were upset, 7-4. In a display of futility, the once-strong Penn offense was not only held to a meager four goals, but was also outshot, 36-27. The defeat sent the Red and Blue into a downward spiral as the team lost its last two contests by a combined 12 goals. Despite last year's game being being billed as an upset, the Wildcats have no reason to believe they can't beat the Quakers again. Villanova (6-3) is coming off a convincing victory last weekend against Fairfield. The Wildcats jumped out to a 2-0 advantage at the end of the first quarter and extended that to 5-2 at the half. Villanova continued its strong play in the second half and defeated the Stags, 12-7. Dauer totaled three goals, while Lawson added two and McTigue tallied three assists. "They are very confident right now," Van Arsdale said. "They've been playing very well recently, and the game should be two evenly matched teams with some momentum coming off wins." While the Wildcats offense has been given much attention by opposing teams, adversaries must also be mindful of their reliable defense. In last year's game, junior defender Brian O'Hagan shut down Minerley, which prevented the Quakers offense from getting quality feeds. A win at Franklin Field today would give the Quakers their first winning streak since the first two games of the season, when Penn upset Notre Dame it its home opener and followed that up with a win against Bucknell. The victory would also give the Red and Blue confidence going into the tough three-game stretch that ends their season. Before the month is out, the Quakers will face Brown, Syracuse and Delaware -- Penn lost to all three last season. "Syracuse is one that will probably take a little more than extra on our part and a little less on theirs," Van Arsdale said. "But the other two games are very winnable." If the Quakers can pull of a win tonight, maybe they can get used to the feeling of revenge and end their season on an upswing.
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The Quakers will look to avenge their loss to Temple in this March's Liberty Bell Classic this afternoon. Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Unfortunately for the Penn baseball team -- which has lost 10 of its 13 games by two runs or less -- almost doesn't count in baseball. But today at Murphy Field at 3 p.m., the Quakers have a chance to get one of those close losses back. Penn (13-13) welcomes Temple (12-17-2) to the West Side, looking to avenge its heartbreaking 5-4 loss to the Owls in 10 innings at the Liberty Bell Classic on March 28. On a drizzly day at Veterans Stadium, the Quakers squandered a 4-1 lead and an excellent outing from sophomore Mike Mattern, as the Owls rallied to hand Penn its eighth consecutive loss at the Liberty Bell Classic. The Quakers appeared set to cruise to a victory when they tagged Temple starter Chris Joyce for two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth. But Joyce and reliever Jeff Rugg stymied Penn's bats after the fifth, allowing just one hit -- Chris May's leadoff triple in the eighth inning. But Penn's bats have not been very quiet since. After the Temple game, the Quakers have averaged almost 12 hits a game, including an amazing 33-run, 27-hit outburst against La Salle. But the pitching staff has been another matter. Penn's relievers let the team down last weekend, as the Quakers dropped three of four games to Ivy rivals Dartmouth and Harvard to fall into a three-way tie for first place in the Ivy League's Gehrig Division. Cornell, Princeton and Penn all have 4-4 league records, while Columbia is one game back at 3-5. "Pitching had a rough weekend," said catcher Jeff Gregorio, who leads the Quakers with four home runs and 34 runs batted in. "We're swinging the bat well right now, so that's going to carry us along." Junior Brian Burket starts for the Quakers today. Burket, who is second on pitching coach Bill Wagner's staff with a 4.08 earned run average, has made six appearances in relief for Penn this season. "Brian is kind of a middle guy, but he'll throw strikes," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "Temple swings the bat. We would love to have a left-handed pitcher for this game." Seddon expects up to four or five pitchers to see action in today's game, mostly ones who will not be depended on for extensive work this weekend, when Penn officially opens its new ballpark at Murphy Field with two doubleheaders against Cornell. Even though the midweek game does not have ramifications for the Quakers as far as postseason play is concerned, the Quakers insist they are not looking past Temple to the weekend series. "It's not an Ivy League game, but you still want to brush up," Gregorio said. "The last thing we want to do is fall below .500." Further spurring Penn is the bitter taste left by the 5-4 loss at the Vet. "We probably should have beat them the first time," Gregorio said. "That's one motivating factor that'll drive us to play better." While Seddon has his lineup mostly solidified, outfielder Jeremy McDowell and catcher Ralph Vasami will see action today. With freshman Andrew McCreery out sick earlier in the year, the senior McDowell made the most of his opportunity to play. McDowell leads the Quakers with a .444 batting average, and in 12 games he has 12 hits and 10 runs scored. The Quakers bench will be a little short today. Sophomore catcher Brian Fitzgerald and freshman standout Zach Hanan are both troubled by back problems. In 14 games, Hanan has managed a .378 batting average, second-best on the Quakers, and he leads the team with a .622 slugging percentage. May has been playing through a pulled groin, and freshman pitcher Kevin Wells' arm problems further stretch a struggling pitching staff.
(04/12/00 9:00am)
The Wildcats, a female a cappella group, complained about their treatment at the Penn Six show. The final song of the Princeton Wildcats' set during last Thursday's Pennsylvania Six-5000 show was Aretha Franklin's "Respect," but the visiting all-female a cappella group felt they were treated with anything but. The Wildcats e-mailed University President Judith Rodin a letter of complaint yesterday about Penn Six's conduct at the Irvine Auditorium show, entitled "Busted Interface." In the letter, the Wildcats expressed their anger over what they perceived as offensive actions by members of Penn Six and Penn Six fans. "We felt in retrospect that we had been invited specifically to be made fun of," the Wildcats wrote. The Princeton group's chief complaint, according to Wildcats President Jessica Williams, was that several men streaked across the stage during the Wildcats' set and allegedly touched some of the women. In the letter, the Wildcats wrote, "Members of a fraternity with ties to the Penn Six-5000 and likely with the knowledge of the singing group ran naked across the stage during one of our songs. There was unwanted physical contact made between these men and two of our members." But according to Penn Six Business Director and Engineering junior Jake Peters, the group had no prior knowledge of the incident. "We had no idea that was going to happen," Peters said. "We were backstage, we heard the noise and we came, but we missed it." The Wildcats were also upset about several other incidents that occurred at the show -- their names in the show's program were listed as suggestive names such as "Heywood Jablomi" and "Mike Hunt," Penn Six alumni were allegedly loud and disrespectful during the Wildcats' performance and members of Penn Six came onstage in costume during the Wildcats' last song. Williams said that many of the incidents taken alone would not have bothered the group, but that the "combination of everything created a situation that made us feel uncomfortable." Penn Six Musical Director Andrew Tam, a Wharton sophomore, said that antics such as the made-up program were meant to be funny. "The names were completely farcical," he said. "In addition, they introduced themselves as those names." Peters added that Penn Six's alumni denied saying anything derogatory to the Wildcats. Penn Six also received mixed reviews for an appearance at Princeton on March 25, with Princeton a cappella group the Roaring 20. According to Williams, Penn Six's antics at that performance should have clued them in. Adam Friedlander, president of the Roaring 20, said that "the general a cappella community here is really pissed off." Friedlander also said that when Penn Six performed at Princeton, the members did some things the Roaring 20 felt were not "quite appropriate for the 11-year-old cousins in the audience," including using profanity and making jokes about masturbation. Peters said the response Penn Six received from the audience at the Roaring 20 show was "one of the most warm and welcome receptions from a road show. We didn't hear one negative thing about that show."
