Three straight wins in one weekend - the best medicine for a losing streak. After a tough loss to Hofstra last week, Penn wrestling responded in dominating fashion, winning its three varsity matches this past weekend at the Palestra. The Quakers started out strong Friday morning with a 33-4 decision over Brown.
"The key is to get the ball rollin' and keep it rollin', and we've got that ball rollin'." Coach Charlie Powell and the men's track team certainly lived up to his credo at the Giegengack Invitational hosted by Yale University this weekend. The Penn men's team set nine IC4A qualifying marks, led by junior Tim Kaijala, who not only set an IC4A mark but also set an NCAA provisional mark in the 800-meter run.
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Feb. 3 - The John J. Lee Amphitheater has been a bad place for the Penn seniors to play. Up to last weekend, Mark Zoller, Ibrahim Jaaber and Stephen Danley had lost two games here, and won last year by only two points.
Ekaterina Kosminskaya's first home match was a brief one. In less than an hour the freshman won twelve straight games and put away Richmond's number one player, Pamela Duran, 6-0, 6-0. The rest of the afternoon didn't go much better for the visiting Spiders, as the Quakers won 6-1 in a convincing fashion.
When Joey Rhoads was honored before Saturday's game for reaching the 1,000-point plateau, she walked into the stands, hugged her parents, and handed them the commemorative ball she received. That was the only time all night she left the court, and the only time she gave up the ball.
When Joey Rhoads was honored before Saturday's game for reaching the 1,000-point plateau, she walked into the stands, hugged her parents, and handed them the commemorative ball she received. That was the only time all night she left the court, and the only time she gave up the ball.
"The key is to get the ball rollin' and keep it rollin', and we've got that ball rollin'." Coach Charlie Powell and the men's track team certainly lived up to his credo at the Giegengack Invitational hosted by Yale University this weekend. The Penn men's team set nine IC4A qualifying marks, led by junior Tim Kaijala, who not only set an IC4A mark but also set an NCAA provisional mark in the 800-meter run.
Pitted against a surging Temple squad, the Penn gymnastics team took a step backwards Saturday. At the Liberty Classic Invite hosted by the Owls, the Quakers came in second with a point total of 187.175, three points shy of the Owls (190.15) who are 1-5 including a loss to Penn last weekend.
After the Quakers' loss to Yale on Saturday, coach Glen Miller wasn't happy. And with good reason - his team had just dropped a game in New Haven for the third time in four years, missed well over half of its free throws, and fallen in the standings behind a team that entered Ivy play with a 4-9 record.
PROVIDENCE, R.I., Feb. 2 - Unlike Fran Dunphy's return to the Palestra, there would be no need for last-second heroics in Glen Miller's return to Brown Friday night. Miller's Quakers made sure of that early, building a 15-point halftime lead before cruising to a 77-61 victory at the Pizzitola Center.
For the men's swimming team, the last race capped off the most exciting meet of the year. For the women, it was yet another exclamation point during the most successful season in school history. The women cruised to victory over host West Chester Friday night with a score of 182-113.
Penn Fencing has a tough weekend ahead of it as it faces NYU, MIT, Boston College and Brandeis on Sunday at the MIT Invitational. Both the men's and women's teams travel north to Boston on Saturday, but will be without sophomore Ben Wieder, who is currently competing in Goteberg, Sweden at the Junior World Cup.
When Temple faced Penn at the Palestra last week, Fran Dunphy's homecoming spurred an intense game with the home crowd clamoring for a victory over the Quakers' former coach.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Unlike Fran Dunphy's return to the Palestra, there would be no late drama in Glen Miller's return to Brown. The Quakers made sure of that, building a 15-point halftime lead and keeping the lead in double figures for the entire second half in their 77-61 win at the Pizzitola Center.
When you've won 24 Ivy League titles and reign as the back-to-back conference champion, you're used to teams coming after you with their best shot. For the Quakers, perhaps nobody plays with that attitude more than the Yale team they'll face tomorrow night.
The start of the Ivy season has the potential to serve as redemption for a disappointed bunch. After a vicious rout at the hands of No. 6 Hofstra, the Penn wrestlers look to rebound this weekend with a slate of four matches at the Palestra. The Pride came to Philadelphia last Saturday and proved they deserve their top five ranking.
There's nothing like rushing into the season. After its first match against Saint Joseph's on Wednesday, the men's tennis team will play two more this weekend, beginning with Central Flordia tonight. Last season, Penn coach Mark Riley and his team were able to pull out a 4-3 victory over host Central Florida, a matchup that will be played at Levy Pavillion this year.
With an increase in points in each of its first three meets, the Penn gymnastics team has been getting better and better. The team's once-biggest obstacle of youth and inexperience has turned out to be its biggest strength, with freshman Marissa Rosen leading the team in almost every category and with steady improvement throughout the whole team.
Philadelphia Big 5 play is over for the Quakers, but Ivy League play is just heating up. The Penn women (6-10, 1-2 Ivy) are gearing up for the bulk of in-conference hoops, which begins tonight when the Red and Blue host Brown (3-15, 1-3) at the Palestra, and continues on Saturday as Yale (10-8, 3-1) visits the Quakers at 7 p.
As anyone from Providence, R.I. can tell you, Brown's Mark McAndrew has basketball in his genes. Just a few months ago, McAndrew's 11 points helped the Bears upset Providence, their Big East, in-state rival, for the first time since 2001. And for McAndrew's biggest supporter - his father, who is also named Mark - the win was bittersweet.
Although they're both finished with league play, the Penn swim teams both face one last challenge before the conference championship meets when they travel to Division II West Chester today. For the Penn men's team (6-7), the focus will be on the races between local swimmers - including the ones between Penn junior Pat Gallagher and West Chester junior Bill Marcum.
Solutions by The State News
