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As Penn baseball coach John Yurkow was faced with the prospect of life without former co-Ivy League Player of the Year Austin Bossart following the 2015 season, he didn’t have to look all that far from home.
At the Olympics this summer in Rio, there will be a sport making its long-awaited return. Last played at the Olympics in 1924, the return of men’s and women’s rugby sevens to the world games will bring a sport that most Americans know little about into popular view.
A four-year rower in the Varsity 8, a two-time CRCA National Scholar Athlete, a two-time first-team CRCA All-Region and a Rhodes Scholar all sit in the same boat.
Mother nature has not shone brightly on Penn track and field this season. The Quakers have been forced to embrace the elements at the vast majority of their meets.
This weekend should be no different.
The first time that Penn softball coach Leslie King stepped onto a softball diamond, she broke her nose.
A freshman in high school at the time, King fell victim to an untimely groundball that flew up into her face rather then nestling into her mitt.
“I had never played before,” she explained.
Penn Athletics has a variety of varsity sports teams, but it also hosts a wealth of club sports. These club teams can even be surprisingly successful — the men’s club basketball team, for instance, had a record-breaking year.
But for the best club athletes, just how easy is it — and how often does it occur — to move up to the varsity level?
The latter question is easier to answer.
While they may have been non-entities last year, sophomore right-handed pitcher Billy Lescher and junior southpaw Gabe Kleiman have become indispensable members of Penn baseball’s pitching staff this season.
When they first set foot in University City, many freshmen athletes learn to keep their heads down and work hard in the hopes of receiving just a smidge of playing time by the time they are an upperclassmen.
It takes a lot to be a Penn athlete. It takes even more to be a successful Penn athlete. And it’s damn near impossible to excel in the world of professional sports.
On the heels of one of the best all-around seasons in Penn squash history, the Quakers are doing everything they can to maintain their success from 2015-16.
To completely change the culture of any group, the first step is to start from within.
And for a Penn Athletics brand looking to re-ignite its formerly passionate fan base, the road to recovery is underway.
To make it to the top of any industry, you have to be willing to think outside the box.
Fortunately for Penn Athletics, Jim Steel has taken the message.
Behind the efforts of the 12th-year Strength and Conditioning Manager, Penn varsity teams have strayed from the status quo in the weight room, adopting an unconventional method to raise themselves to the next level: Muay Thai kickboxing.
“I’ve just found that it’s so good for hand-eye coordination, for conditioning it’s unbelievable, and it improves people’s athleticism,” Steel said.