Wednesday, March 4, 1998

Archers set sights on nationals

By DAVE JAGGER
Collegian Sports Writer

With the national championships just around the corner and a wealth of ranked contenders for various titles, the Penn State archery club has quietly been dominating every competitive event it has entered this year.

The archery club came into existence in the late 1970s but is only now in its first year of competition. Joining the National Archery Association (NAA) this year, the team now matches skills against such national powers as Texas A&M, Arizona State and James Madison.

"This is really just our first year of competing," team member Jason Dunn said. "We are just out to get some experience and some recognition for the team."

"We are just out to get some experience and some recognition for the team."

- Jason Dunn, archery club member

As of February, five archers from Penn State have state rankings in the top 30 of their respective divisions, with new rankings coming out in the next week or so. Although the team practices and travels together, there is currently no team competition, just individual.

This semester, the team has had two very successful showings. On Jan. 31 at the Reading Shoot ranking tournament, junior Eric Rosenbaum placed first in the male compound division. Kerri Dane, a first-year Ph.D. student, finished first in the female compound division.

At a state ranking tournament Feb. 7 in Taylor, the Penn State men made a clean sweep in the compound division. No. 2 Jim Kanownik, Brian Atkinson, No. 5 A.J. Moyer, No. 8 Rosenbaum and Dunn finished first through fifth, respectively. Dane once again captured first in the female compound.

For Dane, finishing on top is no surprise. A two-time former 18-and-under world champion in 1988 and 1990, the 24-year-old from Texas has been winning all her life with a sense of humility and grace.

"(Winning the world championship) was so long ago, I don't even like to bring it up," the fifth-ranked Dane said in her slight Texan drawl.

The team hopes past success translates into further improvement and recognition at the National Tournament in Richmond, Va., March 12-14.

Team captains Rosenbaum and Dane are always looking for more members to join them in the White Building for practices and competition.

The club holds practices in the archery range from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday for the team and anyone interested in participating. Those interested should E-mail Rosenbaum at ewr115@psu.edu, or show up at the aforementioned times, ready to watch some of the most successful archers in the Northeast prepare for national competition.