On Easter weekend, many Penn State students went home, while some spent most of their weekend at the Penn State Cricket Club Spring Tournament.

The Penn State Cricket Club (PSCC) held its second annual spring tournament on West campus fields last Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Fourteen teams entered and were made up of students, faculty, Penn State alumni and various State College residents. They played a typical knock-out format throughout the tournament.

Each game lasted an hour and 20 minutes, and each team got to play two games before being eliminated. Event coordinator and PSCC member Subash Jayaraman thought the turnout was better than last year.

"The tournament was a great success. We had so many teams interested in playing, and the crowd support was fantastic," Jayaraman said.

Club President Karthik Sundaram mentioned that they even had to turn a team away.

"We had a high school team from Kingston that wanted to play but we had no space left. They wanted to play anyway, so we let them play a game unattached to the tournament. They had fun," Sundaram said.

Although some members of the crowd said that the atmosphere was relaxed and "picnic-affair-like," the competition heated up during the final match between team Aristocrats and team Untitled.jpg Sunday night.

During the first of two innings, the Aristocrats were up to bat, rotating four different batters. After 10 overs were completed and the first inning came to a close, the Aristocrats made 71 runs, requiring team Untitled.jpg to make 72 runs to win. During halftime, Untitled.jpg captain Karthik Sarpatwari said he wasn't concerned about the second inning.

"We controlled them well in the field, so I think we have a decent shot at winning, it's all about balance. No regrets," Sarpatwari said.

With eight different batters in rotation, Untitled.jpg claimed the victory in the second inning, scoring 72 runs in 8.2 overs. Both finalists received PSCC 2006 T-shirts while Untitled.jpg was presented with trophies.

At the end of the tournament, graduate student Charan Srinivasan from Untitled.jpg was named the "Best Batsman of the Tournament," and Penn State alumnus Ajay Srivatsavai of the Aristocrats was declared the "Best Bowler of the Tournament."

After another successful tournament, the PSCC plans to continue practicing for its summer league and hopes to expand its team. The PSCC had two main goals for the tournament.

"The Spring Tournament not only serves as an advertisement for the game itself but also as a fundraising even to support the activities of PSCC," Jayaraman said. "We are trying to bring the glorious game of cricket to the Penn State community. Everyone is welcome to join."