According to a press release made by Pepperdine University, the Malibu, Calif. school has imposed a ban on postseason play for three spring sports- volleyball, tennis, and baseball.
The release said the ban related to improper benefits of financial aid to student athletes, and was self reported to the NCAA by the University when it was first discovered. The University also said they will work with student athletes to determine the best course of action for the future.
Pepperdine, who currently sits out of the MPSF playoff picture and likely would not qualify for the playoffs for the first time since joining the conference in 1993, did the right thing here. With thoughts of Cam Newton and Jim Tressel swirling around AD Steve Potts' head, he did the right thing. Why risk major penalties when one season can be forfeited- a lost season at that.
It will be interesting to see how this affects recruiting however, with so many volleyball powers on the West Coast.
Penn State men's gymnastics head coach Randy Jepson
On Tan's decision to retire:
You put that much into something you loved and it’s hard to walk away from. He’s never had life without gymnastics. He didn’t necessarily know how that would be. The fight was certainly there. He gave it everything he could. If it hadn’t been for his body, he’d be knocking it out right now.
On how Tan handled his retirement:
One of the things I think is cool with Kevin is that he is a guy who has so much class and grace, and he handled everything in such a great way. He wasn’t bitter, he was thankful for everything he got. He was able to step in the gym that day and coach the guys.
On how Tan ranks among the kids he has recruited:
It kind of speaks for itself. We’ve only had one Olympic medalist ever [Tan].
On Tan's talent on the still rings:
He was great [on the still rings]. He placed fourth in the world in 2007 in Stuttgart, Germany. You don’t get much better than that.
On Tan making the U.S. Olympic team for Beijing:
It’s every kid’s dream to make the Olympic team. He was captain, and it says a lot not just about his ability but his character. They need a guy in those positions like that they can trust — who’s an anchor. Kevin was that for those teams. One of the things [his teammates] respected was his demeanor. He was very calm, very collected, very controlled. He’d calm everybody down, go about their business, and get it done.
On his relationship with Tan:
By the time he graduated, we had a little different of a relationship — a closer relationship. Once he started training here after college, we spent a lot of hours together. It went from a more coach-gymnast [relationship], to where I was just there to help him and serve him. The thing I always appreciated about Kevin is that he always took my instruction. That means a lot to me. We had a very unique relationship in that we were coach-gymnast, we were friends, but at the same time I was his boss — but it’s never seemed like that at all.
On Tan joining him as an assistant coach:
The way I look at it is ‘Gosh, we’re getting a guy who is on the elite level and the world stage.’ He helps us recruit, he’s a great technician, and he knows our guys. He can speak to our guys from a different viewpoint and has their respect in a different way than what I could. That’s a huge asset. He has himself in a position where the guys feel like they can go to him. Knowing that he’s been in the thick of it, and he knows what he’s talking about is a big help to the guys.
Penn State assistant coach Kevin Tan
On his decision to retire:
I’m not getting any younger. You’re at your peak anywhere from 21-25 and after that it’s just holding on. You rarely see athletes push past 30. It’s always tough on the body and the mind as well. My body was starting to hurt quite a bit. A lot of it was wear and tear on the body, but the hardest thing to keep sharp in gymnastics is your mind.
On his training for the London 2012 Olympic Games:
I know what it takes to make an Olympic team, and if I were to keep going down this route, I wouldn’t make it.
On walking away from the sport he loves:
[Gymnastics] doesn’t have a lot of fame, it doesn’t have a lot of glory. For me to walk away from it was very difficult, because that’s all I’ve thought about my entire life. It’s kind of a rude awakening as to what happens next.
On coaching:
Coaching is not something I really thought about when I first became an assistant. But as I’ve been here for six seasons now, and I’m at a point in the gymnasts’ lives where I feel like I make a big impact — both in what their working towards in gymnastics and what they’re working towards in life. I’m very fortunate that I get to be involved everyday like this. I love what I do.
On what he looked for in deciding which school to attend:
I know right away that when I go to a team, that team will be my family. I made a leap of faith coming [to Penn State] because I felt that comfortable that this was the place for me and that there was no other question.
On his fondest memories while competing for Penn State from 2001-2004:
Just walking into Rec Hall is the most amazing feeling. Penn State fans are the greatest. It’s a big inspirational boost.
The bonds I have made here are forever memories that I hold very dear to me.
Individual titles are nice, but there no comparison to a team title. To come back in 2004 and not be the heavy favorites that year to win, and to come out and have what I consider almost a perfect meet as a team. To live that moment with my teammates was very rewarding.
On deciding to pursue gymnastics after Penn State:
A lot of kids grow up and say ‘Hey, I want to go to the Olympics. ’ Then you realize the road you have to take to get there is difficult. I didn’t find that commitment of the Olympics until well that one step right after NCAA gymnastics, when I decided to drop everything and say, ‘I’m going to train. ’ It was a tough decision to make, but at the same time, I had that dream and that goal set — which was the Olympics — and if I didn’t give it that shot now, there would always be something in the back of my mind, and I wasn’t ready to let go of that. To pour everything into that goal was difficult, but very rewarding.
On his relationship with Jepson:
It’s been amazing. I was always looked at as an athlete in his eyes all the way through college. It wasn’t until I joined the coaching staff that things kind of changed. I got to know Randy pretty well as an athlete here, but I got to know him a lot better as a coach. While I was training for the Olympic games, he poured his heart and soul into me — into making that team. He helped me achieve things at that point that I didn’t feel were very possible. It was a little bit nerve wracking when I first came out here in 2005 to be that coach, because [Randy] was so many roles at that point. I was afraid how we were going to keep personal, professional and athletic life all separate. He’s been above and beyond anything I’ve ever hoped for. I think that’s what made it so much easier to stay here and train rather than go somewhere else is because I had a coach here who was dedicated to me and knew exactly who I was, and we trusted each other.
On making the U.S. Olympic team:
It’s a 99 percent fail rate. Out of a group of 500 athletes, it gets slimmed down to six. Even doing as well as I did during nationals and Olympic trials that year, it was still so much uncertainty going into that meeting room. You’re hoping you’re one of those guys, but the likelihood is very slim, even as well as I did. In that room [where the final roster was announced], there were a lot of mixed emotions, because half the people will make the team and half won’t. There were 14 people in that room. Each of one of those people had a right to be on the Olympic team, but unfortunately only six were picked. To have six people who realize their dream, and eight who are devastated, it’s a rough situation. When I heard my name, it was the biggest the sigh of relief I’ve ever felt. There are no words that could ever describe what it was like to make that team, so I just sat there, stayed quiet, and soaked it in. You live with this dream for so long and when you finally hear you’re name called out as one of those Olympic team members, it was surreal. Still to this day, unbelievable. I know what I’ve done, but to look back at what I’ve done, it’s crazy.
On leadership and being the Olympic team captain:
I don’t really consider myself as a strong leader as far as what is spoken, but as far as my actions and what I do, I try to be rock of the team. I feel that what I’ve learned here as an NCAA athlete has only made me a better competitor on the team atmosphere internationally.
On their performance in Beijing:
As an international team, we were looked at as a team that was just going to make it to the final if not miss the final. Alternates had never competed for US, there were two at Beijing. I can just remember that last routine being done on [pommel] horse by Sasha [Artemev]. All hope lies on him to rock out his set, and when he landed it was the most amazing feeling because we had fought all the way though. As Olympians from the US do, we fight. That heart that we possess is something I think a lot of people are envious of.
On winning the bronze medal:
To be up there and be announced as the bronze medal team, they put that medal around my neck and I looked straight up, and I gave that big sigh of relief again.
Even after three years, it’s still something I think about and say, ‘Wow, that really did happen.’ ”
On looking back:
Of course, I miss it. It’s different when I travel, because now I don’t have to do anything. I don’t have to be in the mindset where I have to be focused. Now I’m looking after 18 guys and making sure they’re in that mindset.
Senior captain Matt Albrecht
On his relationship with Tan:
He's been amazing. That's one word that sums it all up: amazing. He was finishing up his gymnastics career an still going through the same stuff that we go through everyday. It was really easy to be able to talk to him. He had a really good perspective from both angles, of being an athlete and being a coach. It was really easy to work with him.
On his relationship with Tan compared to Jepson:
I mean the relationships are always going to be different with assistant coach head coach. My relationship with [assistant coach] Slava [Boiko] is different than it is with Randy. It was a little closer for Kevin to guide us through things almost. Randy was there to do his job and put pressure on and help us build. But if you ever needed to talk, Kevin was the guy to go to.
On Tan's retirement:
Every gymnast comes to that point in his career. He's had an amazing, amazing career. It was his time.
On Tan's leadership:
Being a team captain and leading this team, what Kevin has said to me over the past three years have definitely stuck, and has definitely help me lead guys.
Any doubt as to how Maggie Lucas would be spending this summer is gone.
If you are looking for her, she'll be shooting in the gym.
At Tuesday's season-ending press conference, Lucas revealed a personal challenge she's set for herself. The rising sophomore guard wants to make 100,000 shots this summer in preparation for next season.
Just how long will it take to make those shots?
By defining the summer as beginning May 9 (the Monday after finals week) and ending August 19 (the Friday before fall classes begin), that gives Lucas 102 days.
That means Lucas will have to make about 980 shots each day.
We'll figure she's trying to get the recommended eight hours of sleep each night, so Lucas will have a 16-hour day to reach her mark. Distribute those 980 made shots equally and the sharp-shooting guard will have to average a little more than one good basket each minute of the day.
This isn't even taking into account the shots Lucas will miss and time needed for daily activities like travel, eating and other endeavors.
It may seem like a daunting task. But for a gym nut like Lucas, fueled by a 9 percent shooting performance in the season's final game, it's tough to doubt she'll meet her mark.
Coach Mark Pavlik walks the sidelines during the Nittany Lion's 2-1 win over St. Francis Jan. 21 in Rec Hall.Kelley King/Collegian
Continuing every Monday for the rest of the season, the Collegian will be introducing a “Pondering with Pav” segment on the Above the Net blog. Each week the Collegian will ask head coach Mark Pavlik to dispense some of his non-volleyball knowledge or give some insight into the life that is “Pav.”
This week Pav decided to ponder IPFW head coach Arnie Ball’s 500th career win as a coach. The 2011 season is Ball’s 31st as the head coach of the Mastodons, and Pav wanted nothing more than for Ball to reach win No. 500 in Fort Wayne, Ind. (instead of in Rec Hall against the Lions).
“Arnie Ball got his 500th win. There’s not a better guy in the game. I love Arnie to death, and I’m so happy that that nice round number finally came up for him. And it was at home, and from all accounts, there was much celebration there for him.
“You start thinking about 500 wins, and you start thinking that most of us are allowed to play 28 regular season games, and maybe if you’ve got quarterfinals, semis and finals and then the NCAA, that’s another five you add onto that. So let’s say you go 30 games in a season, and if you win 25, which is a great year, it still takes you 20 years to get to 500.
“When he built the program, he wasn’t winning 25 games in 1981 with his first IPFW team. 500 games in 30 years is quite an achievement. Arnie deserves it, and I can’t think of a better guy to celebrate that with.
“I’m just so happy we were courteous enough to make sure he won it at home instead of winning it here. We wanted the IPFW fans to be able to do that on their home court with Arnie. It just wouldn’t have been the same if Arnie came in and got the 501st and then having everybody celebrate that.”
Pavlik tweeted that he wanted Ball to reach win No. 500 eventually, just not against the Lions. And I’m sure if Ball had a Twitter account, he’d probably say he was glad Pav got his 400th win at home too.
After completing a two-game sweep against Wisconsin this past weekend, two members of the Penn State softball team will be rewarded for its strong efforts.
Junior pitcher Lisa Akamine was named the Big Ten Pitcher of Week, while sophomore outfielder Cassidy Bell took home Co-Player of the Week with Liz Watkins of Iowa.
Akamine was stellar in the two games, surrendering just one hit in 8.2 innings of work. In Saturday's contest, the junior came in relief to earn the win and hit an improbable inside-the-park home run. Akamine was granted the nod in the circle on Sunday and pitched five innings of one-hit softball.
In the sweep, the Penn State offense busted out by scoring 11 runs. Most of the damage began at the top of the lineup with Bell — the team's catalyst. The sophomore was retired just once on the weekend and hit an impressive .667 with two RBI's against the Badger pitching staff. Bell also showed off her speed on the bases, successfully swiping two bags along with two runs scored. Bell's hustle in the eighth inning proved to be the game-tying run in Sunday's thrilling 3-2 victory.
No change in the rankings for the Nittany Lions after a week off from competition.
The Penn State women's gymnastics team held steady in the rankings at No. 11 after a weekend competing in an intrasquad rather than a meet ahead of NCAA regionals.
Sophomore Sharaya Musser stayed top at No. 1 in the all-around rankings, and also retained her No. 4 ranking on vault, No. 4 ranking on balance beam and No. 8 ranking on floor exercise.
Junior Natalie Ettl stayed at No. 3 in the uneven bars rankings.
Sophomore Madison Merriam also retained her No. 12 ranking on floor exercise.
Hey folks, Emily Kaplan here back at it again at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for Penn State's game against Albany. It's the Nittany Lions' second game of the day -- they beat Le Moyne 10-3 about a half hour ago -- and their fourth game in the last three days.
Penn State took two of three against the Division II Dolphins and will now close out the weekend against the Great Danes.
Mike Franklin will get the start today for the Lions. It's his second start of the year and third appearance overall. He sports a 1-0 record and 4.50 ERA. A few changes in the Penn State lineup for the latter half of this double header. Catcher Bobby Jacobs will serve as the designated hitter -- have to imagine it's pretty hard to squat for 18-straight innings -- while Luis Montesinos moves to second base and regular second basemen Elliott Searer goes to shortstop.
Freshman Alex Farkes will assume catching duties. As Sports Information Director Kenny Kline just informed me, Farkes was rated the fourth-best newcomer in the Big Ten this season by Baseball America.
Still chilly in the press box, but sunny on the field. Looks like things are just about ready to get underway...
Top of the 1st
Franklin gets off to a shaky start as the first batter singles, then the second batter walks. Runners on first and second with no outs for the Great Danes.
A sac fly advances the runners and Albany will put an early run on the board, thanks to an error by first basemen Joey DeBernardis. The Lions escape the inning, only down 1-0.
Albany 1, Penn State 0
Bottom of the 1st
As an eventful of a first inning as I've seen in a while.
Sean Deegan leads off, and gets into a bit of a verbal scuffle with the umps about a potential check swing. After the whole ordeal, Deegan hits a lazy fly ball to center field -- looks like a routine out. However Josy Espinal completely misplays the ball -- looks like it got lost in the sun -- as it drops and Deegan will easily make it safe to second.
Montesinos grounds out, but Deegan advances to third with just one out. Jordan Steranka strikes out swinging, but will reach first on a wild pitch. Deegan then runs home, and will score easily as the catcher, trying to tag the runner, gets obstructed by the home plate ump and can not make the play.
Lions tack on another run with a sac fly by DeBernardis, and that's it for the wild inning as Jacobs ends the frame by grounding out to the shortstop.
Penn State 2, Albany 1
Top of the 2nd
Franklin surrenders a walk to the leadoff batter, but a double-play groundout and another ground out make it a quick inning for the defense.
Penn State 2, Albany 1
Bottom of the 2nd
Ryan Clark kicks things off with a single to left field. He doesn't advance, though, as Farkes, the freshman, pops out to the first basemen.
Searer will reach base on a fielder's choice -- as Clark is tagged out at second -- but the inning ends quickly after that. Searer is caught stealing second, and Penn State doesn't build on its lead.
Penn State 2, Albany 1
Top of the 3rd
Once again, Franklin walks the leadoff batter and the Great Danes will have a runner on base with no outs.
Nolan Gaige singles one down the right field line, advancing the leadoff batter, Rizzo, to second. After a sac bunt, where both runners advance, Franklin yields another walk.
With the bases loaded, Pete DiResta doubles deep to left field for a two RBI double. The Great Danes take their second lead of the game, this time 3-2.
That's all for their offensive production for this frame. Headed to the bottom of the third..
Albany 3, Penn State 2
Bottom of the 3rd
Lynd singles down the middle to start things off for the Lions, who have fell behind for the second time this game. Deegan reaches first on a fielder's choice while Lynd will be safe at second, thanks to an error by the shortstop.
And, just like that, Albany's lead is gone once again.
Jordan Steranka rips one down the right field line, and two runs will score as Penn State pushes ahead, 4-3. Make that 5-3, as DeBernardis doubles for his second RBI of the game.
Bats stay hot. Jacobs singles through the left side to send home another runner. The Lions are up 6-3 and Albany's coach comes from the dugout to have a few words with his pitcher. There's only one out. Pitcher stays in, and Clark flies out to left field.
Farkes keeps the inning alive by singling down the left field line. Not for long, though, as Elliot Searer sends the Lions back n the field by striking out to end the frame.
Penn State 6, Albany 3
Top of the 4th
For the third inning in a row, Franklin walks the leadoff batter. Next batter lines out.
Looks like they have the radar gun going out in right field. Not sure how accurate it is, but looks like Franklin's pitches are anywhere between 70 mph and 83 mph. His fast ball is in the low 80s.
Meanwhile, with one out, Franklin surrenders another walk, then allows a single, and it looks like his day will be done. Robbie Wine comes out to the mound and will call freshman Geoff Boylston from the bullpen.
Franklin won't have a very good line in the box score. He allowed three earned runs and six walks in 3.1 innings pitched.
Boylston off to a hot start as he strikes out the first batter, swinging. According to the maybe-reliable radar gun in right field, it was an 82 mph fastball. Cue in MC Hammer's "Cant Touch This" on the loudspeakers. Nice touch.
The freshman allows a walk to the next batter, but induces the next Great Dane into an infield popup to end the inning.
Penn State 6, Albany 4
Bottom of the 4th
Nothing much from Penn State's bats in this inning. A 1-2-3 inning as Albany retires the side of Deegan, Lynd and Montesinos. Lions head to the top of the fifth, still with a two run lead.
Penn State 6, Albany 4
Top of the 5th
Boylston allows a leadoff single, but stays out of trouble with two fly outs and a strike out.
Penn State 6, Albany 4
Bottom of the 5th
Steranka flies out to begin the bottom of the fifth. DeBernardis singles, but Jacobs flies out, bringing Clark up to the plate. Clark works the count, including a high, high fly ball that ends up in the Penn State dugout. Clark finally works a walk, bringing Farkes up to the plate.
Farkes probably has the most interesting walk-up music of anyone on Penn State's roster. Each player gets to pick the song that plays out the loudspeaker when they walk up to the plate. Farkes' choice? "Take Me Home Tonight."
However the freshman flies out and that'll do it for the fifth.
Penn State 6, Albany 4
Top of the 6th
Albany goes down in order, but the real excitement of the top of the sixth is that Rebecca Black's "Friday" has been played as the walk-up music for all three Great Dane batters. When the operator of the P.A. system was asked why that song wasn't used for Friday's game, he told us the song was just entered into the system today. Interesting.
Penn State 6, Albany 4
Bottom of the 6th
Searer flies out to center field to start off the inning. Lynd pops up to the shortstop and the ball drops, allowing Lynd to reach first base easily. The shortstop won't be charged with an error, though, because the ball was lost in the sun.
Deegan follows it up with a single, putting two runners on base. Penn State doesn't capitalize, though, as Montisenos flies out and Lynd is gunned down at home. Lynd is slow to get up and seems to really be aching. Trainers come out and escort him to the dugout.
Penn State 6, Albany 4
Top of the 7th
Lynd won't return to the field as Zach Ell replaces the senior in right field.
Another scary moment on the field as Welsh is absolutely drilled with a pitch, looks like his neck was hit. He -- somehow -- gets up right away. The medical staff runs on to the field, but Boylston says he wants to stay in. He throws two pitches to Farkes, then Wine comes out from the dugout. He looks at Boylston for a second, then motions to the bullpen. Boylston's day is done. He throws three scoreless innings.
Greg Welsh will come onto the mound for Penn State. He retires the final batter and that's it for this half of the inning.
Penn State 6, Albany 4
Bottom of the 7th
Lions are retired in order. On to the eighth.
Penn State 6, Albany 4
Top of the 8th
Ryan Ignas now in to pitch for the Lions. The junior has a 2-1 record and 3.06 ERA in nine relief appearances this season. A quick, no-frills inning for Ignas, who needs only eight pitchers to get through four Great Dane batters.
Penn State 6, Albany 4
Bottom of the 8th
Lions can't get anything going, and they'll turn to Ignas in the top of the ninth to close out the game -- and the weekend.
Penn State 6, Albany 4
Top of the 9th
That's all from Lubrano Park. Penn State wins it, 6-4. Boylston will get the win. Check Monday's Collegian for full coverage. Thanks for following along.
Hey folks, Emily Kaplan here at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for game three of Penn State's three-game series against Le Moyne.
Lot's of baseball this weekend as the Nittany Lions will take the field again later this afternoon for a game against Albany -- a last-minute addition to the schedule.
Apparently northern New York got blasted with snow, affecting the Great Danes' schedule. They were looking to add another game, and luckily, Penn State's weekend series against Le Moyne fit right in. Albany faced off against the Dolphins yesterday. Albany won, 8-7. The Great Danes committed five errors, fell behind by six runs -- and still found a way to eek out the win. Heard it was an exciting game.
John Walter will get the start for Penn State today. The sophomore enters today with a 1-3 record and a 3.48 ERA. He'll look to build off a strong outing from sophomore starter Steven Hill yesterday. Hill absolutely sparkled on the mound, throwing his first-career nine inning complete game, yielding only five hits and two earned runs while striking out seven and walking none.
It's another chilly day in State College, but the sun is out. I'm looking to take of my winter jacket in the press box for the first time this weekend, but that's a lofty expectation. We'll see.
Top of the 1st
Nice start from Walter. Dolphin leadoff batter Pat Wiese strikes out swinging. Then Matt Marra comes up -- and goes down looking. "Big Girls Don't Cry" plays on the loudspeakers as Marra walks back to the dugout. The third batter, Brett Botsford,strikes out, too, giving Walter a quick 1-2-3 inning, which lasted just about three and a half minutes.
Penn State 0, Le Moyne 0
Bottom of the 1st
Penn State's bats are matching Walter's hot start. Junior Sean Deegan leads things off with a double deep to center field. Luis Montesinos pops out, but Jordan Steranka -- who homered twice in Friday's game -- knocks one way back by the right field fence for an RBI triple. Lions grab a quick 1-0 lead, which they'll extend soon.
Senior Mario Eramo is up, and he hits a soft groundball to the shortstop Matt Marra. Looks like a routine double play -- except Marra completely mishandles the ball and it bounces into the outfield. Terrible error by the shortstop as Penn State will score two runs on the play. Marra looks clearly frustrated as he puts his hands on his hips and looks down at the dirt as Bobby Jacob walks up to the plate.
Jacobs flies out, bringing Searer to the plate. And that's where Marra's day gets even worse. Searer hits the ball fairly hard, and Marra picks it up and fires it to first -- pretty good throw, maybe could have picked up the ball a little faster -- but doesn't make it in time as Searer beats out the throw for a single, advancing Eramo to third.
Eramo will be stranded, however, as Blake Lynd flies out -- to Marra -- to end the inning.
Penn State 3, Le Moyne 0
Top of the 2nd
Walter faltering a bit to kick of the second. He put on a dominating performance in the first -- striking out the side -- but struggles to begin the second.
Walter walks the first two Dolphins, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Then we quickly see why a double play is a pitcher's best friend. Well, right now, Blake Lynd is probably Walter's best friend. The senior runs in and catches a tricky fly ball in left field, then fires a cannon to second base, tagging out the runner.
Walter, now with some momentum, induces the next batter into a routine groundout and will leave the inning unscathed.
Penn State 3, LeMoyne 0
Bottom of the 2nd
Michael Glantz leads off with a walk, but won't advance as Deegan strikes out swinging.
Montesinos slips one through right field for a single, putting runners on first and second with one out. Steranka -- who has really been hitting the ball well, probably better than any other Lion in this series -- rips one to right field. The right fielder catches it in foul territory, but Glantz will advance to third.
The sac pays off as Joey DeBernardis hits a two-out RBI single to score Glantz, giving the Lions a four-run lead.
Eramo flies out to end the inning.
Penn State 4, Le Moyne 0
Top of the 3rd
As it stands now, it looks like every other inning, John Walter is going to throw starts. After a stellar first inning and a sub par second, the sophomore is back on track in the third.
He strikes out the first two batters -- both Dolphins go down looking -- and he seems to be flying through this inning.
But as per usual, I speak too soon. Pat Wiese works the count for a walk then Marra hits one to third, and Steranka mishandles it, letting him reach first safely. Steranka will be charged with an error, and I should point out that Marra was the Dolphin who committed that awful error in the first inning, leading to two Penn State runs. Karma?
Botsford flies out to end the inning, and Walter will escape the inning. The sophomore has yet to surrender a hit.
Penn State 4, Le Moyne 0
Bottom of the 3rd
Jacobs flies out but Searer singles down the middle to put a runner on base.
Lynd strikes out, but Glantz doubles down the left field line, advancing Searer to third.
Yet the runners will be stranded as Deegan strikes out looking. The ball looked a little outside, but the ump has been calling that pitch all day.
Penn State 4, Le Moyne 0
Top of the 4th
Nothing too noteworthy here in the top of the fourth. Walter gives up a walk, but also notches another strikeout -- his sixth -- and has yet to give up a hit.
Penn State 4, Le Moyne 0
Bottom of the 4th
Here come Penn State's bats. Montesinos singles down the left field line to begin the inning, and Steranka follows it up with a hard hit to center field, advancing Montesinos to third. Steranka tries to stretch his hit into a double and is tagged out at second, but Montesinos is on third with just one out.
DeBernardis doubles down the left field line for an RBI -- his second of the game -- to put the Lions ahead, 5-0.
That's it for the offense this inning as Eramo strikes out swinging and Jacobs grounds out to the shortstop.
Penn State 5, Le Moyne 0
Top of the 5th
So much for the no-hitter. Valiant effort by Walter, though, as he's thrown 6 K's on 85 pitches through five.
However the Dolphins break up the no-hitter in the top of the fifth, but don't pick up any other offensive production as they'll enter the bottom of the frame with only one hit and zero runs.
Penn State 5, Le Moyne 0
Bottom of the 5th
I'm giving up hope on being able to take off my jacket in the press box. Tried rocking just the sweater for an inning, but it's pretty cold in here, especially as the sun has shifted over the field.
Meanwhile, Searer leads off the inning by grounding out to the shortstop. Lynd follows it up with a single, but that's the only hit for the inning as the next two Lions are retired.
On to the sixth..
Penn State 5, Le Moyne 0
Top of the 6th
Walter walks the first batter to put a runner on with nobody out. He recovers, though, striking out the next Dolphin swinging. Next batter grounds into a double play.
Looks like somebody's warming up in the Penn State bullpen, but can't quite figure out who. Walter is racking up the pitch count.
Penn State 5, Le Moyne 0
Bottom of the 6th
New pitcher for Le Moyne in the bottom of the sixth. Casey Cannon threw 96 pitches, surrendered 11 hits and four earned runs. Erik Lambe is now on the mound.
Lambe is not seeing much success against the Lions' lineup, either. He allows three quick hits and an earned run -- an RBI by DeBernardis, his third of the game -- and Penn State is extending his lead.
When the Lions go up 8-0, Le Moyne's coach comes out to the mound to talk to Lambe, but looks like he's going to stay in the game.
Next up is pinch hitter Gaston Escudero. The freshman gets his first career hit -- and it's an RBI. Penn State now up 9-0 in the 6th. Still no outs. Pitcher stays in.
Lambe gets his first out by striking out Lynd. Then, low and behold, he gets his second out right after that by striking out Glantz. Two outs, runners on first and second as Deegan steps up to the plate. Deegan flies out to finally end the inning -- which took a really, really long time. Didn't time it, but would say it was roughly about 20 minutes.
Penn State 9, LeMoyne 0
Top of the 7th
A couple of changes in the field to begin the 7th inning, the biggest of which is that John Walter's day is done. The sophomore has a solid line, and will likely earn the win, throwing 103 pitches, striking out seven, and allowing only one hit.
Evan Dixon is on the mound now, and he doesn't exactly pick up where Walter left off. The Dolphins are on the board as they score two runs, and coach Robbie Wine comes out to the mound to have a few words. Dixon stays in -- but not for long. A Dolphin sac fly cuts Penn State's lead down even more, as it's now 9-3.
Looks like that's it for Dixon.
State College native Mike Pierce gets the nod now. He inherits runners on first and third with two outs. Pierce gets out of trouble by inducing the batter into a groundout, and no further damage is done.
Penn State 9, Le Moyne 3
Bottom of the 7th
Montesinos grounds out to start of the inning, but Steranka works the count for a walk to put a runner on base. DeBernardis, who has a game-high 3 RBI, is hit by a pinch -- looked somewhat intentional from my angle, but I know those are strong words -- putting runners on first and second with one out.
Freshman Zach Ell comes in to pinch hit for Eramo, and he singles to load the bases. Jacobs comes up and capitalizes on the situation, working the count for a bases loaded walk to tack on another run for Penn State, upping its lead to 10-3.
Looks like Le Moyne will look to the bullpen yet again. Escudero grounds into a double play, and that's it for the seventh.
Penn State 10, Le Moyne 3
Top of the 8th
Pierce with a 1-2-3 inning, including two strikeouts, for a quick frame.
Penn State 10, Le Moyne 3
Bottom of the 8th
Glantz is hit by a pitch, but the other three Lion batters are retired as the score remains 10-3, and Pierce will go to the mound looking to finish off the game.
Top of the 9th
And that's all, folks. Penn State wins it, 10-3. Joey DeBernardis steered the offense, going 3-for-3 with 3 RBI. Catcher Bobby Jacobs also had 3 RBI, included a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Lions a double-digit run total.
Hey folks, Emily Kaplan here at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for game two of Penn State's three-game series against Le Moyne this weekend.
It's a chilly day here in State College, but sunny with practically no wind. If it were 20 degrees warmer I'd say it's a perfect day for baseball. Maybe in a week or so..
The Nittany Lions committed five errors yesterday afternoon, which, combined with a poor outing from senior starting pitcher Heath Johnson, resulted in a 10-6 loss to the Division II Dolphins.
I would definitely expect a different result today. Coach Robbie Wine was clearly frustrated with the result of the game -- specifically the errors -- and I think the Lions echoed that sentiment. A loss to a Division II team in Penn State's home opener is pretty embarrassing, especially considering the Lions entered the game with a 12-6 record, including taking two of three on the road from then-No. 26 Wichita State, a perennial powerhouse.
Steven Hill is on the mound today for Penn State, and that's definitely been a good thing. The sophomore has emerged as the ace of the Lions' starting rotation 19 games into the season. He's shown poise and power -- entering Tuesday with a 2-1 record and 2.45 ERA.
Top of the 1st
Hill with a solid start in his first home start of the season. The sophomore completes a 1-2-3 inning by inducing the first batter in to a routine fly ball, then striking out the No. 2 and No. 3 batters for a scoreless, no-hit frame. Hill tips his hat as he jogs back into the dugout as "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" plays on the loudspeakers.
Penn State 0, Le Moyne 0
Bottom of the 1st
Penn State scored three runs in the first inning of yesterdays game -- and the Lions seem to be getting off to an equally hot start.
Sean Deegan grounds out to start the inning, but Luis Montesinos singles to put a runner on base. Jordan Steranka -- who had a season-high two home run game yesterday -- follows that up with a walk, putting runners on first and second with one out. Joey DeBernardis capitalizes -- knocking a ball through the infield for an RBI single and Penn State grabs a 1-0 lead.
Senior Mario Eramo works the count, then sends Steranka home with a sac fly, putting the Lions up 2-0. That's it for Penn State's bats for now, though, as Ryan Clark strikes out to end the frame.
Penn State 2, Le Moyne 0
Top of the 2nd
Hill continues his dominant start by working another 1-2-3 inning here in the second. I don't believe in baseball superstitions so I'll say it right now.. could we be looking at a no-hitter from the sophomore? The Dolphins are hitless through two...
Penn State 2, Le Moyne 0
Bottom of the 2nd
A little confusion here in the field to begin the second. Looks like the right fielder is now sporting a No. 32 jersey. No. 32 on the Dolphins' roster is Mark Kuzma -- yesterday's starting pitcher. Not quite sure what's going on there. Either the right fielder forgot his jersey -- very possible -- or it is actually Kuzma doing a little position switch. I'll keep my eye out.
Meanwhile, Deegan rips one down the right field line for a two-out double. Deegan, who leads the Lions with a .375 batting average, steals third, but is stranded as Montesinos strikes out swinging to end the inning.
Penn State 2, Le Moyne 0
Top of the 3rd
OK, so much for that no-hitter. Le Moyne leads off the first inning with a double as Hill surrenders his first hit of the game. Hill recovers by retiring his next two batters, yet allows a two-out single to Pat Wiese, cutting the Lions' lead in half.
That's it for the inning as Matt Marra grounds out to Hill, and while the Dolphins are now on the board, Penn State still maintains a lead.
Penn State 2, Le Moyne 1
Bottom of the 3rd
Steranka not really building off his offensive explosion yesterday as he starts the day 0-for-2, grounding out here to begin the third.
DeBernardis follows it up with a single, though, then steals second to put a runner on second with one out. Senior Mario Eramo steps up to the plate and rips one down the right field line, scoring DeBernardis for an RBI single. That's it for production in the third, though, as Bobby Jacobs strikes out swinging and Clark flies out to cap off the inning.
Penn State 3, Le Moyne 1
Top of the 4th
It's not perfect, but Hill is firing a gem here in his home-opener. He surrenders a single, but it's sandwiched between two strikeouts -- one looking, one swinging -- and the sophomore finishes the inning having allowed just three hits through four innings.
Penn State 3, Le Moyne 1
Bottom of the 4th
Elliot Searer leads off the inning with a single. However, Penn State can't capitalize off of the lead off hit as the sophomore speedster is picked off in his attempt to steal second. Nothing materializes after that. Blake Lynd works a walk, but is picked off at first, and a Sean Deegan line-out gives Penn State three outs.
Penn State 3, Le Moyne 1
Top of the 5th
Looks like the crowd is a larger than yesterday, but still can't be more than 200 people in the stands -- and that includes the Nookie Monster, who is working his way through the crowd. Still kind of hard to adjust to the fact that there's a mascot other than the Nittany Lion at a Penn State sporting event.
Meanwhile, Hill retires three straight Dolphins for another scoreless, hitless inning. He's surrendered just three hits in the game and has amassed six strikeouts.
Penn State 3, LeMoyne 1
Bottom of the 5th
This game is flying by.. haven't even had an opportunity to cash out on my $10 food voucher down at the concession stands.
The Lions' bats have fizzled out a bit as they go down in order here in the fifth. On to the sixth with Penn State still clinging to its two-run lead.
Penn State 3, Le Moyne 1
Top of the 6th
Hill is working toward a very nice line in the box score. The sophomore works another 1-2-3 inning and is simply crushing through the Dolphins' lineup. Through six innings he's thrown 73 pitches, struck out seven, walked zero, surrendering just three hits and only one earned run.
Penn State 3, Le Moyne 1
Bottom of the 6th
Here come Penn State's bats? Eramo kicks off the sixth inning with a leadoff walk. The senior is 2-for-2 on the afternoon and has accounted for two of the Lions' three RBIs.
Bobby Jacobs sends his teammate home with an RBI single. Le Moyne's coach comes out to the mound to talk to his starting pitcher, Derek Zielinski, who is up to 98 pitches. Looks like Zielinski's day is done as Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" plays from the loudspeaker and the Dolphins make a call to the bullpen.
Play resumes as Clark steps up to the plate. He flies out bringing Searer up to the plate with one out and a runner on first. He grounds out to the shortstop, but Jacobs advances to second. Lynd, who has four RBIs on the season, now up for the Lions. Lynd falls behind in the count, 1-2, but fights back to make it 2-2, then hits a slow grounder to the shortstop, beating out the throw for a single. Runners on the corner for Penn State with two outs as the Lions' hits-leader Sean Deegan steps up to the plate. Deegan with an RBI single to score Jacobs and the Lions now have a four-run lead. Montesinos flies out to end the inning.
Penn State 5, Le Moyne 1
Top of the 7th
Hill returns to the mound for the seventh inning, and can't say I'm really surprised. The sophomore is cruising through the Dolphins' lineup and has only thrown 73 pitches through six.
He starts off the inning with back-to-back groundouts, but surrenders a triple to Ryan Mahoney on a tough ball to right field.
Gametracker says it's 40 degrees and sunny outside, but I think that's a little generous. There's not too many clouds in the sky, but it's pretty chilly -- even in the enclosed press box. My fingers are stiffening up a bit as I type.
Meanwhile on the field, LeMoyne tacks on another run to cut Penn State's lead down to three. The inning ends with Hill's pitch count up to 89 and his strikeout count still at seven. Think he'll return for the eighth.
Penn State 5, LeMoyne 2.
Bottom of the 7th
Steranka grounds out to kick off the seventh. DeBernardis -- who's 2-for-3 on the afternoon with an RBI -- is up next. DeBernardis smacks one deep to right field, and it's misplayed by the rightfielder as Debernardis rounds the bases for a triple. LeMoyne will be charged with an error.
DeBernardis will score an unearned run on a passed ball and the Lions' extend their lead to 6-2. Jacobs ends the inning with a groundout and Penn State will end the inning up by four.
Penn State 6, LeMoyne 2
Top of the 8th
LeMoyne goes down in order here in the 8th as Hill continues to shine on the mound. He's at 99 pitches and has only surrendered five hits.
Penn State 6, LeMoyne 2
Bottom of the 8th
Clark singles down the middle to leadoff the inning. However, Searer pops up to the pitcher on a bunt attempt for the first out and Clark will not advance -- for now. Lynd steps up to the plate and Clark makes it to second base on a balk. Lynd singles to left center, moving Clark to third, putting runners on the corners with one out as Sean Deegan steps up to plate.
Deegan reaches second on a fielders choice as Lynd moves to third and Clark is tagged out on the third base line. Nothing materializes as Montesinos flies out to end the inning.
Penn State 6, LeMoyne 2
Top of the 9th
Wine sends Hill back to the mound for the 9th. The sophomore retires LeMoyne in order and completes the game, earning the win in Penn State's 6-2 victory. Check Collegian for more coverage, thanks for following along!
Hey folks, Emily Kaplan here at a chilly Medlar Field for the Penn State baseball team's home opener against Le Moyne. I'll be live blogging today's game between the Nittany Lions (12-6) and the Dolphins (4-14).
Got a late start -- had to navigate my way to the press box for my first game -- and we're just about underway. Senior righty Heath Johnson gets the start for Penn State. Johnson's the Lions' regular Friday starter, though he's struggled a bit early in the season. He was chased away early in Penn State's game last Friday against then-No. 26 Wichita State and the Lions ended up using that game, 9-0. The next two nights, though, Penn State rallied for two straight wins to take two of three games from the Shockers on the road.
Top of the 1st
Johnson gets off to a rocky start, walking the first two batters. Yet he finishes the inning strong as Brett Botsford flies out then Brian Stitson grounds into a double play. I have to comment on the Lions' uniforms, they're immaculate -- a perfect white. The Dolphins, definitely a peculiar nickname choice, are sporting grey away jerseys with forest green hats.
Bottom of the 1st
This could be a long day for the Dolphins, a Division II team from Syracuse, NY. Starter Mark Kuzma starts off with a rockier start than his Penn State counterpart, Johnson. Junior Sean Deegan, who leads the Lions with a .373 average through 18 games this season, kicks things off with a double. Sophmoer Luis Montesinos follows it up with an RBI single and Penn State grabs a 1-0 lead.
So much for these new bats limiting home run totals. Jordan Steranka steps up to plate and the minute he makes contact, you can tell it's out of here -- even from the press box. Lions grab a 3-0 lead with no outs.
Penn State will end the inning only up 3-0, though, as DeBernardis flies out to right field then senior Mario Eramo strikes out looking. The Lions rally back with back-to-back singles by Bobby Jacobs and Ryan Clark, but Michael Glantz ends the inning, grounding out to the pitcher.
Top of the 2nd
Johnson looking much sharper here to begin the second. After walking the first two batters of the first inning -- yet escaping the frame unscathed -- Johnson strikes out the first two batters of the second. Both Dolphins go down looking. Johnson caps off the 1-2-3 inning by inducing Zack Wiley into an inning-ending ground-out.
Bottom of the 2nd
Speedster Elliot Searer up first for the Lions to start the second and the second baseman rips one to right center. Searer capitalizes with his speed and converts the hit into a triple to kick off the inning. Deegan strikes out swinging, bringing him to 1-for-2 on the day. Montesinos reaches first on a fielders' choice, then steals second uncontested. Steranka strikes out swinging, though, to give the Lions two outs with runners on second and third. Would be a shame if Penn State couldn't capitalize on Searer's lead-off triple.
They don't capitalize, as DeBernardis lines out a sharp ball to third and Searer and Montesinos are stranded.
Top of the 3rd
Johnson shows his inconsistency by hitting the first batter of the third inning by a pitch. After a strong 1-2-3 second inning, looked like Johnson was starting to gain some poise. Yet he lets the first batter reach first on a hit pitch. Second batter grounds out, but the third batter, Pat Wiese, rips one down the middle for an RBI single to put the Dolphins on the board. Lions' lead is cut down to 3-1.
Next batter flies out, yet Wiese steals second to put a runner on second with two outs.
Botsford singles to left for an RBI to cut Penn State's lead to one, but gets overconfident and is thrown out at second.
Penn State 3, Le Moyne 2
Bottom of the 3rd
Penn State doesn't respond to Le Moyne's offensive production as the Lions go down 1-2-3 with back-to-back fly outs then a ground out.
Top of the 4th
Johnson continues to slide and if the Lions bats don't pick up the slack, the Dolphins could complete the comeback and unlikely upset.
Stinson leads off the inning with a double, and O'Connor follows it up with a single, advancing Stinson to third. With runners on first and third with no outs, Johnson hits Mahoney by a pitch -- Johnson's second hit batter of the game -- loading the bases with no outs.
The infield comes in, and the strategy works, as Wiley grounds into a 5-2-3 double play to give Johnson a sigh of relief.
Still, the inning is alive, and Redmond, the Dolphins' No. 8 hitter, rips a two-out single to center. Two runners score and the Dolphins have their first lead of the game, 4-3.
Kalaka reaches base on a fielders' choice, but Weise ends the inning by grounding out.
One of the most entertaining things about this game is listening to the walk-up music for the Le Moyne batters. So far, we've had Natasha Bedingfield, Miley Cyrus and Hilary Duff. Pretty hard to get pumped up to the likes of those lovely ladies, I would think.
Bottom of the 4th
The Lions need their bats to wake up, but Glantz doesn't help the cause by striking out swinging to kick off the fourth. Searer reaches first after he's hit by a pitch, so Penn State will have a runner on base with one out. Look for Searer, easily the fastest player on Penn State's roster, to steal.
Seaerer steals second, then advances to third on Deegan's groundout to shortstop.
And just like that, the game is tied again. Montesinos singles to left field, and Searer will score easily, knotting the score at 4-4.
The Lions push ahead, 5-4, after Steranka doubles to second and Montesinos will round three bases to reach home, uncontested. Definitely the loudest cheer of the afternoon, yet I should add there's only 100 or so people scattered through the stands, including a handful of Le Moyne fans.
The score will hold at 5-4 after this inning, and it looks like Johnson will stay in the game for the fifth.
Top of the 5th
Doesn't look like a long outing for Johnson, as he struggles again in the fifth. After hitting two of the first three batters of the inning -- upping his total to four hit batters in the game -- Johnson is replaced by reliever Jesse Alfreno. Alfreno's an interesting guy -- he used to also be on the Penn State football team's roster, as a cornerback. He stopped playing football this year, however, to focus solely on baseball.
Alfreno will allow one run, on a sac fly, but strikes the final batter, Wiley, to end the inning with the score tied, 5-5.
Bottom of the 5th
Penn State's bats don't really get much done here in the fifth. Eramo's lead-off walk is wasted as Jacobs flies out and the Lions end the inning on back-to-back strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Le Moyne starter Mark Kuzma is now over 100 pitches in the game.
Top of the 6th
Alfreno hits a batter, but escapes the inning unscathed as a Dolphin grounds into an inning-ending double play.
Meanwhile, more walk-up music gems for the Le Moyne batters: This inning one Dolphin gets Britney Spears' "You Drive Me Crazy."
Bottom of the 6th
Kuzma won't return for the 6th inning as he finishes the day with 109 pitches.
Mike Anarumo is now in to pitch for the Dolphins. Searer kicks things off by ripping a ball down to center for a leadoff single. Searer is now 2-for-2 today. Yet Searer is stranded yet again as Deegan strikes out swinging and Montesinos grounds into a double play. Game still tied at 5.
Top of the 7th
Botsford is hit by a pitch, marking the sixth Le Moyne batter hit by a pitch today. The Lions' season-high is seven hit batters in a game, which occurred in Penn State's season-opener. In that game, the Lions hit the same guy four different times. Ouch.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins have runners on second and third with one out -- and they capitalize, scoring a run to push ahead, 6-5 in the game. For the second time today, the Lions are trailing, and will enter the inning looking for some hot bats.
Bottom of the 7th
Coming out party for Jordan Steranka? The Mount Lebanon native -- whose high school is currently playing in the PIAA basketball championships at the Bryce Jordan Center -- rips his second homer of the day to tie the game back up at 6. The two homers are a season-high for Steranka.
DeBernardis follows it up by reaching first after being hit by a pitch, but the next two Lions -- Eramo and Jacobs -- strike out swinging.
Top of the 8th
Alfreno starts off the inning strong by striking out the first batter, but allows back-to-back singles to the next two batters and that'll be it for the junior today. He'll be replaced by Greg Welsh, a lefty.
Welsh allows an RBI single to the first batter he faces and the Dolphins grab the lead again, 7-6.
Next walkup music? "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Eek.
Guess it didn't pump up the batter, Matt Marra, as he flies out to right field for the second out of the inning.
Welsh walks the next batter and that'll be it for him today. Short outing for the lefty.
Junior Ryan Ignas, one of the Lions' top relievers, will come in to salvage the game for Penn State. Kanye West's "Jesus Walks" plays as he emerges from the bullpen.
Ignas looks strong as he seems to induce the first batter into a groundout, but an error by second baseman Elliot Searer is costly as the batter is safe and two Dolphins score on the mishandled ball. Things don't look good for Ignas as the next batter, O'Connor, hits one down the right line for an RBI to put Le Moyne up, 10-6.
Jacobs, the catcher, comes up to the mound to have a few words with Ignas before the next batter. Jacobs jogs back and Ignas pitches a full count to Ryan Mahoney, before striking him out to end the frame.
A four-run inning puts the Dolphins up 10-6.
Bottom of the 8th
Glantz comes up to bat 1-for-3 for the afternoon. He flies out to deep left field, and is now 1-for-4. Searer is up next, and he's surely looking to redeem himself for the costly error in the field last inning. He does, as he earns a walk, putting a runner on the bases for Deegan, who entered the game leading Penn State with a .373 average. Deegan singles.
Montesinos fouls out to right field, but the runners advance to second and third, setting up the stage for Steranka -- who already has 4 RBIs on the afternoon -- with two outs.
Steranka works the count, but strikes out swinging and the Lions enter the final frame down by 4. Le Moyne 10, Penn State 6.
Top of the 9th
1-2-3 inning for Ignas and the Lions will get last licks, down four runs.
Goalkeeper Dana Cahill has been named the American Lacrosse Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
In her first season as the starting goalie, Cahill has led an outstanding Penn State defense ranked No. 7 in the country, allowing only 7.62 goals per game.
Cahill earned the honor based on her outstanding play in wins over Hofstra (3-5) and No. 15 Vanderbilt (5-4). She held Hofstra scoreless for a 23-minute stretch then tied her career high by recording 13 saves against 33 Vanderbilt shots.
Cahill is the team leader in ground balls (22) and ranks 14th in the nation in save percentage (.496), 16th in goals against average (8.00), and 23rd (tie) in saves (59).
Once again, there were few changes in the AVCA men’s volleyball rankings.
Just as it was last week, each team that was ranked in the top 15 is still in the top 15 this week.
Contrary to the past few weeks, Penn State moved down one spot from No. 9 to No. 10. The Lions swept both Ball State and IPFW over the weekend, so no cause for any concern.
Other notable changes include Long Beach State, which moved from No. 5 to No. 9. The 49ers fell twice at home to Hawai'i this past weekend. Conversely, the Warriors moved from No. 10 to No. 8.
Ohio State, who Penn State plays at home on April 10, is the highest it has been ranked all season sitting in a tie for No. 3.
Ball State, which the Lions defeated on Friday in Rec Hall, remains unranked but appeared on two or more ballots and received seven points. Cal State Northridge received six votes but is unranked as well.
1. USC (15 first place votes)
2. Stanford
T-3. BYU
T-3. Ohio State (1)
5. UC Irvine
6. UC Santa Barbara
7. UCLA
8. Hawai'i
9. Long Beach State
10. Penn State
11. Loyola-Chicago
12. Lewis
13. Pepperdine
14. UC San Diego
15. Pacific
(Ball State and Cal State Northridge also received votes)
The Penn State women's gymnastics team dropped one spot in the national rankings to No. 11, despite improving its Regional Qualifying Score by a .165 point difference to 196.210.
Nebraska jumped the Nittany Lions on the basis of the Cornhuskers' RQS of 196.275.
Sophomore Sharaya Musser retained her No. 1 ranking in the all-around, improving her RQS by .015 to 39.530 and increasing her lead over Michigan's Kylee Botterman, who Musser bested at Saturday's Big Ten championship for the Big Ten all-around championship.
Musser also held steady at No. 4 in the vault rankings with an RQS of 9.915, dropped two spots in the balance beam rankings to No. 4 while retaining her RQS of 9.905, and climbed three spots to No. 8 on floor exercise with an RQS improvement of .015 to 9.895. Musser dropped out of the top 25 gymnasts on uneven bars from last week's No. 23 ranking.
Junior Natalie Ettl held steady at No. 3 in the uneven bars rankings with a .010 RQS improvement to 9.920.
Sophomore Madison Merriam acquired enough scores for an RQS ranking on floor exercise, and made her debut in the rankings for that event at No. 12 with a score of 9.885.
Coach Mark Pavlik walks the sidelines during the Nittany Lion's 2-1 win over St. Francis Jan. 21 in Rec Hall.Kelley King/Collegian
Continuing every Monday for the rest of the season, the Collegian will be introducing a “Pondering with Pav” segment on the Above the Net blog. Each week the Collegian will ask head coach Mark Pavlik to dispense some of his non-volleyball knowledge or give some insight into the life that is “Pav.”
This week’s segment focused on the Penn State wrestling team’s NCAA national championship win this past weekend in Philadelphia.
"How can you not ponder the greatness of our wrestling team?
"I just have such great respect for Cael [Sanderson], Cody [Sanderson], Casey [Cunningham] and all the guys in that program. Wrestling's a culture unto itself, and when you can get a group of guys so focused and so dedicated to what they believe in and how they believe you can achieve your goals, that's awesome.
"You know, everybody's celebrating the national championship and you look at guys like Frank [Molinaro] and David [Taylor] who were right on that precipice, your heart goes out to them. They've got to be feeling good about what their team's done, but I know they're sitting back there -- like us, if there's a perceived loss or failure in a team situation, the team doesn't achieve. But yet here, they wrestled their guts out to get to the national stage to say, 'I'm one win away from being the best there is' and that kind of disappointment, how do you handle that?
“All I've got to say to those guys is that I'm so proud of our Rec Hall brethren. It's just so much fun to watch. They're going to be back for a long, long time. I think we're going to have a couple more banners going up in Rec Hall.
“Take the last five years of Rec Hall sports. Men’s gymnastics won it in ’07, we won it in ’08, and of course the queen of all banners is the women’s [volleyball] championships and now wrestling. This grand old lady has some magic left in her.”
It was 1953 the last time the Nittany Lion wrestlers brought home the national championship. And though it has been only three years since Pavlik and Co. brought the trophy to Rec Hall, he’d probably like nothing more than to bring “The grand old lady” her third championship of the academic year.
Freshman goalie Austin Kaut is already used to receiving the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Week honor, which he got for the third time Monday.
But that was just the beginning.
The Morton, Pa. native earned his first CAA Player of the Week honor, sharing the award with Towson's Matt Hughes.
Kaut played a huge role in the Nittany Lions' road victory over No. 5 Massachusetts, 8-7, Saturday. The freshman registered 25 saves, the most of any Division I keeper in a single game this season.
Kaut's .671 save percentage is the second-best in Division I, trailing only Pierce Bassett of Johns Hopkins.
I caught up with Penn State athletic director Tim Curley a couple hours prior to the Lady Lions’ second-round NCAA tournament matchup against DePaul Monday night. Here is what Curley had to say.
On the Lady Lions’ success this season: “This has been a real exciting season for Lady Lion basketball. We’ve made tremendous strides. I think February and March have been good for the Lady Lions, which is a step in the right direction. And it’s a young team with just some outstanding talent. We had just a tremendous year so I think the future looks really bright for the program.
“Hopefully we’ll get a win tonight and go down to Philadelphia and see what we can do down in Philadelphia. But overall I just see a group of student athletes that are having fun and enjoying the experience and performing at a high level.”
On Penn State’s fourth-year coach, Coquese Washington: “Well certainly we felt that she was going to provide great leadership and get the program back to where it needed to be. We never put a time table on how long that would be, but she certainly has a nice plan put together, and it looks like it’s fully operational and we’re just looking forward to putting our energies toward finishing this season off right, but as you look ahead, it’s awfully bright.”
Joe Sunder was named EIVA Tait Player of the Week for his efforts in the Nittany Lions' wins over Ball State and IPFW this past weekend.
Sunder posted 12 kills, hitting at .381 against IPFW and registered 17 kills at a .542 clip Friday against Ball State.
This is the third time Sunder has recieved this honor this season, as he earned it on Jan. 17 and March 7. Edgardo Goas garnished the honor last week for the Lions.
With the NCAA basketball tournament fully upon us, a number of the Lions decided to divulge their championship game picks. Though a few players already lost one or two of their teams, the Lions' picks were strictly for fun.*
Tom Comfort: Kansas over Ohio State
Edgardo Goas: Kansas over UConn
Scott Kegerreis: UConn over Kansas
Jace Olsen: San Diego State over Kansas
Joe Sunder: Pittsburgh** over Duke
Nick Turko: Duke over Notre Dame**
*Of course NCAA rules stipulate that that must be true, and no money may be exchanged.
There were plenty of Penn State fans among the 17,298 in attendance at the championship round in Philadelphia Saturday night.
Among those Nittany Lion faithful were Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and President Graham Spanier.
Back Points was lucky enough to run into both of them on the Wells Fargo Center floor after the trophy presentation.
Here's what the two had to say about the Lions' championship run.
Curley on what Cael Sanderson has done with the program: We never had a timeline, so this is just a great accomplishment. Our wrestlers did a wonderful job, our coaching staff is great and Cael brought the leadership to it and confidence to it. It’s just a great day for Penn State.
Curley on what the team can achieve in the future: We’ve got a great future ahead of us. We’re all looking forward to it and we’re just going to enjoy this one today.
Spanier on the title and Sanderson's accomplishment: I know everybody associated with Penn State is just thrilled. It hasn’t been since 1953 that we had a national championship in wrestling, and how amazing is it to have this happen in Cael Sanderson’s second season as coach? It’s still a pretty young team and I think we have years of excitement ahead for our wrestling program.We knew it would happen and we knew it would happen before long but I didn’t think it was possible to happen quite this fast. So we’re very excited.
Spanier on a the team repeating next year: I don’t want to make that kind of prediction. But I think this moves into the upper echelon very quickly and this will be a very positive environment for recruits in the future and our staff is gonna be here for many years.
Spanier on the team as student-athletes: This is a great group of students. As Quentin Wright said to me on the way out, this is really about Penn State, not about me. And I know they all feel that way.
Where the championship ranks in his favorite Penn State memories: It would be in the list of really, really spectacular things that have happened.
Three Penn State gymnasts were named to the All-Big Ten team, with sophomore Sharaya Musser and junior Natalie Ettl named to the first team and sophomore Madison Merriam named to the second team.
Musser is having a dominant season, and is ranked No. 1 in the all-around nationally with a Regional Qualifying Score of 39.515.
She's also No. 4 on vault, No. 23 on uneven bars, No. 2 on balance beam and No. 11 on floor exercise.
Ettl, who only competes on uneven bars, earned her spot through her dominance on that event, and is ranked No. 3 in the nation with an RQS of 9.910.
Merriam has also had a good season, and tied for second in the all-around at the Big Ten championships on Saturday.
Musser also finished second in the voting for the Big Ten gymnast of the year, to Michigan's Kylee Botterman, who Musser beat at Big Tens.
Head coach Jeff Thompson said he was disappointed that Musser didn't win the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, despite her national ranking in the all-around and all-around victory at Big Tens.
Thompson said Musser was the No. 1 gymnast on every coach's ballot for All-Big Ten teams, but was outvoted by Botterman for the the Gymnast of the Year award.
Thompson said he thought that was probably because the coaches wanted to give Botterman, a senior, recognition for her excellent year in her last chance to win the award.
Confetti exploded from behind the Penn State wrestling team as they raised the trophy into the air.
Back Points was fortunate enough to be on the floor for the presentation of the 2011 Division I wresting team championship trophy to the Nittany Lions.
*Check the Collegian online soon for reaction from players and coach Mark Pavlik.
Mike Anderson Player of the Match: Dennis Del Valle. He had a season-high 18 digs in the match.
8:30 The Lions take the third set and the match from the Mastodons on a kill from Olsen, 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-22).
8:28 Kegerreis has been fantastic for the Lions in the third set. He's only three behind Sunder for the team lead in kills and he has played only the third set tonight. 23-19 PSU
8:24 Timeout IPFW after a two straight Lion kills, one from Kegerreis (he has seven in the third set alone) and one from Sunder, to put Penn State up 19-17 late in the third set. Sign of a good team tonight when the Lions can still (probably get the) win when they're not at their best.
8:20 An extended point goes to IPFW. It included a number of solid digs from Del Valle as he ads to an already impressive night. Set tied at 15 a piece on an arguable touch call against the Lions. Pavlik calls a timeout to calm his team down.
8:16 Olsen getting loud on the court, but Kegerreis is the one making the most noise as he tallies another kill. 13-12 Lions
8:11 Three kills so far off the hand of Kegerreis as the Lions retake the lead at 7-6. IPFW takes the lead right back on a Turko error, 8-7 Mastodons.
8:08 Scott Kegerreis makes his triumphant return to the Lion lineup as he replaces Comfort who hit only .077 in the first two sets. A Penn State net voilation gives the lead to IPFW, 5-4.
8:06 A service ace from Goas to start the third set followed by a kill from Mars. Now 3-1 Penn State
The Mastodons served nearly as bad in the second set as they did in the first. They have 11 total service errors. Against a team like Penn State, IPFW cannot afford to be hitting balls into the net on the serve.
***
7:55 Not nearly as long a second set as there was last night as the Lions take the second set 25-23 because of an IPFW hitting error. Penn State leads the match two sets to none.
7:53 Ryan Wolf enters for Olsen as the Lions tie the match at 22-22. Big solo block from Turko gives the Lions the lead at 23-22.
7:50 Timeout Penn State following a hitting error from Sunder. Penn State still leads 21-20.
7:44 Match tied at 17 late in the second. Points going back and forth with the Lions missing on a number of digs. Even one of the best liberos in the nation in Del Valle missed a dig. A big kill from Sunder puts the Lions up 19-17. Now 20-17 on a Turko block. Timeout IPFW
7:39 Just as an aside, when I say the Lions were "struggling early" I don't mean they weren't playing well. They were struggling to earn points more than they were struggling with their play. There's a difference. IPFW within a point nnow as the Lions lead 12-11
7:36 It seems like if the Lions can get a lead late in the set tonight they take it and run with it. They're leading IPFW 10-7 as the Mastodons call a timeout to try too regroup and pull some of the magic out of their hat like they were earlier.
7:33 Lions struggling again here in the second set. If they're not careful IPFW may get their serves in order and get to the Lions. They just can't seem to do it though as the Lions are now tied 6-6 with the Mastodons. PSU is currently on a 3-0 run...
7:29 First point of of the second set goes to the Lions again. This time on a kill from Nick Turko. In the first set, IPFW ended up with nearly the same amount of service errors as digs (six errors, seven digs). Set now tied at two a piece.
***
7:25 After being behind for the majority of the match, the Lions take the first set 25-19 on a kill from Joe Sunder. Perhaps it took a little time for the Lions to smooth Mars back into the lineup. Or maybe the Mastodons simply came back to earth a bit. Either way the Lions look to be on top of their game again.
7:21 The Lions starting to run away now as the Mastodons take their final timeout of the set. Mars' serves putting the Lions in good positions and IPFW in bad ones. 21-16 Penn State
7:17 The Lions finally have their first lead of the match, aside from their 1-0 lead, at 16-15 on a triple block from Goas, Comfort and Mars. Now 18-16 and the rust beginning to wear off of A. Mars. Timeout Mastodons
7:14 Once again the service game is a problem for the Mastodons. They have five early. Penn State creeping back into the match. 14-13 IPFW
7:11 The Lions still in the match because of a few service errors from IPFW. It's not that the Lions are playing poorly, it's more the Mastodons are playing better and not giving up opportunities to the Lions. Penn State hitting at -.300 right now. 12-8 IPFW
7:06 First kill from the Lions comes of the hands of no other than Joe Sunder. Lions still struggling to find a rhythm early. Expect a Pavlik timeout soon...and here it is as the Lions trail the Mastodons 8-4 in the first set.
7:04 A number of extended points in the match. Both teams trying to feel each other out early. Eight points into the match and the Lions are still without a kill. 5-3 IPFW
7:00 First point of the match goes to the Lions after the Mastodons hit the antenna on the kill attempt.
Nittany Lion starters: Goas, A. Mars, Turko, Olsen, Comfort, Sunder, Del Valle
After a dominating 3-0 sweep of Ball State last night, the Lions welcome IPFW to Rec Hall on Saturday night.
Last night's Nittany Lion leaders were Joe Sunder who posted 17 kills on .542 hitting, Jace Olsen who was last night's Mike Anderson Player of the Match with nine kills on .316 hitting and setter Edgardo Goas who tallied 40 assists and four kills.
With Andrew Long and Ed Ruth's third place finishes at the NCAA championships today, the Nittany Lions are national champions.
Back Points comes to you live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia to recap the morning's events and preview the final session tonight, featuring Frank Molinaro, David Taylor and Quentin Wright wrestling for individual national titles.
Ball State gets a kill out of the timeout, 14-9 Penn State leads.
Sunder goes off the block and the Penn State lead is 16-11.
A Ball State block makes the score 18-13 Lions. The Cardinals follow it up with a kill of Sunder's dig attempt and the lead sits at four.
Olsen finds space to make the Penn State lead 19-14. Comfort and Turko go up and block a hit down the line giving the Lions their 20th point of the match, and a six-point lead. The 21st point comes from a service error, and it's 21-15.
A BSU error makes it 22-15.
Nice play by Del Valle as he lets a close ball go out and the Lions have a 23-15 lead. You couldn't blame Del Valle if he played that ball because it was very close, but the senior showed his awareness there by letting the ball go.
Olsen goes off the block and out and sets up match point for the Lions at 24-17.
Ball State sends a ball off the back wall of the gym and Penn State wins the set 25-17, and the match 3-0.
Be sure to check the Collegian online for more coverage of the Lions' sweep of Ball State.
Final: Penn State 3, Ball State 0 (25-18, 36-34, 25-17)
***
Turko goes off the block and out and the Penn State lead sits at 10-7. Comfort gives the point back by serving the ball into the net.
Ball State goes into the net trying to block Turko, Penn State leads 11-8. Olsen rips his third ace of the match and the Lions lead 12-8.
Turko and Sunder get the block point and the Lions are rolling, they lead 13-8.
Ball State gets called for a back row block and the Lions lead now sits at 14-8. Penn State in great position to put their foot down on this match as BSU takes a timeout.
Third Set: Penn State 14, Ball State 8 (PSU leads match 2-0)
***
THIRD SET
Ball State now leads in blocks, 6-4. The longevity of the second set helped Sunder's kill stats as he leads all players with 14.
Penn State still leads in hitting pct., .312 to .245. But Sunder has been the key thus far, hitting .632 with just two errors and those 14 kills on 19 swings.
Hendries did not come back out with the Lions for warmups before the third set. It's safe to say his night is done.
Comfort goes off the block and out to start the third set.
The teams exchange points to start the set as a BSU kill evens the match at two.
BSU serve goes off the tape and then off Olsen to give the Cardinals their first lead of the set at 4-3.
Greg Herceg called for an illegal back row attack, Penn State takes a 7-6 lead. Penn State then takes control after a BSU blocked is dug up. Goas sets Turko who buries the kill for an 8-6 lead.
Comfort gets the solo block on the next rally. BSU takes a timeout.
Third Set: Penn State 8, Ball State 6 (PSU leads match 2-0)
***
Olsen serving set point out of the timeout. His ball goes off the tape and back down on the Penn State side. The match is again tied at 27.
Sunder's attempt goes out, giving BSU its fourt set point, but Sunder goes off the block and out evening the match at 28.
Turko gets an ace to give the Lions their second set point.
BUS kill goes off Olsen's chest and out.
Goas wins the joust at the net to give the Lions thier thrid set point. Goas serves the ball into the net to make it 30-30. Comfort gets blocked after the set was just a little out of his reach. Ball State has its fifth set point, but Sunder gets a kill to make it 31-31.
Comfort goes down the line off the block, Penn State's fourth set point with Sunder serving.
The Lions have their chance as Comfort gets the set from Goas, but gets blocked. 32-32
Sunder from the back row makes it 33-32 Lions.
Alan Mars serves, the kill from BSU falls and its 33-33. A service error gives the Lions their sixth set point.
Kill is good from BUS off the block, 34-34.
Olsen goes off the block and out, the seventh set point for the Lions.
Wolf off the bench to serve. Turko and Goas go up with a strong block as the Lions take the third set 36-34.
Not all good news however, as Hendries goes into the locker room on crutches. He has an ace bandage on his left ankle.
End of Second Set: Penn State 36, Ball State 34 (PSU leads match 2-0)
***
BSU serves the ball into the net out of the timeout, evening the score at 23.
On the next rally, Penn State blocks the ball out setting up set point for BSU.
Sunder goes off of two BSU players and gives evens the set at 24.
BSU with set point again as Oslen hits a soft one straight into the block, but out.
Turko gets set in the middle on BSU's third set point. 26-26.
The BSU attempt goes past the block and out, setting up the first set point for the Lions. They lead 27-26 as BSU takes a timeout.
Second Set: Penn State 27, Ball State 26 (PSU leads match 1-0)
***
Out of the timeout, Sunder's kill attempt is dug up. BSU gets a kill off the Penn State block and the lead is now at 20-19.
A kill from Sunder followed by a service error from Turko makes the score 21-20 in favor of the Lions. Andres Nelson notches a block point for BSU and we're all square at 21.
Comfort goes down the line again, this time the ball is in and the Lions lead 22-21.
Sunder goes into the net on the block attempt. Score evens at 22.
Hendries rolls his ankle on the block attempt. Doesn't appear too serious as he limps off the floor on his power. Ball State gets the point and takes a 23-22 lead. But Hendries is the bigger loss for the Lions. He is arguably the Lions' best blocker and he will be out for at least the rest of this set with BUS two points away from taking the second set.
Penn State takes a timeout.
Second Set: Ball State 23, Penn State 22 (PSU leads match 1-0)
***
BSU goes into the net out of timeout and the Lions lead 17-13.
Sunder's serve earns the Lions a free ball, Olsen puts it off the block and out and the Lions lead 19-13.
Comfort takes the back set from Goas, he tries to go down the line but hits it just out and the Lions lead is cut to four. Penn State leads 19-15.
Sunder picks up his ninth kill of the match from the back row, Penn State leads 20-16.
Comfrot sends a ball just over the endline as Goas hustled to keep the ball in play on the set. Penn State lead now at 20-18. Pav takes his first timeout of the match.
Second Set: Penn State 20, Ball State 18 (PSU leads match 1-0)
SECOND SET
Penn State outhit Ball State .300 to .105 in the opening set. The Lions block continues to improve as they notched three total team blocks in the opening set. Sunder and Olsen led the Lions with four kills in the first set.
Lee Meyer gets the opening kill of the second set off the Penn State block. BSU leads 1-0.
Nick Turko returns the favor as he goes off the BSU block and the score sits a 1-1.
Turko makes a great dig on a BSU kill attempt. The ball is jousted for at the net, but Sudner wins the battle as the ball finds the floor on the BSU side. Penn State takes a 3-2 lead, BSU is then called for going into the net and the lead is 4-2.
Both exchange service errors and the Lions lead is 6-4.
Marcus Imwalle goes for a swing out of the back row for BSU but the ball goes into the net and the Lions lead 7-5.
Comfort's serve earns the Lions a free ball, but Olsen goes off the net and out, Lions with a one-point lead now at 8-7. A huge dig from Del Valle sends Goas to the scorers table for the set. Comfort goes off the dig and out for a crucial point for the Lions. They lead 9-7. Great rally for Penn State as Sunder kept a ball up early, good defense earned a kill for Comfort.
Ball State crawls back even, but Goas dumps the ball over again to give the Lions a 11-10 lead.
Hendries' block earns a free ball for the Lions, Goas rewards him by setting him in the middle. Hendries goes off the BSU block and out, Penn State leads 13-11.
Turko gets the set in the middle, serves it right at Andres Nelson who had just served and was getting back into position. Penn State takes a 15-13 lead. Comfort picks up a service and the lead stands at 16-13. Ball State takes a timeout.
Second Set: Penn State 16, Ball State 13 (PSU leads match 1-0)
***
Lee Meyer gets the kill for Ball State out of the timeout, but a block from Hendries and Turko gives the Lions their 20th point of the set and a 20-16 lead.
Another controversial call from the referee as Ball State is called for double contact. It appeared only one player touched the ball, but Penn State is given the point and the Lions lead 21-17. An error from the Cardinals followed by an ace from Comfort makes the lead 23-17.
Ball State again hits the ball out to set up set point for the Lions. Comfort starts a long rally, kept alive by a great dig from Sunder, but Ball State finds an opening for the kill.
The Cardinals serve the Lions second point, Goas sets Sunder who finds space near the Ball State bench and the Lions take the first set, 25-18.
End of First Set: Penn State 25, Ball State 18 (PSU leads match 1-0)
***
J.D. Gasparovic gets a kill for Ball State out of the timeout, but Comfort answers right back from the back row and the Lions lead remains at 5, 7-2 Penn State.
A bad set from Ball State ends in a free ball for the Lions. Goas sets Sunder out of the back row and the Lions lead 9-3.
Ball State gest two quick points, but falls showrt of three consecutive as thier kill attempt goes off the antennae, Penn State leads 11-5.
Jace Olsen tries to go over the block but hits the ball well out. Ball State now trails by three as the Lions lead sits at 11-8. Olsen didn't get high enough on that swing and took a abd approach trying to go over the much higher block.
Goas sets the ball back to Comfort on the right side, Comfort's ball goes just past the endline and the lead is now at two at 12-10.
Olsen gets his second consecutive kill off the quick set from Goas, Penn State leads 14-11. Olsen and Sunder lead the Lions with three kills apiece.
A blunder from Olsen on the serve receive as he lets a floater go over over his head and down for an ace. Ball State cuts the Penn State lead to 14-13.
Goas dumps the ball over on the overpass and the Lions lead 16-14.
Sunder's serve is ruled down although it appeared the ball was kept up. A late whistle from the referee gives the point to the Lions. They lead 19-15 as Ball State takes its second timeout.
First Set: Penn State 19, Ball State 15
***
FIRST SET
Dan Wichman serves first for Ball State. His ball is dug up by Del Valle who passes to Goas. Goas feeds Sunder who gently taps one over the block and the Lions have the first point of the match.
Comfort back to serve first for the Lions and he notches an ace. A block point from Goas after a nice rally stretches the Lions lead to 3-0.
Greg Herceg gets Ball State on the board, Lions lead 3-1.
Jace Olsen rips the second service ace of the match for the Lions and does a little stroll from the service line to get congratulations from his teammates. Ball State then sends the next ball outside behind the antennae. The Lions out to a 6-1 lead early in set one, Ball State takes it first timeout.
First Set: Penn State 6, Ball State 1
***
Hey there Penn State volleyball fans, this is Collegian men's volleyball reporter Bill Landis coming to you live from Rec Hall's Main Gym where tonight the No. 9 Nittany Lions take on the Cardinals of Ball State.
Tonight's match is a rematch of a Jan. 15 bout in which the Lions defeated then-No.14 Ball State 3-0 in Hawaii.
Ball State brings an 11-7 record into tonight's match, while the Lions are looking to improve on their 15-5 record.
Penn State's record against the MIVA is 3-1, with the only loss coming to Ohio State in Columbus.
Quentin Wright's magical run through the postseason continues.
With a huge 7-3 victory over the 184-pound top seed, Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro, Wright has earned All-American status for the second time in his career and will move into the semifinal round tonight to face No. 12-seeded Grant Grambrall of Iowa.
At the 1:07 mark in the first period, Wright caught Honeycutt in a shoulder throw for a takedown and a 2-0 lead.
Leading 2-1 after the first, Wright earned a takedown at the 1:30 mark in the third period, and sealed the match with another takedown not long after.
Here's Wright's match in its entirety and what he sophomore had to say after:
Frank Molinaro has been Mr. consistent for Penn State this season. In his quarterfinal match against Mario Mason from Rutgers, Molinaro stepped up to the plate once again earning a 5-3 victory and will move on to the semifinals tonight.
On his redemption over Mario Mason who beat him earlier this season-
"He's still kind of tricky but I wrestled a smart match, and I really think I got hosed with that banana split move though. As far as the end of the match I did what he does, play the edge of the mat. I heard his coaches yelling toward the end but I didn't care. I wrestled a smart match not the best match not the best match i think i could have got another take down and built a bigger lead but I played it safe and I got the win so I'm not really complaining."
On the tournament so far-
"We're just trying to keep it rolling. We wanted to win all eight matches again today, but that can't happen now. But Quentin still has a big match, Cameron has a big match, and I don't know who Ed is facing, but he's probably sleeping in the locker room."
On whether Long's huge victory hyped him for his match-
"Long is the one who is always saying to not get too excited for other people but I was smiling and it definitely helped."
The list of David Taylor's accomplishments just got a bit longer.
With a 6-3 decision over Iowa's Derek St. John in the quarterfinal, the redshirt freshman has moved into the semifinals tonight and is an All-American in his first competitive season with the Nittany Lions.
Taylor had a 2-1 lead after the first period, and picked up a big takedown with 58 seconds left in the second period. St. John forced the redshirt freshman into a stall warning late in the third period, but Taylor's riding time advantage sealed the match.
Taylor is now 37-0 on the season and will face American's No.1-ranked Steve Fittery, an undefeated former All-American, in the semifinals.
Brad Pataky rose from the mat for the final time in a blue and white singlet, and was greeted with a hug from coach Cael Sanderson.
After a decorated career in Happy Valley, including three appearances in the NCAA tournament, Pataky's career as Nittany Lion ended Friday morning with a 8-1 loss to Michigan's Sean Boyle in wrestlebacks.
Pataky finished the tournament this year 2-1, with a loss to No. 12 Jarrod Garnett in the first round, and a 6-1 victory over Jason Lara of Oregon State in the first round of wrestlebacks.
For the second straight year, Andrew Long is an All-American.
Down 1-0 against Central Michigan's ScottiSentes late in the first period of his 133-pound quarterfinal match, Long turned Sentes to his back and earned a pin at the 2:46 mark.
The redshirt sophomore has earned All-American status by clinching a spot in the semifinals and will wrestle again tonight against an undetermined opponent.
On fighting back for the pin:
"I just try to keep it entertaining and always be working out there so it's a win-win for the fans and myself. I was losing that match and I kept my focus, telling myself he couldn't ride me. I felt him loosen up, relax there for a second and I pinched up and clamped down on him."
On the team continuing to fight for bonus points:
"We're trying to seal the team title in the quarterfinal round. We think that if we can just keep wrestling the way we are, we'll stretch the lead out in that team race and hopefully by the end of the tournament we will have reached our goal."
On his fans cheering him on:
"Right before the match, I had a little sensation running through my body knowing that I had extra confidence out on the mat with these guys supporting me so it definitely helps. I get to go relax a little, get some food in me and prepare for my next bout."
On his semifinal match tonight:
"I know both of them are good. I've wrestled B.J. (Futrell) a couple times already, so it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. He's a good wrestler, but either way, I'm ready for whoever comes at me."
On needing overtime last night to advance to the quarterfinals:
"I was pretty disappointed but I had to keep my head up. I got the win and that's all that matters in these tournaments. I just had to move on to the next stage. I got past that match and, now i feel comfortable in tight matches like that. I relaxed a little and slipped out of that cradle and he caught me when I wasn't expecting it. I tried to a cradle on my feet. 'Bad idea,' coach said. I had to make up some points in the end."
His mentality moving forward:
"I've been here before. I'm trying to keep that in the back of my head. I just want to get this one underway and move onto the finals, really just show everyone what I'm made of and take it to these guys and hold nothing back."
Wrapping things up from the McKale Center. But first, here are a few post-game videos, including footage of the Nittany Lions' press conference, an interview with Talor Battle in the locker room and basketball reporter Emily Kaplan and sports editor Steve Hennessey breaking down the game:
Temple wins the game on a running jumper by junior guard Juan Fernandez with .4 seconds left to go.
We will be uploading videos and post-game reactions momentarily on Penn State's heartbreaking 66-64 loss to Temple at the McKale Center in Tucson.
--
Temple 64, Penn State 64 with 11.4 secs left in second half
Talor Battle hits a 3-pointer, way behind the 3-point arc to tie the game for the Lions. Unbelievable. Now they have to defend to send this into overtime.
Temple 63, Penn State 61 with 28 secs left in second half
Juan Fernandez hits first of a 1-and-1 after Talor Battle got blocked by Lavoy Allen on the right side under the hoop. Penn State wanted a foul on the layup, but no call.
Still a one possession game if Fernandez hits the second one. Lions would likely try to get a quick two unless Battle is open for 3.
This is a pressure-packed, great finish down the wire here in Tucson.
--
Temple 58, Penn State 57 with 3:25 left in second half -- media timeout
The Lions have quieted Juan Fernandez, but they need to find someone to guard Ramone Moore now. The Temple guard now has a game-high 21 points, and has scored 15 of those in the second half. Moore is on fire from 3 right now.
You would have thought Penn State's chances would have been slim without Brooks, but they're right in this.
--
Temple 51, Penn State 48 with 7:08 left in second half -- PSU timeout
Penn State calls a timeout here with its players gassed -- Battle walked slowly over to his seat on the bench.
The up-and-down tempo of this game has been fun to watch, but it looks like it's taking a bit of a toll on the Lions, who played four straight games in the Big Ten tournament last weekend.
Battle is going to have to have a huge final seven minutes to get the Lions the W -- and the defense is going to have to close out on shooters and rebound.
--
Temple 45, Penn State 43 with 11:26 left in second half -- media timeout
Frazier called for his second travel to give the ball back to Temple.
Penn State needs Frazier to play confident and shoot the ball when he drives to the hole. He's had a tendency to get into the lane, but stop in the middle and not do much then.
Without Brooks, who got injured blocking a shot on the right baseline, the Lions need to find an offensive source other than Battle. Jones and Jackson need to score.
---
Penn State 41, Temple 38 with 15:43 left in second half
Jeff Brooks has left the floor once again for the Nittany Lions. This time it's not foul trouble -- it's a lot more trouble for him and the Lions.
It looked like Brooks dislocated his right shoulder -- the same one he injured against Illinois. He was taken to the locker room -- and just returned to the floor with his arm in a sling. He's siting next to his teammates on the bench and just got a pat on the leg from coach Ed DeChellis. His day is done.
Cammeron Woodyard replaced him and scored on the Lions' second offensive possession without Brooks on a layup from the right baseline. DJ Jackson hit a 3-pointer on the possession before that.
Woodyard also corralled a rebound, too. He has been the seventh or eighth guy of Ed DeChellis' bench, so now he and Billy Oliver may be asked to fill the inside void for the Lions. They'll need help rebounding inside, but they may opt to go with Jermaine Marshall, too.
Now Frazier just nailed a 3, to give the Lions a 3-point lead.
--
Temple - 35, Penn State - 33 at halftime
Penn State was outscored the final 10:44 of the half by nine points, 22-13, to change their seven-point lead into a two-point halftime deficit. Jeff Brooks got his second foul at that point, on a really unnecessary foul on the left elbow. In his place, Jermaine Marshall has zero points -- he's been playing fine defensively -- but the Lions' offense changes so much with Brooks in the lineup.
Now, though, the Lions trail by only two and Brooks will surely be a difference maker in the second half. There's really no depth to the Lions' bench, so trusting Brooks on the floor with his two fouls could have been a possible play for DeChellis. Instead, he'll have a well-rested senior forward for the entire half.
Battle has played very well, shooting 5-of-7 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, to lead the Lions with 13 points.
Juan Fernandez of Temple has really been the story, though, scoring 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. The Lions have had no answer for him, as he has come off of screens, slashed to the hole and hit open jump shots. One of the Lions' weaknesses all season long has been their inability to close out on shooters. That's continued to be a problem at points today. Temple is only 3-of-9 from 3-point range -- but all those shots were open.
If the Lions can figure out how to slow down Fernandez -- my solution would be to put D.J. Jackson on him -- then they'll put themselves in a position to win the game. Penn State is outrebounding the Owls, 15-13, a narrow margin.
Both teams have now returned to the floor for the second half.
Keys:
1) Stopping Fernandez
2) Continuing to grab rebounds. Drew Jones has been active at times, but needs to grab the ball inside. He had a few opportunities to put back offensive rebounds and let the ball slip away.
3) Getting Brooks re-established in the flow of the game. The 6-foot-8 forward from Louisville, Ky., was solid until he left with foul trouble. A key will also be to keep him out of foul trouble early on in the half. If he gets his third foul early, DeChellis might have to trust his big man to stay out there and not pick up another foul.
Temple - 35, Penn State - 33 22.4 seconds left in first half -- PSU timeout
The Lions did a great job getting the ball into Talor Battle's hands on the last two possessions -- but he did a good job of giving it back to the Owls. His last turnover led to a 4-on-1 break for Temple, ending in a layup by Jefferson. Frazier then fouled him, too, to allow Temple to get an extra basket out of it. He made the free throw.
Penn State calls a timeout to script up one more play before the half.
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Penn State - 29, Temple - 27, 3:32 left in first half -- media timeout
Jeff Brooks headed to the bench with 10:44 left in the half, and his team leading, 20-13. He has sat since then, and the Owls have trimmed the Lions' lead to two, 29-27.
Penn State is having a tough time matching up against Juan Fernandez -- he has 14 points and really getting whatever he wants on offense. Tim Frazier has been guarding him and hasn't been closing out on him, or he'll get off balance and let the 6-foot-4 guard drive past him.
Frazier has, however, been strong for the Lions on offense -- he's the Lions' second leading scorer with eight points.
Penn State has to do a much better job of defending and rebounding. It currently leads the rebounding battle, but they need to get the big rebounds.
Khalif Wyatt saying to the officials: "Let us play" after teammate Rahlir Jefferson got called for a foul
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Penn State - 26, Temple - 19, 7:58 left in first half -- media timeout
Just when it looked like a 6-point swing could've hurt Penn State significantly -- Battle missing a 3-pointer after the Lions had a 3-on-1 break on a Jermaine Marshall steal, which led to a fastbreak 3-pointer by Owls' Khalif Wyatt -- Tim Frazier countered with an acrobatic lay-up, leaning into Lavoy Allen for the foul and the make. He goes to the line now for a free throw.
Looks like the Lions need an answer for Juan Fernandez -- Tim Frazier is getting discarded by the crafty Argentian.
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Penn State - 20, Temple - 11, 11:31 left in first half -- media timeout
Well, Battle isn't bothered by that hand thus far. He's currently 3-of-4, hitting his last three 3-pointers after an initial miss. He's got nine points to lead all scorers. On his last 3, Battle pulled up on a fast break after a nice defensive play from Tim Frazier to deflect a pass intended for Temple's Juan Fernandez.
Jeff Brooks had his first highlight of the half, as well, with an awesome put-back dunk on a D.J. Jackson miss. Brooks stared down Rahlir Jefferson as he hung on the rim for a bit.
Brooks has six points for the Lions.
Nice pace to the game, and really, you couldn't envision a better start for Penn State. The Lions' 18-2 start against Wisconsin was nice, but everyone is involved here. Everybody looks calm and collected on the task at hand -- pulling off the upset over their in-state foe, No. 7-seeded Temple.
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Well, the good news for the Nittany Lions is they lead Temple, 11-9, at the first media timeout. Talor Battle hit a long 3-pointer from the right wing to give the Lions their second lead of the game.
The bad news is, though, Battle is noticeably injured, shaking his left hand as he runs up and down the court. It's obviously not too serious, as he just made a pure shot from behind the 3-point line. But nonetheless, the training staff has wrapped one of the fingers on his left hand with athletic tape. The injury could have came on the first play of the game when he was fighting to come off a screen, not sure. He's still grabbing it as the Lions come off the bench out of the timeout. Will keep you posted.
Temple lead, 7-4, their biggest lead thus far, on an allyoop dunk from Lavoy Allen.
Jeff Brooks had a nice drive and make in the lane, too, to put the Lions up, 4-2 early on.
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The lineups are now being announced to the crowd here in Tucson. There's a good amount of Nittany Lion fans behind us on press row here. The pep band made it, as well, in addition to about eight Lion cheerleaders. Temple has its pep band here, as well, in addition to 12 of its cheerleaders.
The Lions look very focused during pre-game warmsups. Now breaking it down in a huddle out on the court.
Penn State will be wearing its blue road jerseys - Temple rocking its white jerseys with red lettering.
I'll try to update as much as possible -- every media timeout at least. Should be a good one here. We'll see if Penn State can start the game out strong, which has been a weakness throughout the season.
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TUCSON, Ariz. -- Both teams have come out of the locker room with about 20 minutes left to tip-off, and both schools' bands playing. The crowd is beginning to file in here at the McKale Center for the 2:10 p.m. EDT tip between No. 7-seeded Temple and No. 10-seeded Penn State.
In the 20-plus year life of these players, there might not be a bigger moment than this. Seniors Talor Battle, Jeff Brooks, Drew Jones, D.J. Jackson and Steve Kirkpatrick have been playing for the last four years for an opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament. They have fulfilled that dream, and are now less than a half hour away from trying to extend their tournament careers.
This is sports editor Stephen Hennessey, bringing you live updates on this second round game in Tucson. It is the first game of four today at the McKale Center -- including San Diego State/Northern Colorado, Kansas State/Utah State and Wisconsin/Belmont.
Be sure to also follow our Twitter feed, @hardwoodhits, for live updates on this afternoon's game. We're sitting two rows from the court -- prime real estate for what should be a good matchup.
The Nittany Lions are making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2001, and their ninth appearance overall.
Here are the expected starting lineups for both squads:
I made the mistake of asking D.J. Jackson what it was like to end his collegiate career at the NCAA tournament in sunny Tucson, Arizona.
My bad. Should’ve worded that question differently.
“Well, hopefully my career doesn’t end here,” he said, with a laugh. “It’s amazing just getting a chance in the tournament and to get a chance to compete against the best teams in the country. But we want to keep advancing. We’re going to take it game-by-game, just play one at a time, but I’m not ready to go home yet.”
That seems to be the mindset of the entire Penn State team. Today was the Nittany Lions first full day in Tucson, and though everyone was excited for the brief sojourn from chilly State College, they were also focused at the task at hand.
The guys woke up this morning and practiced at a local high school gym. Then they headed to the McKale Center for a press conference, then a 40 minute open practice session on campus.
Had a chance to talk to some of the guys, and also sat in on Temple’s press conference. Here’s a few nuggets on that, and also on the first full day of my trip:
-- This isn’t Tim Frazier’s first time at the McKale Center. The sophomore guard, a Houston native, was actually here in high school for an AAU tournament called the Cactus Classic. The experience was a little different, though. “It was tournament style. It was three courts, two courts, not just the main court. So now I get to play on the whole thing.”
-- Frazier said that at this point of the season, the underclassmen are really playing for the seniors. “I’ve just been thinking about two years ago when the seniors went out and won the NIT. That was an overall bond that those guys had. Now these seniors can make it to the NCAA Tournament and hopefully we can go on and keep winning games for them.”
-- Asked Jackson what the team did last night. He gave me a one word response: “Slept.” Then he laughed, and gave me a rundown on what the guys did since landing yesterday afternoon. They had lunch by the pool, watched some film, then went back to their rooms to relax and get to bed early. It’s a three hour difference from here and State College and the guys are working on adjusting to the time change. “We got a good night’s sleep. You know, this is a business trip. We’re not here to go to the pool, or relax, or anything like that. We’re here to win the game.”
-- Temple guard Ramone Moore on playing tomorrow’s game at 11 a.m.: “I mean, it’s 2 p.m. Eastern. So I think our bodies will be used to it. But, early games are something we’re not accustomed to as normal. You know, playing 7:00 games and things like that. But I think there’s a lot at stake, so we got to be ready. I think whatever it takes for us to be prepared, we have to do. There’s not going to be any excuses.”
-- Frazier on the overall experience so far: "It’s been great. I’ve been able to wear shorts, this is a great venue. It’s a nice facility and NCAA is taking care of us."
-- Asked junior guard Cammeron Woodyard how the University of Arizona locker room compares to the Lions’ locker room back at the Bryce Jordan Center. He told me it was a little smaller, and the lockers were a lot smaller, but overall they were pretty much the same quality.
-- Somebody asked Temple star Lavoy Allen, a Philly native, why Penn State doesn’t get many players from Philadelphia, and if the Lions recruited him. His response? "Yeah, Penn State was one of the first couple schools to recruit me. No, I haven’t really heard much about them from other Philadelphia guys.”
-- Coolest thing that’s happened to me so far was meeting Reggie Miller, the former UCLA and Indiana Pacers star who is now a TNT basketball analyst. He’s staying at my hotel, and approached him in the lobby yesterday. Very nice guy, very personable. Coach Ed DeChellis spent a few minutes of Penn State’s open practice time talking to Miller on the sideline.
Since the season began in November, the Nittany Lions have been talking about and waiting for the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
They're finally here.
Coming off the first Big Ten title in program history, Penn State will travel to Philadelphia this weekend and will compete Thursday through Saturday for its first national championship since 1953.
The first session will start at 11 a.m. Thursday and the final session will be at 7:30 on Saturday night. The first two sessions will be available live on ESPN, sessions 3-5 will air live on ESPNU and the championship session will be shown live on ESPN.
Off the Mat is here to give you a full preview of the Lions' weekend.
Here are some numbers to prepare for both the men's and women's upcoming NCAA tournaments:
— Penn State is one of 27 schools in the country to have its men's and women's basketball teams garner a bid for the NCAA tournament.
— Duke's teams earned the highest combined rankings, with its men's team being a No. 1 seed, while the women Blue Devils are a No. 2 seed. Notre Dame was close, with both squads being ranked No. 2.
— Only four Big Ten schools have both teams in the tournament: Ohio State (Men: No. 1, Women: No. 4), Purdue (Men: No. 3, Women: No. 9), Michigan State (Men: 10, Women: 4), Penn State (Men: 10, Women: 6).
— Penn State and Temple are the only two Pennsylvania schools to have its men's and women's programs in the Big Dance.
— State breakdown of schools with two teams in NCAAs:
Though by the time this blog is posted (when I get internet access) I’ll be at my final destination: Tucson, Ariz.
This will be the first of several blog posts I’ll write this weekend chronicling the Nittany Lions’ trip to the desert for the NCAA tournament’s second, and potentially third round — given 10th-seeded Penn State defeats seventh-seeded Temple on Thursday.
It’s the Lions’ first trip to the Big Dance since 2001, and I’ve been given the amazing opportunity to cover the event. I can’t describe how excited I am.
From the moment I woke up this morning — my alarm was set for 8:15 and I was out of bed by 8:16, a very rare non-snooze day for me. I’ve been wired.
I’m traveling on the team’s plane, which is definitely a cool experience. I, for one, am pretty intrigued by the lives of Division-I student athletes, so this is a great inside look at their daily grind.
I can tell you what I’ve learned so far: It’s not exactly relaxing. Wonder what a team’s schedule is like during an NCAA tournament? I got a brief look at the team’s itinerary for this weekend, and I got tired just reading it. Tomorrow, for example, includes an 8:30 a.m. time to report to the bus to be transported from the team hotel to the McKale Center, a press conference for coach Ed DeChellis and a few of the players, a 40-minute open practice session and other media obligations.
That does not include team meetings, team meals and film sessions, which I’m sure the Lions will have later that evening.
My friends and I had a bet on whether or not the team’s plane had a Nittany Lion painted on it, or if it'd be Penn State-themed.
We were all wrong.
We’re actually flying on a Delta plane. There was a Gatorade and a water bottle sitting in each seat when I arrived, and I can not count the amount of times I’ve been offered peanuts, pretzels, more Gatorade, more water, Sun Chips, candy bars, and lunch.
Oh, and more Gatorade and more water. A very friendly group of flight attendants.
My seat is in the middle of the plane, along with a few other journalists and some people from the athletic department. In the back of the plane is the Blue Band and the cheerleaders. In front of us is the Penn State coaching staff and some families. And, in the first few rows of the plane, are the players. I haven’t really seen the guys besides when they boarded the plane. Though the lights are all off above their seats, so I have to assume they’re either sleeping, studying, listening to music or watching movies on the small TV screen on every seat.
The excitement level is high, though. Everyone’s happy to be here.
The highlight so far was being mistaken for a cheerleader at the State College airport. One of the workers gave me a 10-minute pep talk about how he expected me to “cheer hard” for the Lions and make the entire town of State College proud out there.
More to come tomorrow when I head to the McKale Center for open practices and press conferences.
Here's some analysis of the Philadelphia region, which Penn State is playing in for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
Favorite: No. 1 Connecticut (32-1)
There’s no surprise here that the Huskies are the team to beat in the Philadelphia region. UConn hasn’t been as dominant as previous years, but at most it went from impossible to beat to nearly impossible to beat. Maya Moore passed former Lady Lion Kelly Mazzante for ninth place in Division I history for points scored while helping the Huskies claim the Big East tournament title. The senior forward is in the final stages of a stellar career, and one can only expect her and the Huskies to make a strong push at a third straight NCAA championship.
Possible surprise team: No. 10 Marist (30-2)
The Red Foxes do two things well that usually translates to wins — solid defense and limiting turnovers on offense. Marist boasts the top scoring defense in Division I, holding opponents to 48.6 points per game. Meanwhile, it gives the ball away just 11.1 times per game, which is the best of any team in the region.
Player most important to her team: Justine Raterman, Dayton
Raterman does it all for the Flyers. She leads the team in points (16.5 per game) and rebounds (7.4). As a forward, she is a threat to step out and hit a long jumper, as she leads Dayton with 51 3-pointers this season. Penn State knows Raterman is a player to key on after she scored 32 points in the Lions’ season-opening win in double-overtime.
Penn State’s biggest threat: No. 3 DePaul (27-6)
The Lions have shown vulnerability on defense throughout the year. The Blue Demons are one of the best teams in the nation when it comes to ball movement and are sixth in Division I with 18.2 assists per game. Should Penn State advance to Sunday’s second-round game, DePaul should pose a threat to be the first team to beat the Lions in the NCAA Tournament at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State is currently 8-0 all-time at the BJC in NCAA matchups.
Junior Natalie Ettl, who is ranked No. 3 in the nation on uneven bars, suffered a torn meniscus after the Penn State women's gymnastics team's home meet against N.C. State and Maryland.
Ettl said she didn't know how she sustained the injury, which kept her out of last week's meet at West Virginia.
"I woke up on Sunday, the weekend after the meet and it was painful to walk. I didn't have full extension," Ettl said. "I found it very strange because I couldn't remember a specific injury that occurred, I was just all of a sudden very sore."
Ettl said the injury won't affect her besides preventing her from performing her bars dismount in practice.
Ettl said she had a medial meniscus tear in her freshman year, but still competed the entire season with the injury, with limited dismounts. It should be a similar situation to that, the junior said.
Head coach Jeff Thompson said he expects Ettl to compete this weekend at the Big Ten championships in Minneapolis.
The Penn State men's gymnastics team has been lucky this season with its lack of injuries.
Unlike many teams in the NCAA, the Nittany Lions haven't lost any gymnasts yet from an accident on the mats.
However, they weren't as fortunate when it came to staving off illness last weekend.
Coach Randy Jepson confirmed redshirt junior Colin Hill, sophomore Parker Raque, sophomore Scott Rosenthal and redshirt freshman Francisco Vazquez were all sick for the Lions' meet against the Puerto Rico National Team in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Raque and Vazquez both competed, but neither were anywhere near 100 percent. Raque performed in only two events as opposed to his typical four. He received his second-lowest score of the season on vault (14.600) and his lowest on still rings (13.350).
Vazquez was penciled in for three events, but only competed in one. He received a season-low 10.900 on pommel horse, prompting Jepson to pull him for the rest of the meet.
Vazquez, a San Juan native, was denied an opportunity to compete in front of his friends and family in the city where he grew up. Jepson did not rule out the possibility of the Lions competing in Puerto RIco next season, so he will have to wait at least another year before he gets a chance like this again.
Rosenthal and Hill did not compete last Saturday. Rosenthal traveled with the team, but was pulled from his signature event -- the still rings -- to prevent further detriment to his health.
Hill had strep throat, so he did not travel with the team.
However, the Lions still managed to edge Puerto Rico, 342.500-340.550, despite their thin roster. They looked for someone to step up Saturday morning during training sessions, and sophomore Matt Chelberg did so in a big way.
Chelberg, the second tallest Lion at 5-foot-10, brought so much intensity into his high bar warmup that he broke the apparatus completely. He walked away with no injury, but the same couldn't be said for the high bar.
As for the No. 5 Lions' upcoming meet with No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 4 Illinois, Jepson expects his sick gymnasts to be ready for competition.
This is not the first time this season a Lion has gotten a bug. Senior Matt Albrecht and redshirt junior Warren Yang were ill a few weeks ago, but both recovered without setback. Yang also had an allergic reaction to something he ate before the Lions' meet at Illinois, but it proved inconsequential.
One other gymnast has been recovering from mononucleosis all season, but Jepson and the gymnasts declined to specify whom.
The Lions will need every man they can get next Saturday in Norman, Okla., as they try to finish their regular season strong before traversing back to Champaign, Ill. for Big Tens.
The Penn State women's gymnastics team took sole possession of the No. 10 spot in this week's rankings, improving its Regional Qualifying Score to 196.045.
The Lions possess the second highest ranking in the Big Ten, after Michigan, which is ranked No. 9 with an RQS of 196.320.
"We're excited that we're still in the top 10," head coach Jeff Thompson said.
Sophomore Sharaya Musser retained her No. 1 national ranking in the all-around with an RQS of 39.515.
"We've got reason for our fans to be excited with Sharaya being No. 1 in the all-around," Thompson said.
Musser moved up one spot in the vault rankings into a tie for No. 4 by improving her RQS by one-hundredth of a point to 9.915.
On balance beam, Musser dropped to No. 2 from her previous ranking of No. 1, despite improving her RQS by .005 to 9.905.
Musser dropped into a tie at No. 11 on floor exercise from last week's ranking at No. 5 while retaining the same RQS of 9.880.
Penn State has two gymnasts in the top 25 on uneven bars, with Musser improving her RQS on the event by .005 but dropping one spot to No. 23 and junior Natalie Ettl retaining her No. 3 ranking with an RQS of 9.910.
Once again, there were few changes in the AVCA men’s volleyball rankings.
Just as it was last week, each team that was ranked in the top-15 is still in the top-15 this week.
For the second week in a row, Penn State moved up one spot from No. 10 to No. 9. It’s the highest the Nittany Lions have been ranked since the week five rankings (the week of Feb. 7).
Each team in the top-5 remained in place while there were few changes elsewhere.
UC Santa Barbara, who lost to the Lions last week, moved from No. 5 to No. 7.
Ball State, who the Lions will face at 7 p.m. on Friday in Rec Hall, remains unranked but appeared on two or more ballots and received seven points.
For the third week in a row, a Nittany Lion has been named the EIVA Tait Player of the Week. Last week it was Joe Sunder for his 16-kill performance against Springfield, and the week before that it was Tom Comfort and his 29 kills in two matches.
This week, it was setter Edgardo Goas who earned the award.
Against UCLA, Goas tallied six kills, three blocks and notched 49 assists in the Lions’ five-set loss. Against UC Santa Barbara he had another 49 assist match with one, one ace kill, one block and two digs. In the team’s final match of the week against Long Beach State, Goas dished out 41 assists and had six kills and three blocks.
This is the second time Goas has been named the Player of the Week and sixth time a Lion has been recognized this season. Comfort has earned the award twice, as has Sunder.
The No. 9 Lions come home for the first time in nearly a month this weekend and are set to face Ball State at 7 p.m. on Friday and IPFW at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Both matches will be in Rec Hall.
Coach Mark Pavlik walks the sidelines during the Nittany Lion's 2-1 win over St. Francis Jan. 21 in Rec Hall.Kelley King/Collegian
Continuing every Monday for the rest of the season, the Collegian will be introducing a “Pondering with Pav” segment on the Above the Net blog. Each week the Collegian will ask head coach Mark Pavlik to dispense some of his non-volleyball knowledge or give some insight into the life that is “Pav.”
Following a road trip in which the Lions flied all the way across the country, there was only one bit of pondering Pav could muster — traveling sucks.
“What can I ponder about? Ahh, Travel. My body is still over some wheat field in Iowa right now.
“It’s getting tougher and tougher to recover from these trips, because Thursday night Long Beach always hosts all the coaching staffs. Santa Barbara wasn’t coming down until Friday, but Lewis was there. Where else but men’s volleyball do you have the entire staffs sitting there, talking about recruiting, talking about kids out there. ‘How do you do this? What do you do there?’
“It’s just a great time, but that’s also the second night. And my second full night I’m beat. I don’t ever remember doing that 10 or 15 years ago. Now it’s like, I’m sitting there [yawning and rubbing my eyes]. Travel just takes it out of me anymore.
“And [his players], God bless them, come back, go to class.
“But thanks to [Nick] Turko and Scottie Kegerreis, I figured out how to put the aisle armrest up [on the plane]. Plus, I was in the last seat of the plane, which [former Los Angeles Dodgers manager] Tommy Lasorda said, ‘Never in recorded history was there a plane that backed into a mountain.’ So he wanted to sit as far back in the plane as he could.”
After the long trip for the Nittany Lions, Pavlik decided to give his team a day off from practice on Monday.
Possibly it was to give his players some time to recuperate from an extended trip, but chances are that wasn’t the reason. More than likely, Pav just wanted a nap. And after a long trip to the Golden State, chances are his players won’t blame him, either.
It hasn’t taken Dave Walkling long to get comfortable in a Penn State uniform.
Walkling, a junior who pitched the last two seasons at Midland College in Midland, Texas before transferring to Penn State, was honored as the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on Monday.
A Nanaimo, Canada native, the right-handed pitcher flirted with a no-hitter Sunday against Norfolk State, not allowing a hit until there was one out in the fifth inning. Walkling earned the win after hurling six innings, allowing just the one hit while striking out 11 to improve to 4-0 on the season.
He also threw well last Tuesday against Old Dominion, going three innings while no runs and striking out five.
Walkling has a 1.10 ERA on the season, which is tied for second in the Big Ten, and has given up just 11 hits in 16.1 innings. He is second in the conference with 22 strikeouts.
The last Penn State pitcher to win the weekly conference accolade was David Lutz on May 3 of last season.
1 - Ohio State’s rank heading into the game and the Buckeyes likely overall seed in the NCAA tournament. At times, the Bucks look just like the No. 1 team in the country and credit is due to Penn State for hanging tough with them at times.
4 - Number of games played in a row for Penn State and number of minutes contributed off of the bench from players not named Jermaine Marshall. Four was also the number of points scored by Marshall, the only bench player to add anything.
8 - Points scored by both D.J. Jackson and Drew Jones combined. The Lions got production from Battle and from Brooks, but they needed a third player to step up. On Sunday, neither of the other two senior starters were able to be that player. Fatigue may have played a factor for the two fifth-year seniors, but they should have fought through in such a big game.
19 - After some recent struggles, senior Jeff Brooks had a superb day for Penn State while adding 19 points. He played aggressive, attacked the rim on defense and offense, hit some big 3-pointers and he showed some finesse on a number of shot fakes. The senior forward hung tough against the Buckeyes and came up on several occasions in the loss.
26 - Minutes played by sophomore point guard Tim Frazier after recording the best game of his career on Friday. Foul trouble was the biggest reason as he picked up four fouls without scoring a single basket midway through the second half. He hit a big 3-pointer late in the game and got a layup in garbage time, but that was it.
39.3 - Penn State’s shooting percentage, which will definitely not get the job done against the nation’s best team. The Lions often forced a number of shots in the second half and couldn’t go on any runs to come close in the second half. It wasn’t a horrible performance by Penn State, but it wasn’t enough to beat Ohio State.
160 - Minutes played by Talor Battle over the last four days. The senior did not sit out a single minute during the Nittany Lions’ run through the Big Ten tournament and it’s no surprise. He is a prime time player and he showed how badly he wanted to be in the Big Dance. He may have struggled at times in the first two games, but he came alive against Michigan State and Ohio State.
Today in front of a national audience on CBS, the Penn State men’s basketball team will square off against No. 1 ranked Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game. This will be the Nittany Lions' first-ever appearance in the title game, while the Buckeyes are the reigning champions. Here is a preview of today’s game:
How Penn State got there: The Lions came into the Big Ten tournament seeded No. 6 after winning four of their last six regular season games. The team opened up against Indiana, which was seeded last in the tournament. Behind a big second half performance by Jeff Brooks, the Lions held on to defeat the Hoosiers despite a poor shooting game by Talor Battle. In the second round, the Lions drew No. 3-seeded and nationally ranked No. 13 Wisconsin in a rubber match between the two schools. Again, Battle struggled mightily from the floor and both offenses were stalled the entire game. However, Penn State held on to win a 36-33 defensive slugfest and advance. In the semifinals, the Lions faced off against another bubble team, Michigan State. The Spartans, hot off of an upset against Purdue, couldn’t find an answer for Battle, who finally found his scoring touch. Battle, along with sophomore Tim Frazier, powered the Lions to another victory and what appears to be a spot in the NCAA tournament.
How Ohio State got there: The Big Ten regular season champions opened up the conference tournament with a bye before facing Northwestern in the second round. The Wildcats held on strong against the Buckeyes for most of the game before Ohio State finally pulled away and picked up a 67-61 overtime victory. In the semifinals, Thad Matta’s squad faced a hot Michigan squad that had just beaten Illinois. However, Ohio State was able to power through the Wolverines despite a late-game comeback attempt by Michigan. Through his first two tournament games, freshman Jared Sullinger has been a star for Ohio State, as he has scored 34 points and tallied 31 rebounds.
Heartbreaker in Columbus: Coming off of two upsets over ranked opponents, Penn State had a chance to make some noise on the national level on Jan. 15 against Ohio State. Going up against the No. 2 team in the country, the Lions gave the Buckeyes all they could handle in Columbus before falling just short. D.J. Jackson led the way for Penn State with 19 points while Battle picked up 15 on an off shooting night. Despite holding Sullinger in check for most of the game, the freshman picked up a huge three-point play in the final seconds to break a tie and give Ohio State a 69-66 victory. Ohio State’s Aaron Craft was the difference maker in the game as he finished with a career-high 19 points and seven assists while shutting down Battle.
The Jon Diebler show: In front of the largest student section in BJC history, the Ohio State sharpshooter had the game of a lifetime for the Buckeyes. Diebler finished with 10 3-pointers as Ohio State routed Penn State, 82-61, less than two weeks ago. It was Penn State’s Senior Night and Talor Battle and company’s last game at the BJC, but the emotion appeared to get the best of the Lions. With a crowd of 15,403, the Lions couldn’t find any answer for Ohio State’s offense as the Buckeyes proved why they were the No. 1 team in the country.
A decade wait: It’s been 10 years since the Nittany Lions last made the NCAA tournament and it appears as if that streak might end tonight. It’s been a tough stretch for Penn State as its basketball program has consistently underwhelmed over the years. Despite a promising season two years ago when the Lions won the NIT, there hasn’t been much excitement surrounding the program. That is until now, as Penn State has a chance to win its first conference title since it won the 1991 Atlantic 10 tournament. However, the Lions will need to find a way to beat Ohio State, which is the only Big Ten team that Penn State’s senior class has yet to defeat.
It’s not that common, but it’s not unheard of, to wake up and see Penn State plastered all over ESPN.com’s homepage. Every so often the Nittany Lions will host a big game or the coach will have another long feature written about him. Of course, we’re talking about the football team. However, what is unheard of is waking up to the Penn State basketball team all over ESPN’s website. Well, that was the case this morning as Talor Battle’s face was front and center with the Lions all the talk in the college basketball world this morning. I’m sure you all know what the situation at hand is and what is at stake today. The press has been eating up Penn State basketball for the last couple of days, although it wasn’t necessarily praising the team after an underwhelming victory, but still a victory, over Wisconsin on Friday. With yet another victory in the Big Ten tournament, the reviews are glowing now as the Lions try to finally knock off the Ohio State Buckeyes at 3:30 today. Here is a rundown of what some of the major websites are saying about Penn State’s unlikely climb into the NCAA Tournament.
ESPN- Penn State has been mentioned in Joe Lunardi’s bracketology before this season after upsets against Illinois and Michigan State. However, that didn’t last long and the Lions have been fighting all season long to get back in. After the upset on Friday against Wisconsin, their name resurfaced again. And after Saturday’s victory against Michigan State, the Lions are finally securely in the bracket. Lunardi has Penn State off of the bubble and in the “should be in” group for the NCAA tournament. He currently has the Lions as the seventh Big Ten team in the tournament as a No. 12 seed set to face Xavier in Tucson, Ariz. in the first round and, with a win, the winner of Louisville-Bucknell in the second. Xavier would be no easy opponent as it is one of only two teams to reach three straight Sweet 16s. The only other team to do that? Michigan State. For ESPN’s “bubble watch,” click here to read about Penn State- http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bubblewatch
Sports Illustrated - Like ESPN, Si.com has Penn State safe and avoiding a first round play-in game in Dayton. And just like ESPN, Sports Illustrated has a giant picture of Talor Battle on its homepage. College basketball analyst Andy Glockner runs down Penn State and the rest of the bubble teams' strengths, weaknesses and current positions. Glockner currently has Penn State as a No. 12 seed as well, and he has the Lions facing West Virginia in Denver for their opening game. If his bracket holds true and Penn State wins that game, a second round date against Jimmer Fredette and BYU could await. In Glockner’s bubble watch, it appears that the Lions have finally surpassed other teams in question like Virginia Tech, USC and Colorado to name a few. Here is what he has to say-http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_glockner/03/13/sunday.bubble/index.html?eref=sihp
Rivals - Although Yahoo has Penn State as the 65th team in the tournament, its affiliate Rivals.com has Penn State as a No. 10 seed along with Villanova, Butler and Tennessee. That is the highest I’ve seen the Lions seeded, but everything is subject to change with today’s game. Here is Rivals' bracket projection- http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1199650
CBS- Jerry Palm says Penn State solidified itself in the tournament with its most recent wins. He has the Lions as a No. 11 seed facing West Virginia in Tulsa for the first round. Heading into Friday, most people had the Lions in either the "first four in" or "last four out". It appears as if the win against Michigan State took Penn State off of the bubble and into the tournament for good. Nothing is certain at this point and an ugly loss against Ohio State would be bad. However, a win could help the Lions climb up to an even better seed. Here is Palm and CBS’ analysis of the bracket and Penn State- http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/bracketology
-For the first time this year, folks, Penn State is IN. I don't see that changing barring an embarrassment of epic proportions tomorrow. But a loss would likely put them in the first four in Dayton. By that logic, the conference title game is essentially a first-round tournament game. For the record, if this is the right matchup, I'll take the Nits over the 'Cats in the 5-12 upset. I'll take seniors over inexperience any day.
-Watch out for Dayton tomorrow. A Flyers win and either USC or Georgia is getting bumped. I already have Alabama out, but a Kentucky win tomorrow would make their dreadful loss today seem a bit more understandable. I know 'Bama beat Georgia twice this month, but the committee doesn't always take that into account as heavily as you'd believe. Georgia had a much stronger schedule and really should have beat the Tide on Friday. Plus, Alabama did NOT pass the eye test today.
-It kills me to put USC in, but the bubble is just that weak. UAB lost to East Carolina, so they're out of the picture. St. Mary's has no quality wins, which the committee will frown upon. Boston College was weak in a weak league. And all this Harvard chatter is just smoke and mirrors. Unless Dayton wins, I have the Trojans in.
-The last No. 1 seed will come down to tomorrow. Right now ND has it. If Duke wins, I believe the Blue Devils steal it. If Carolina wins big and impresses, they could take it, too. Either way, expect to see the ACC Champ and the Irish in the same region.
-More interesting, at least from my perspective, is the race for the final No. 2 seed. If Florida wins, they take the seventh top seed, leaving San Diego State presumably as the last team on the 2-line. I'm not impressed. In fact, UConn has a more impressive resume in the last five days than the Aztecs do from the whole season. I'll take the Huskies.
-SDSU's conference tournament title isn't nearly as impressive, either, because BYU failed to turn any heads in its conference tournament. Two ho-hum wins preceded the Cougars' loss to San Diego State. By the 2000 Cincinnati-Kenyon Martin precedent, the committee can knock the Cougars for struggling without Brandon Davies.
-Good luck picking the 6-11, 7-10 and 8-9 games. It's incredibly even in the middle of the bracket. I'd even say there may be more upsets than games that hold form, at least in those 12 matchups.
-My final four given this bracket: Ohio State, Louisville, Pitt and Notre Dame. I'll take the Buckeyes.
The No. 10 Penn State women's gymnastics team faces West Virginia tonight for the second time this season at 7 p.m. in Morgantown, Va.
The Nittany Lions competed in a quad meet against the Mountaineers, along with Pittsburgh and Bridgeport, on Feb. 6. The Lions placed first in that meet with a score of 195.550 and West Virginia took second with a score of 194.050.
West Virginia isn't ranked in the top 25 overall, but is No. 18 on vault with a Regional Qualifying Score of 49.010 and No. 23 on floor exercise with an RQS of 48.930.
Penn State's trip to West Virginia marks its last meet of the regular season before the team heads to Minneapolis for the Big Ten Championships on Saturday March 19.
With the team continuing its workout schedule while other students were on break, the Lions won't be out of practice. However, it will be difficult to top the score of 197.025 the team put up on March 4 at Rec Hall for Senior Night.
Still, the Lions will look to improve and peak at the right time in the rapidly approaching postseason.
In just four days, at 7 Monday night, the Lady Lions will find out where they will be placed for the 2011 NCAA tournament. Here's a look at some projections, rankings and statistics heading into the tournament.
ESPN.com's Charlie Creme has Penn State as a No. 6 seed in the Dallas region in hislatest bracketology. In this position, the Lions would face No. 11 Dayton in the first round at the Bryce Jordan Center. Should the Lions win, Creme has them playing the winner of No. 3 Depaul/No. 14 St. Francis (Pa.) in the second round game, also at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State remains unranked in both the AP poll and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Lions did receive 40 votes in the AP Poll, third-most among teams outside the Top 25. In the Coaches Poll, the Lions received six votes. Meanwhile, Ohio State vaulted to No. 18 in the AP Poll after beating Penn State to win the Big Ten tournament. Michigan State remains the highest ranked Big Ten team at No. 12 in the AP Poll and No. 13 in the Coaches Poll. UConn, Stanford, Baylor, Tennessee and Xavier are the top five teams in both polls, in that order.
The Lions remain first in the nation in 3-point shooting accuracy, shooting 42.6 percent. Though its point totals have dropped in recent weeks, Penn State remains 14th in scoring offense among Division I teams at 77.1 points per game.
Individually, freshman Maggie Lucas is fourth in 3-pointers per game (3.3) and 10th in 3-point field goal percentage (43.8 percent).
-All of this is very subject to change, especially with many of the conference tournaments opening today. Stay posted on Twitter. I'll have plenty of updates on seed changes.
-The bubble is getting weaker. Hard to believe, I know. I have Alabama as my first squad out. yes, I know the Tide beat Georgia, but they have no quality wins whatsoever. Plus, it will all change as soon as we see how they fare in the SEC tournament, along with the trio of ACC squads on the bubble all with very different resumes, but very similar nerves.
-The Notre Dame/Duke debate for the final No. 1 seed is a good one. I'll still take Duke, because the Devils have one fewer loss. Their nonconference wins are similar. But, if they both win their conference titles, Notre Dame gets the top seed. It's a much tougher tourney. Aside from that, I'd say the other three 1s are locks, even if Pitt loses to UConn today.
-No one's seed is more up in the air than BYU's right now. A bad loss and they fall to about a 5. A solid run and they're back on the 2-line. The Davies suspension makes it very difficult for the committee to pinpoint their strength. In the conference tourney they have the chance to show the committee it wasn't a huge loss. Otherwise, we'll have the Kenyon Martin effect.
-I've said all along, Villanova is absolutely in. The awful loss to South Florida aside, their other five recent losses came to: Pitt, Pitt, Notre Dame, St. John's Syracuse. That's a 1, 1, 2, 4, 3. In another conference, there's no way the Cats suffer the same late season swoon. That said, Nova had better win a game in the tournament or they'll get the rep of being choke artists down the stretch. I have Nova playing Vandy, and I'd take the Cats. Don't put it past a team of seniors with time off to stew.
-For what it's worth here are my picks, given the brackets: Ohio State, Purdue, Pitt, Notre Dame. Ohio State as the champ.
Sharaya Musser won her third straight Big Ten Gymnast of the Week award for her all-around winning performance against Maryland and N.C. State.
Musser scored 39.725 points on her way to winning every event title with a career-best 9.950 on both balance beam and floor exercise. Musser also scored 9.925 on vault and 9.900 on uneven bars.
The sophomore gets to celebrate her award with a week of regular practice. As the season approaches its final stretch, there's no time for the Nittany Lions to take a spring break, head coach Jeff Thompson said.
The Lions next head to West Virginia to take on the Mountaineers on Saturday at 7 p.m.
For the second week in a row, a Nittany Lion was named the EIVA Player of the Week in the Tait Division. Last week it was Tom Comfort for his 29 kill performance in two matches last week.
This week, it was redshirt junior Joe Sunder who earned the honor.
Against Springfield last Saturday, Sunder tallied 16 kills on .464 hitting. The outside hitter also notched a service ace in the Lions' 3-1 win.
This is the second time Sunder has been named the Player of the week and fifth time a Lion has been recognized this season. Twice has Comfort earned the award and once for setter Edgardo Goas.
The Lions travel to California this week for their most difficult stretch of the season. They are set to face No. 8 UCLA on Wednesday, No. 4 UC Santa Barbara on Friday and No. 6 Long Beach State on Saturday.
There were no dramatic changes in the rankings this week, with each team who was in the top-15 last week remaining in the top-15 this week.
Penn State moved up one spot from No. 11 to No. 10.
Other notable changes include Ohio State, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. The Buckeyes, who swept Penn State earlier in the season, moved from No. 5 to No. 4. And as they did last week, they received one first place vote.
Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara, who the Nittany Lions face off against in California this week, moved from No. 6 and No. 4 respectively, to both being tied at No. 5.
Sharaya Musser is the best gymnast in the country.
That's at least according to the newest NCAA rankings, in which Musser, a sophomore on the Penn State women's gymnastics team, is ranked No. 1 in the all-around with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 39.515.
Musser's excellent performance Friday night at Rec Hall, where she scored 39.725, helped to boost her to the No. 1 spot from No. 2, where she sat last week, behind Michigan's Kylee Botterman.
Junior Daryl Konsevick called Musser a robot, and head coach Jeff Thompson chose to elaborate.
“She’s an alien robot from some planet somewhere where they spit gymnasts out," Thompson said.
Musser is also ranked in the top 25 in every event. No. 2 in the nation on balance beam with an RQS of 9.900, No. 5 on vault with a 9.905, No. 5 on floor exercise with a 9.880, and No. 22 on uneven bars with a 9.860.
"She works hard, she’s consistent in the gym, she does what she’s supposed to do out there, she does her job, she hits her potential,” Konsevick said. “She is an amazing gymnast. One of the best gymnasts to ever come out of Penn State.”
Musser's score Friday was one aspect of a great performance by the team, who scored 197.025 to go over 197 for the first time in the careers of any of the Penn State gymnasts.
Partially as a result of that score, the Nittany Lions moved up into a tie with Nebraska at No. 10 nationally with an RQS of 195.940 from No. 11 last week.
Despite improving her RQS by .015 to 9.910, junior Natalie Ettl fell one spot in the uneven bars rankings to No. 3.
Following Penn State’s 79-64 win against Illinois, Ohio State took care of top-seeded Michigan State, 72-57, to finalize the Big Ten tournament title game matchup.
The Lady Lions and Buckeyes split the regular season series, with each team winning on its home floor.
Ohio State is looking for its third straight tournament title, while the Lions are looking for their first since winning the first two Big Ten tournaments in 1995 and 1996. The Lions have lost four title games since.
The Buckeyes, who struggled in the middle portion of the season, have won eight straight games to bring a lot of momentum into the championship game.
Buckeye senior Jantel Lavender scored a tournament single-game record 37 points in the semifinal against the Spartans.
Meanwhile, the Lions were led by freshman Maggie Lucas and senior Julia Trogele. Lucas set the Big Ten single-season record for 3-pointers by hitting five treys against Illinois to bring her season total to 110.
Trogele finished the semifinal matchup with her first career 20-point game, scoring 18 of her 20 points in the second half. She also grabbed nine rebounds.
If the regular season games translate to Sunday’s title matchup, Alex Bentley’s play could have a big impact on the game.
In the Lions’ 80-71 home win against Ohio State, Bentley scored 21 points and had seven assists with just three turnovers. In the 89-67 loss at Columbus, the Lion guard had just four points, five assists and five turnovers.
Bentley’s counterpart, Ohio State point guard Samantha Prahalis performed similarly for the Buckeyes in their win against Penn State. Prahalis notched a double-double with 21 points and 11 assists.
Keep an eye on the performance of the guards as a potential factor in the outcome.
David Taylor has described the Big Ten tournament as the "mini-NCAAs."
With eight teams ranked in the top-25, the Big Ten is arguably one of the toughest conferences in the country, and this weekend Taylor and the No. 4 Nittany Lions will have their hands full.
The tournament begins Saturday morning at 11 a.m. in Evanston, Ill. and continues through Sunday, with the third and final session starting at 2 p.m.
Off the Mat is here to bring you a preview of what the Lions will face this weekend.
The Lions held their weekly pre-meet intrasquad meet today in practice, and rebounded well from a slow start on vault.
The performance closely echoed last week's home meet against Ohio State, when the team also started slow on vault but came back to score well.
"[The team did] excellent. Started off a little shaky on vault, but definitely everybody grabbed the rope and took the next big step up and went to bars, rocked it out. Went to beam, did even better, and Maddie [Merriam] definitely took to the pressure well again today," volunteer assistant coach Jillian Monahan said. "And floor, we just ended with a big bang."
Associate head coach Rachelle Thompson cut the music in the gym for Merriam's balance beam routine and had the team stay silent and wave their hands in an effort to distract the gymnast and add pressure to replicate a meet environment.
Junior Alex Stine is currently dealing with an injury that prevents her from doing her dismount off uneven bars in practice, head coach Jeff Thompson said.
"She's had a history of stress fractures, so she's got a spot on her shin that just won't get better. It just continues to hurt," Thompson said. "So what we've done is we've limited her. She's allowed to mount and hit the board but she's not allowed to dismount."
Thompson said he doesn't expect the lack of training to be detrimental to Stine's dismount in competition, as she's been doing the same dismount for four years. Stine was held out from doing her dismount last week, but still stuck it in the Ohio State meet, Thompson said.
"We don't expect it to have a negative effect, we expect it to have a positive effect," Thompson said. "Because we want her to feel good heading into the postseason."
-I feel very vindicated for ranking BYU ahead of San Diego State all year long. Finally, everyone else is, too. The Cougs played a tougher schedule and recently have just looked like the better team. Saturday's win proved that. Don't be surprised if SDSU loses three times this year -- all to BYU. Where would that put them? Probably on the 3-line.
-BYU stil isn't a No. 1 seed. Their wins aren't good enough, given that San Diego State hasn't beat anyone, and the loss to New Mexico really hurts. That said, is a 2-seed in Anaheim really that awful? Think Pitt wants to face BYU on the west coast with a final four berth on the line?
-I am very excited for mid-major tournament winners to start stealing some bids. There are a few awful tournament teams right now. Wichita State, Michigan and Nebraska really don't have much business going dancing. Unless they win a few more games, they'll be knocked out by those bid stealers, anyway.
-Michigan is in over Clemson (my first team out and last team in) by virtue of the Wolverines' win over the Tigers in November.
-My picks, for what it's worth: Texas, St. John's, Duke and Pitt, with Texas as my champ.
Penn State men's gymnast Warren Yang just put the icing on the cake of his season.
After numerous impressive performances during Saturday's 353.500-342.500 win against No. 10 Ohio State, the conference office named Yang the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week, the first time in his career the redshirt junior has captured the honorary title.
Yang spearheaded No. 4 Penn State's sweep on floor exercise with a score of 15.200, tied for first with teammate sophomore Felix Aronovich with a 15.000 in parallel bars and recorded a 14.400 in highbar to tie Buckeye Kris Done for first.
His score of 15.200 on floor exercise marked a new personal season high, while the 15.000 on parallel bars is a career best for Yang.
After missing last season because of a shoulder injury, Yang has come back strong, earning a total of 12 top-three finishes so far this season.
Yang is the third Nittany Lion to receive the honor this year, following sophomore Parker Raque, who won the title last week, and sophomore Scott Rosenthal, who was honored in week one.
The Feb. 26 Ohio State dual meet will air on the Big Ten Network at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 3.
It's not looking good for Penn State. They are just 3 of 13 from the field and Ohio State is dominating the paint. Penn State is getting some good looks on the outside, but the Lions just aren't knocking down their shots.
Without Drew Jones in there, Sullinger could have a big first half. Jones picked up his second foul and Oliver is back guarding Sullinger. For those who don't remember, the last time that happened Sullinger scored the game-winning basket with like 13 seconds left in Columbus.
*****
First half, 10:56: Ohio State 13, Penn State 8
Dallas Lauderdale has two fouls for OSU. Can PSU take advantage inside?
*****
First half, 12:54: Ohio State 11, Penn State 8
That was a long time without a media timeout, as there's only 54 seconds until the next one. Ohio State and William Buford started hot, as Buford has six of OSU's 11 points.
Penn State has stayed in it via the 3 ball.
Sullinger is the best player on Ohio State, but William Buford or David Lighty might be their most important.
*****
Steve Kirkpatrick is going 1-on-1 with Jared Sullinger, and through three possessions it's Kirkpatrick 3, Sullinger 0.
*****
Senior introductions are done. National Anthem is done. Starting lineups are announced. It's time for basketball, and the atmosphere in the BJC tonight is electric. There is easily 13,500 in here tonight. If you thought the scene against Maryland was intense, I have a feeling it won't compare tonight. It would help too if this game is at least competitive, unlike against Maryland.
Everyone in the country held serve this weekend with only one change in the top 15.
No. 3 Stanford jumped ahead of No. 4 UC Santa Barbara with a five set win in the matchup between those two teams. Stanford also beat UCLA in four sets.
USC still seems to be the concensus number one, after a five set win over Long Beach State. The Trojans have lost just once all season.
No. 5 Ohio State still received one first place vote this week, as they have for the last several, after wins over Juniata and IPFW. The Buckeyes haven't lost a match since dropping the first two of the season to Pepperdine.
Penn State stayed at No. 11, still behind sub-500 Pepperdine and Hawaii.
Tom Comfort was named EIVA Tait Player of the Week for the second week in a row. Comfort led the Lions to two conference wins over St. Francis and George Mason.
This is the fourth honor for the Lions this year -- Edgardo Goas and Joe Sunder were honored the first two weeks of the season.
Comfort has really come into his own lately, especially this past week. Against St. Francis, the sophomore opposite had 14 kills on .355 hitting. He also added three blocks and five digs. Against George Mason he hit at a very strong .565 hitting percentage, racking up 14 kills.
The Lions will travel to Springfield this weekend before hitting the West Coast next week over their Spring Break.
After a week off, the Tuesday Timeout is back and features redshirt sophomore Quentin Wright. The 184-pounder is 12-6 this season and is ranked No. 17. Earlier this week, Wright earned the No. 8 seed at the Big Ten Championships, starting this Saturday in Evanston, Ill. We found out where the redshirt sophomore dines in State College and got an insight into which of his teammates keep him entertained.
The Penn State Icers announced two players who have verbally committed to wear the navy blue and white sweater for the 2011-12 season.
The Icers will receive a boost on offense as South Shore Kings forward Jake Friedman will be joining the team next season. Friedman leads the Kings with 61 points in just 45 contests. Friedman's 61 points are good enough for sixth-best in the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL).
After losing goaltenders Teddy Hume and John Jay at the end of this semester, coach Scott Balboni will bolster the position with Tim Carr. Carr, a netminder for the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs of the EJHL, has split time this season in net and has recorded an impressive 15-2 record with a .917 save percentage. Carr helped lead the Monarchs to a first-place finish in the ENJHL, while splitting time with teammate and Boston College commit Brian Billet.
Midway through the second period of last Friday's victory against Rutgers, history was made in the Penn State Ice Pavilion.
Senior forward Tim O'Brien notched his second assist of the game, dishing a nifty pass to teammate Chis Cerutti. Cerutti buried the shot, giving O'Brien 200 points for his Penn State Icers' career.
With the assist, O'Brien became just the 15th Icer all time to hit the impressive mark. O'Brien said the honor was even more special because his family made the trip from Bethel Park, Pa., to witness the accomplishment.
"Everything worked out well," said the senior who has posted 23 goals alongside 21 assists this season.
O'Brien also admitted the milestone was beginning to take a toll while playing on the ice.
"The monkey is off the back," O'Brien said. "I did not want this thing lingering come tournament time."
For the senior, there is one way to end his career wearing the navy blue and whit sweater.
"Winning a national championship is all that matters," O Brien said. "I would trade in all of my goals and assists just for a ring and a championship if that's what it takes."
As if playing the No. 1 team in the country wasn't enough.
The Penn State athletic department is doing everything in its power to make sure students show up Tuesday night, as the Nittany Lions try to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive when they take on No. 1 Ohio State at the Bryce Jordan Center.
On top of it being senior night -- when the Lions' five seniors will be honored in a ceremony 30 minutes before tip-off -- Penn State has announced several other promotions for Tuesday's 9 p.m. clash, which as been billed a "White Out."
Free T-shirts will be handed out at each gate, white shakers will be waiting on every seat and fans can redeem their tickets after the game for a complimentary Big Mac at any State College McDonald's location. Not enticing enough? The athletic department, in conjunction with Fullington Trailways, is offering three free bus loops on campus before and after the game to transport students.
A victory against the Buckeyes means a lot more to the Lions than just a boost to their NCAA Tournament resume -- it would also be historically significant. A win would mark the first time in program history in which Penn State has defeated the top-ranked team in the country. Entering Tuesday, the Lions are 0-12 all-time vs No. 1 teams. In addition, this year's senior class has beaten every Big Ten team at least once -- except for Thad Matta's Buckeyes.
