Page 14
The Behrend Beacon
Calendar
of Events
Behrend
Athletic
Events
Friday
Men’s Basketball
AMCC Tournament
vs. Frostburg
@ Pitt-Bradford
6 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
AMCC Tournament
vs. Pitt-Greensburg
@ Penn State Altoona
8 p.m
Men’s and Women’s
Swimming @ Grove City
Invitational TBA
Saturday
Men’s Basketball
AMCC Tournament
Championship Game
@ Pitt-Bradford
3 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
AMCC Tournament
Championship Game
@ Penn State Altoona
3 p.m
Men’s Tennis
@ Baldwin-Wallace
7 p.m
Men’s and Women’s
Swimming @ Grove City
Invitational 10 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Track
and Field @ Mount Union
Invitational TBA
Friday, March 1
Men’s and Women’s
Swimming @ ECAC
Championships TBA
Saturday, March 2
Men’s and Women’s
Swimming @ ECAC
Championships TBA
Intramurals
Schedule
Friday
Intramural 4 on 4 Coed
Volleyball - $3
Friday, March 1
Intramural 6 on 6 Volley
ball: Men’s, Women’s, and
Coed - $3
Friday March 22
Intramural Soccer: Men’s,
Women’s, and Coed
Whitewater Rafting @
Ohiopyle
Water Basketball
Mondays and Thursdays
7:15 p.m. - Junker Center
All entries must be at the
intramural office
by 4 p.m.
on the scheduled date
Swim teams show early promise aft Grove City
by Mike Bello
sports editor
The men’s 200 freestyle team
finished in fifth place Thursday to
highlight the first day of the Grove City
Invitational for the Behrend swim
teams. After 12 events, the men were
in seventh place out of 10 teams with
85 points. The women’s team was in
sixth place with 60 points.
The competition continues today and
tomorrow with preliminaries at 10 a.m.
both days and finals at 6:30 p.m. on
Friday, and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. John
Hopkins leads in both divisions after
the first round, as the men accumulated
217 points and the women 238. The
other teams competing are
Westminster, Grove City, Washington
& Jefferson, Frostburg State,
Washington & Lee, Penn State Altoona,
Misericordia, and Bethany.
Freshmen Casey Doody, Justin
Lucas, Lucas Dushac, and junior Ben
Atkins finished in 1:30.66, four
seconds behind first place Westminster
College, to capture fifth place for the
men in the 200 free. The women’s 200
free did almost as well, capturing sixth
place with a time of 1:48.73. Freshmen
Samantha Cibula, Jana Bahnak,
Christine Williams, and sophomore
Hollie Stash finished nine seconds
behind first place John Hopkins.
The men ; s 406 medley relay finished
sixth with a time of 3:46.27. Doody,
Dushac, Lucas, and freshman Alex
Fertelmes finished a little over 15
seconds after first place John Hopkins.
The women’s 400 relay faired well
too, capturing eighth place with a time
of 4:57.43. The team, made up of
freshmen Kristin Campbell, Tara
Bahnak, Amanda Brown, and
sophomore Amy Jaskolski took the
second-highest placement of the
womens’ team’s all day.
Housing
and
Food Service
Athlete
of the Week
pennState
jWjjjjj Erie
Casey
PonsoCC
Ponsoll, a sophomore
from General McLane
High School, led the
Behrend Lions to a 3-0
week with wins over
Medaille, Pitt Green
sburg, and Lake Erie. He
scored 10 points against
Lake Erie Wednesday at
the Junker Center in the
Lions' 65-57 opening
round win.
Ponsoll scored a game
high 21 points in a 69-39
win against Medaille Feb.
13. He also scored a
game-high 19 points and
had seven rebounds in a
76-62 win over
Greensburg Saturday.
The Lions are the
second seed in the
AMCC Tournament and
play Frostburg (#3)
Friday at 6 p.m in
,Bradford.
SPORTS
Friday, February 22, 2002
PHOTO BY KEVIN FALLON/BEHREND BEACON
Behrend’s Samantha Cibula (bottom) dives off a starting block at a recent
swim meet against Altoona in the Junker Center.
Dushac was the only other Lion to playing against other difficult
take a tenth place or better, coming in opponents, several of whom they
seventh place in the 200IM with a time played earlier in the season, the Lions
of 2:02.56. are competing for the AMCC Classic
At the same time the Lions are championship with Frostburg and
I
| This week s
i senior athletic profile
I Lynn Herrmann: Javelin
\thrower pursues field of dream
, by Kate Levdansky Petrikis
assistant sports editor
' Lynn Herrmann, a javelin thrower
I for Penn State Behrend's track and
I field team, said she has never had a
| throwing coach.
| “My coach in high school just stuck
| me with another girl who threw. All
I I did was watch her, and then went
| out and started throwing on my own,”
I said Herrmann. “I do not even throw
it the right way. Right now, I just get
it out there far enough using my arm
strength. 1 should have been able to
• throw it a lot farther if 1 was taught
I the right technique from the begin-
I ning. I taught myself by watching
I teammates and other competitors.
| Supposedly we are to have a javelin
| coach this season, but he has yet to
| be seen.”
t Herrmann was attracted to the
| event because, well, it looked inter
■ esting to her.
. “I wanted to learn to throw because
I just thought that it looked like fun,”
‘ said Herrmann. “I guess I was just one
• of the lucky and coordinated ones to
I pick it up easily without hitting my-
I self in the head.”
| Herrmann started track and field
| her sophomore year of high school at
| Villa Maria Academy. Herrmann’s
| funniest memory occurred at Villa
| when she threw the javelin into the
■ side of a building.
, “The hole is actually still there,”
said Herrmann.
“I am not that good compared to
I my competitors. They get it out there
I much farther than I do,” said
I Herrmann. “The only reason I look
I good around here is because we only
| have two women throwers. We need
| more women throwers.”
I Herrmann said if she manages her
| time well, then she can participate in
I more activities. It allows her to set a
certain amount of time for school,
work, and fun, she said.
“Without any activities, I tend to
' waste a lot of time,” said Herrmann.
I In her spare time, Herrmann enjoys
I skiing, golfing, playing soccer, hang-
I ing out, and relaxing on the couch.
| The track and field practices are held
| 4-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and
| meets are on Saturdays.
I Herrmann prepares herself for each
j meet by listening to music and eating
■ donuts.
• “My best memory of Lynn is the
meet at Grove City last year,” said
teammate Missy Mong. “All we did
I was walk around with a bag of do-
I nuts until we had to throw.”
Herrmann loves the outdoors, so
Lynn Herrmann loves throwing the javelin so much she once left
her mark in the side of a building in high school.
track and field suits her best. Plus, she
gets to enjoy her summer job.
“I am up mowing greens at 6 a.m.
every morning in the summer at Lake
Shore Country Club,” said Hermann.
“It is a great place to work, and have
fun as well.”
Hermann wants to start a landscap
ing business after graduation. Her
dream began when she started mow
ing her neighbor’s lawn when she was
8-years-old. “I have been mowing ever
since,” said Hermann.
Hermann is majoring in finance be
cause it gives her a better understand
ing of the world of finance.
“I want to become more familiar
with how financing works, where to
invest my money, how to invest my
money, and when how I can finally
make enough money,” she said.
Hermann’s role model is her father.
Hermann would like to become a
firefighter just like he is. He is a paid
professional firefighter who has
worked for the City of Erie for 32
years. Firefighting is something she
would like to pursue after graduation,
as well.
Herrmann’s mother is the biggest in
fluence in her life.
“She thinks I am the greatest kid in
the world,” said Hermann.
Herrmann’s best track and field
memory is from a meet last year at
Case Western, when she took first
place. Herrmann threw far enough to
qualify for the ECAC championships.
She went to the ECAC championships
Altoona. Last year the men finished
second and the women finished third.
After Thursday’s events, the men were
15 points behind Frostburg (100-85)
and 42 points ahead of Altoona (43).
The women were 18 points behind
Frostburg (78-60) but had a five-point
lead over Altoona (55). The men lost
to Frostburg 148-76 on Jan. 26, but the
women defeated the Bobcats 106-94.
Both teams defeated Altoona on Feb.
9, as the men won 121-43 and the
women defeated the Cougars 99-64.
With two more days of competition
left, the Lions are looking to improve
upon last year’s results. The men
finished in ninth place and the women
captured eighth during the Invitational
held Feb. 15-17,2001. If the first day’s
results are any indication, the Lions
have a good chance of improving vastly
in just their second season.
Should some individuals qualify, the
Lions will send swimmers to ECAC
Championship this Thursday and
Friday. Although it may be a long shot
for a team in its sophomore season, the
NCAA Championships take place in
the middle of March. However the
Lions finish this season, they know the
strides they’ve made since last year will
be valuable for a team that has no
seniors and only one junior on its roster.
that season, but said she did not per
form as she would have liked.
“I am not really sure what place I
took, maybe last,” said Herrmann. “I
never found out.”
Herrmann said her goal is to break
her record of 113-7, and compete in
the ECAC championships again.
“Hopefully, I will get another shot
at it,” she said.
Herrmann doesn’t have a clear out
look for the team, but with the team’s
recent success, it is fairly easy to stay
positive.
“1 am not sure how the team will
finish the season,” said Hermann.
“Hopefully, we all will do well.”
Mong knows that Herrmann adds
more to the team than just points from
her event.
“Lynn’s best characteristics are her
fun-loving attitude toward all things,
and definitely her outspoken voice,”
said Mong. “She does not put up with
anything. She stands up for herself
and what she believes is right (in ref
erence to track).
“Lynn is very supportive and al
ways tries to help me out, with both
track and in my personal life,” added
Mong. “She adds a definite twist to
the team, and the fact that she does
well gives our team some confidence.
By being so good she also gets people
to finally acknowledge the women
throwers, and throwers in general,
too.”
Mike Bello , Sports Editor
behrcollS @ aol.coni
Let's all cheat
Personal foul
Mike Bello
sports
■MBTony. Harding must
be relaxing in her oversized easy chair
with the biggest grin in the world right
now. She now knows she’s not the only
one who is capable of tarnishing the
figure-skating image. But, was the
scandal really as bad as everyone
thought, or was it just one of the few
times when cheating was actually ex
posed?
Let’s face it; cheating is everywhere.
If someone is willing to pass a 14-year
old off as 12 just to get him into Little
League play, think of what happens be
hind the scenes in adult sports. No
matter what sport you play, from the
most physically brutal to the most
physically finesse, somewhere along
the lines someone is attempting to
cheat. It’s just a part of sports.
I wouldn’t be surprised if many ath
letes who played Division I sports
were highly proficient at cheating.
There’s bound to be a few players on
active rosters cheating right now. They
may not be cheating in the actual
game; taking banned substances is
another form of cheating, so is having
other students write papers for you.
Who really knows how many players
in Division I have cheated- five per
cent? Ten percent? How else can some
players win?
When competing, athletes are al
ways looking for even the slightest ad
vantage. They need to in order to claim
victory. For the most part everyone is
on the same playing field, but after
awhile talent allows some people to
stand out above the rest. The under
dog is willing to do whatever it takes
to overcome those with more talent,
while even the best players are con
stantly looking for a way to keep their
top-notch status alive. Enter cheating.
Cheating is the easiest way to gain
an advantage because it requires the
least amount of effort. Think about it.
Wxild someone rathpf spend countless
hours training to win the race, or would
it be easier to cut a few comers here
and there? Show someone the easy
way out and he’ll take it. In sports it’s
no different. Show athletes where they
can outperform everyone else without
much effort and they might take it.
That is, if they don’t have ethics or
morals.
Most athletes refrain from cheating
because they want to win in an honest
manner. If they cheat and win, there’s
that feeling inside them that says they
really didn’t earn the win. The glory
of victory isn’t so special when it’s not
based on talent alone. For some ath
letes, though, the ends justify the
means.
The Olympic scandal showed that
stealing signs from second base is no
longer sufficient enough to guarantee
a win. Cheating has become much
more sophisticated now, which makes
it even more difficult to stop. The
Olympic cheating was caught only
because the Canadian pairs skaters
were obviously that much better than
the Russian skaters.
So am I getting at something here?
Of course, or I would be taking a nice,
long nap right now. Competition is
based on more than just physical
strength, stamina, and talent. It’s built
around the mental aspect, as well.
Players and coaches devise ways to out
strategize, outthink the other team, to
gain the edge from an intellectual
standpoint. They believe cheating is
another form of mental strategy.
Doesn’t it take brains (sometimes) to
come up with devious ways to cheat?
Some players try to cheat on the
field and opponents are constantly try
ing to figure out the methods the other
team uses. Cheating keeps everyone
on their toes, because they have to be
prepared for the opponent to do any
thing. Although, this can take away
from what coaches and athletes spend
all their time doing - preparing for an
honest game.
More importantly, it makes the game
less exciting for the fans. No one wants
to go to a game in which the outcome
is not determined by talent or strategy.
People want to see the unexpected, not
the mundane, but they want to see fair
ness as well.
Oh well, I guess we’ll always be
stuck with cheating in sports. There
will always be those few athletes who
think it’s the best way to win. It’s the
job of everyone else to figure out just
how they do cheat.