Page 10
The Behrend Beacon
Calendar
of Events
Behrend
Athletic
Events
Saturday
Men’s Baseball
@ Frostburg (DH)
1 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Track
and Field @ Jim Thorpe
Invitational, 9 a.m.
Monday
Women’s Softball
*La Roche (DH)
Behrend Softball Field
3 p.m
Tuesday
Men’s Baseball
*Fredonia
Behrend Baseball Field
1 p.m
Wednesday
Men’s Baseball
@ Pitt-Bradford (DH)
1 p.m.
Men’s Tennis
#Edinboro
Behrend Tennis Courts
3:30 p.m.
Thursday
Women’s Softball
*Fredonia
Behrend Softball Field
3 p.m
Friday, April 5
Men’s Tennis
#Alfred
Behrend Tennis Courts
3:30 p.m
Saturday, April 6
Men’s Tennis
Behrend Invitational
Behrend Tennis Courts
vs. Alfred, Thiel, Frostburg
9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m.
(Round Robin)
Women’s Water Polo
@ Indiana Bloomington
Tournament
vs. Mercyhurst
12:45 p.m.
vs. Gannon
5:45 p.m.
Intramurals
Schedule
Friday
Intramural Badminton: Men’s
and Women’s Singles; Men’s,
Women’s and Coed Doubles
- $3 - Only names and Social
Security numbers are
needed. Teams must pick
Monday/Wednesday or
Tuesday/Thursday games.
All games start at 8:30 p.m
Intramural Soccer: Men’s,
Women’s, and Coed - $3 -
No restrictions on the numbei
of players
Friday, April 12
Team Triathlon: Three per
sons to a team, each perform
one of three exercise - swim
ming, biking, and running.
All entries must be at the
intramural office by 4 p.m. on
the scheduled date
* Subject to cancellation
depending on weather
# Will be moved to the
Pennbriar Athletic Club in the
evening should the weather
dictate
You’re in big league town, now
Track and field to join Behrend water polo
bv Scott Soltis
staff writer
Two weeks after Behrend's water
polo team defeated University Park, the
track and field team will get a chance
to make it two-for-two. Late
Wednesday afternoon, a decision was
made for Behrend to compete at the
Jim Thorpe Invitational at University
Park this Saturday.
This came as a surprise, to say the
least, to the team, which would have
never thought its outdoor season would
begin like this. The season was set to
commence last Saturday at Clarion
University, but the invitational was
cancelled due to inclement weather.
Consequently, the season opener was
pushed back to the Lions’ meet at
Geneva College on Thursday. Geneva
decided to cancel this event due to the
weather conditions, as well. This left
coach Dave Cooper searching for some
competition to keep his team sharp.
“The cancellation last week at
Clarion, plus the cancellation of the
Geneva meet, has left us in dire need
for competition," said Cooper. "It has
been over a month since we
competed."
Cooper realizes that the competition
will be at a higher level than usual this
weekend.
“We have the opportunity to
compete against Division I schools at
University Park Saturday,” he said.
“Although that would have been the
furthest thing from my mind a week
ago. we are fortunate to have the
opportunity at this point."
The team realizes that there will be
some excellent athletes at the meet this
weekend. However, the players believe
they will not be intimidated by the
status of the schools. Junior distance
runner Kevin Ritzert feels that the team
will thrive in this situation.
. “I don’t think the team is intimidated
by going up against Division I
schools,” said Ritzert. “In fact, most
everyone is looking forward to it. I
think that the team will do very well
against the tougher competition and I
think everyone is just excited about the
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Kelly
better
by Kate Levdansky Fetrikis
assistant sports editor
When Kelly Woods first started
playing softball, she said it was just
pure fun. Her team at North Hills
High School was dominating. It
won the district almost every year.
As a senior and a centerfielder, Kelly Woods does double duty as
* she leads the young softball team through a difficult first half.
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atmosphere that will be at the
University Park meet.”
The invitational will mark the second
time in history that a Penn State branch
campus will challenge UP. The only
other time it happened was when the
Behrend women’s water polo team
defeated University Park in a close
game, 7-6, on March 16 in the Behrend
Invitational. The track meet will not be
scored, so there will be no way of
knowing how close the meet against
UP will be. However, if the team is able
to hang in there with the State College
team, it will be a moral victory for the
athletes.
This meet will set the pace for the
outdoor season, although places may
be few and far between. The fact that
the team is at this level of competition
shows how much progress the Behrend
track and field team has made this year.
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senior athletic profile
Woods: There's nothing
than playing a little softba
She continued to play at Behrend be
cause it was still fun, but she said it
also helped her relieve stress that
would build up from classes. This is
Woods’ second year as a co-captain,
sharing the honor with Stephanie
Covert this year.
Woods started playing softball
Friday, March 29, 2002
is only branch campus teams to play U.
PHOTO BY MIKE BELLO / BEHREND BEACON
Jay Davids, left, and coach Katie Heynoski watch Russell Phillips prac
tice the high jump during a recent practice at the Junker Center. The
Lions head to State College to take on University Park and several
other Division I schools this weekend in the Jim Thorpe Invitational.
when she was 7. Her parents thought
that signing her up for a sport would
be a good idea, and they picked soft
ball. As a result, Woods said her par
ents are the biggest influence in her
life.
“They encourage me in everything
that I do and support me when I need
it the most,” said Woods.
Woods plays centerfield, the posi
tion that takes charge of the outfield.
“My favorite part of [the] position
is [it] has the best view [of] the field,”
said Woods.
Woods believes every coach she
has ever played for has made her a
better player for one reason or an-
“They always have something new
to teach,” said Woods.
Woods’ whole softball career at
Behrend has produced great memo
ries. Woods has made the AMCC’s
All-Conference team twice, and re
ceived honorable mention once.
Woods tries to keep her classes as
early as possible, given that softball
takes up her afternoons and evening.
“It does not leave much time for a
personal life,” said Woods.
Practice is usually held from 4-6
p.m. or 6-8 p.m. She also holds a
work-study position in the weight
room, and works as a night assistant.
Then, Woods occasionally works on
the weekends as a referee for volley
ball tournaments. In her spare time.
Woods said she usually sleeps,
watches a movie, or hangs out
with her friends.
Woods said that her role model
is simply anyone who can set a
goal and do what it takes to ac
complish it. She said her two
strongest characteristics are that
she tries to stay open minded to
anything, and that she would do
almost anything to help out a
friend.
Woods is majoring in psychol
ogy because she is interested in
finding out why people do what
they do, or think the way they
think. After graduation, Woods
would like to attend the United
States Sports Academy to get a
masters in sport coaching. The US
Sports Academy is a school that
offers a graduate program for dif
ferent aspects of sport, such as,
management, coaching, and train
ing. Woods’ dream job is to coach
softball at a small college.
The team is 4-11 overall, and
4-0 in the conference.
“I do not know how our record
will turn out, but 1 know that we
will have fun and be closer as a
team when we are done,” said
Woods. “1 have tried to make my
experience here at Behrend well
rounded by being involved in dif
ferent activities.”
behrcolls @ aol.com
Behrend has no
school spirit
and never will
The other week, I was searching
through old Behrend newspaper
archives from the early 1970 s when I
came across something interesting.
Actually, it was downright humorous,
although it wasn’t meant to be when
it was written.
You see, one student wrote a short
comment criticizing the Behrend
students for not
up at a
soccer tournament.
eye was that he called the Behrend
students apathetic because only 100
out of the 1,550 total students had
gone to a Saturday game. It’s funny
how today the word “apathetic” gets
tossed around a lot when describing
Behrend students, especially
considering how the world has
changed the past six months.
Of course, the author goes on to say
that the students should go because,
“The players, with no protection
whatsoever, are constantly crashing
into each other, causing numerous
fights, which should be of interest to
many blood-thirsty fans.” What the
hell kind of soccer did they play back
then? It’s nothing like the wussy
soccer they play now.
Fun fact: Behrend, which once had
a wrestling team (go figure), used to
be nicknamed the Cubs. They
probably changed the name when
they realized a) The name is very
sissy, and b) No team named “Cubs”
ever wins anything.
What’s even funnier, though, is that
of the more than half dozen soccer
games I’ve seen in order to snap some
pictures, I didn’t see even 100 fans
combined. Granted, some of those
days were downright freezing, when
layers upon layers of clothes were
required. But even on days when the
weather was nice, the only fans I saw
were some parents and maybe a few
students here and there.
Basketball games were a little
different, obviously, because
basketball always draws the bigger
crowds. However, I’ve still seen a
whole lot of empty seats, seats that
probably could have been filled by the
large number of students in the weight
room in the same building.
I am by no means here to criticize
anyone. If people want to show up to
games or not, it’s their choice, and I’m
not going to criticize those who don’t
(unlike our ‘7os author). But I would
like to give reasons why Behrend
lacks school spirit, and why the
community does not care about the
school.
The biggest reason is because
Behrend is a public school, unlike
Mercyhurst and Gannon, which are
private schools. Therefore, their
tuition is more than $20,000 a year.
Behrend, because tuition is fairly
inexpensive, attracts a lot of people
from this area. Edinboro’s a public
school as well, but for most of the Erie
County population, Behrend is closer.
As a result, many of the students
here commute, and most of them only
come to School to learn and get a
degree - nothing more, nothing less.
They might have more permanent
jobs, or family, or other local ties that
take up their time. In other words,
they are just here for their classes and
not for extra-curricular activities. It’s
hard to reach those students when
school doesn’t rank at the top of their
list of important activities.
Speaking of Mercyhurst and
Gannon, another reason Behrend
doesn’t attract large crowds is because
the community really doesn’t care.
There’s a huge gap between the public
and the school, and let’s just say
construction on the bridge is on
permanent hiatus. People get pumped
up a lot for ‘Hurst, Gannon, and even
to a certain extent, ‘Boro (although
most of those fans are from the town
of Edinboro). Who gets pumped up
to see Behrend play?
jji
This couldn’t have been more clear
than on Jan. 26, when more than 3,000
people packed the Hammermill
Center for a Gannon/’Hurst men’s
basketball game. People were lined
BEHREND LACKS SPIRIT
continued on page 12