Page 12
The Behrend Beacon
• .
Women , s
water
no lo
sinks
rival Mercy hurst
rscored six goals to take the lead d the invitational at Grove City, the team is per mance from each individual and
win at 9-2. looking forward to the opportunity to from the team as a whole," said Heynes.
"We just got rattled and could not prepare so they are able to catch them off "Our season could be only two weeks left
recover," said Heynes. guard at the Championships. or four more weeks. It all depends on
Despite losing their first three games with."
the team avenged an earlier loss from
Mercyhurst, beating them 9-8.
The team pulled through, though, with
two starters who were unable to play.
Sophomore captain Christine Williams
was out for her third ejection foul, while
junior Tara Braden sat out due to foul
trouble.
by Amy Frizzell
staff writer
Over the weekend, the women's water
polo team took on Washington and
Jefferson, Indiana, Gannon and rival
Mercyhurst at the Southern Divisional.
The women swam away with losses to
Indiana, Gannon and Washington and
Jefferson.
The women put up a good fight in their
game against Washington and Jefferson.
The team took advantage of W & S's
sloppy play in the first quarter and trailed
just 3-2.
"For the first time Washington and
Jefferson was afraid of us at their own
home and we had them on a rope," said
coach Josh Heynes.
The Lions were able to hold them off
until the third quarter when Washington
Lions continue their winning ways
by Kevin Fiorenzo
staff writer
On March 27, the Lions welcomed Fredonia in
a strong out-of-conference match up.
With a record of 8-6 in conference and 14-6 out
of conference, Behrend started out strong, keeping
Fredonia scoreless for the first three innings. The
Lions managed to rack up a comfortable 4-0 lead
after three innings.
In the fourth inning, though, Fredonia came
storming back and tied the game.
Behrend responded in the bottom of the inning
by accumulating three more runs for a 7-4 lead.
Each team scored one more run, thus giving the
Lions an 8-5 win.
Behrend continued to get solid pitching with
good performances from Chad Hein and Matt
Symanski. Symanski pitched three innings with
one hit, four runs, four walks and one strikeout.
Hein threw for six innings and gave up five hits,
one run, and one walk. He also struck out three.
The Lions also got help from outfielder Mitch
Reckner, who had two doubles. If anything hurt
Behrend in this game, it was six errors.
The Behrend squad next met Frostburg in a
doubleheader. The first game was completely
owned by Frostburg. They exploded in the first
inning for six runs and didn't let up, scoring four
more in the top of the third.
The Lions didn't have any answers for Frostburg
and managed to score only one run. Frostburg went
on to win by a commanding score of 13-1. Errors
once again were a problem for the Lions, as they
made four.
Ryan Seyler started the game for Behrend. He
threw three innings and struck out three, while
giving up six hits, 10 runs, and three walks. Steve
Pflugh and Ray DeVaul also made their
contribution to the team's mound scats.
The second game of the day was more to
Behrend's liking. The Lions never gave Frostburg
a chance and scored at least one run in each of the
esters dethrone
[I{I'L tF;liilJEii 'l'TJiff
Lions take lead in conference
been a force for the Lions
by Scott Soltis
sports editor
The men's tennis team scored a
big win last weekend when it
defeated last year's AMCC champ,
Penn State Altoona. At that point,
the team was on a seven-game
winning streak, and had not lost
since Feb. 22. This was a big win
for the Lions not only because of
this season's inter-university rivalry,
but this was the first win posted
against Altoona.
The women were tied 8-8 with 10
seconds left in the game. Sophomore Erin
Troester scored the game-winning goal.
"Beating Mercyhurst was the
confidence boost we needed," said
captain Sarah McGarvey. "We deserved
the win for hanging in there during rough
games in the past."
first five innings. Frostburg managed to score one
run in the final inning, but the game was out of
reach at that point. Behrend went on to win by a
1 2- 1 score.
"Our team has been very resilient all year. They
bounced back and played extremely well in game
two," said coach Paul Benim.
The star of the game was Lions' pitcher Brent
Gabel, who pitched a complete game with eight
strikeouts. He gave up six hits, one run, and four
walks. For his work, Gabel was named the AMCC
and ECAC South Region player of the week. He
is currently leading the AMCC in wins (four) and
has 38 strikeouts, a 2.99 ERA, and two complete
games.
"Our pitchers are continuing to throw well. They
have really stepped it up," said Reckner. "Right
now we have confidence with any pitcher that steps
on the mound."
Another doubleheader was on the schedule for
Behrend on Tuesday, this time at Fredonia. In the
first game, Behrend controlled the tempo
throughout. Like their previous game, the Lions
exploded early on. They scored nine runs in the
first two innings, putting the game out of reach.
Fredonia managed to score two runs and
Behrend also scored twice more. The final score
was 11-2. Once again, pitching was key for
Behrend. Jason Shaffer threw a complete game
with nine strikeouts and gave up four hits, two runs,
and two walks.
"Jason Shaffer was terrific on the hill," said
Benim. "Offensively our crew drove the ball and
had numerous quality at bats, especially when it
mattered."
The second game at Fredonia was a hotly
contested matchup. In the first two innings
Behrend took a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the
second, Fredonia responded with two runs, cutting
Behrend's lead to one. The Lions scored another
run in the fourth, but lost their lead in the bottom
of the inning by giving up four runs. Going into
the sixth innin. Fredonia had a 6-4 lead.
"That was our first win against
Altoona since they joined our
conference. It felt very good," said
coach Jeff Barger.
Now that that monkey is finally
off the team's back, they can focus
on winning the AMCC title.
Behrend beat Altoona by a final
score of 6-3, losing only in No. 3
singles, No. 5 singles and No. 2
doubles. Barger is very pleased
with his team's singles ;
performances. "I feel confident with
most of our singles at the time but
we still have some work a head of
us as far as how we are going to play
certain opponents."
Sophomore Aaron Whiting was a
standout for the team, winning both
his singles and doubles matches
against Altoona. This performance
earned him an AMCC 'Best of the
Rest' mention for the week.
The team was no longer able to
ride the momentum when they
reached Edinboro on Wednesday.
The Lions were crushed by
Edinboro 8-1. Fortunately, this was
an out-of- conference match to a D
II school, so it was easier to take.
The team is currently in first place
in the conference with a 2-0 AMCC
record and an overall record of 7-2.
The Lions look to begin their next
streak with Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday games. The Lions will host
the Behrend Invitational beginning
Saturday at 9 a.m.
PORTS
Friday, April 4, 2003
"Troester really had a breakout game
for us," said Heynes. "She played more
that game then she had ever played."
The team will next compete at the
Grove City Invitational on today and
Saturday. The Lions will take on Salem
International, Conn College and Utica.
"The invite this weekend should be a
good warm up for us for Championships
next weekend" said Heynes.
Division 111 Conn College and Utica
will also be trying to snag a spot at
nationals along with Behrend.
"Hopefully with wins over those two
teams it will help our national outlook,"
said Heynes.
"We've been practicing while wearing
weighted belts to prepare for the
invitational," said McGarvey.
Because Washington and Jefferson and
Gannon will not participate in the
Track team places well
first outdoor action,
despite bad weather
The Lions ran well at their first
outdoor meet of the season held at
Clarion University. Behrend ended the
day with four first-place finishes on the
men's side and three winners for the
women
Highlighting the day were. ECAC
qualifying performances by Isiah Meek
in the 110 hurdles and Staci Banaszek
in the high jump.
The eight-team invitational took
place on a cold wet day that slowed
down several events and forced the
cancellation of the pole vault.
"The pole vault wasn't contested
because of the rain," said head coach
Dave Cooper. "We were disappointed
that we didn't get to do the vault, as it's
one of our strengths."
Behrend made due with the events
that the weather permitted. The team
especially excelled in the field events.
Aside from Banaszek winning the high
jump, Laura Packosky took first place
in the discus, and Shane Rock won the
triple jump. Rock also capured fifth in
the long jump.
Placing in the throwing events for the
Behrend was not intimidated. The Lions scored
twice in each of the final two innings and went on
to get the win, 8-6. The Lions got solid pitching
throughout from Chris McCartney and Tony
Kordecki. McCartney threw for three innings and
gave up two hits, one run, and two walks. Kordecki
went for four innings and had four strikeouts along
with giving up eight hits, three runs, and three
walks.
The first game loss to Frostburg on Saturday
The Lions have been an offensive machine this season
by Scott Soltis
sports editor
Scott Soltis, Sports Editor
Lauren Packer, Assistant Sports Editor
Junior Hollie Stash and the rest of the Lions have set
goals for themselves this season.
men were Nick McGrady and Nick
Peth, who took third and fourth in the
javelin, and Chad Atwood was fourth
in the discus.
On top of her outstanding high jump
performance, Banaszek also took fourth
in the triple jump and sixth in the long
jump.
In the track aspect of the meet, the
men's hurdlers had an outstanding day
with Meek winning both the 110 and
400. Taking second in the 110 was
Dave Masilunas, followed by Ben
Nosko in fifth and Dennis Scheurer in
sixth. Distance runner Clayton
Kirshner made an impressive debut in
the 400 hurdles, finishing in fourth
place. Fifth and sixth were occupied
by Nosko and Scheurer.
Also having a stellar day for the men
was Jason Kuntz, who placed in four
events, taking third in the 100, fifth in
the 200, and second in the 4xloo and
4x400 relays. Joining Kuntz on the
4xloo were Meek, Rock,. and Chris
Laugelli. Others earning second on the
4x400 were Meek, Mike Barlett, and
Floyd Mattie.
The cross country/track athletes of
both sexes performed well at Clarion.
Jess Sarver beat Jess Knapp by one
notwithstanding, Behrend had an extremely
successful week. Their pitching is looking very
strong and the team's hitting continues to excel.
Outfielder Adam Best is batting .462 and has 24
hits and 15 stolen bases. Reckner is batting .438
with 28 hits and 20 RBIs. Also contributing is
second baseman Tony Azzato with 18 RBIs. The
team is playing well and justifiably has lofty goals.
"Our goals would be to win the conference and
move on from there," said Reckner.
second in the 1500 to take first and
second. The duo also placed third and
fifth in the 800. Men's cross country
runners Barlett, Mattie, and Brian
Wheeler took first, second, and sixth in
the 800. Wheeler also placed third in
the 1500.
Also, Tim Schultheis took fourth in
the grueling 5,000, and Kirschner took
fourth in the distance/obstacle course
hybrid called the 3,000 steeplechase.
Finally, another outstanding
performer on the women's side was Nik
Mineweaser. Mineweaser took fourth
in the 400 hurdles, fifth in the 100
hurdles, and fourth in the 4xloo with
Nichols, Van Tassel, and Urbansky. She
also took fourth in the 4x400 with the
help of Sarver, Manelick, and Van
Tassel.
The team performed very well con
sidering that a large part of the field was
D-II athletes. However, coach Cooper
is looking forward to sunnier days.
"The conditions were wet and cold
but our performances were very good
for this early," the coach said. "This
week doesn't look much better weather
wise, but it's a scored meet so I look
for us to do well, as we have tough com
petitors on the team."
ITI