The Behrend Beacon
OVER THE
EDGE
Athlete of the Week
Michelle Gutting
Michelle Gutting has been named
this week’s Housing and Food Service
Athlete of'the Week.
At the Clarion Early Bird Invita
tional, Gutting set school records in
the 100 and 200 meter. In addition,
she established a new mark for the
long jump during the team's spring
training in Orlando, Florida.
Gutting is a graduate of McDowell
High School.
Rehrend Scores
Men’s baseball
Behrend 4. Ohio Northern 10
Behrend 1, Adrian 2
Behrend 4, Capital 3
Behrend 7, Tiffin 5
Behrend 4, Ohio Wesleyan 14
Behrend 2, Ohio Wesleyan 11
Behrend 14, Capital 4
Behrend 3, Denison 4
Up Next...
Apr. 1 fe 1 P.S. Altoona 1:00 p.m
Apr. 4 (4 1 La Roche 1:00 p.m
Apr. 5 Frcdonia 3:30 p.m
Apr. 6 Hilbert 1:00 p.m
Apr. 8 Pitt-Greensburg 1:00 p.m.
Women’s softball
Behrend 5, John Carroll 13
Behrend 4, John Carroll 5
Behrend 0, Mount Union 3
Behrend 2, La Roche 10
Behrend 12, La Roche 13
Up Next...
Mar. 31 Buffalo State 3:00 p.m.
Apr. 1 Lake Erie 1:00 p.m.
Apr. 3 @ Pitt-Greensburg 3:00 p.m
Apr. 8 Frostburg 1.00 p.m
Men’s tennis
Behrend 1, Penn State Altoona 8
Behrend 0. Lake Erie 0
Up Next...
Apr. 4 Alfred 3:30 p.m
Apr. 3 Edinboro 3:00 p m
Apr. 7 Waynesburg 3:00 p.m
Track and field
Mar. 24 @ Clarion Deeathalon
Mar. 25 (s ! Clarion Early Bird
Apr. 1 @ Geneva Invitational
Bold type denotes AMCC opponents
TRIVIA
What NHL player holds the career
record for penalty minutes ?
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Coming Soon ,
ARC
ATHLETIC AND REC CENTER
FALL 2000
A season to remember.... Part Two
by Matt Buser
staff writer
Andy Lawrence. John Park, Nate
Willson, and Chris Hughes finished
out careers in Behrend’s most success
ful season ever. Each player has left a
unique mark on the program, the
school, and their remaining team
mates.
"We're not going to he able to re
place Hughes, Park. Willson and
Lawrence," said Behrend Head Coach
Dave Niland. "But, Hopefully what
they've done is set a standard with their
work ethic and their attitudes towards
classwork and on the court."
Niland spoke highly of his depart
ing seniors as a group. "All four arc
outstanding students, and all four are
involved with engineering as a major.
Highly organized, highly competitive,
very team oriented, and extremely un
selfish."
Niland continued. "I think when you
put all of those characteristics together
you get the results that we've had. On
top of it. all four are really talented
players, so you have a great mix
there."
Lawrence, Park. Willson, and
Hughes were major factors in the
teams school-record 26 wins and first
ever appearance in the NCAA Divi
sion 111 National Championship Tour
nament.
"These guys were so focused and
so mature as a group," said Niland,
"that I think the other guys fed off of
them, and 1 think they weren't intimi
dated by any circumstance. They were
confident but not cocky. They played
like the seniors they were, like you'd
expect seniors to play."
Forward Andy Lawrence's strong
point may have been his versatility.
His name is among the schools all
time record holders in a number of
categories. He finished his career hav
ing played in 113 games. He scored
1,296 points, the third-most in Be
hrend history. His 162 three-pointers
made (in 412 attempts) also ranks as
the third highest total in history. His
229 career assists and 109 steals are
the ninth and eight-best total in the
school's history, respectively.
Lawrence also grabbed 487 rebounds
during his career.
"He was a highly recruited kid com
ing in here," remarked Coach Niland.
"He's lived up to expectations, ex
ceeded expectations, as a two-time
First Team All-Conference player."
Men's baseball prepares
for April run
by Matt Wiertel
sports editor
The Penn State Behrend men’s
baseball team is looking forward to
the upcoming schedule of games in
April. The men recently played eight
games in four days, a run that granted
a much needed two day break before
the team’s next matchup on April, 1
against AMCC rival Penn State
Altoona.
Currently the Lions hold a 12-8
record. They hope to improve on that
versus Penn State Altoona.
Behrend also put together an im
pressive 8-2 mark during their Spring
Break trip in Florida. Headlining wins
for the Lions during the Florida Coast
Tournament came against Curry, 16-
0 and Wilkes, 21-3.
Senior Ryan Frederick continued to
be the ace during the trip. Frederick
struck out five and walked one in a
four-hitter against Curry. For the week
Frederick finished 1-1 with 13
strikeouts, 2 walks, and a 0.58 ERA.
Head baseball coach Paul Benim
was thoroughly impressed with
Frederick’s performance on the
mound. “Ryan has been a bulldog for
our baseball program. He is a big rea
son for our success,” Benim said.
After going 8-1 early on, the Lions
have struggled as of late. Behrend is
4-7 during their last eleven games, but
have a rigorous schedule coming up
in the next two weeks. “March has
been a challenge due to the intensity
Sports
Niland added, "he's a very physi
cally tough kid, and a very good ath
lete. He was a very versatile kid, and
just a very tough athlete."
Park often drew the toughest de
fensive assignment during games.
His tenacity and work ethic made him
a leader at practice and in games.
"He's a great leader, and unbeliev
ably intense," said Niland. "He was
our guy who set the tone intensity
wise in practice and in games, I mean,
John didn’t take a day off. He played
through some injuries and adversity,
but he's a very mentally and physi
cally tough kid, as well."
"You use the word 'tough' a lot with
these guys, but that's the way they
were," added Niland.
Park played in 104 games here at
Behrend, scoring 359 points in his
career. He nailed 53 three-pointers,
grabbed 189 rebounds, had 112 as
sists and 34 steals while in the Lion
uniform.
Nate Willson also was an intense
performer. He played in 101 games
for Behrend, scoring 524 points and
grabbing 498 rebounds. His 55.4%
(185/334) field goal percentage
stands as the fourth-highest mark
ever. He also dished out 133 assists
and had 55 steals .
"I always refer to him as oar
'middle linebacker ," commentci.
Niland. "He brought that mentality
to every practice. His work ethic on
a day-to-day basis really set the tone
for the guys. There just wasn’t a day
off for Nate or John."
Chris Hughes played only two sea
son in the Behrend uniform after
transferring from Clarion, but made
the most of his time here. Hughes
was named Conference Co-New
comer of the Year last season, and
was named Conference Player of the
Year this season.
Hughes is the school's all-ime
leader in field goal percentage, at
58.8%(351/597). He scored 949
points for an average of 16.4 per
game, which is ninth-best all-time.
He also grabbed 352 rebounds, had
103 assists, and blocked 45 shots.
"Chris is as talented as any kid we
ever had here, as far as basketball
ability, and he combined that with a
great desire to succeed, "commented
Niland. "He could have been a self
ish kid and shot more than he did.
The mark of a good player is that he
makes other players around him bet
ter, and Chris made everybody on the
of games, and it will prepare us for
the April stretch," Benim said. Five
of their next nine games will come
against AMCC opponents. Consid
ering that the AMCC tournament be
gins on April 20-21, the Lions’ per
formance in these games is key to
securing the conference champion
ship.
As a whole the team is outperform
ing their opponents. On the mound,
the Lions arc allowing more than one
run less per game with a 4.8779 ERA.
Their opponents are giving up
slightly more than six runs per game
with a 6.177 ERA.
Leading Behrend on the hill are
Ryan Frederick with a 1.59 ERA
through 17 innings and Charles Sevin
with a 1.88 ERA through 14 1/3 in
nings.
The Lions also are excelling at the
plate. Third baseman Jake Boyle is
at the top of the list in several batting
categories. Boyle has amassed 25
hits to date, scored 19 runs, and 22
runs batted in (RBI).
In addition, Matt Slavonic and Jer
emy Brubaker are lighting up the
scoreboard. Slavonic is tied with
Boyle with 25 hits and has 11 RBIs.
His impressive .391 AVG is near the
top of the team and makes him a
threat every time he reaches the plate.
Brubaker continues to excel at the
plate this season. Thru 20 games and
66 at bats, Brubaker has added 23 hits
to his Penn State Behrend all-time
career mark. He currently averages
March 31, 2000
floor better."
Niland added, "Those four
guys, I think if you talk about
a very similar characteristic,
they had tremendous physi
cal and mental toughness
about them. They played
through a lot of injuries and
bumps and bruises, and they
never once complained to me
about it."
All four seniors are taking
with them special memories
of their experiences as play
ers, teammates, and students.
"I'm glad we went out with
a great season like that," said
Lawrence. "I'm glad it's over,
but I'm sure I'll miss it next
y~~ r when basketball season
comes around. It was a weird
ride, we started out all fresh
men my first year and just
over .500 to being the
winningest class in school
history."
"It's something I'll never
forget," commented Park. "It
was a lot of fun, and it's some
thing that I'll be thinking about and
telling people about for a long time."
"It was a lot of fun, I really enjoyed
it," said Willson. "The best part was
just that we had four years together
playing as a team." He added, "I
marveled every time we had a game,
how many people were there. It was
nice to have the support, really nice."
Hughes said, "The thing I'll remem
ber the most is my teammates, and
learning the value of teamwork.
Where we set goals, and went on to
accomplish those goals as a team."
The one goal the team most strived
for, and eventually achieved this year,
was the NCAA tournament berth. It
remains one of the biggest highlights
of these player's careers.
"For the first couple of years, it
seemed out of reach, and to make it
was awesome," said Park. "It was a
great experience, and to be able to do
well in it, that's just icing on the cake."
"It was nice to prove that we could
hang with the other teams," said
Willson.
"The NCAA tournament has got to
be the highlight of my career," re
marked Lawrence.
Hughes remarked, "We weren’t ex
pected to be there, and we got to the
Elite Eight. I'll remember that and
my teammates until I'm old and gray.”
Coach Niland has played a big part
348 and has 7 RBIs
As a team, the Lions are averaging
.323 each time to the plate, compared
to their opponents who are only av
eraging .292.
The Lions are striving to repeat
their record setting performance of
last season. Their 26 wins were a
school record at the time, and the
team was an impressive 12-2 at home.
Behrend also earned a birth to the
Eastern Collegiate Athletic Confer
ence Southern Regional Champion
ship for the first time in their history.
Even though the team failed to
claim the AMCC championship last
season, losing the championship
game 5-4, the men are primed to cap
ture the championship this season.
Head coach Paul Benim is looking
forward to the remainder of the sea
son. “We are gaining experience and
learning from our first twenty
games,” Benim said. “Our top prior
ity is to win the conference regular
season, host the tournamnent, and
capture the league crown,” added
Benim.
Next Week...
A view of the new
baseball and
softball complex
percentage leader,
career at Behrend
in the success his seniors have en
joyed, and they were quick to point it
out. Coach Niland and his staff has ac
cumulated a 106-55 record in his six
seasons as Behrend Head Coach.
"The thing that you guys don't see,
hut we see behind the scenes, is that
he's a great motivator, and pays great
attention to details," said Hughes. "I
think the great thing about Coach
Niland is his preparation, and the val
ues he teaches us. I know he doesn't
like to talk about himself, but he de
serves a lot of the credit for this year."
"He never takes credit for the wins,
but always takes credit for the losses."
said Park. "The attitude and the
mindset he had gave us the focus we
had. and I don't think we would have
made it as far or been as successful as
we were if it wasn't for him."
Lawrence added, "He prepares us so
that we can go into every game and
fee! like we're going to win that game.
No matter who we're playing, we
know what they're going to do before
they do it. He's just a great coach."
"He does an excellent job," com
mented Willson. "I liked the way he
coaches, and I loved playing for him."
He added, "He's a classy guy, and we
all benefited from it. That's the way
he was, and that's the way he taught
us to be, and we benefited from it."
at 58.8%. Hughes ended
as the conference player
his two year college basketball
of the year.
basketball head coach has been
a key factor in the team’s
success. Niland and his staff
have compiled a 106-55 record
during six seasons as head
coach.
PAGE 12