To The
Edge
Intramural Calendar
DEADLINES
March 23 - Soccer
(Men's. Women’s and Coed)
Play begins around March 28
March 23 - Whitewater Rafting
at Ohiopyle on April 28
March 30 - Swimming Individual
(Men’s and Women’s)
Swimming Team
(Men’s, Women’s and Coed)
Behrend
Sporting
Events
March 17
Men’s Tennis at Pitt-
Greensburg 1:00 PM
Men’s Baseball at Oberlin Col
lege 1:00 PM
March 19
Women’s Softball vs. Thiel
3:00 PM
March 20
Men’s Baseball at Grove
City 1:00 PM
March 22
Women’s Softball vs. John
Carroll 3:00 PM
March 22-25
Men’s Baseball at Ohio
Wesleyan’s Mizuno Classic
TBA
March 23-24
Men’s and Women’s Track
& Field at Clarion Invita
tional 10:00 AM
March 23
Women’s Water Polo at
W&J/Grove City 8:30 PM
BEHREND
LIONS
PHOTO BY DOUGLAS
Erica Mozdy pushes for anotner two points in Behrena s enort;
against Penn State Altoona in the AMCC Championship game
Debut Indoor Track & Field season prepares athletes for spring
by Jamie Salapek
staff writer
The Behrend Indoor Track and
Field team dashed through an
impressive and highly competitive
season that ended on February 24.
Dodging the competition, Behrend
had many outstanding place-takers
for the team, which bodes the team
Young Behrend team closes
season with stellar perfomance
by Mike Bello
staff writer
A season of highs and lows for the
Behrend men’s basketball team
came to an abrupt end in the AMCC
(Allegheny Mountain Collegiate
Conference) semifinals on Friday,
February 23, against Frostburg State.
This was only two days after
struggling in the first round game
against Penn State Altoona. The
Frostburg Bobcats, who could not
figure out the Lions in the two season
matchups, used some accurate free
throw shooting down the stretch to
finish the Lions’ season with a 79-
66 win. Behrend, which nearly did
not make it to the semifinals,
finished with an overall 14-12 record
and a third place finish in the AMCC
standings.
Behrend ran into trouble in
quarterfinal action against Altoona
on Wednesday, February 21, at Erie
Hall. The Lions, who handled
Altoona (9-16) by margins of only 7
and 10 points before, found
themselves down by 5 points at the
half as a result of taking less chances
at the hoop than Altoona. In the
second half Behrend was able to
control Altoona’s offense and after
hitting 11-15 free throws, the Lions
tied the score with Altoona 73 all at
the end of regulation. Matt Keith
then drained a three pointer in
overtime, and Dave Hairston added
two free throws in the waning
seconds of the game to hand Altoona
their last defeat of the season 81 -80.
Freshman James Curren hit 7-11
from the floor and had 6 rebounds
on his way to a 19-point
performance. Ashley Orris hit 8 of
his 11 floor shots for 18 points while
grabbing a game high 9 rebounds for
the Lions. Keith sank 4 three
Sport
well for the upcoming outdoor
track and field season.
The track and field team
competed against Mount Union on
February 24 for their final meet.
The solid performances of Lindsey
Schulte and Michelle Gutting
qualified both for the ECAC
(Eastern Collegiate Athletic
Conference) championship meet.
pointers on the night and had 14
points, while freshman forward
Casey Ponsoll added 13 points.
Behrend was able to convert 57% of
their total shots, but had a hard time
controlling Altoona’s offense, which
made nearly 50%> of their shots.
The Lions then traveled down to
Bradford to take on Frostburg, the
victors in an 84-74 win over Lake
Erie. For the first half and most of
the second half, the level of play was
pretty even. Behrend was only down
by 4 at the half and kept pace with
Frostburg throughout the second
half. Behrend, however, could not
catch up with Frostburg and was
forced to foul the Cats in attempts to
grab the lead. That strategy proved
disastrous when Frostburg converted
19-25 foul shots in the second half
to pull away with a 79-66 win.
Frostburg (18-9) had more than
twice as many points from turnovers
and second chance points from
offensive rebounds than the Lions
did.
Keith and Curren both had 11
points to pace the Lions with Curren
adding a game high 10 rebounds.
Steve Merrill had 10 points on the
night, as did Ponsoll, while dishing
out 6 assists. Orris, in his last
basketball game as a Lion, made 3
three pointers for 9 points to go with
5 rebounds. Behrend did shoot over
43%, better than Frostburg, but were
unable to overcome the Cats’ hot free
throw shooting. The next day
Frostburg went on to beat Pitt-
Bradford 77-73 to capture the
AMCC crown. The loss snapped
Bradford’s 16 game winning streak
as well.
Dave Niland stated, “in the past I
saw all of our teams grow through
being in the postseason. Last year
in the NCAA tournament, that team
Lions wrap up season with NCAA cameo
by Bob Palivoda
staff writer
A tournament bid for the Division
111 NCAA tournament lengthened the
women Lions’ season for one more
game. On Friday, February 23, the
Lady Lions hosted an AMCC playoff
game against Pitt-Bradford. The Li
ons defeated Bradford 60-50 in their
First game of the playoffs.
Leading the way for the win against
Bradford was freshman Crystal
McGarvey. In the game, McGarvey
managed to lead Behrend with 19
points in 29 minutes of play. She also
sunk 5 out of 7 free throws and
muscled her way around the court
pulling down a total of 10 rebounds.
Following close behind McGarvey
was junior Erin Phillips, chalking up
a total of 15 points for Behrend.
Freshman Erica Mozdy added to the
Lions' offense with 9 points and man
aged to pull down 10 rebounds for the
team.
Although Friday held the taste of
sweet victory for the Lions, the final
on Saturday would leave a taste of bit
terness in their mouths. Not even 24
Fans watch
intensely as
Behrend stalks
the oncoming
Penn State
Altoona
offense.
Penn State
Altoona
dominated the
game in order
to claim the
AMCC cham
|TH pionship from
the host team,
Behrend.
Gutting qualified in the long jump
and Schulte in the triple jump.
Unfortunately, neither member
could attend the meet, but their hard
work and determination were
honored with the invitation.
The Behrend distance runners ran
past their competitors, with many
setting personal or seasonal bests.
Jessica Knapp knocked 3 seconds
had been together for a while and had
experienced different highs and lows
of the postseason. You want to
continue to make those strides.”
Concerning the upcoming off
season, Niland had this to say, “we
want our guys to take some time off;
it’s been a long year. We expect our
kids to lift and stay in shape. We
want our guys to hit the weights. We
need a lot of weight work and I think
they found that out this year that the
college game is very much a physical
game. If you don’t improve your
athleticism and your body it’s really
hard to compete.”
For the season Behrend averaged
66 points per game while giving up
65 points per game. The Lions held
a slight edge over opponents in
rebounds, averaging a little over 32
per game while giving up an even
32 a game. The Lions shot 72% from
the foul line, 36% from beyond the
arc, and converted over 44% of their
total floor shots this season. Curren
led the team this year in total
rebounds with 174 (6.7/game) and in
total points with 358, an average of
13.8 per game. Curren also led the
team with 134 field goals, 89 free
throws, and 15 blocked shots in his
first season as a Lion. Hairston was
second on the team with 9.8 points
per game, followed by Orris with 9.6
ppg, and Ponsoll at 9.2 ppg. Orris,
who started at guard this year with
Keith, had the most steals on the
squad with 19 and handed out 70
assists. Keith made 49 three
pointers, most on the team, while
averaging 7.8 ppg despite being
slowed by an ankle injury most of
the year. Orris, who along with Keith
had more college experience on the
court than all the other players
combined, will be the only player not
returning next year.
Freshman Dave Hairston jumps for two points in an earlier game this
season. Hairston overcame the defense in order to score two points
for the Behrend offense.
hours had passed since the Lions vic
tory against Pitt-Bradford. Behrend
took the court with the momentum
still on their side. They knew that to
win the AMCC they would have a
tough challenge against fellow branch
campus, Penn State Altoona. After the
first half of play, the game w'as still
within reach for Behrend. Altoona left
the court at the half leading the Lions
36-29. However, it would be these 7
points that would keep Behrend from
overcoming Altoona. Altoona man
aged to defeat Penn State Behrend 79-
71. Once again freshman Crystal
McGarvey led the Lions in points with
25. Following behind her in the
double digits were junior Kate
Costanzo (19) and freshman Erica
Mozdy (11).
Despite the conference champion
ship loss, Penn State Behrend man
aged to get a bid for the NCAA tour
nament. Behrend (18-8) traveled to
Defiance, Ohio, where they would
play Defiance College (22-4) in the
first round. Defiance had entered the
tournament with an 18 game winning
streak. They also held a perfect record
of 13-0 on their home court for the
off of her best time ever in the 800-
meter dash. Knapp also cut 20
seconds off her 1500-meter time
from 3 w'eeks prior, giving an
outstanding performance.
As the season came to a close,
Coach Rich Hoffman stated,
“overall the indoor season went
fairly well and helped us prepare
more effectively for outdoor track.
FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2001
season. The Lions did not give Defi
ance much of a challenge in the first
half of play as they went to the locker
room trailing 46-21. The second half
proved much stronger for Behrend,
being that Defiance only outscored
them by 6 points. Defiance triumphed
over Behrend 90-59. Playing with a
broken hand, Erin Phillips helped lead
the Lions along with Erica Mo/.dy
both scoring 12 points.
The Lions look to be just as strong
for next year’s season. They will only
lose a total of two seniors this year
(Jen O’Lare and Lisa Sanders).
Coach Rosalyn Fornari closed by
saying, “the bid to the tournament
meant a lot to our team. It rewarded
them for battling and playing strong
and never giving up. We had so many
challenges this season. They are the
best group of players I've been
around. I loved this year and the
players I was surrounded by. The
NCAA trip is one of our fondest
memories. Not the outcome, but the
experience. I’m just glad my team
and especially my seniors had the
chance to go.”
PHOTO BY DOUGLAS SMITH
We are significantly ahead of where
we were this time last year.”
With a job well done, the indoor
track and field team represented
Behrend well. Many of the same
athletes of indoor track are
currently competing in outdoor
PHOTO BY BECKY WEINDORF