To The Edge Housing and Food Service Athlete of the Week David Masilunas (\.....) 0 O 4 Masilunas,a freshman from McMurray, PA, broke the school record in the 100 high hurdles with a time of 15.93 at the Slip pery Rock Invitational this past weekend. He also qualified for the ECAC championshp meet. Next up for the blue and white is the Baldwin Wallace In vitational, Saturday at 10 a.m. Intramural Awards Male Intramural Athlete of the Year Michael Rigoni Female Intramural Athlete of the Year Jamie Lewis Behrend Sporting Events April 28 -Men's Baseball Alumni Game 9:00 a.m. at Ainsworth Field -Men's Baseball vs. Fredonia 1:00 p.m. at Ainsworth Field -Men's and Women's Track & Field at Baldwin - Wallace Inv. 10:00 a.m. May 4-5 Men's and Women's Track & Field at Buffalo Inv. 10:00 a.m. May 11-12 Men's and Women's Track & Field at ECAC Championships May 18 Men's and Women's Track & Field at Baldwin-Wallace Twi light Qualifier 3:00 p.m. May 24-26 Men's and Women's Track & Field at NCAA Outdoor Nationals PEN\ STATE BEHRER LIONS Women's softball team maintains pride after disappointing AMCC tourney Mandy Bodnor ends her career at Behrend with all-time records in both home runs and RBIs. Men's tennis finishes mediocre season with a young team by Jeanine Noce assistant sports editor The youthful Behrend men's tennis team finished its season with a record of 5-8 overall and 3-4 in the conference. The men competed against 11 different colleges beginning on February 17 and ended their season this past weekend. The team consisted of 11 players, three veterans, and eight new competitors. This past weekend was the final AMCC tournament for the team, which was held at the Penn Briar athletic club. "We came in third overall out of the five teams competing. I felt that this was an accomplishment due to this year's team basically being a whole new team. We only had three returnees from last year," said coach Jeff Barger. Many of Behrend's players finished well. Team members Ramon Enriquez and Bill Weisberg finished by winning the third doubles all conference match. They were able to finish with four points against Frostburg State to claim the title. Behrend also competed in their last regular season game at Fredonia D x @:~ .~d~3``x~.''~;. ~:~` ; .r:~:; . ;;:.,,, State on Wednesday, April 18. The final score was 7-2. lan Brendle defeated his No. 2 singles opponent by scores of 6-3 and 6-3. Atif Chaudry, at No. 3 singles, also defeated his opponent. The final scores were 6-3 and 6-2. Dave Marasco, at No. 4 singles, also finished well, winning by scores of 6-3, 1-6, and 6-2. Jacob Cornwell was able to defeat his No. 5 singles opponent by scores of 7-5 and 6-4. Finally, James Sheen, No. 6 singles, defeated his opponent by scores of 6-4 and 6-1. In the doubles competition against Fredonia State, Brendle and Cornwell at No. 2 won by a score of 8-5. Weisberg and Sheen, No. 3, defeated their opponents by a score of 8-4. "The team had many strengths," said Barger. "Every member worked very hard in practice and always tried to improve their game. The members' work ethics were very good. Also, throughout the season, the players worked harder each game." This can be seen after the second game for the men. The first two games played were against Mercyhurst College and Allegheny PHOTO BY NEIL MAKADIA by Mike Bello staff writer Despite high hopes of winning back the AMCC championship, the women's softball team could not pull it off last weekend. The Lions were unable to stop lower-seeded Pitt-Bradford, losing 4- 1 at home on April 18. The Behrend women, who rarely had a chance to use their own home field for most of the season, fell victim to strong Bradford pitching as they went 6 of 27 at the plate for a .222 average. The offense, which has been both hot and cold for most of the season, was unable to generate any sort of attack and allowed Bradford to move on to the second round against La Roche. Senior Mandy Bodnor pitched all seven innings, giving up four earned runs on seven hits and striking out three. Bodnor also drove in Amy Hunter for the Lions' lone run on the day. To make matters worse for Behrend (11-16, 6-7 AMCC record), the AMCC semi-finals and championship game, both scheduled for Saturday were rained out. Just like last year, Behrend's biggest nemesis La Roche - the team the Lions beat for the 1999 championship - was able to win the AMCC crown based on its season record. La Roche has now won the last two tournaments without actually having to play in the tournament. Behrend's home game against Grove City scheduled for Monday was cancelled, so the Lions finished out their season with a doubleheader against Bethany on Wednesday. In game one, the Lions slipped past Bethany with a 2-1 win. However, in game two Bethany dominated the Lions 9-1. For three players this marked the last game they ever played for Behrend College at the Westwood racquet club. Mercyhurst defeated Behrend by a score of 7-2. The Lions then lost to Allegheny by a score of 9-0. However, the team's third match was against Pitt-Greensburg, and the men won 5-4. "There are several aspects that need to be improved," said Barger. "Throughout the season, the doubles play improved; however, I need to see more improvement. The new recruits that are joining the team next season can definitely help that. Each of the team members also need to work on their individual games over the summer and this can help them to improve their game tremendously." With these goals in mind, the team will definitely have a tremendous amount to work on for next year's season. "I am going to start practice in August in the fall 2001 semester. The team will practice for four straight weeks and this change will indeed help all of the new and old players," said Barger. The team will only lose three members, which is a positive aspect for next season. College. Senior co-captains Meghan Trumbull, Becky Rishel, and Mandy Bodnor take with them the leadership and experience that the team needed because the squad was made up of many young and inexperienced players. Their departure also means that only two players, Kelly Woods and Alicyn Haney, are left from the championship team of '99. Trumbull, a second baseman from Punxsutawney, Pa, played in 17 games this year, going 8 for 41 with four runs scored and two RBIs. Rishel, who hails from Uledi, Pa, was this year's starting shortstop. Rishel batted .311 on the season with 20 runs scored, second on the team, five RBIs, 14 walks, and a team high four stolen bases. Rishel was also one of the top fielders on the team, making only five errors in 104 chances. The biggest problem for the Lions next year will be how to make up for PHOTO BY NEIL MAKADIA Nichole Spindler awaits the pitch in a recent Lions softball game. The men's tennis team has worked hard throughout the season FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2001 the loss of Bodnor, arguably the team's MVP this season. Bodnor, a Pittsburgh native, led the team with 25 runs scored, 35 hits, 16 walks, 48 RBIs, and smashed eight home runs on the year to go with her .411 batting average. Bodnor was also the main force on the mound, pitching 100 1/3 innings out of the team's total of 172. Bodnor (6-9 record) gave up 50 earned runs for a 3.49 era (based on seven innings) while allowing 115 hits and striking out 63. These outstanding statistics earned her Behrend's all-time home-run and RBI titles. With a year's worth of playing experience, the team, consisting of five freshmen and six sophomores as well as two juniors, can now look towards the 2002 season as the next step in their march towards another AMCC championship.