Kevin Fiorenzo, Co-Sports Editor
Am Frizzell Co-S 1 orts Editor
On Deck
i „ 1
I
Athletic
Events
Saturday
Men's Water Polo @ Eastern
(Johns Hopkins)
TBD
Women's Volleyball @
Waynesburg Quad
11 a.m.
Men's Soccer @
Penn State Altoona
5 p.m.
Women's Soccer @ Penn
State Altoona
7 p.m.
Sunday
Men's Water Polo @ Eastern
(Johns Hopkins)
TBD
Tuesday
Men's Soccer vs.
Thiel
3 p.m.
Women's Volleyball @
Fredonia
7 p.m.
Wednesday
Women's Soccer @ Buffalo
State
3 p.m.
Friday
Men's Water Polo @ CWPA
Bucknell
TBD
Women's Volleyball @
AMCC Championships
6 p.m.
Intramurals
Schedule
Bowling
Men's, Women's
COED
deadline Oct. 31
3 vs. 3 Basketball
Men's and Women's
deadline Nov. 7
5 vs. 5 Basketball
Men's and Women's
deadline Dec. 12
Water polo team shows
mprovement at Princeto
4
4.... it.b,
~..
Freshman Brandon Thiel has been one of the key players in the Lion's rebuilding season
by Adam Massaro
staff writer
The men's water polo team has proved it can score
on any opponent, but the question still remains if
they can produce enough scoring drives to win on a
regular basis.
At the Princeton Inter Regional Tournament, the
team took on highly favored Princeton in their first
Women's tennis
falls short of
goals at the
AMCC Tourney
by Kevin Fiorenzo
sports editor
The women's tennis team's season ended on a
bitter note this past weekend when they finished in
fourth place at the AMCC Championships in
Altoona.
The team went into the AMCCs with a record of
6-11 overall, 3-3 in conference. They had beaten
both Frostburg and Penn State Altoona the last time
the teams had played, giving the Lady Lions had
reason to be optimistic going into the tournament.
Unfortunately, Altoona and Chatham made some
last-minute lineup changes that caused problems
for Behrend's squad because of the way the cham
pionships are formatted.
Junior Christy Leininger said,"The lineup
changes really affected us. We aren't a last place
team and some players that could have won their
flights ended up losing."
The AMCCs are played in flights. All six singles
and three doubles events are played in their own
separate brackets. Each team has one player or
doubles team in each flight.
Behrend started off the tournament on a very poor
note. The No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Am
ber Weckoski and freshman Mindy Calvert lost in
the first round of their event to Altoona's team by a
score of 8-4.
The No. 3 team of sophomore Amy Frizzell and
senior Jenny Zwang also lost in the first round to
the Chatham's team by a score of 8-2.
The No. 2 team, the Lions' last chance for points
in doubles, of Leininger and freshman Jenna
~, PORTS
Friday, October 24, 2003
4.0
PHOTO BY HEATHER MYERS/BEHREND BEACO
game of the weekend.
"When we played Princeton I think we sur
prised a lot of people, we just did what we were
supposed to do and played our game," said head
coach Joe Tristan.
"Within three minutes of the first quarter we
got a goal, and I heard a lot of people in the stands
whispering 'did they just score on Princeton?"'
Tristan felt this was a victory in its self because
teams of Princeton's caliber pride themselves in
Yankowski lost in the finals to the team from
Chatham by a score of 8-5.
The singles event was more of the same frustra
tion for Behrend. Only three of the Lady Lions'
players, Leininger, Yankowski and Frizzell, ad
vanced to the finals of their events.
They all lost tight, hard-fought matches. Both
Leininger and Yankowski lost to players from
Chatham.
Leininger fell by a score of 6-3, 7-5. Yankowski
competed well in the first two sets of her match but
fell short in the third set, losing 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.
Frizzell's match also went with a fight, but she lost
to Frostburg's No. 5 by a score of 6-2, 6-4.
Behrend's other three starters, Weckoski, Calvert
and Zhang, all lost in the first round of their events.
By the final tally, the Lady Lions finished in last
place out of the four teams, with a total score of 4
points.
It was a far cry from the goals the team set for
themselves, especially since they believed that they
were capable of beating all three of the other teams.
"I think some people played really well and
othesrs just were having a bad day," said Leininger.
The team has reason to be optimistic when they
come back next fall. Five of their six starters will
be returning next season to try to claim the AMCC
title. This won't be an easy task but the team knows
they will be ready for the challenge.
" I think we'll be really good because we are re
turning five starters and hopefully getting some
good recruits," said Leininger. "We need to work
improving our doubles teams, though, and playing
more consistently next season."
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shutting out Division 3 teams like Behrend, until
the latter quarters of the game.
Princeton, who beat the 12th seeded Lions 15-2,
would go on to take second overall at the tourna
ment.
For the second game of the tournament the Li
ons faced a familiar foe in Gannon University, for
the fifth time this season. After suffering four
straight losses to the Golden Knights the Lions had
a chance to redeem themselves.
Redemption eluded the Lions as the Knights
sliced through State's defense en route to a 16-4
victory
"We played Gannon and it was a little bit tough,
I don't think the guys had a good enough breakfast
in the morning and it hurt them because we didn't
have time in between games to get lunch," said
la"' I Tristan.
"I also think the guys just wanted to get the game
over with, not the best way to go about it, but after
we watched the Gannon tape after the game and
they (the players) saw it, they said 'we were really
in the game and we made our own mistakes."
Yet, the trip down memory lane did not stop there;
the Lions then proceeded to take on Division H ri
val Slippery Rock University, who held a two game
winning streak over the Lions. The Rock main
tained the upper hand in this relationship u it
downed the Lions 12-2 for third time this season.
To wrap up the tournament, the Lions found
themselves paired against the familiar face of
Mercyhurst, a team the Lions had previously beaten
twice this season.
At the beginning of the second half, both teams
were in position to take control of the game. The
Lions took the initiative and secured a 10-7 vic
tory, increasing their winning streak against
Mercyhurst to two games.
"I think it definitely helps our confidence, it
shows that we can work as a team," said sopho
more Joe Deely regarding the victory.
The Lions will try to use the experiences of the
Princeton Inter Regional tournament and build on
them as they prepaie for Eastern's at John Hopkins.
"Being in a larger, 30 meter pool, really lets us
see more of our weaknesses, like getting back on
defense effectively," said Deely7
"I think that we are going to have to come to
gether more consistently to really show our skill."
Women's
soccer stays
undefeated
in AMCC
The Lady Lions are back on track. After a 1-2
week, including a loss to 25th ranked Allegheny
College, Behrend picked up a big conference win
against Lake Erie College. With only three games
remaining in the season, every win counts.
Senior captain and anchor of the Lady Lions'
defense Mandy Gesuale called Behrend's win "re
ally important" both in getting back on track, and
picking up more ground in the AMCC.
Behrend's 5-0 win showcased a strong offensive
attack from players all over the field. Junior Jill
Vroman, sophomores Michelle Newland, Heather
Crawford, and Holly Greiner all contributed with
goals, as the Lady Lions kept up their perfect per
formance in conference play. The win improved
the Lady Lions' record to 10-5 overall and 4.0 in
conference play.
The victory over Lake Erie (2-12, 0-4) guaran
teed Behrend at least a second place finish in the
AMCC. The Lady Lions have three games remain
ing, including one against Frostburg State, who will
rival Behrend for the AMCC title. The game will
be "a big battle" according to Gesuale, but the team
is only looking ahead to the next game.
Before the regular season showdown against
Frostburg, Behrend will take on another conference
foe in Penn State Altoona Saturday. In order to
prepare for this weekend's game, Gesuale said "We
need to keep our fitness up and just work on tech
nical drills." The Lady Lions need to beat both
Penn State Altoona and Frostburg in order to host
the AMCC tournament, beginning on Nov. 5.
Penn State Altoona has struggled this season, 3-
11 overall, and are in the middle of a four-game
slide. Behrend will travel to take on PSA on Satur-
Page 13
The Behrend Beacon
by Rachel Lyons
staff writer