BEACON SPORTS
Behrend softball enjoying a prosperous start
By Jeff Wemmell
contributing writer
jav,9860 psu edu
The Penn State Behrend softball team is enjoy
ing one of the best seasons in the team's history.
Currently the team is on their second streak in
which the team has won 11 games in a 12 game
span. The team could not be hotter as they roll on
towards the end of a fantastic season. The
Behrend Lions softball team has cruised their way
to an impressive 22-4 record with only a handful
of games remaining.
As the season heads towards the Alleghany
Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC)
Tournament, the Behrend softball team is holding
on to a 9-1 record in AMCC games. The girls
swept the Medaille Mavericks on Wednesday in a
two game set. With these two wins, the Behrend
Lions remained undefeated at home in eight
games
In the first game of the double- header, fresh
man Julie Koman took the mound. Koman earned
nine strikeouts in a shutout game on her way to
her eleventh win of the season. Freshman Katie
Whitby reached home three times while freshman
Lindsay Baughman knocked in 2 RBIs. The Lions
took the first game of the series 8-0. In the second
game of the doubleheader, junior pitcher Sandy
Jaussi pitched the team to an 11-7 win which was
called in the sixth inning due to thunderstorms.
The freshman duo of Katie Whitby and Rachelle
Lawrence both hit homeruns and drove in 3 RBIs
each.
Junior pitcher Sandy Jaussi said, "Our fresh
men have been incredible for us this year, espe
cially Whitby, Baughman and Koman." The team
has been thriving off of the help that they have got
this year from their 14 freshmen. Junior Kristin
HOUSING AND FOOD SERVICES
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
NAME:
SPORT:
CLASS:
DATE:
Dan Mitchell (Bloomsburg/Bloomsburg) has beau named the Housing and Food
Services Athlete of the Week.
The junior qualified for a return trip;to the NCAA Championships this stating with
his throw of 193'6" on Saturday'at Mown Union. The throw is carnally the sixth
best this year in NCAA Division 111. Mitchell currently holds the school's javelin
record with a throw of 196"1" back in 2004. He was the first ever Wi w! partici
pant at the NCAA Championships in 2004.
"It is gratifying to see Dan's hard work paying off," said head track and fiekl coach
Dave Cooper. "He had a disappobting season last year due to an injury to his throw
ing arm, but he's back on track now"
The Behrend Lions' neat meet is Saturday. April 15 at the Slippery Rock
Invitational. The Blue and White then participate in the ItTPltivitatkmal on April 22
and finish up with the BaldwinVallace Invitational on May 5-6. The BCAC
Championships will be held on May 1849 and the NCAA Championships will be
held on May 25-27 at Benedictine Univenittin Illinois.
Housing and Food Services Athlete of the Week is selected hx, the Sports
Information Staff.
Macha said,
"I wasn't sure
how the sea-
going to go
during fall
practice with
all the new
faces around.
It has been a
very exciting
experience
this season,
having so
many good
people join
the team."
Right now
the team is in
a three-way
tie for first
place in the
AMCC. They
are driving
hard in order
to win home
field advan-
cage during
the AMCC
Tournament.
Jaussi
believes that
the season still has a long way to go. "I do not see
the season ending any time soon. We have a real
ly good team this year and I plan on going pretty
far and hopefully make the NCAA Tournament."
The team, which is still undefeated at home,
plays a doubleheader against AMCC rival Mt.
Aloysius. The game will also be the team's senior
Dan Mitchell
Track mui Field
Junior
April 3, 2006
Kelly Houghton waits in the on-deck circle as she gets ready to hit
opponent. Houghton and the Lady Lions are currently fighting for
game which will honor the only senior on the
team this season, Jill Wooldridge. Jaussi named
the special occasion, "National Jill Day" because
it is so rare to have only one senior to commemo
rate. The first game of the doubleheader will take
place at the Behrend softball field and begin at 10
a.m.
Fan Question- MLB 2006
Barry Bonds is on the brink of breaking
the MLB record for homeruns in a career.
If he can amass 756 homeruns, he will
pass Hank Aaron for the all-time record.
With the scandal involving steroids and
other performance enhancers, many
believe that Bonds should not be added to
the record books. If Bonds can break the
homerun record, should there be an aster
isk next to his name?
Water polo season cut short
By Nick Underhill
staff writer
Bobby Knight, the coach of Texas Tech's college basket
ball team has an old saying that goes, "Any good coach
knows when it's time to call it quits," and that's just what
women's water polo coach Joe Tristan did. His team became
plagued with a variety of illnesses and injuries, and he felt
that he would jeopardize the future of the program if he con
tinued to put his girl's health at risk.
The decision came after their match against Gannon on
March 22. "We sat down and had meeting, and the girls
agreed that it wasn't in their best interest to compete, their
health was at risk... [and] there was no way that we were
going to be able to make a 100 percent effort against our
opponents." Tristan explains, "We figured let's end the sea
son now, lets get back and get it together for next season,"
Tristan explained.
Tristan felt that it just wasn't fair for his girls to jump in the
pool and compete. He says that they just couldn't keep up
with their opponents, there were several times that they even
had to play a woman down because so many players were
sidelined. "They put forth that effort to be athletes, to com
pete, to be warriors. I can't ask anymore of them. They did
everything they could." He said, "This was one of the hard
est decisions I have ever made in my life, but next year were
going to be back in that pool, back in the water, and will be
Sports Trivia 101
Ricky Henderson holds the career record for 1,406 stolen bases in his
career. The most difficult base to steal in baseball is home plate.
What Major League Baseball player holds the record for stealing
home plate, doing so 54 times in his career?
Last Week's answer: The famous Behrend alum who hit a three-run
homerun in the 1987 World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals was Tom
Lawless (Answered by Stephen R. Oyler).
The answer will be posted,in next week's Beacon issue. Email your answers to
cslsoos@psu.edu. The first person to answer correctly will have their name
printed next week. Good Luck!
Mike Sharkey/ T
nru I (X)@ psu.edu
against an AMCC
the AMCC title.
ready to play." Tristan explains that his girls did everything
they could to salvage their season, whether they were at the
doctor's office or on the trainer's table every week, but it
proved to be impossible to overcome all of their troubles.
The team wasn't very deep this season, which was a major
factor in determining the fate of their season, and Tristan
encourages anyone who is interested in playing to come see
him. "Any female athletes, not even athletes, just students,
that want to play water polo or swim, come on out." He goes
on to express some of the positive aspects of being part of his
team, "It's a great sport, its fun, it keeps you in shape, you'll
be part of a varsity
sport, and you can
score some goals just
like soccer."
The ladies didn't net
too many wins before
the verdict of their sea
son came down, post
ing a record of 2-13.
"They put forth that
effort to be athletes, to
compete, to be war;
riors, I can't ask any-
They focus more on
gaining experience and
just look to be competitive against the best competition avail
able. Both of their wins came against Division One foes,
Carthage and Utica, and they have done fairly well against
others such as Michigan, who only beat them 5-3. "The focus
is just on player development, and the goal is to be competi
tive, we can do this and not have a winning record."
The Behrend Beacon I 10
Friday, April 14, 2006
Men's tennis
struggles to
maintain consis-
tency this season
By Ben Raymond
contributing writer
bar23skvrw cdu
The Behrend Lion's Men's tennis team is looking to
finish their season strong on April 23 in Wexford at the
AMCC championships. The Lions faced some strug
gles earlier in the year but are now finding their stroke
that should carry them through to next year.
With only one senior, the young team has taken on a
lot of responsibility and has had to really step up their
game. The Lions started off the season with several
tough losses, which only increased their determination.
Their first big win came at home on March 18 against
the Pitt-Greensburg Bobcats with a score of 8-1.
They showed their ambition and proved that they
were no joke when they defeated rivals Frostburg State
on April 1. From there the determined Behrend team
won its next match by pummeling the Pitt-Greensburg
team for the second time this year.
Since then, the Lions have suffered several tough
defeats against fellow commonwealth campus Penn
State Altoona and neighbors to the south Slippery Rock
University. While this year's team may have had a bit
of trouble they will be returning the majority of their
roster including two juniors, eight sophomores, and a
pair of freshmen.
"We have a lot of new players on the team this
year," said Head Coach Jeff Barger who is in his 9th
year at Behrend. "Our lineup is still uncertain in a few
areas, but we have a real shot at being very strong if
things work out." This came after their 2005 season
where the Lions finished with a strong conference
record of 5-1 and an overall record 11-8.
There were a lot of close calls and hard luck match
es, but the Behrend men never lost their spirit. They
have tasted success and are hungry for more as they
prepare for the conference championships on Sunday,
April 23. They enter the conference finals with a
record of 3-3 and an overall record of 3-14
The Lions are taking the time between matches to get
ready to bounce back and serve up great competition.
Behrend junior Jim Palmer is being honored under the
player of the week section on the AMCC website
www.amcconf.org. The conference championships are
being held at the Oxford Athletic Club in Wexford, Pa.
The action starts up at 9 a.m.
more of them."
4oe Tristan