BEACON SPORTS
Swim team getting ready
for the championship meet
By Jessica Carlson
contributing writer
As the regular season concluded for
the Penn State Behrend Swimming and
Diving team, all participants now have
their eyes set on the championship
meet. On Wednesday, Feb. 6 the team
departed for Grove City College to par
ticipate for the first time ever in the
AMCC Championship Invitational.
"This is the first opportunity for our
swimmers and divers to be recognized
by the conference in their efforts. It
should be a fun and exciting meet. -
says head coach Jen Wallace.
The swimming and diving program at
Behrend is fairly new to the athletic
department. It began in 2001, and since
then, the program has grown exception
ally. The 2006-07 season marked the
largest incoming class in Behrend his
tory by bringing in 29 new men and
women to the team. With such a large
incoming group, Wallace had high
expectations of this season. Her hopes
have been matched thus far with an
improved regular season record of
seven wins and four losses, as opposed
to last year's 1-10. "They brought an
enthusiasm and desire our program had
been lacking in the past few years. It
has been wonderful watching them
grow and learn throughout the season,"
says Wallace.
Newcomers to the team are not the
only ones making a splash in the pool.
The returning athletes for the
women's side are senior captain Leah
Haller and junior Missy Pilewski. Last
year, Pilewski made a mark in Behrend
swimming history by becoming the first
female to qualify for ECAC's where she
HOUSING AND FOOD SERVICES
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
NAME: Kim Chapman
SPORT: Indoor Track and Field
CLASS: Sophomore
DATE: February 5, 2007
Kim Chapman (Cranberry/Seneca Valley) has been named the Housing and Food
Services Athlete of the Week. Chapman became the first ECAC qualifier of the sea
son for women's indoor track and field when she ran the 500 meter run in 1:23.35 this
past Saturday, Feb. 3 at Mt. Union. Chapman placed third in the event and gave the
team six points. The women finished in seventh place overall in the meet.
Chapman qualified for the ECACs in the same event last season with a qualifying
time of 1:23.01. She went on to earn All-ECAC recognition in the event. Chapman
is coming off a freshman season in which she qualified for ECACs in five separate
events.
Men's and women's indoor track and field will compete again Saturday, February
10 when they travel to Slippery Rock for the Slippery Rock Invitational.
Housing and Food Services Athlete of the Week is selected by the Sports
placed 12th in the breaststroke.
Returning swimmers for the men are
juniors Dustin Fairchild and Anthony
Spoto. Fairchild holds the record for
the 200-yard, 500-yard and 1650-yard
freestyle events, while Spoto holds the
100-yard freestyle event record.
There are three divers who are part of
the team for Behrend as well. All three
are freshmen, two men, A.J. Kondash
and Jacob Bernstein, and one woman,
Michelle Quail. Kondash has been
named AMCC men's diver of the week
while Quail has been named AMCC
female diver of the week this season.
Throughout the season, the team con
tended in tough conference meets
against schools such as Buffalo State,
Edinboro, Penn State Altoona, and
Frostburg State. Other teams they
competed against outside of the confer
ence were Bethany College, Mt. Union,
St. Vincent and Nazareth. The first half
of the season took place before Winter
Break, with the men's record at 4-1 and
the women's at 3-2. Over break, the
team took a training trip to Boca Raton,
Florida, where they endured grueling
early-morning workouts, knowing that
the hard work and dedication would
eventually pay off. Regular season
meets concluded on Jan. 26.
In response to the question of how the
season turned out in regards to past sea
sons, Pilewski summed it up by saying,
"Each season is always better than the
last, with new faces and new races."
Championships will be held this
weekend, Feb. 8-10, at Grove City
College. Those who qualify at Grove
City will advance to ECAC's, which are
to be held at Harvard University.
Defense is key to Lady Lions' success
Ellen Kolos calls out plays down the court and Meagan Bielanin goes Op for a shot for the Lady Lions
"Defense to offense." This mantra has been the cor- Brittany Mays led all scorers with 15 points. Junior
nerstone of the Penn State Behrend Women's guard Julia Andrus contributed 13 points while junior
Basketball team since day one. Head coach, Roz forward Meagan Bielanin and sophomore forward
Fornari preaches this tenacious style of defensive play, Victoria lrines had 10 points each. On the defensive
stressing the importance of rebounding, defensive side of the ball, the Behrend defense held the entire
pressure, and steals. "Our preparation usually focuses Altoona squad to single digits in scoring as well as
on defense going into games," says Fornari. "Defense forcing over 20 turnovers, and holding Altoona to a
will always spark the offense." miserable 28 percent shooting for the game.
This spark that Behrend relies on from its defense With a huge win against Penn State Altoona under
has helped lead the Lady Lions to a stellar
overall record of 18-3 and a second place
conference record of 13-2. In their last four
wins alone, Behrend has outscored their
opponents by an average of 25 points, hold
ing all four opposing teams to under 60
points for the entire game. Against confer
ence foes Hilbert College and Penn State
Altoona, Behrend held both teams to under
40 points. The Lady Lions defeated both
teams in dominating fashion, outscoring
each by over 30 points, and winning 72-38
and 79-40 respectively. However, in a pivotal confer- sion for possession with a team, you can't afford the
ence match-up against Medaille, the Lady Lions fought turnovers. -
to ignite any sort of offensive spark, but fell short, los- Despite a solid effort. Behrend committed over 20
ing 72-68. turnovers and lost the battle under the hoards, getting
Against Penn State Altoona, the Lady Lions were out-rebounded 38-29 by Medaille. Behrend was led by
able to turn that defensive spark into an unstoppable Andrus who contributed 23 points and four assists.
fire. Behrend's 79-40 rout of Penn State Altoona Mays and Innes had 16 and II points respectively.
capped al5 game winning streak and boosted their The Lady Lions v ill spend the next week on the road
conference win total to an impressive 13 victories. against conference opponents La Roche and Lake Erie.
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Interested in sports and want to get involved? Contact Dani Brown at
DNBsoo3@psu.edu or Kara Struski KRS2ss@psu.edu to get started.
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By Matt Waronker
assistant sports editor
THIS WEEKEND
“Spirit Against Cancer'
MTh Mammal Becky Hubler Decker
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Behrend was tremendous on both sides of the ball. On
offense, the Lady Lions had plenty of help, with four
players reaching double digits in scoring. Senior guard
"Defense will
always spark
the offense."
-Head coach
Roz Fornari
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Behrend Beacon I 10
Friday, February 9, 2007
their belts, a confident Behrend squad trav
eled to Medaille College this past Wednesday
night. Feb. 6 to battle for the top spot in the
AMCC. Entering the much anticipated
rematch with ri \ al Medaille. Fornari was well
aware of their opponent's potential. When the
two teams met earlier in the season, Behrend
was able to squeak by in a nail-biting 50-49
finish. "We knew. it s ould he a close game
and a tough game," says Fornari. "Our half
court offense played well, but the turnovers
really blot us. When you are playing posses-
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