Sports
■ aifinijE man
/ CJ Cr
girls to support you ,
above the ground?’
“Practice, practice, k
strongest and most
They have been propei
do anything and everytl
safe.” -Danielle Budzi
Cheer
squad
receives
awards at
UCA camp
Over the summer Penn State Behrend’s ten
finest cheerleaders, attended and competed
in a four -day, three-night cheerleading camp
at the University of Scranton.
The ladies practiced and competed against four
other squads in the All-Girl Division II section. At the
end of the camp the squad placed second in both the
cheer and chant competition. During Final Awards, the
Behrend cheerleaders received an Award for Superior
Achievement.
The focus of Universal Cheerleading Association camps
is to improve cheerleader’s quality in performance and
charisma to enhance crowd involvement, enjoyment, and
attendance.
“It was an intend four days,” said Coach Elysia Tomlin- 1
son. “The girls worked twelve-hour days learning cheers,
sidelines, stunts, pyramids, basket tosses and dances.”
“The camp was a great way to start our season,” added
Tomlinson. “The Behrend cheerleaders now have a better un
derstanding of what their jobs are as college cheerleaders and
how to do that job effectively. Our sights are set on having a
spirit-infused basketball season.”
UCA is not only the largest cheerleading association in the
world; it also hosts the most widely recognized national cheer
leading competitions on ESPN and ESPN2.
The Penn State Behrend cheerleaders will be competing in
the Universal Cheerleading Association Nationals in January to
represent Behrend on ESPN and ESPN2.
“Ultimately,” says Tomlinson, “we want to improve our pro
gram and create a buzz around our school.”
Would YOU like to be a
part of Behrend’s
Cheerleading squad?
TVunuis oftt Att
Top: junior Danielle Budziszewski
Bottom, left to right: sophomores Kasey
Speakman, Emily Griffith, Allison Auld.
Photo by Daniel Smith / The Behrend Beacon
Design by Shawn Annarelli, Sports Editor
SHAWN ANNARELLI
Sports Editor
1
*
A Aside from physical fitness, mental and aca
u demic acuity is an additional benefit. They
learn valuable time-management skills by bal
ancing our practice schedule, school work and other activities.
They also acquire skills in business, finance, and marketing with
our various fundraisers and events throughout the season.
* What are the dangers involving cheerleading?
There are inherent risks to cheerleading. You cannot build
A h two and one-half story high pyramids and throw back-tuck
■ basket tosses without running the risk of something going
awry.
Q m How do the benefits of cheerleading outweigh the risks of
■ cheerleading?
A:
■ Define who a cheerleader is.
A A cheerleader is someone with natural pep and enthusi
■ asm, who bleeds Penn State blue and white and exudes
" Penn State pride.
«■ Do you consider cheerleading to be just as much of
* a sport as football or basketball?
Heading:
Defined by
cheerleaders
Chee
Q&A with Coach Elysia Tomlinson
2 Does cheerleading fit into the sports world?
A Cheerleaders are athletes. They practice, particpate
J and compete. While their uniforms and equipment
may differentiate them from other sports, the
Behrend cheerleaders possess as much altheticism as any
other sports team.
* Should cheerleading be an NCAA sport?
A This a loaded question. If it were to be an NCAA
m sport there may be a lot of kick-back, and cer
tainly a lot of changes that would need to be
made to be in compliance with NCAA regulations.
QM What type of physical work do cheerleaders
■ dedicate themselves to on a weekly basis?
Am The Behrend cheerleaders practice four days
■ a week doing cardiovascular) work, intense
stretching, practice cheers and dances, work
partner stunts, pyramids, and basket tosses, and
tumble both at practice and at a local gymnastics
center. The girls have additional three-mile fitness
runs at Presque Isle on Sunday mornings and
weight lifting times at the Behrend gym.
2 What are the benefits of cheerleading?
Cheerleading is a tradition. What is Penn State without the
"WE ARE" chant and a group of cheerleaders to lead it?
Q&A with Danielle Budziszewski
A m Cheerleading requires strength, skill, technique,
m and determination. I definitely consider it to be just
as much of a sport as football or basketball.
Qa What is your response to the stereotype that
■ cheerleaders are largely unintelligent?
Am I believe the media plays a major role in the
■ stereotype that cheerleaders are unintelli
gent.
■ Define who a cheerleader is.
A A cheerleader is someone with great
■ talent and leadership. Their job is not
a only to entertain crowds and cheer at
sporting events, but also to motive people
to take pride in what they do and spread
school spirit!
www.clubs.psu.edu/bd/cheerleading
including more information on
tryouts for current Behrend students,
and clinics for grades one through 12.
Get all cheerleading news at
Behrend Beacon
August 28, 2009
www.thebehrendbeacon.com
Intramurals
continued from front page
Wittman thought the intramural season was a
success last year and he feels that new initiatives
deserve credit.
“I thought it went great, we had high partici
pation numbers,” Wittman said. “I think it was
because of some new initiatives. We try to do
some recreational activities (things that do not
necessarily need a gym) while we have some in
tramural sports going on.”
“I realize, for example, that while 5v5 basket
ball is running that not everyone is big on that,
so while those games are going on we try to run
things like a chess tournament or water games,”
Wittman said.
The program also tries to give everyone a
chance to win.
“We also try to make it so you do not have to
be the ‘best' team in the event to win a t-shirt, as
we have silver bracket winners and sometimes
bronze bracket winners."
Wittman has created a Facebook page for
Behrend intramurals, and has now created a
Twitter page to keep students up to date.
“I just started the Twitter aspect and I do not
plan on bombarding followers with constant up
dates, just reminding them of deadlines and up
coming events," said Wittman.
Students who are considering signing up for
an intramural activity this year are encouraged
to do so, in hopes of a fun experience.
“It is going to be fun, and the more students we
can get involved, the better it will be,” Wittman
said.
For questions or information about the intra
mural program, Wittman can be contacted at his
office which is located in the Junker Center or
through e-mail at rww3«< psu.edu.
Baseball team
honored by NCAA
Penn State Behrend’s Mens Baseball teams
second straight AMCC Championship title was
not the only noise made by the Lions this past
summer.
The NCAA honored Penn State Behrend’s
baseball program as one of Division Ill’s most
successful programs over the past decade, as the
team has consistently been a strong conference
and regional contender over this span.
In the past decade the baseball program is
ranked thirtieth among all Dill baseball teams in
wins with 275 and thirty-third for winning per
centage at 65.7 percent.
“The team’s success is tremendous because
there is nothing better than a group of people
coming together to attempt to achieve a common
goal," head coach Paul Benim said. “The ranking
with NCAA was neat because that wasn’t just
one year or two years, it’s a decade.
"We’ve been working hard at this for a long
time, and it goes to show again the depth of our
program and the many players that have con
tributed as well as the assistant coaches that
have come and gone as well. We’re proud of it”.
Benim attributes most of the program’s suc
cess to his past and current players.
“We’ve been blessed to have some really tal
ented men come through our program. Baseball
is one of those neat games where you can’t just
have a shortstop and one pitcher. You need to
have multiple key opponents from the bullpen,
to a back-up second baseman and a couple op
tions at DH."
Benim has managed Behrend baseball teams
for the past 14 seasons and boasts a 353-212-2
record.
Before coaching the baseball team he spent
three years as the softball coach, and in those 17
years as a head coach he has accumulated a
Behrend record 435 wins.
fi 71
This week's 1
SPORTS
SCHEDULE
Monday, September 1
The men’s soccer team gets
the season started against
Geneva at 4 p.m.
The women’s volleyball
team takes on Buffalo State
at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, September 2
The women’s soccer team
kicks things off against
Washington and Jefferson
at 4 p.m.
n Sports in bold are home *
Ik. _Jj
SAM CURTI
■Staff Writer