1A A B p E ri ti l 30 RE 20 N 10 D BEACON Sp m i l www.thebehrendbeacon.com BEHREND BEACON YEAR IN REVIEW A look back at the stories that define the 2009-2010 academic year at Penn State Behrend (ALL STORIES PRINTED WITH AUTHOR, THEIR STAFF TITLE AT THE TIME AT WHICH THE ARTXLE WAS PUBLISHED, AND DATE THE ARTICLE ORIGINALLY RAN IN THE BEHREND BEACON.) SHAWN ANNARELLI Tort , . eiltfor October 23, 2009 The women's tennis team won their ninth AMCC Cham pionship on Aug. 18. The women's tennis program has won all nine of those titles in the past 13 years. This year marked the ninth champi onship season led by head coach Jeff Barger and the third for seniors Christy Calvert and Karen Flobaugh. "Christy and Karen were great student athletes," Barger said. "They did the best they could do on and off the court. In four years they each over came a lot to help us do well. They will be missed as leaders on the team." Behrend, Penn State Altoona and Frostburg State were es tablished as the top three con tenders for the championship from the get go. Each team re ceived nine points in doubles play. Frostburg State got off to the fastest start winning two of the three doubles finals against Behrend's pairs. Only Behrend's number two duo of Mens golf team wins AMCC championship NICK BLAKE Tort , ' editor October, 9 2009 The Penn State Behrend men's golf team is the AMCC champion. It was a very close battle that took two days and a tiebreaker to decide, but the men's golf team defeated the defending AMCC champion Penn State Altoona team to take the title. Both teams finished with a two-day final score of 617, but Penn State Behrend claimed the title due to the tiebreak. This AMCC title is the first for James Bowen as a head coach for the Behrend Lions, and he was extremely proud of his team. "I just couldn't compose my self, I was just so happy for those guys," Bowen said. The tournament started on Oct. 4 and the Behrend Lions jumped out to a 299-303 lead Daniel Smith / The Behrend Beacon Out in front: Senior Kevin Gorny, above, has been one of Behrend's most consistent leaders. He finished first WOMEN'S TENNIS WIN junior Hillary Lasher and soph omore Leslie Durante could scrap out a finals win in dou bles competition, 9-8, (4). Lasher and Durante were the only two to record finals victo ries in singles and doubles competition. Behrend went undefeated in every, singles final to pull away from both Frostburg State and Altoona. "I just told the ladies that doubles is over," Barger said. "Play singles the way we can play. Have fun." Sophomore Arica Christman led the singles. Christman swept the top finals match and defeated Frostburg State's Elle Dannenfelser (6-3, 6-2). Christman and her doubles partner, sophomore Stephanie Cattron, rebounded with victo ries in single finals after losing badly in the number one dou bles final. "Singles is my game," Christ man said. "I have played her before. I knew that I could beat her. It was hard losing in dou bles, but I wanted that singles title too much to let the loss get me down." The match between Christ man and Dannenfelser pitted after the first round at Tom's Run Golf Resort in Blairsville, Pa. Senior Pat Petraglia led the Lions with a tournament best, first round score of 70, which was two under par for the course. "The focus that Pat [Pe traglia] had on that first day was unbelievable," Bowen said. "That focus that he showed, and that two under for the first day really lifted the other guys up." All of the scores tallied by Behrend on the first day were in the 70's, giving the Lions a very productive first day. Penn State Altoona has a very good golf program, so the Blue and White knew what they were going up against. "[Penn State] Altoona is a great team, and with them chasing us we knew we had to do our best," Bowen said. On day two of the tourna- For the third straight year, the men's cross country team has taken home the AMCC Title, deftly handling all challengers this weekend. The women's team fin ished just short of the title, coming in third overall behind Frostburg State University and Franciscan The Behrend men's cross country team dominated the field, with seniors Kevin Gorny and Andy lams finishing first and second overall, respectively. Along with the team's success, there were individual ac complishments as well. Gorny was named the AMCC Champion of this season for the second time since 2007. In addition to repeating success, both Gorny and lams made the All-Conference Team for the fourth year in a row, making them the only the fifth and sixth men in the history of Behrend's Cross Country to do so. "It was pretty exciting," lams said. "I've been running for 10 years and to end my running career with a Con ference Championship and as a runner-up with these guys is amazing." ment, the Behrend Lions shot a 318, but Penn State Altoona an swered with a 314, tying the teams' two day total at 617. In the event of a tie, the best score of each team's number five golfer is used to decide the champion, and the Behrend Lions had the best fifth score, earning them the title. Division 111 does not give out golf scholarships, and Bowen stressed how much his team loves the game. "These guys are tired, they've missed a lot of class and I com mend them for that," Bowen said. "We can't give out schol arships, so they're out there playing because the truly love the game." Penn State Altoona had won the AMCC championship the previous three years, so the vic tory for Behrend was very spe cial. "It was thrilling, I had so many coaches congratulating L~ I AMANDA STETZ For the women, the main start wr !ter competition was Frostburg October 6, 2010 GOrn li 1 lams lead Menic 7 University an Fran i; ciscan State University, last d year's defending champions. "We ran our hard est," said junior captain Liz Keller. "Franciscan is a tough team. They de served everything that they won today. They will still be a tough team to beat next year, as their best run ners will be returning next cross country to AMU ECUTIVE AMC( CHAMPIONSHIP the AMCC's top two play ers against each other. The two went unde feated in AMCC play, except when they faced each other. The rivals split season to set up Christman's winning effort in a grudge match at the AMCC Championships. "It was important for me to eliminate any er rors and stay fo cused," Christman said. "I played one of the best matches I have ever played, so it was really fun competition." Cattron de feated Altoona's N‘4l. • Contributed Photo The newly minted AMCC mens golf champions, The Penn State Behrend Lions me and my players," Bowen the AMCC championship in said. "It's not that anyone dis- 2004, but the most recent one likes Altoona, but they were the will surely stick with the team defending champs and they forever. were dethroned." "I just can't state how great The Behrend Lions also won and exciting the entire tourna- title Running through the muddy fields from the weather overnight as well as the morning's presented a challenge for all teams. "The field was terrible," said senior captain Kevin Gorny. "The mud was thick and my time was affected by it. But we were racing to place, not for time, and I was real proud of my team." Under Gorny's lead, the men also earned 17 points, the lowest - and best - number of points a cross country team has scored in the history of the AMCC. "Both men's and women's teams ran excellent races," said Behrend's head coach Greg Cooper. "Our women ran well and I'm pleased with Jenna [Fatica] and Emily [Berry]. As for the men, one of the hardest things to do in sports is to do what you're supposed to do. It was awesome for them to step up and stay focused " STY Emily Knott (6-2, 6-4) in the second singles final. Lasher, Calvert, Durante and Hobaugh continued Behrend's path of destruction. Calvert, playing with a severe shoulder injury, won the num ber four singles final, (7-6, 6-0), over Frostburg State's Megan Martin. "I rank this AMCC title the highest among the rest we have won," Calvert said. "I ranked it the highest because I played in my last collegiate tennis match." matches one to one in the regular Hobaugh defeated Frostburg State's Jannil Sites (6-3, 6-0) in the number six singles final. "This title will always be very near and dear to me," Hobaugh said. "While fighting for the victory on Sunday, I also kept in mind that it was the end of my last season. It was very bitter sweet. I'm so proud of every one's performance there." Calvert and Hobaugh were cornerstones in building the women's tennis program's dy nasty. Each displayed humble ness and gratification in reminiscing their exceptional reign as part of the AMCC's best women's tennis program. "Over the past four years, I orts have had the privilege to play among many talented tennis players who love this sport," Hobaugh said. "I've made some of my closest friends through tennis. Calvert and Hobaugh each noted their gratitude towards coach Barger and expressed how rewarded they feel. "Playing collegiate tennis was a dream of mine," Calvert said. "I couldn't have been more fortunate to play for this team," Hobaugh said. AMCC titles in last 12 years 7 More AMCC championships than any other team 5 Consecutive AMCC titles ment was," Bowen said The championship earns Penn State Behrend an auto matic bid to the NCAA Tourna ment, which will be played in May 2010. Senior Andy lams finished second seconds , teammai Got
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