Page 8 - LION'S EYE - April 20, 2000 Men’s Volleyball Ends With Mixed Season By Owen Andrew Bergwall Lion’s Eye Staff Writer The serve floats over, the passer passes the ball, the setter sets it, the hitter jumps, winds up and drills the ball deep into the challenger’s court. A point is played on the Delco men’s volleyball team. After tournaments at Mont Alto, University Park, at home in the Delco gymnasium, and ending at PSU’s Hazleton campus, the Men’s Volleyball club ended their season with a mixed record. Excluding the sqon to graduate Captain, Delco’s Volleyball club has a very young sophomore and freshman roster. It often must, because it’s a two- year school. Which means that most of the team is not experienced, and never played organized volleyball before. High schools in northern and western Pennsylvania often have high school men’s volleyball teams, as well as high schools deep in cities such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Almost no high schools in the immediate area of the Delco campus have men’s teams. This helps show why campuses near high schools with men’s volleyball often have strong teams. There are local places to play, such as the sand courts at the Franklin Mint on Route 1, and the sand courts at Delco. Expect to see Delco players there all summer, improving for next year. After suffering a concussion in the home match, Team Captain and Delco senior, Mark Eisele, could not play in the University Park, or Hazleton tournaments. “We’ve all become better players, and thanks to coach Pfleger we had a great time doing it. And that is what matters,” Said Eisele when commenting on his last season at Delco. The Delco men’s volleyball team will be - back in full force next spring. Members of the Men’s Volleyball Club include: (L. to R.) Matt Hatlemeyer, Cwen Bergwall, Mike McFarland, James Gilson, Mark Eisele, Coach tom Pfleger, Wei-Hao Wu, Borith Thach, Satia Long and Khar Nguy. Lauren Keller 1999-2000 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM MEMBERS | from PENN STATE DELAWARE COUNTY Commonwealth College Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Soccer Constandino Petsinis Richard Neal Constandino Petsinis Women’s Vanessa Behl Vanessa Behl Volleyball Baseball David Boyle David Boyle Kristopher Rogers Kristophers Men's Melvin Hicks N/A Basketball - (Top selection of the League) Women’s Amanda Heilman Amanda Heilman Basketball Rachel Hurwitz Rachel Hurwitz Collegiate Conference Lauren Keller SPORTS - PSU Mont Alto tries unsuccessfully to block Delco players Mark Eisele and Wei-Hao Wu in recent home tournament. ‘Two Big”: Lennox Lewis Battles Michael Grant By Bob Dugan Lion’s Eye Staff Writer It was November 20, 1999 in Atlantic City. Undefeated heavyweight boxer Michael Grant was ready to step into the ring to face Andrew Golota. It was one ofthe biggest fights for Grant because a week earlier Lennox Lewis had beaten Evander Holyfield to become the unified heavyweight champion of the world. Michael Grant was seen as an up and coming superstar, and if he could take “out Golota in an exciting fashion, than maybe, just maybe, he could receive the opportunity face Lewis down the road. Michael Grant stepped into the ring and was knocked down on his ass in the first round by Golota. He got back up, and even though he was down on all three judge’s scorecards throughout the fight, he knocked down Golota in the tenth round. The ref asked Golota if he wanted to continue and Golota shook his head “no”. Officially it was ruled as a TKO by Michael Grant. His new record would stand at an impressive 31-0 with 22 knock outs. The boxer from Norristown, Pennsylvania who had only begun to box professionally in 1994 would soon have his chance. Lennox Lewis was calling him out. It is now April 2000 and Michael Grant is taking on Lennox Lewis on Saturday night, April 29. TVKO pay per view, which is owned by HBO, is calling the fight “Two Big: 13 feet and 500 pounds of fight”. Grant is 6’7” and 250 pounds. Lewis is 6’5” and 247 pounds. Lennox Lewis kicked off his heavyweight career by knocking out Riddick Bowe in the 1988 Olympics to win the boxing gold medal. He defeated Andrew Golota in one round, ‘Razor’ Rudduck in two rounds, and also took out Ray Mercer. He supposedly offered Mike Tyson $45 million once to fight him and Mike refused. Lewis’ one disappointrnent came when he was knocked out in the second round by the still unknown Oliver McCall. It would be the only loss in the English man’s career which stands at 351 - 1 with 27 knock outs. Lewis eventually took on Evander Holyfield in March of’99 to unify the heavyweight titles. After the controversial draw, Lowis took revenge on Holyfield in November and finally made things right. He walked away with the WBC, the IBF, and the WBA heavyweight titles. His next match would be against Grant in the ‘Mecca of boxing’, New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Michael Grant started to box in 1992 and didn’t fight professionally until 1994. His three biggest opponents he defeated were Golota, David Izon, and Lou Savarese (Mike Tyson is fighting Savarese in Italy this summer). “Two Big’ will pit Grant verse Lewis in a twelve round heavyweight “When these two giants step into the squared circle, expect a flat out war.” showdown. While the pay per views of 1999 were all disappointments (Holyfield Lewis | and 2, Trinidad- Del.aHoya), so far 2000 has brought us some exciting fights including Morales vs. Barerra (a fight HBO’s color commentary man Larry Merchant called an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10) and Reid vs. Trinidad. Also on the horizon is the much anticipated welterweight battle between undefeated ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosely and ‘The Golden Boy’ Oscar Del.aHoya which takes place in June at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Even though Grant and Lewis are generally known for their slow in-ring ability and lack of killer instinct, this is not a basic fight. This is for two of the most prestigious titles in the land. When these two giants step into the squared circle, expect a flat out war that hopefully will go down in the boxing annuls of history as a definitive classic. The pay per view on April 29 is $44.95. The other fights on the card include Paul Ingle taking on Junior Jones, Arturo Gatti vs. Homer Gibbons, and Wladimir Klitschko facing a still unnamed opponent.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers