11 The Daily Collegian A brief look at the world of sports NHL Washington 9, Vancouver 0 Detroit 5, Winnipeg 2 St. Louis at Calgary, late NBA Phoenix 98, New Jersey 88 Philadelphia 118, Toronto 110 Atlanta 115, Utah 89 Miami 125, Dallas 118 Denver 110, Orlando 93 Portland at L.A. Lakers, late San Antonio at Golden State, late NHL Pittsburgh at Hartford, 7 p.m. Dallas at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m. Montreal at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m. Winnipeg at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. Florida at N.Y. Rangers, 7:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Flyers, 7:30 p.m. Edmonton at San Jose, 10:30 p.m Buffalo at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m. Colorado at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. NBA Philadelphia at Boston, 7:30 p.m. Utah at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m. Phoenix at Detroit, 8 p.m. Washington at Chicago, 8:30 p.m New York at Minnesota, 8 p.m. Orlando at Seattle, 10 p.m. Milwaukee at Kings, 10:30 p.m. Lisicky mentioned on AP All-America team Lion guard Pete Lisicky, who was left off the Big Ten’s, first and second teams on Monday, was awarded honorable mention status on the Associated Press’ All-American team yesterday. Lisicky was one of just three Big Ten players lauded. The other two were Brian Evans of Indiana (third team) and Jess Settles of lowa (honorable men tion). Lott hangs up cleats after 15 years in NFL SAN JOSE, Calif. Ronnie Lott, one of the best defensive backs in the history of the NFL, says it’s time to retire. “I realized that I’ve exhausted my ability to play the game,” he said yesterday. “My philosophy is to live life to the fullest, and to play the game to the fullest. “I’m not able to be a produc tive player in the NFL any longer. I didn’t want to hang on indefinitely.” Lott, 36, spent 15 years in the NFL. He went to four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and was voted to the Pro Bowl a record-tying 10 times. Instant replay voted down for next year PALM BEACH, Fla. NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue made it official Tuesday: No instant replay next season. “If there’s a vote for instant replay, it will be for a complete period of experimentation, both in the preseason and regular sea son,” Tagliabue said. “If that’s the case, we’re looking to try it in ‘96 for use in ‘97.” Tagliabue spoke after the league’s owners discussed the possible return of the system killed four years ago. In addition to instant replay, the owners heard from Nashville mayor Phil Bredesen, who ex pounded on why his city would be a deserving NFL franchise. Quote of the day "If you build it they will come’ is a nice slogan, but in the long run we have a different view. You must build it where the people are.” William R. Newlin co-chairman of the committee to find a site for a new, baseball-only stadium in Pittsburgh. Compiled from Collegian staff and wire reports. Practice makes perfect Walk-ons help starters prepare for each game By DAVID COMER Collegian Sports Writer Dana Fritz could have settled for playing pick-up basketball games at Rec Hall and three-on-three tour naments at the Intramural Building. But he wanted to play for the Lion basketball team, so when he arrived at University Park after enjoying a solid hoops career at tiny Elk County Christian High School in St. Mary’s, he tried out at Penn State. He was cut. No problem. Fritz would come back the next season and walk his way onto the basketball team. He had the motivation to do so, thanks to his high school days when Fritz was being recruited by Carnegie Mellon. He told one of the school’s assistant coaches of his plan to walk on at Penn State, and the guy told Fritz he was crazy. “You’re never going to do it,” the coach said. Fritz wanted to prove this coach wrong, and he did. Fritz, along with fellow walk-ons Chris Rogers, Bryan Machamer and John Robinson, are the Penn State scout team. The four don’t play much, but they don’t complain either. Their limelight comes mostly on the practice floor, when they show the regulars what to expect from their next opponent. The scout team’s basic function is simple. With the Lions playing Arkansas in the NCAA tournament tomorrow, the four walk-ons, and usually one scholarship player, have done their best impression of the Razorback offense and pressure defense this week. The scout team members do this each practice, knowing full well they’ll dress for most games but probably won’t get any minutes. It’s a selfless role, and one the four players accept. Fritz does his part at each practice, running the other teams’ plays, in large part because he wanted to show that Carnegie Mellon coach that he could play basketball for Penn State. Fritz, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard, wanted to be on the practice team so badly that he shot jumper after jumper and did all he could to hone his skills during the summer of 1993, with his eyes forever focused on the prize a spot on the scout team and a chance to be a part of a Division I basketball team. When Fritz tried out for the second time, he knew what to expect. He had a plan. One of the walk-ons, Spikers prepare for intrastate foe By CHAD WASHINGTON Collegian Sports Writer The Penn State men’s volley ball team felt it. The coaches felt it too. But for the past four weeks, they did not know how to handle it. The dominating spirit was that psychological edge that the Lions were feeling. They used it effectively against some oppo nents. But it was lost when they faced the talented teams. But after an astonishing first place finish at the Hall of Fame Classic tournament, and a long week off, the Lions (11-4, 3-0 EIVA) have regained the edge, and will try to avoid it from slip ping again when they travel to St. Francis (4-13, 1-2 EIVA) at 7:30 tonight in DeGol Arena. “We have to continue being patient, get on their tendencies early,” Lion coach Mark Pavlik said. “When we play St. Francis, we have a good feel for what they’re like.” Penn State is getting good play from its young talent, like sophomore Sergio Pampena and freshman Justin Otto. Pampena was the unknown assassin in the Hall of Fame Classic, racking a combined 26 kills and seven blocks in the two victories Sophomore Michele DeJuliis attempts to recover the ball after being checked last season by Virginia players. DeJuliis and the lacrosse team are looking forward to the upcoming season. Sports Ron Palmer, was unlike the other walk-ons because the coaches invited him to try out for the team. Fritz would guard Palmer to get noticed by the coaches. “Apparently, I did a good enough job that I caught the coach’s attention hustle, defense, maybe shot a little bit,” he said. “It was a great feeling.” But it was a feeling that didn’t come easily. After the try outs, all the potential team members sat down, and the coach Bruce Parkhill at the time came over and picked four people. Fritz wasn’t one of them. Parkhill then pointed at the fifth person, either Fritz or a big, tall kid sitting behind him. “We both stood up. And (Parkhill) is like, ‘No, you.’ And I’m like, ‘Me?’ I looked around and see this 6-foot -6 guy, and coach said, ‘No’ and looked to me,” Fritz said. “I got these chills throughout my entire body. I went home and called my parents. It was nuts." On the same day Fritz was chosen for the scout squad, Machamer, a 6-foot-6 forward, was also select ed. Machamer has a background similar to his close friend and fraternity brother Fritz. He also came from a Class A school, Schuylkill Haven High, and was its best player. He was an all area, all-county and all-district selection as a senior and twice led his team to the state quarterfinals. Machamer had offers from Division I schools including Columbia and Monmouth along with sev eral Division II colleges. He visited Columbia and did n’t like its atmosphere, so he decided to come to Penn State, whether or not he would part of the basketball program. Now that he is, he couldn’t be happier. “It’s an experience that you never, never could imagine,” said Machamer. “I know when I’m older I’ll look back and be so happy I went through with what I went through. It’s very rewarding.” Especially, he said, when he and the scout team are able to run the opponents’ plays correctly and give the regulars a good look at what to expect. Sometimes learning the opponents’ offenses in only a few minutes before practice can be difficult, which assistant coach Monroe Brown knows all about. He is in charge of preparing the scout squad for practice. Last season, Brown said, the walk-ons some times had difficulty doing what the coaches wanted. But like most teams, the scout unit has gotten better with experience. “Coach (Jerry) against Springfield College and Ball State. Otto racked up an eye-boggling 89 assists in the two matches. The combination of the two youngsters has Pavlik smiling, and other teams crying. “(Pampena’s) been giving Justin a real good target to give him the ball,” Pavlik said. “When Justin gives him the ball, Serge’s been terminating it.” The Lions also want to get a win against the Red Flash not only to keep their winning streak of six victories, but to get a good start into the home stretch of the Eastern Intercol legiate Volleyball Association season. The Lions also need to get used to the surroundings of DeGol Arena, since they will be seeing a lot of it soon. “It’s going to be real impor tant because this will be the site of the EIVA Championships in April,” Pavlik said. “We’re going into that gym and get a feel for what the environment is going to be like to play in.” The Red Flash have not shown a lot of talent. They have faced the Lions once this season, with Penn State winning in straight sets. The Lions do not want to underestimate St. Francis, as the Lions hold a 6-0 all-time record against the Red Flash. Dunn gets mad at them for making Please see SCOUT, Page 22. Lady Lions seek to ice Penguins By CHRISTINE L. MILLER Collegian Sports Writer Tired of being ignored by the NCAA selection com mittee, the Lady Penguins of Youngstown State final ly cranked out a win that was impossible to overlook. A 53-43 triumph over rival University of Buffalo last week was enough to capture the Mid-Continent Conference championship, not to mention an automat ic bid to its first-ever NCAA tournament. The Lady Penguins (20-8) received the No. 15 seed in the West bracket, pitting them against second-seed ed Penn State (25-6). Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Friday night in the Bryce Jordan Center. Getting slighted in the past has been heartbreaking for their coach, Ed DiGregorio, especially when the women’s NIT didn’t come calling either. Now those disappointments are distant memories thanks to cur rent events. But the odds weren’t exactly stacked in the Lady Penguins' favor when it came to their conference finale. Buffalo and YSU split their regular-season matchups. Each squad picked up a win on its home court. And the tournament was slated for Buffalo’s home turf. But it would have taken a lot to deter DiGregorio who turned a 3-5 start into a 20-win season. In what he fancies to call “40 minutes of hell," his players employed speed and good post positioning to bring home the title. “They were bigger than us, so we had to scrap ‘em on the boards,” he said. “We’ll give you one shot but we’ll be on the boards right there with you.” This is an interesting contrast to the Lady Lions who have struggled to improve their rebounding abil ities all season. Ranked No. 8 in the final Associated Press poll of the year, Penn State’s post performers will need to be in top form Friday for whatever fire the visitors bring. “We’re not taking them lightly at all,” Portland said. “We understand that they are one of the best 64 teams in the country. Everyone comes in even in the tourna- ment.” Two sophomores own Youngstown’s top rebounding Wednesday, March 13, 1996 Bryan Machamer rejects a shot during a Lion pre-season game with the Russia Select team. Machamer, with fellow walk-ons Chris Rogers, far left and No. 21 Dana Fritz, play a vital role for Penn State. totals 6-foot forward Shannon Beach (8.6) and 6- foot-2 center Ann Marie Martin (5.8). It's difficult to ignore the team’s youthfulness as it has only has two seniors on the roster and only one that has played in all 28 contests. Especially when Portland has such a well-known trio of seniors in Tina Nicholson, Katina Mack and Kim Calhoun. But DiGregorio is certain the Lady Penguins will put up a fight regardless of superficial differences. Team chemistry has been enough to get the job done thus far, he said. The outputs from junior Liz Hauger and sophomore Caroline McCombs have also been key factors. Hauger averages 16.8 points per game, most of which results from her aggressive appetite to drive the hole, her coach said. McCombs has picked up 14.4 points per game so far and has a taste for outside shooting. So for the second consecutive time, DiGregorio’s squad has an important game away its home court, Beeghly Center. No matter for this coaching veteran who knows all too well the role of the underdog. “I’ve played in the big barns and little barns.” DiGregorio said. “There’s no secrets in basketball. You still have to put the ball in the fishing net.” Note: ■ The Penn State-Youngstown State game on Fri day will be televised by WPSX-TV (TCI, Channel 3). If the Lady Lions advance to the tournament’s second round for a 6:30 p.m. tip with the Texas A&M-Kent State winner, ESPN2 plans to do live cut-ins during its NCAA coverage. Lady different start have By JIM lOVINO Collegian Sports Writer A repeat performance of the beginning of last season is not what the women’s lacrosse team wants. But then again, no team would strive to start out their season 0-3. That’s what happened to the Lady Lions last season. The team will try not to make it a yearly rit ual when it opens up its season against Loyola at 3:00 p.m. today at home. “We haven’t focused on the fact that we started 0-3 last season,” senior Joanne Connelly said. “Everyone on this team is practic ing at 100 percent it’s not like we didn’t last year, but it seems like a higher 100 percent.” Junior Michele DeJuliis thinks that the team’s upperclassmen will make sure that what happened last year won’t repeat itself this season. “Last year we thought too far ahead,” DeJuliis said. “This year "We're not taking them lightly at all. We understand that they are one of the best 64 teams in the country. Everyon comes in even in the tournament." Lady Lion coach on Youngstown State laxers look to we’re taking it one game at a time and will take things as they come.” And everything starts with today’s game against Loyola. Penn State lost to Loyola last season and haven’t beaten Loyola since 1993 when the Lady Lions won 7-6. Last season, the Greyhounds handed the Lady Lions their second loss of the season, 7-6 at Loyola. Some of the players had a chance to watch Loyola during the William and Mary Invitational a week ago. Connelly said they are a fast team with good players and good skills. “I expect a real fast-paced game,” she said. The Lady Lions will be missing several key players who were involved with the team’s success last season when they take to the field this afternoon All-Ameri can Jill Pearsall, defender Jen Kotkin and goalkeeper Heidi Shafer. Pearsall was a mainstay on Please see LAXERS, Page 22 Rene Portland
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers