18 FRIDAY, April 28, 2000 Nationally ranked teams challenging Lady Lions throughout season By Chris Bauman COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER The Penn State women's lacrosse team , F-.w by looking at its schedule it was in for a igh season. The Lady Lions (7-9), which started the .eason at No. 10, were slated to play eight of he nine teams above them in the preseason ..p 10. With just one of those games remain 2. though, the Lions have yet to beat any • , in ranked ahead of them, but are a perfect against teams ranked below them. I would probably characterize it as a owing season." Lions senior captain Jenn -.'ebb said. "I think a lot of the younger play : got experience." I 'f mn State women's lacrosse coach Karen hnellenbach agreed with Webb, but also :lid the team should have been able to win a ilple of their closer games. I felt like this year we had some disap •"inting losses when we were in some she said. "I knew coming into this ~ ."re a young team." Georgetown meets Penn State, looks for NCAA tourney berth By Chris Bauman COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER it!c team has something to play for at I , mn tomorrow - when the No. 15 Penn State omen's lacrosse team meets No. 4 .00rgetovim. It's not the Lady Lions. kVith a victory at Jeffrey Field, the Hoyas 3) all but assure themselves an NCAA Tournament berth. While the Lions (7-9) lost all chances last Sunday in a loss to t len-No. 12 Vanderbilt. Georgetown women's lacrosse coach Kim Simons said she felt her squad wasn't a lock bn' the tournament unless it wins this week- For the Lions, four seniors will be playing heir last home game in Happy Valley and probably the last game of their careers Courtney Jenkins, Christine Kenney, Julie T;ce and Jenn Webb. Hopefully all the seniors will have their h. , st games of the season," Webb said. Penn State women's lacrosse coach Karen Schnellenbach said each of the •:[iliors would he presented with her senior `lanket by her parents before the game. The game will give Tice one last chance nipen up her margin atop the Penn State time assist list. She passed Marsha Flo *•: ~_ „,......„ „.„...,..,, ~ THE OA 10° 1 0 — LIZ o°ll6 , q4e7o; Aieser*P , Conte in and check out our tag sale for great discounts on barely used brand name fashions! C 133 S. Allen St. (Below Chili's) 237-4020 "It is not true that nice guys rini,h fast. Nice guys are - winners before the game ever starts." Addison Walker All this and more. Collegian Classifieds dll„Collegian After a season warmup in which the Lions pounced Lehigh, the Lions took aim at the top top-ranked, defending-national cham pion Maryland. The Terrapins quickly showed the Lions why they held the No. 1 position as they left the Lions licking the wounds of a 19-4 shellacking. On the same road trip, the Lions battled then-No. 3 James Madison. Although the Lions gave the Dukes a battle, the higher ranked team was again triumphant, 18-11. Returning to the seclusion of Happy Val ley, Penn State hoped the home crowd would lead it to an upset of then-No. 4 Vwginia. The Lions jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but the Cavaliers rattled off seven straight goals to take the wind out of the Lions' sails. The Lions tried to mount a comeback, but it wasn't to be. They suffered another loss, this time 13-7. The next day, William & Mary paid a visit to Bigler Athletic Complex. The Lions used an overtime goal by senior Julie Tice to beat the Tribe, 13-12, and snap a three-game los ing skid. rio last Sunday, recording her 110th, then 111th career assists. She has 29 dishes this season, well off of her pace from last season when she led the Lions with 41. Webb, one of the Lions co-captains, is the Lions leading scorer this season with 42 goals and 55 total points. She has been Tice's favorite target this season. Kenney is not far behind Webb, second on the team with 26 goals, third in points with 42, and the team leader in draw controls with 68. Jenkins, the other co-captain, has been a defensive strong point for the Lions, leading the team in forced turnovers. Lions junior goalkeeper Megan Ames has also played well, although some of her stats don't show it. She has a 12.22 goals against average, but has an almost 50 percent save percentage. Simons said she is concerned about the Lions. "Playing up at Penn State is going to be a challenge," she said. "I think it's going to be a tough game. They haven't beat a top team but they've played a lot of them. I don't think they're going to roll over." Schnellenbach said her team has the potential to upset the Hoyas. "I feel like our team, if they show up for 60 minutes," she said, "will make it a tough game." 123 S. Borrowes A • State College, PA 168 5 01 3 -3 1 882 I t, EGI 11 (814) 865 -2 t II I f f 1 j • (MT • EU, • 44:0KW • En • OKT • ZEE • (1)1(IF • EIY., • (MT • EEE vsi PA vsi • To the Brothers of Phi Kappa 0 Thanks for a great Spring Week, Number Four in Overall Competition. Thank you to our Spring Week Chairs 4, Molly Kranzley, Krissie Cicala, Amy lacone, jottdan Norley • (MT • ZEI, • OKI/ • EIE • 41:0KW • Eli, • OKI/ • ZEE • OM' • al, Penn State continued its homestand and its winning ways the following weekend as it easily handled Lafayette 15-11. However, the next day the Lions would hit rock bottom, suffering a 19-8 demolishing at the hands of then-No. 4 Princeton. The Tigers dominated the game from the open ing draw, scoring the first seven goals of the game in just less than 10 minutes to take any hopes of an upset out of the Lions. After the loss to Princeton, the Lions earned a split of their next two games, beat ing Ohio State but suffering another loss at the hands of a top-10 team, then-No. 9 Delaware. After an intrastate showdown where the Lions used a second-half comeback to defeat Temple, the Lions had another shot at a top -10 team. In a driving wind and rainstorm at Jeffrey Field, the Lions fought hard and took Loyola to overtime. However, the Greyhounds were able to outlast Penn State and hold on for the 9-8 victory. That loss started another three-game los- PSU lacrosse The 2000 season didn't quite go as Don Mayerhofer planned. It didn't go as Penn State men's lacrosse coach Glenn Thiel planned, either. Basically, no one on the men's lacrosse team wanted the outcome they got. "Every time you start a season, you go in expecting to make the (NCAA) playoffs," said Mayerhofer, a senior attacker for the Nittany Lions. "Right now we're not quite going to make it." But despite the disappointment they feel, the Lions (6-6, 2-3 ECAC) will try to put it past them when they take on No. 8 Duke (8- 4) at 2 p.m. today at Jeffrey Field. This will be the seniors' last home game of the sea son. Mayerhofer as well as fellow classmen Wes Furchner, David Washo, Mike McGrath and John Stillman will be honored at a pregame ceremony. The Lions' final regular-season game will be played at 1 p.m. May 6 in upstate New York against Stony Brook. Several of the seniors admitted it will be difficult playing in their last games as Lions, but they didn't want to think of it since there is still work to be done. The Lions still feel it is possible to salvage the season if they can pull off wins against the Blue Devils and the Seawolves. That would bring them to 8-6 on the sea- It started on Wednesday with fun and games, When we began to learn everyone's names. We got d•?wn and dirty playing volleyball in the sand, Our picnic wouldn't have been complete without the rocking band. We all wore a toga in a creative and crazy way, Looking forward to winning the games the next day. Our number one chariot was the talk of the night, Tearing ourselyes away from our husbands took all of our might. The barbeque on Saturday was so much fun, We all kept wondering where was the sun. In Crazy Bands we shook our booties and did a disco dance, We thQtght number one was a really good chance. Saturday night's Disco Fever was a groovin' time, Decked out in polyester threads and looking oh-so fine. We made friends and built bonds that we know will always last, We iorly wish that the week didn't go by as fast. SPORTS By Carla Motko COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER ing slide, again all against top-10 opponents. The Lions dropped another one-goal heart breaker to North Carolina before getting crushed by Dartmouth 14-5. Facing two unranked teams got the Lions back on the winning path as they beat both New Hampshire and Old Dominion. Howev er, in a game with NCAA Tournament impli cations, Vanderbilt edged Penn State 9-8 to all-but end the Lions' tournament hopes. Throughout the season, Penn State has gotten consistent play from some of its veter ans and some surprising play from a couple of youngsters. Tice continued her excellent knack for helping other people score goals. She has amassed 29 assists this season and set a new Penn State record for assists in a career with 111 against the Commodores. "Julie was definitely a pivotal player," Schnellenbach said. "She has an ability to see things before they happen." Webb has also been one of the Lions' con sistent scorers. Her nine goals last weekend bring her total to 42 for the season. falls short on "We had to go through some growing pains." son and 3-3 overall in conference play. But the Lions are well aware that had they gotten off to a better start, they might not be in this must-win situation. After graduating six seniors from last sea son, it was obvious this would be a rebuilding year for Penn State. But even after produc tive fall workouts and several scrimmages in the spring, the team was not ready at the start of the 2000 season. The Lions have only been above .500 once this season, but early losses to Notre Dame and Denver put them down further than they expected to be. "We were a little young at the beginning of the season and we had a lot of growing to experience," midfielder Furchner said. "I guess we needed to experience those losses - early. We had to go through some growing pains." Penn State lingered at or below .500 for much of the season, but a long road excur sion hurt the team as the players found themselves two games under .500 with only four games left in the season. At that point, everyone on the team knew they had to win their remaining games to be in playoff contention. 1,1,E • (1:01( 1 1! • 1.1,1, sa)KT Psi for a 1,1,1, • DKW • 1,1,1, (DKIP • OKT • EY,I, • OKI' • EEE Great Spring • (DM' • EET, • (DICT • ZEE THE DAILY COLLEGIAN "Jenn Webb is really important with her determination and hustle," Schnellenbach said. "Every time she has the ball in her stick, it's a relief to us (on the sideline)." Adding to the two seniors has been the impressive play of two sophomores, Molly Ford and B.J. Lucey. Although listed on the roster as a defenseman, Lucey has been one of the more productive Lions offensively. She scored a career-high five goals against the Lady Monarchs and has 26 goals on the sea son. "8.J., I would say, is already a leader," Webb said. "Molly will have to replace Julie (Tice) and Christine (Kenney) on attack. I think she'll do well also." Schnellenbach said next year's squad will have more experience, but still be a younger team composed mostly of juniors and sopho mores. She is also optimistic that this year's recruiting class will have an immediate impact on the team next season. Webb said she enjoyed her time in the Blue and White and will take something away from it. expectations Wes Fumbler Penn State men's lacrosse player But if last year's game against Duke is any indication, the Lions shouldn't start packing their bags for the playoffs yet. In a ruthless display of physicality, two Penn State players were knocked uncon scious and several others were injured as Duke rumbled to a 22-8 victory. "It was a really physical game last year," Thiel said. "I expect we're going to see a lot of the same this year. "They're a good team and they're in con tention for a top seed in the tournament just as they are every year." But no matter what the outcome, the seniors said they are pleased with the way their four years at Penn State have gone. Mayerhofer said the hard part won't be com ing on the field or even in the seniors' cere mony. The toughest part, he said, will be coming off the field. "I'm trying not to think about it too much," Mayerhofer said. "This is going to be the last time I wear my home Penn State uniform. "I've been playing this sport competitively since the fifth grade and this is pretty much the end. And walking off the field on Friday is going to be one of the toughest things I've ever had to do." • OKT • EEE Week • OKII • ZEE EIT, • e NE OKT E 0, tit • (D'
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