12 I Thursday, Jan. 14,2010 Broken thumb sidelines center By Tom Copaln COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Chris Pronchik sat in the bleachers next to the tunnel at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion Tuesday with his arm tucked inside his Penn State jacket. ICERS Normally, the Penn State leers- center would be practicing with the rest of his teammates as his team prepares to play Ohio this weekend. But he’ll be a spectator for the foreseeable Pronchik future after he broke his right thumb last week during practice. "It was a fluke,” Pronchik said. "I broke it, and I went to the doc tor. "So I got a couple of pins in it, gonna be out a couple of weeks.” Pronchik was injured when he was skating near the net during practice last week and was hit in the hand with a puck, Penn State coach Scott Balboni said. Pronchik could miss the remain ing regular season games, Balboni said. The junior forward said he had surgery Friday to put the pins in his hand and had his thumb as well as a good portion of his lower arm wrapped Tuesday at prac tice. The pins will be in for three to four weeks as a starter, he said, and his return depends on getting the motion in his hand. Balboni said Saturday Pronchik would be out at least until nation als but gave a more detailed description after practice Tuesday. He's at least four weeks out Jones From Page 8. career. Chadwin coached Jones at Abington Friends High School when the big man started playing organized basketball in his sopho more year. He helped mold him into a Division I talent. Comley’s hard work and relent less energy level on the basketball court has influenced Jones, and they have been something Jones has acknowledged on multiple occasions and has attributed to lowa From Page 8. behind the screen and shoot the three. If you run at them, they can drive by you. They are very unselfish, so they drive and kick out to open shooters very well. They're just a very smart, offen sive team." The Lions can relate to lowa’s up-tempo style of play, as Washington said her team is more comfortable playing in transition. But in order to get out and run, Penn State will need to cre ate turnovers. “It's huge,” senior guard iyra Grant said of her team’s need to create opportunities for itself. "When we’re able to get a steal or a deflection or something like that, we've got to capitalize on that with two points, three points, or getting to the free throw line. "Just making it a positive is a good thing to do.” However, creating turnovers hasn't happened that often for the Lions. Penn State has strug gled to capitalize on its oppo nents’ miscues as it currently ranks 10th in the Big Ten in Make $ $ $ Doing What You Already Do! » Do you take good notes? ! Would you like to improve your grades? ! Nittany Notes needs notetakers! \A Nittany Notes W 814-238-0623 NittanyNotes.com ARTH 320.1 HDFS 129.1 CAMS 104.1,2 HIST 143.1 -4 CAS 283.1-6 HRIM 380.1 COMM 381.1 KINES 321.4 ECON 004.2 MKTG 221.1 ECON 315.1 PSYCH 100.3 ECON 402.1 PSYCH 231.1 GEOG 020.1 -8 RLST 003.1,2 GEOSC 021.1 SCM 404.1,4,5, before he gets his screws out and he can skate again,” Balboni said. “From there it’s just a matter of seeing where we stand. But he’s six to eight weeks, which we have eight weeks left in the season. So I think he’s shooting to be ready for, at best, the last weekend of the year.” Pronchik’s injury is just another blow to a team that recently got forward and senior captain Matt Kirstein back from a medial collat eral ligament (MCL) sprain. The leers are also without for ward Taylor Cera, who is still recovering from a high ankle sprain. But in Pronchik, the leers lose a lot of team speed down the middle and the center’s 13 points—seven goals and six assists in his 20 games. They’re also losing one of their better defensive and faceoff pivots and one of their main penalty killers. “It’s a crucial loss for us,” for ward Tim O’Brien said. “It’s tough to lose a guy, especially when it’s in practice getting hurt. That’s a bummer for Chris. “He’s been working hard all season and been in the lineup for the past I don’t know how many games.” Now Pronchik, who was nagged by a groin injury for good portions of last season, can only watch as the leers begin one of their tough est stretches of the year this week end. “It’s really bad timing, Pronchik said. “But at least I can still get on a bike. I was over at the gym for practice most days now and then try and keep in shape so that when I get back I’m kind of right back in it.” To e-mail reporter: tecSo26@psu.edu his development as a forward. Both care about Jones and both know he is not performing up to the level they’ve seen him play at over the past few years. “I think it has everything to do with his mentality right now,” Comley said. “He’s always been able to give great effort. Right now, he’s probably in a state where he’s mentally exhausted and frustrat ed. “It’s more for him to find ways to find out who he is as a person, and what he needs to do to stay motivated in order to bring the turnover margin, one spot behind lowa. Even though both teams are near the top of the conference in protecting the ball each aver ages just more than 17 give aways per game the Lions need to try and create opportuni ties for their defense by forcing the Hawkeyes to take the ball inside. Washington wants lowa to have to shoot over her 6-foot-4 center, Nikki Greene, because she realizes the Hawkeyes can close in on a large lead with their lethal 3-point shooting. lowa leads the conference with 122 3-pointers made, and in order for Grant and her team mates to get the memory of Wahlin coming off the high screen and burying shot after shot out of their minds, the sen ior needs to build off the momen tum her team established during the previous contest. “It gives you a lot of confi dence,” Grant said. “But you have to realize that lowa’s a great team. ... We just need to execute our defense, get the steals, get the rebounds and score in transition.” To e-mail reporter: aass22o@psu.edu SPORTS Samam jllegian John Conte (6) controls the puck along the boards during the leers' 10-3 win against Niagara on Dec. 11. Penn State playing sloppy in wins By Tom Kinslow COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Until the end of the second peri od, Saturday afternoon’s game was a nightmare for the Penn State leers. Passes missed their mark, tim ing was a hair off and the rotations on the penalty kill just weren’t there. Though the team had won 15 of its last 16 games, these were all symptoms of a team that was not in sync coming off a nearly month long break. That inactivity showed this past weekend for the Penn State leers, who struggled in an exhibition win against Robert Morris and a 5-3 victory against Washington & Jefferson. While disappointing, Balboni knows it’s something a team goes through after such a prolonged layoff. things to the table that the team needs him to do.” Jones asked his former team mate what he used to do when he went through a streak of bad games. Cornley told Jones he would watch film of himself in games, analyzing where he was on the court and what spots he need ed to be in. But perhaps more importantly, Cornley said he used to walk around campus or watch movies to get his mind off basketball. His greatest source of medicine, he said, would be to remove himself 197 From Page 8. can earn a spot, there’s not a whole lot of motivation for them.” The head coach sees Crowell’s potential, something that comes from the Pittsburgh transfer's wrestling abilities and wrestling knowledge. Crowell’s father, Dave Crowell, coaches at Nazareth Area High School. Cael Sanderson said he consid ers the elder Crowell to be a pre- Womack From Page 8. Quinn has tom the ACL in each of her knees during her Penn State career and, although she is not playing this year, is still around to help the team in her senior sea son. “I’m sure she's gonna talk to her about the rehab and the emo tional part that comes with having those kind of knee injuries,” Washington said. But of chief importance for the Lions right now is finding a player or players to make up for what Poultry or Agricultural Technician Will assist Production Manager in flock placements planning, schedule and manage egg and Chick flow for Hatchery production. y Will assist in acquiring export or import permits, health certificates and all transportation requirements for shipment to international and local customers Will further assist in out of state farms inspections compliance with contract agreement and Production standards, and provide technical support in producing high quality hatching and embryo eggs. y Experience in poultry / animal science is appreciated but a general agricultural background required. ✓ He/ She must have good verbal and written communication skills in English; other spoken languages may be an advantage *' He / She must be proficient with Microsoft office, XL and Word. Problem solving, initiative skills are required * 'Pip j.;r fi t i< i “Obviously we weren’t on the ice, and even if guys skated and stayed in shape, they weren’t in game-type situation shape,” Balboni said. “It does take a week end to knock off the rust, and luck ily we were able to get a win and the exhibition win even though we didn’t play that well.” Another problem the leers pointed out was playing down to their competition. Forward Tim O’Brien said he didn’t see the same effort and determination from the squad that he did prior to the break, a prob lem he said they had earlier in the season, leading to a shootout loss against West Chester in October. With Penn State being able to walk away with victories this time around, O’Brien believes it has taught the team some lessons. “If you play down to other oppo nents, we can be beaten by any body,” O'Brien said. “But if we play from the game all together and collect his thoughts. Chadwin believes Jones might be getting frustrated when he doesn’t get touches on the offen sive end. “That’s what any player feels sometimes,” Chadwin said. “You have to get some good posses sions where you get your energy up to feel good about yourself.” This season, Jones is averaging the same amount of points he did last season 6.2. But he is averaging a full rebound less this season (5.0) mier coach on a national scale. The foundation for Crowell to earn the 197-pound spot is there, and Cael Sanderson will get a bet ter grip on his potential at Millersville, where Crowell said he will cortipete this upcoming week end. “Spots are always open to a point," Cael Sanderson said. “Crowell is a guy that needs to get some matches in at 197 and just get a feel for that weight class." Crowell said he moved up a weight class for the team and feels “I’m gonna have to get one more stop than maybe I’m used to.” Tyra Grant senior guard Womack brings to the table. Washington specifically men tioned forward Marisa Wolfe has come on as of late and could be one of those players who make up for Womack’s absence. She also mentioned freshman guard Gizelle Studevent and sophomore Penn State Equestrian Team All levels of experience are welcome and wanted, just bring your skills and love of riding and join us on these dates for more information. For more information or questions visit our website at: http: "'equestrianteam.cas.psu.edu/ our game and everybody comes mentally prepared and with the talent that we have, we can play with any team in the country. But at the same time, when we come around, ' fooling around in warmups and not being mentally focused, we can play down to any body and lose to anybody in the league.” Another contributing factor to the leers’ struggles this past weekend was a change in routine. With no class, the days were longer for Penn State. Practices were held in the morning as opposed to the afternoon. During the rest of the day, the leers tried to take part in some team activi ties, such as going out for meals. All of that downtime took Penn State out of its routine, but with the start of another semester, it's back to normalcy for the leers. To e-mail reporter: tpksol6@psu.edu without Cornley in the frontcourt. His offensive production and rebounding totals are usually par allel. Jones leads the team with 28 offensive rebounds this year, but last year, he ended up grabbing 81 of them. “It'll work out for him in the long run,” Chadwin said. “When teams lose a couple close games, coach es tend to make changes and adjustments. It's not like he’s not playing. His role is just a little dif ferent.” To e-mail reporter: slhso37@psu.edu “Spots are always open to a point.” Cael Sanderson wrestling head coach that, for now, he is too light to compete at heavyweight. “Right now it’s up to the coach ing staff,” Crowell said. “I’m going to wrestle at 197. If I compete well, maybe they'll put me in.” To e-mail reporter: b]msl46@psu.edu guard Zhaque Gray. The coach said she would like to see Studevent and Gray pick up the intensity on the defensive end. Grant added it’s going to take a total team effort for the Lions to move forward without Womack and continue the success they've had. “It’s just not gonna be one per son,” Grant said. “We’re not gonna say, ‘Gizelle, you have to go be Renee now.’ It’s gonna have to be everybody. I’m gonna have to get one more stop than maybe I’m used to.” To e-mail reporter: wmlsoos@psu.edu Pre-trvout Meetin; Mandatoi Thursday, January 14th in 118 ASI Building 7:00 pm Sunday, January 17 th at Eastwood Farms Time TBA Trv-outs: Ride on State! The Daily Collegian
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