141 MONDAY, FEB. 8, 2010 Swimmers bid adieu to McCoy By Mike Still COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER The Penn State men's swim ming team dominated the Buffalo Bulls on Friday, but at the end of the clay, the times, all the points and all the first-place MEN'S finishes seemed SWIMMING like trivial num- The most important number in this meet was seven the seven graduating seniors who donned the blue and white in the McCoy Natatorium for the last time in their careers. "It's never fun," head coach John Hargis said of saying good bye to his seniors. "We've got a good group of guys, a very successful group of guys, an academically driven group of guys." That group of guys took first place in every meet Friday en route to a commanding 132-102 victory for the Nittany Lions (5-5). For the coach, the departure of Distance titles pace women to challenge win By Zack Feldman COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Though only its sprinters ran in their usual events, the No. 8 Penn State women's track and field team found a way to win the Sykes- Sabock Challenge WOMEN'S Cup. - TRACK Thanks to first AND FIELD •lace finishes in the distance med- ley relay, 800-meter and one mile races, Penn State paced the com petition with a 134-111 victory over second place Auburn this week end. And the team's success came with most distance runners corn peting in races well short of their usual distances. In their first time running their races since at least last year's indoor season, Cheryl Spring and Caitlin Lane took first place in the mile and 800-meter races, respec tively. Spring said shaking up run ners in different events was a way for runners to enjoy the meet and train for next week's meet at the same time. - It was probably one of the most fun races I've ever run," Spring Men finish 2nd resting key runners By Anthony Barton COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER With the No. 14 Penn State men's track team resting many key runners, an impressive per formance was still the result at MEN'S this weekend's Sykes-Sabock TRACK Challenge Cup The Nittany Lions sat two- time Big Ten Athlete of the Week Ryan Foster, along with junior Owen Dawson and freshman Casimir Loxson. However, they finished second behind only No. 53 Princeton in the first scored meet of the sea son. Princeton took the men's title with 111 points, followed by Penn State with 83 and Cornell with 80. Head coach Beth-Alford Sullivan said the performance Chris Cipro competes in the men's 5,000-meter race during the Sykes- Sabock Challenge Cup on Friday night. Cipro's teammate, Lionel! Williams, won the 600-meter race in 1:18:33. PI \'•S i \II COITEGF of EDUCATION Lccura , itz ,! the i)t.sciplir!cs his upperclassmen was hard to swallow. But for the seniors them selves, the feelings on the situa tion were hard to grasp. Co-captain Max Ettore didn't know what to expect going into the meet. "I didn't think it was going be a big deal just because we don't swim a lot at home," he said. "I would say it was emotional, but I was more just taken aback that this was it, that it's really been four years." Jon Cochrane echoed Ettore's feelings, amazed at how fast time his time in Happy Valley had gone by. "It didn't really hit me, being a senior until I was walking up to the pool today," he said. "Four years flies by. Everyone tells you it does, but it doesn't really hit you until you're at your senior meet, walk ing down the aisle getting your blanket." At the mid-way point of the meet, the underclassmen formed two lines at the side of the pool, with Hargis standing at one end. said. "It's not my race really, and it might be the last one I'm going to run. It was weird to think that my race was going to be over in five minutes, so it was easier to stay mentally tough for five minutes." Although spreading out her dis tance runners over a series of events led to a victory, coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said that was not her intention. Instead, she said she attempted to place additional runners in pressure situations. "It definitely helped us. We had the women's team's scores very well covered," Alford-Sullivan said. "We didn't need to put [Bridget] Franek or Spring in [the 5000] in order to score points. We're giving some of the develop mental athletes an opportunity to go in and have the pressure of scoring points and coming through." In the first day of competition, Penn State's 'A team Lindsey Graybill, Megan Duncan, Liz Kearins and Franek placed first in the distance medley relay with a time of 11 minutes, 27.81 seconds. The time fell less than two sec onds shy of provisionally qualify ing for the NCAAs. The 4x400 team shook things up says a lot about the Nittany Lions' depth. think it looks really good for us," Alford-Sullivan said. "I'm really proud of the effort today" Afford-Sullivan said sitting the three runners was a tactical move on the coaching staff's part after some record-breaking per formances in previous meets. She said it's a long season, and the coaching staff wants the run ners to be at peak performance come the Big Ten championships and NCAAs. AND FIELD Junior Lionel Williams turned in an impressive performance over the course of the meet, win ning the 600-meters in 1:18.33, beating the field by .95 seconds. "I just went out there and tried to feel comfortable for the first 400 and then tried to kick it into gear faster than usual," Williams said. _retosv4.s, JAv b c) /wlt _reetw IN; till February 8, 2010 4:30 -6:00 pm Memorial Lounge Pasquerilla Spiritual Center tight refreshments will be Served following the lecture SPORTS Each senior was recognized for his accomplishments, escorted down the line of teammates by his family and presented by Hargis with a Penn State varsity blanket. The dark blue blanket with an embroidered white Penn State "S" was draped over each swimmer's shoulders as an act of apprecia tion for all their time and effort spent as Lions. "It's a tradition," Mike Kaiserian said. "Everyone really looks forward to getting their blan ket. It's a pretty big deal." Kaiserian's parents couldn't believe they'd just seen their son swim in his last meet at McCoy. "It's sad," Carol Kaiserian said. "The years go by too fast, and it's all over. But we're happy for him." It was an emotional day for all the families at the meet but also a day to look back on the careers of The women's swimming team honored seven swim mers on senior day: _ . psucollegjan.com "Every race is like going to class. You have to soak up like a sponge everything that you can and next week hopefully improve on your time." Saturday, adding junior Megan Duncan as the opening runner. The team finished in 3 minutes, 36.57 seconds, a new season-best time. Alford-Sullivan credited Duncan as a successful addition to the relay. "She ran with the heart of a lion," Alford-Sullivan said. "She did a great job and put the team in a position where they took another second off that season best time." Fawn Dorr typically the 4x400 anchor ran third in the relay after switching with Shavon Greaves, who ran fourth in the race. Dorr said part of the reason for this is to get runners acquaint ed with the different positions of the relay to see where runners belong. "I think that switching around the legs of a relay really narrows He also anchored the 4x400- relay team, which finished sec ond in a time of 3:16.74. In the shot put, juniors Blake Eaton and Joe Kovacs took first and third, respectively. Eaton's winning throw went 60 feet 10.50 inches, a personal best by almost 10 inches. After the shot putters great performances at the previous meet, throws coach T.J. Crater said he preached stability throughout the week 'After last week's big high, this week I just told them I wanted them to come out and be consis tent near or above 59 feet," Crater said. With Kovacs throwing 58 feet, 6 inches to go along with Eaton's personal best, Crater said he was definitely pleased with the effort after working them hard in train ing sessions. "Their legs were tired and a lit tle worn out by my own design," Crater said. "After today, it looks like they will have some pretty big attempts down the road once they're a little bit fresher." The team travels for the first time season, splitting squads between the Tyson Invitational at Arkansas and the Husky Classic at Washington. Even with her team's impres sive effort this weekend, Alford- Sullivan said the Lions aren't quite firing on all cylinders. Williams believes the team's depth really showed at the meet. "I knew all these other guys could contribute," Williams said. "It was nice to see what else we got on the team." To e-mail reporter: acbsls2@psu.edu Penn State swimming coach John Hargis (middle) poses with some senior members of the men's team following its 132-102 win over Buffalo on Friday. It was the last meet at McCoy Natatorium for senior swimmers. the seniors and to appreciate on here at Penn State, that they're what the group's done for the pro- leaving here very good young gram. men. I think they're model "They're all going to be student-athletes here at Penn extremely successful one day," State." Hargis said. "That's what we pride ourselves To e-mail reporter: massB6o@psu.edu the view on who is best where. Everybody has different poten tial," Dorr said. "You can see where everybody really should be so when you go to the national championships, you know the best order of your relay." Greaves was disqualified in the 60-meter dash Friday after a false start. In the 400-meter dash, how ever, Greaves and Dorr were nar rowly edged out by Auburn's Joanna Atkins. Dorr said the 400 is a learning experience in pacing and strength. "Every race is like going to class. You have to soak up like a sponge everything that you can and next week hopefully improve on your time." Dorr said. was facing last year's national champi on. I can't really beat myself up about losing to her. And losing to my own teammate? That doesn't Bourchier, Lions knock off Terps Tied at five points apiece in the tiebreak of his first set, Eddie Bourchier received a point penal for verbal obscenity. He lost the next point MEN'S and dropped the TENNIS first set. Bourchier pounded his chest, pumped his fist and celebrated aloud throughout the match. While his fiery attitude may have cost him in the first set, it also allowed him to win the next two sets and take the match, help ing the No. 56 Penn State men's tennis team defeat Maryland 5-2 Sunday afternoon at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. Miming his match was not an easy task for Bourchier as it went three sets and lasted more than two hours. "It was a physical match. Toward the end I was feeling it there," Bourchier said. "I just managed to take one point at a time and focus on one point at time, and that got me through." Guillaume St-Maurice, Jason Lee and Bryan Welnetz also won their singles matches for the Nittany Lions (4-1, 0-0). St- Maurice's victory came at the expense of No. 121 John Collins. It was St-Mauirce's first win at Penn State against a ranked opponent. Ryan Gormley played on court one for the Lions Sunday. He dou ble-faulted after he won a point on a long rally in the first set. Such gi ?us Dlng4 11;4 11 ; Fawn Don senior runner By Jim Mauro COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Caitlin Fairbairn makes an attempt at the pole vault during the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup. hurt. If she's running faster than me, the 4x4 is going to be running faster. So if Shavon can beat me, go right ahead." To e-mail reporter: zefsoos@psu.edu inconsistencies lasted throughout and ultimately cost him as he lost his match 2-6, 6-0, 4-6. The Lions started the afternoon by sweeping the doubles match es. The pairings of Lee and Bourchier, and Welnetz and Gormley each won their matches 8-3., and St-Maurice and Taylor Cohen won 8-7 (7-4). Penn State coach Todd Doebler said he was most impressed with the play of his first and third dou bles team on Sunday. The pairing of Lee and Bourchier is now 3-0. Bourchier is also undefeated in singles play, improving his record to 5-0. Sunday's victory was the Lions' second-consecutive win over the Terrapins. "I think this Maryland team fought harder than last year's team, but I think it was good for our guys to come through and get the win," Doebler said. "Obviously, any time with a record like that, it's nice to gain a little ground." For the second-straight week Doebler used the same six players for both doubles and singles matches. He said he normally only uses seven or eight players, but Warren Hardie was battling an injury. He is not worried about using the same six moving forward and is confident in their abilities. "We got a pretty deep team, so we feel like if we go out and com pete, we can do pretty well," Doebler said. To e-mail reporter: IbmsosB4tpsu.edu PAPER PLAM
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