10 I FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010 Lady Ruggers fill roster By Andrew Robinson COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Most sports teams have a for mula a set group of starters and a core of dependable reserves that come in when needed. The Lady WOMEN'S Ruggers area lit- RUGBY tle different "It's amazing to have a team where we have 60 players that come out to practice, and everyone is a competitor for a starting spot," junior back Deven Owsiany said. "There's only a cou ple people that don't have a chance to make it to the traveling side yet." When the women's rugby team kicks off its spring schedule on Saturday against Virginia Tech, it will finally have its entire roster intact. In the fall, several key play ers were studying abroad but returned to State College with the fifth-year seniors for the playoffs. Seniors From Page 8 Rohrbaugh and Rosie Smith will be honored. The seniors had to battle through adversity throughout their four years. As a sophomore, Southard suffered a broken back, jeopardizing her career. Last year, Smith suffered a lisfranc fracture to her left foot. And this season, a preseason ankle injury relegated the All-American Brockway to just bars. The seniors have conquered and risen above all those obstacles together, making them a tight-knit group. That will be the lasting mem ory remaining with Smith down the road when she looks back at her career. "We've grown real close over the past four years," Smith said. "I'll always remember the fun times, the practices and pushing through the adversity and doing it together." Junior Danielle Hover doesn't ln►ow how she'll react when it hits her the seniors won't be around next year "I look at them as role models," Hover said, "and I'm not going to forget the impression that they made." Shephard may miss this group the most, as it owns a 50-24 career record with many of those meets against top-25 competition. This group has made an impact on the team since they were freshmen and had to help bring the program back to the NCAA championships. Arguably, no gymnast will be missed more than Personett, the reigning Big Ten Gymnast of the Year. Personett also owns a Big Ten Freshman of the Year award and is a finalist for the American Athletic, Inc., award, which is given to the nation's most outstanding gymnast. "Brandi has, well, not rewritten the record book," Shephard said, "but should've rewritten the record book, could've rewritten the record book" Shephard said it's going to be a challenge for the future senior class es to fill this class' shoes. "As a group they've really been the heart and soul of the team for the past four years," he said. "So it's gonna be a tough act to follow" To e-mail reporter. Jpss226@psu.edu Men's Volleyball Intercollegiate Athletics vs. Ohio State Sun. 3/21 @ 4pm in Rec Hall Main Gym - THE GRID Men's Volleyball at St. Francis, vs No. 14 7 p.m. Fri., 4 Ohio State p.m. Sun. Baseball Wrestling Men's Lacrosse Women's Lacrosse Men's Gymnastics Women's Gymnostia Men's Tennis 2 .m. Satun p tw NCAA championships Friday and Women's Swimming Saturday Women's Tennis Men's Rugby Women's Rugby The 10-day trip over break to Ireland allowed the players to get reaquatinted with each other and shape the look of the team. Junior back Kasey Ferlic said there were a lot of position changes that saw backs move to forwards and vice versa and it gave a lot of younger players a chance to come into their own. "Not just one or two people are doing it. It's the whole team step ping up," Ferlic said. "I think this semester is going to be very inter esting to see how it works out because we're going to be a force to be reckoned with." Fifth-year scrumhalf Annie Zeigler said the depth the team has built up is promoting competi tion for playing time and only strengthening the team. Before setting out to Ireland, coach Pete Steinberg said the team set a vision and one of its goals was to have 60 A-side players by the end of the year. Getting to play overseas, the LAMOI From Page 8 every scramble and every hustle play they won. They just out-worked us." Against a scrappy Hofstra team, it was rebounding mak ing all the difference. Though each basket made off an offensive rebound was just two more points added to Hofstra's total, Washington said it might as well have been worth eight points in terms of the confidence and energy it provided the Pride with down the stretch. Shante Evans' presence propelled the Pride to victory, as the freshman was able to out-muscle Nikki Greene down low for 17 rebounds. "She just got into the position before everybody else, and she used her body to get the rebounds," Greene said as she tried to hold back the tears after the game. "The way their offense was ran and I guess just her playing basket ball, she was able to benefit their dffense." A gaping hole in the Penn State frontcourt was a major reason why. Only three minutes into the game, forward Julia Trogele got tripped up with a Hofstra defender and hit the ground hard. As the junior layed on the floor clutching her shoul der, a hush of silence fell over the BJC crowd, only to be interrupted by Trogele screaming in pain from her injury. "That's a starter," senior Tyra Grant said. "She's experi enced. She's another scorer. She's a person who is not afraid to drive to the hole and get a foul or drive and dish. ... That was a big part of our team that was missing." Washington added after the game Trogele's injury was a deep bruise to her shoulder and one that will heal on its own, but in a game like Thursday's, it was a big loss for the Lions. A player Washington said poses a big mismatch for opponents, Trogele not only left a void on the glass but allowed the Pride to put their bigger and better defenders on Grant. The senior, in her last game ever wearing a Lady Lion uniform, finished her career with a solid 23-point scoring effort. However, when her team needed her most, Hofstra was able to find a way to limit the prolific scorer and hold her to 2-for-11 shooting in the second half. "You never want your seniors to walk off their home floor with a loss," Washington said. "You always want their last ing memory playing in the BJC to be a positive one. It's especially disappointing in that sense." used first- and third-period takedowns en The Lion grapplers return to action this route to a 4-2 victory morning at 10:30 when Session 111 begins. A loss by pin at 3:51 in his second-round bout ended the title hopes of senior Dave scored an immediate takedown and drove Erwin, however. But the 184-pounder will his opponent Off the mat. Pataky added an have an opportunity to compete in the conso escape later in the bout and held on for a 3-2 lation rounds and place as high as third. victory. Heavyweight Cameron Wade lost his first .41101 k. lF 'arson, this ion's Big Ten bout of the day and competed late Thursday NCAAS From Page 8 Cyler Sandei seas.. ig 'ten clay _ ,umpt. _iy champion at 157 pounds, will join his three night for a chance to continue in consola teammates in the today's quarterfinals. He tions. Coca-Cola Classic Friday through Sunday NCAA championships Friday and Saturday at No. 8 Duke at No. 19 Vanderbilt vs. Oklahoma 7 p.m. Satuipay Blue Gray Tournament vs. Friday and Harvard and TBD Saturday vs. Nebraska vs. Princeton vs. St. Bonaventure vs. Virginia Tech SPORTS players got a feel for how the team will look over the course of the spring. Owsiany said the back line, while young, is built on speed and will be dangerous if the backs can get the ball moving well. Fighting for a spot on the field and on the travel roster is some thing motivating every player in practice. "It's very extreme. We're best friends on and off the field, but when it comes down to playing we all take it very seriously and know that we're all out there to eventu ally get that spot," Frlic said. "I think we all understand that we're doing that, and there's not hard feelings towards it. We just know that we know what we have to do." Last season, the returning play ers helped carry the Lady Ruggers to the national champi onship, but they also knew what kind of work it would take to achieve that goal. After the fall season-ending shutout loss to Marissa Gutherz/Collegian To e-mail reporter: adal47@psu.edu Tyra Grant (1) saw her decorated Lady Lion career end Thursday night. TIME PLACE TV WHAT TO LOOK FOR Loretto, Pa.; Rec BTN The Lions look to build off success and continue dom- Hall ination against rivals. 1 p.m. Saturday Nashville, Tenn 2 p.m Sunday 7 p.m. Saturday Montgomery, Ala West Lafayette, Ind. West Campus Pitch 1 p.m. Uumiay 1 p.m. West Campus Satuday Pitch Michael Felletter/Collegian Penn State alumni Alison Worman (left) and women's rugby player Dana Blair fight for control of the ball during an Alumni game Aug. 22. Navy, the players said they knew with the new players coming back, they had to work over break and a that's not going to be enough. second-straight title wouldn't be That's not 41 points worth coming handed to them. back so we have to make sure "We lost 41-to-nothing so we we're prepared." talk about that," Steinberg said. "We have a lot of work to do. Even Rock Hill, S.O Omaha, Neb Durham, N.O Rec Hall Rec Hall Princeton, NJ TWITTER The Lions attempt to snap their seven-game losing streak when they compete in the Coca-Cola Classic. The Penn State grapplers compete in their first NCAA toumament under coach Cael Sanderson. Sophomore Matt Mackrides looks to increase his team-leading point total. The Lions are looking to bounce back from a three-year losing streak against Vandy. The no. 8 Lions host No. 2 OU in the regular season finale and last home meet for the team's four seniors. The Lions' five seniors look to close out their regular season careers with a good score. The Lions look to rebound after losing to Oklahoma State on Thursday. The Lions will look to bounce back from a 7-0 defeat, which snapped a modest two-game winning streak. The Lions' only qualifier, freshman Amy Modglin, looks to make a statement in the 200 backstroke. The Ruggers use a scrimmage against the Bonnies as a final tune-up before league playoffs begin March 27. The Lady Ruggers begin their spring against Virginia Tech with a finally full roster. THE DAILY COLLEGIAN To e-mail reporter: adrso79@psu.edu To e-mail reporter: rmlsl3B@psu.edu For the latest wrestling news and notes, follow the Collegian Twitter feed: twitter.com/psu_backpoints ON THE BIG TEN NETWORK!
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