10 I Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010
Recruiting
From Page 8.
Division I hockey in any recruiting pitches to prospective
students. He said while playing on the varsity team can
not be guaranteed, it is definitely a great opportunity for
any incoming player.
"What we’re going to say is they have every opportuni
ty to come in here and play for our club team for a few
years and then transition into playing Division I,” Hand
said.
Balboni said a transition committee would be put in
place by the university shortly, which will help give the
coaches direction during the recruiting process.
Once the committee and new coaching staff is in place,
he said their wants will come first as far as recruiting
goes.
leers players also weighed in, as junior forward Nick
Seravalli said he believes the opportunity to play Division
I at Penn State will cause many players to reevaluate
their prospective school choices and come to State
College
While junior forward Paul Daley is hopeful Seravalli is
right, he also said it has the potential to hurt the process.
His concern stems from Athletic Director Tim Curley’s
comments at Friday's press conference saying there is a
strong possibility the leers could be moved to a lower club
level.
"It could turn kids away a little bit,” Daley said.
"Having that fear of the leers going away and them not
having a place to play.
In response to Daley, Balboni said while that could hap
pen, he believes the student athletes come to Penn State
for academics first.
•They're coming to the university to get a great educa
tion and get a Penn State degree,” Balboni said.
• They knew they weren't going to play in the NHL once
thev left here and make a career out of hockey. I’m hop
ing’ that student athlete still decides to come to Penn
State."
Balboni said during recruiting in the past, the coaching
staff has always looked for student athletes who excel in
the classroom first before the ice, and that will not
change
The only adjustment will be the caliber of the athletes
being pursued.
"The main mantra of the Penn State student athlete is
in-class attitude and the academic first side of things/’
Balboni said. "I think that will always remain the same
and be constant as we make the change from club to var
sity."
Smallwood
From Page 8.
said. "We just all want to go and do the same thing.”
Smallwood's laid-back demeanor off the field has
shown itself in a unique way this season. The junior has
been recording random moments with the team on a
small video camera he said he bought impulsively before
the season.
The camera goes everywhere, even road trips. Fetrow
said Smallwood will tape anything from team meals to
bus rides to away games and even pregame antics.
Warming started to laugh when he was asked about the
camera, but said he's happy Smallwood is preserving the
memories of this season for his teammates to look back
on years from now.
"At the end of the year hopefully I can compile some
thing to make a video of the season,” Smallwood said.
"It's just completely random things, I grew up with [sen
iors! Tieavor IGelsinger] and Drew [Cost] playing and
it's their last year so I figured I might as well do it.”
Injuries slowed Smallwood through his first two sea
sons. a dislocated shoulder in his freshman year cost him
two games and he played much of last spring with a small
brace on his right knee. However, he said this year is the
healthiest he's been and it has helped his start to the sea
son.
Moving to defense was a bit of a surprise for
Smallwood, but the junior likes his new position and the
fact he's a consistent starter now. Right backs often get
involved in the offensive flow of the game and Smallwood
has linked well with right outside midfielder Mackenzie
Arment early.
"Coach tells me to get up and down the line when I
can." Smallwood said. “It’s a good position to do that
cause you’re open most of the time and guys won’t mark
you so you get some good crosses in.”
It's early but Smallwood is proving his worth to the
Lions both as a tough guy on defense and by saving mem
ories of what they hope is a special year.
“The players enjoy it right now. They have fun with it
right now, but I think they’ll treasure it 20 years from
now," Warming said. “Hopefully the same media will still
be available to watch it 20 years from now but we’re going
to try and have a special season and to look back on that
is great."
To e-mail reporter: acbsls2@psu.edu
To e-mail reporter: adrso79@psu.edu
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SPORTS
Wilson
From Page 8.
former teammate, Christa Harmotto,
in 2007.
Now, with sophomore Kristin
Carpenter quarterbacking the offense
and freshman Deja McClendon play
ing to her side, Wilson is poised to
continue her efficiency and have a
strong senior campaign.
“She’s just sneaky good,” Ohio
State coach Geoff Carlston said. “She
just takes care of her business. She’s
certainly one of those players that are
returning that is one of the better
players in the conference, just
because of her experience and back
ground.”
“She’s very efficient and does
everything pretty well.”
Given her past success, and 85 kills
this season, Wilson, a co-captain, is
probably one of the first names to
appear on many opposing teams'
scouting reports.
Purdue coach Dave Shondell said
though he hasn't started to prepare
for Penn State yet the
Boilermakers don’t play the Lions
Football
From Page 8.
Bernard Pierce, the game gives the
Lions a chance to prove they can have
a strong run defense against a legiti
mate back, or that they need to con
tinue working on tackling.
“It’s going to be one of our bigger
games that we have had these last
three weeks before the Big Ten,” safe
ty Andrew Dailey said.
“It’s going to be a great tune-up
game.... It's going to be like a Big Ten
game this week, I feel, because
Temple is starting off hot, and they
Conference
From Page 8.
years, but the challenge they've faced
has increased each season. In 2008,
the Lions split the conference title
with Minnesota and last year they
were in a dead heat with Ohio State
until the season’s final weekend.
Right now, Penn State sits dead last
in overall record among Big Ten
squads, but nonconference record
has no standing on the conference
champion.
The standings are a sign that teams
that have traditionally been at the bot
tom of the Big Ten tables are making
progress.
“They’re better. The Big Ten over
all is better,” Penn State coach Erica
Walsh said prior to the season. “The
traditional bottom of the conference is
now really risen and the difference
between top and bottom is a lot small
er.”
“There are four or five teams that
could compete for this championship
this year.”
Walsh said this year is the strongest
she's seen the Big Ten, a statement
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“She’s just sneaky good. She takes care of her
business. She’s very efficient and does everything
pretty well.”
until Oct. 8 he knows Penn State
will want to setup Wilson and opposite
hitter Blair Brown as frequently as
possible.
“Fortunately I haven't had to stress
out over that yet this year,” Shondell
said.
Penn State coach Russ Rose said
he expects most teams to have a good
defensive scheme to stop Wilson, as
well as Brown.
However, good plans don’t always
pan out.
“Just because you know they're
good doesn't mean you can stop
them from doing what they do," Rose
said.
Her contribution isn't evident only
in the box score, either.
Though Wilson is not the most
vocal player on the court, Fatima
Balza, who normally starts with
have a lot of big playmakers."
While Zug said he doesn't expect
the offense to approach this game
much differently than it has for the
first three, it does give freshman
quarterback Rob Bolden a chance to
rebound after throwing five intercep
tions during his first three games this
season.
But Zug said he's not worried about
the quarterback’s play and said
Bolden shouldn't feel more pressure
going against Temple.
While each game so far has been a
learning experience in preparation
for the conference season for Bolden,
the Lions as a whole want to head into
Saxton agreed with. At the same time,
there is a noticeable difference
between the quality of some Big Ten
teams' nonconference schedules,
which Saxton said makes it hard
to truly identify where some teams
are.
The first few weeks of Big Ten play
offer the best chance for teams to
start off well, even in years where
Penn State would come in with a good
nonconference record. Ohio State
coach Lori Walker said it's anyone's
game at this point but she won't count
out Penn State in anv vear.
“They have a unique w ay of sorting
things out once conference play hits.”
Walker said. "I wouldn't really be able
to even predict who can rise to the top
of the conference, it’s too wide open.”
Penn State opens Big Ten play
Sunday at home against the Spartans,
then travels to Ohio State one week
later, putting the team up against two
of its biggest rivals early. Walker com
mended the Lions for their consis
tently difficult nonconference sched
ule, but agreed with Saxton that the
difference in opponents among the
schedules clouds any judgment right
now.
The Daily Collegian
Geoff Carlston
Ohio State women's volleyball coach
Wilson at middle hitter, said Wilson
helps her teammates, nonetheless.
“Even though she’s not one of the
energy players we have on the team,
she knows what she’s doing,” Balza
said.
“She’s like taking the setters and
the younger players and giving them
good advice and things like that to get
the team to a different level, a better
level.”
And with Penn State starting its Big
Ten season with away matches at No.
9 Illinois on Friday and Wisconsin on
Sunday without the graduated Hodge
and Glass, it’s Wilson’s time.
“I think she’s always known what
she has to do,” Balza said.
' And now it's time to shine even
more.”
To e-mail reporter: jyksl42@psu.edu
lowa with the belief that their last
road game was also something to
learn from.
Having the confidence that comes
from two consecutive wins, especially
with one coming against a team that
made a bowl game last year, helps the
Lions see where they stand heading
into lowa.
“It’s a very important game,”
Troutman said. “Every game is an
important game, but you know going
into the Big Ten season it is veiy
important to start off good and go in
there on a good note.”
To e-mail reporter: aass22o@psu.edu
Both Saxton and Walker were cau
tious to identify what has caused the
Lions' struggles early this season.
However, the coaches did think Penn
State's young core may be part of the
slow start.
In her experience, Walker said she
has found upperclassmen-laden
teams perform better in conference
because the younger players don’t
fully grasp how to handle the rigors of
the season.
The Lions lost a good deal of talent
to graduation and are relying mostly
on underclassmen this year. But at
the same time, a 12-year streak still
carries a lot of weight around the Big
Ten.
“I have a great respect for Penn
State and their incredible string of Big
Ten championships, I certainly think
they remain the conference
favorites,” Saxton said. “But again I
think it’s going to be a wide-open
affair. Last year there was more pari
ty than ever in my career here and I
think we're going to see another year
like that this year. I think anything’s
possible.”
To e-mail reporter: adrso79@psu.edu
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