Thursday, December 3, 1992
Cheerleading aims to become sport
b Julie Cou
henour
The Collegian
The 1992-93 Cheerleading
Squad is looking forward to an all
new season. This year they have
thirteen men and women, but
only three of the thirteen have
previously cheered for Penn.
State.
The captain th.., year is. Piim
Mesta,
communication major. She
cheered last year, hut she is really
looking forward to the new
season.
She said, "The outlook for this
year looks really good, we have a
lot of talent on the squad.
Everyone has had previous
cheerleading experience and a
good attitude."
The cheerleaders are doing their
own fundraisers so that they can
buy new uniforms this year.
They would also like to be
officially declared a sport on
campus because cheering is very
physical and takes a lot of
practice and hard work.
This is one of their main goals
for the season. Another is to
coordinate their program with the
Cashhh: Junior Anne Bonner sinks an easy
bucket in a decisive win over Brockport.
sKETBALL
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mester
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.ns spring se
4:00 p
1 at
INT
Tournament. beg' December 1
im
office
Friday,
bb
at the
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nntact RO
Dead
:rtfn,
For mchcr
pep hand. Athletic Director Herb
Lauffer has been supporting the
squad in their efforts. _ .
Goeff Bach and Lucinda Gizdic
accent the squad with their
gymnastic abilities. Cia Michael
is the Lion's mascot.
The cheerleaders performed on
Thursday. November 12 at the
Open House Basketball
.hit' ion at Eric Hall.
nhomore
I ne squad .vas pleased with its
performance. Basketball season
runs from November to February.
The first performance for the
squad was December Ist during
the *women's game against
D'Youville.
This year there are four new
male additions to the squad. The
men on the squad play a big role
because they supply extra
strength that is essential in
performing difficult stunts.
Now they will be able to do
more challenging stunts that will
be more exciting to watch. Chris
Nicklaus said that he is "excited
about being a part of the squad,
and that even though the guys are
new we work well together and
are dedicated."
The Collegian
,alcita/ The Collegian
Rah! The Behrend cheerleaders show their support at the men's
•
and women's basketball open house.
Earla Simpson, secretary for because we all have the same
the squad, is also very optimistic g0a1...t0 be recognized as a
about this season. She said, "We success."
are going to have a good season The Lion cheerleaders have a
rah!:
Athlete o
Bonner dominates
offense
Keith McFall
The Collegian
The first athlete of the week
for the winter sports season is
Anne Bonner, a center on the
Women's Basketball team.
Anne is a junior
communication major from
Pittsburgh, Pa. She attended
Avonworth High School and
played four years on the team
there.
In a 73-65 victory over
SUNY-Brockport in the
Arby's/Troyer Farms' Classic,
Anne was eight of nine from the
field and six of eight from the
free throw line for 22 points' In
addition, she hdd ten rebounds
and five steals, dominating both
the offense and defense.
In the championship game
the next night, Anne had ten
points and nine rebounds for
another solid effort.
Anne has set both• team and
individual goals for this season
the week
and defense
that she will strive for
The main team goal for the
season is to get a bid to the
NCAA Division 111 Tournament
and win it all.
"We can achieve this goal if
we stay focused and take it one
"I have to work to
make myself
mentally
stronger...
- Anne Bonner
game at a time throughout the
season," Anne said.
One individual goal that Anne
has set for herself this year is to
play strong both offensively and
defensively. "I have to work to
make myself mentally stronger
so I can play consistenly on the
court every game," she said.
Anne has credited Coach
Jenepher Banker with helping
her improve her game. "Coach
Banker alwa h.
Page 11
long season ahead of them.
It won't be easy, but nothing
worthwhile ever is.
confidence in me that I
sometimes lack in myself. She
has given me a chance to let me
be a player and has helped me
develop as a player," Anne said.
Anne had knee surgery last
spring and spent the summer
getting back into shape by
running and playing a lot of
basketball.
She also held a job at a
supermarket at home. She
doesn't have time to do much
else during the school year
because of the time spent at
practice and games, and
studying, but she doesn't mind
because she loves to play.
Anne hopes to get an
internship this sumer in some
communication fiel•i. She plans
to graduate next spring and
eventually get into the sports
information field.
In the mean time, she just
wants to enjoy her last two
seasons of basketball and help
the team in any vs , ay that she
can.
Collegian
Sports
We're on top of
things!