Penn State Update - 4/18/2009

• The softball team, fresh off of a 2-game sweep of Iowa the previous weekend, took both games from Wisconsin last weekend. They ran their winning streak to 5 games by beating Kent State on Tuesday. They lost the first game of their double-header versus St. Francis (PA) on Thursday but won the night cap. They start a 2-game series at Minnesota today. The softball team now has a record of 10-14 on the season.
• After dropping the first game against Purdue last Friday night, the baseball team bounced back and beat the Boilermakers on Saturday, 11-9. They lost the final game of the series on Sunday, 9-3. The match versus Pittsburgh was canceled on Tuesday due to rain. They returned to the field Wednesday and beat Mount St. Mary's, 8-3. Last night they began a 3-game series at Indiana. The Nittany Lions took the first game 9-7. They play this afternoon and finish up tomorrow. The baseball team is 21-14 for the season.
• The women's golf team is currently competing in the Lady Buckeye tournament in Columbus, OH.
• Last weekend the men's golf team competed in the Kepler Intercollegiate. They stood in 12th place at the end of the day on Saturday and worked their way up a spot for an overall 11th finished on Sunday. This weekend they are here with me in West Lafayette, IN competing in the Boilermaker Invitational.
• The women's gymnastics team placed 5th out of 6th teams in their NCAA Championships session and failed to reach the NCAA Finals. They posted a team score of 196.10. Oklahoma finished in 1st with a score of 197.45. Penn State secured three individual All-America awards. Freshman Whitney Bencsko (vault) junior Alexandra Brockway (bars), and junior Brandi Personett (floor) all gained First Team honors. Bencsko also earned a Second Team All-American designation for her floor exercise. The three First Team All-Americans are competing in the individual National Championships today in Lincoln, NE.
• The men's gymnastics team finished 4th in their qualifying session. Unfortunately only the top 3 teams in each session advance to the team finals. This is the first time since 2002 that Penn State will not be in play for the National Title. Top gymnasts Casey Sandy Noam Shaham, Allen Harris, Nick Virbitsky, Josh Borromeo, Matt Greenfield, and Warren Yang all competed in individual events however. Only Casey Sandy did enough last night to advance to any finals, being held today. Sandy finished 9th in the vault and will compete for a National Title today. His finish also guarantees him an All-American designation, the 8th of his career.
• The women's lacrosse team was pounded last Sunday by #1 Northwestern, 17-6. They host Ohio State tomorrow.
• The men's lacrosse team squeaked by St. Johns by a score of 12-11 last weekend. They play at Rutgers this morning.
• The women's tennis team lost to #36 Illinois last Sunday, 7-0. They play at Wisconsin today and at Northwestern tomorrow. These are their final matches before the Big Ten Tournament.
• The men's tennis team lost by the same score to #11 Illinois last Saturday. They also dropped their match versus Indiana on Sunday, 4-3. They returned to University Park and beat Bucknell and Bloomsberg 7-0 on Wednesday. Last night they downed #30 Wisconsin 5-2. They are currently hosting Northwestern in their final match before their Big Ten Tournament.
• The Bison Outdoor Classic was last weekend and the Penn State track and field team was there. After competition concluded on Sunday, Penn Staters accounted for 14 victories and another 5 athletes qualified for the NCAAs later this spring. Today the team is in Auburn, AL for the War Eagle Invite. The Penn Relays in Philadelphia start on Thursday.
• The men's volleyball team stretched their winning streak to 9 games with wins last Saturday at George Mason (3-0) and then last night at Ball State (3-0). The team plays at Ohio State tonight and hopes to extend their W streak to double digits, which would match their season high. This is the final match of the regular season. The EIVA Championships take place starting Thursday at Penn State. After last nights victory the defending National Champions have a record of 24-3.
• The wrestling has been done with competition for a month. However there is a regime change that has just been completed. Legendary wrestler Cael Sanderson has accepted the head coaching job for the Nittany Lions. Sanderson will be Penn State's 12th coach. Sanderson, 29, is leaving his alma mater (Iowa State) where he has lead the Cyclones for the past three seasons. In his three seasons he led the Cyclones to 3 straight Big 12 Conference Championships. Sanderson compiled q 159-0 record as a collegiate wrestler from 1999-2002 and won 4 individual championships plus numerous other awards and honors. This is a huge signing for Penn State. Good things are on the horizon for an underachieving wrestling program.