Penn State Update: 5/9/2009

• The men's volleyball team captured another EIVA title last Saturday when they knocked off Juniata. This is the teams 21st conference title. The win got them into the national semifinals, which were held in Provo, Utah this year. The team, seeded #3, faced #2 seed USC. The Trojans got the best of the Nittany Lions, 3-1, and advanced to the national championship game. Penn State, the 2008 National Champions, failed to defend their title. It was another stellar year by the guys nonetheless.
• Last weekend the track and field team was in Columbus, OH for the Jesse Owens Classic. There Megan Duncan, Mike Cadau, Hanif Johnson, John Mahoney, and the 4x400 meter relay team earned bids to the NCAA Regionals. Today the team is back in State College for the Penn State Open. This coming Friday is the start of the Big Ten Championships.
• The softball team participated in a double header last Saturday at University Park, splitting the games with Indiana. The Hoosiers took the opener, 4-3, but Penn State won the night cap 9-1 in six innings. The team has another double header today at Ohio State. These two games are the final regular season matchups before the NCAA Regionals start next weekend.
• After losing the opener to Michigan State last Friday, the Penn State baseball team dropped the next two games to the Spartans completing the sweep. After the demoralizing sweep the team traveled south to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes. The Nittany Lions got back on track in the opener last night, defeating Iowa 8-6. The team continues their series with the Hawkeyes today and it concludes tomorrow.
• The women's lacrosse team played in the ALC Championship last Saturday against #1 Northwestern. The juggernaut that is the Wildcats vanquished our ladies 13-3. Northwestern went 19-0 this season and is getting ready to try and win their 5th straight National Championship. The postseason tournament begins tomorrow. Look for a finals showdown between the Wildcats and Maryland, who also went 19-0 in the regular season.
• The men's lacrosse team beat Georgetown, 12-10, last Saturday to finish the regular season with a record of 9-5 on the strength of six consecutive victories. Unfortunately the third place finish in the ECAC was not good enough to make the National Tournament.
• When we left our men's golf team last weekend they were tied for sixth place at the Big Ten Championships on their home turf. They fell back to ninth on Saturday but marched back to finish in a tie for fourth at the conclusion on Sunday. They are off until Thursday when the NCAA Regionals begin.