Penn State Sports Magazine
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A P R I L 2 0 2 3 51 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M MEN'S ICE HOCKEY: Penn State earned its third NCAA Tournament invitation and its first since 2018 when it received an at-large berth in this year's field. When the tournament brackets were announced March 19, the Nittany Lions were ranked 11th and seeded second in the Allentown (Pa.) Regional. They will serve as hosts for the regional March 24-26 at the PPL Center. Penn State (21-15-1, 10-13-1 Big Ten) opens the tournament against Michi- gan Tech on March 24. It will be the first meeting between the two teams. Top-seeded Michigan will meet Colgate in the other regional semifinal game. The winners will play at 6:30 p.m. March 26, with the game airing on ESPN2. WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY: The Nittany Lions enjoyed a historic season, win- ning the College Hockey America Tournament for the first time in the pro- gram's 11-year history and earning the automatic NCAA Tournament berth that goes with it. After sweeping Lindenwood in a best-of-three first-round series, PSU edged Mercyhurst 2-1 in overtime March 4 at Pegula Ice Arena to claim the title. Senior forward Julie Gough scored the winner, propelling the 10th- ranked Lions into a first-round NCAA Tournament game against Quinnipiac on March 9 in Columbus, Ohio. That game, too, went to overtime … and beyond. It took three overtimes to break a 2-2 tie, with forward Madison Chantler finally slipping a shot past junior goalie Josie Bothun in the game's 109th minute to give the eighth-ranked Bobcats a 3-2 win. It was the second- longest game in NCAA Tournament history. The Lions finished their season with a 27-9-2 overall record. It was the winningest campaign in program his- tory, surpassing the team's previous high by nine wins. On March 13, sixth-year coach Jeff Kampersal was named a finalist for the American Hockey Coaches As- sociation's Division I Coach of the Year award. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Penn State took down No. 1 Hawai'i 3-1 on its home court March 11 at the Outrigger Challenge. Super senior outside hitter Cal Fisher led the way for the Nittany Lions, totaling 12 kills, 10 digs, 3 aces and 3 blocks. Junior middle blocker Toby Ezeonu hit .583 in the match, with 10 kills and 5 blocks. Penn State ended the Rainbow Warriors' 25-match winning streak, and with a victory over Purdue Fort Wayne later that day, it captured first place at the tour- nament in Honolulu. Following a sweep of visiting Saint Francis on March 18, the Lions had an 18-2 record (4-0 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Associa- tion) and had climbed to No. 2 in the national rankings. WOMEN'S LACROSSE: Junior midfielder Kristin O'Neill and junior at- tacker Gretchen Gilmore scored 6 goals apiece to lift 25th-ranked Penn State to a 16-14 road upset of No. 16 Princeton on March 18. It was Penn State's second victory of the season over a top-25 opponent, coming just seven days after a 9-7 win against No. 17 Rutgers in Nashville. Heading into its March 21 trip to Pitt, Penn State was 7-2 and 1-0 in Big Ten play. BASEBALL: Penn State improved to 11-5 on the season by taking both games from Georgetown in a weather-shortened series March 18-19 at Medlar Field. Junior infielder Jay Harry was batting .313 through the Nittany Lions' first 16 games with a team-best 16 RBI, including a walk-off 2-run homer in the 12th inning of PSU's 6-4 win over Brown on March 11. SOFTBALL: Super senior pitcher Bailey Parshall struck out 9 and allowed just 1 hit in a 7-0 shutout of Canisius on March 18 in the final game of the Penn State Invitational. Heading into a March 21 visit from Pitt, the Nittany Lions were off to a 17-4 start. They open their Big Ten season March 24 when Iowa visits for the start of a three-game series. MEN'S GYMNASTICS: Penn State closed its regular sea- son with a 396.400-382.750 victory at William & Mary on March 19. Junior Ethan Dick finished first in the all-around with a score of 80.700. The Auckland, New Zealand, na- tive captured first place on the rings and parallel bars and tied for the lead in the high bar with a career-best 14.000. "It wasn't the meet we envisioned, but there were some bright spots nonetheless," coach Randy Jepson said. WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS: Although they finished seventh at the Big Ten Championships on March 18 at Coralville, Iowa, the Nittany Lions posted a team score of 196.200, their best at the event since 2015. Sopho- more Isabella Salcedo turned in a 9.875 on the balance beam, helping the team finish with its top beam score at Big Tens since 2016. — Matt Herb O L Y M P I C S P O R T S N O T E B O O K trailed 9-8 late in the third period but kept their composure and ended the game with 6 unanswered goals. "These leaders, they've been through it before," Tambroni said. "They're a lit- tle bit more experienced, they're a little more confident, much more composed. "Last year, we found ways to lose, un- fortunately, in a lot of big games. This year, the Penn game, it was a 9-9 game with about 10 minutes left, and they just found ways to win instead of finding ways to lose." The key now is to keep that momentum going into the Big Ten season. While the nonconference campaign was a gauntlet, the conference schedule will likely prove even tougher. Four of Penn State's five upcoming Big Ten opponents appeared in the Inside La- crosse poll as of Week 6. Maryland was ranked second, Rutgers sixth, Johns Hop- kins eighth and Ohio State 19th. One week earlier, the other Big Ten opponent, Michi- gan, had been ranked 20th. For PSU to suddenly find itself in the midst of such elite company might seem disorienting, but Tambroni isn't wor- ried about his team's mindset. In previ- ous years, he said, he might have tried to downplay the rankings. This year, he wants his players to embrace the acclaim they've received. "It's a work in progress," Tambroni said. "As long as it doesn't affect our day-to- day, our focus on practice, our focus on being great teammates, then I think they should be proud and continue to want to achieve a little bit more." ■ Junior Toby Ezeonu has shined for the Penn State men's volleyball team, helping lift the Nittany Lions to an 18-2 record and No. 2 in the national rankings. PSU defeated No. 1 Hawai'i in Honolulu on March 11. PHOTO BY COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS