Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1496986
5 2 M A Y 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ons had gone into the campaign ranked sixth in the league's preseason coaches' poll and were outside of the USCHO Di- vision I top 20. They ended up pulling off some of the better wins in program his- tory, upsetting Michigan and Minnesota in November when both of those teams were ranked No. 1. For much of November and December, PSU was ranked in the national top 10, rising as high as No. 5. However, after an up-and-down conference campaign, the Lions ultimately did settle into the spot in the Big Ten standings that the coaches had foreseen, finishing the regular season in a tie for fifth place with Michigan State. Now, the rebuilding begins. The Lions, who were eighth in the final USCHO poll, lose their top five goal-scorers, includ- ing MacEachern, who was second on the team with 12 goals. They do bring back Souliere, though, and he will be coming off a remarkable performance at NCAAs in which he stopped 65 of 67 shots in two games. While disappointed with the way the season ended, Gadowsky sounded reso- lute in looking to the future. "It's an honor to be part of this," he said. "I feel bad for the guys on the team who aren't going to get this opportu- nity again, but I look forward to getting back." ■ MEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Heading into their last two matches of the regular season, the third- ranked Nittany Lions had yet to drop a set against an Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association foe. The Lions swept road series against Harvard and George Mason ahead of their final regular- season matches April 14-15 versus Charleston. Super senior opposite hitter Cal Fisher and graduate setter Cole Bogner shined during Penn State's visit to George Mason. Fisher finished with 27 kills in the Lions' two victories, while Bogner had 59 assists. In addition, graduate out- side hitter Brett Wildman tied a career-high with 7 aces in the series opener, including 3 in a row in the first set. With its second win over the Patriots, Penn State improved to 21-3 overall and 7-0 in the EIVA. The Lions clinched the league's regular-sea- son title and hosting rights for the tournament, which will take place April 19-22 at Rec Hall. Penn State's only loss in recent weeks was to Ohio State on March 21 at Rec Hall. The 15th- ranked Buckeyes capitalized on 18 attack errors to pull off a 3-2 upset over the Lions, who were ranked No. 1 at the time. MEN'S LACROSSE: After spotting sixth-ranked Johns Hopkins a 5-goal lead in the first half, the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions stormed back to earn a 12-11 victory in double overtime April 8 at Panzer Stadium. Graduate attackman Kevin Winkoff scored the Nittany Lions' last two goals of the evening. The first of those goals tied the score with 2:07 re- maining in the fourth quarter. The second came with 52 seconds remaining in the second over- time period. It was Winkoff's first game-winning goal of the season. Prior to their April 16 visit to Michigan, the Li- ons were 7-3 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play. WOMEN'S LACROSSE: Junior midfielder Kristin O'Neill and freshman midfielder Emma Kelly scored 2 goals apiece, but it wasn't enough to prevent No. 17 Penn State from falling to No. 16 Michigan 10-8 on April 8 in Ann Arbor. The Nittany Lions had won six of seven prior to their matchup with the Wolverines. The only loss in that span was a 19-9 setback against No. 2 Northwestern in Evanston. Heading into their last two matches of the regular season, the Lions were 10-4 overall and 2-2 in Big Ten play. BASEBALL: Penn State had a wild ride in an April 4 nonconference game against Bucknell. The Lions fought back from an early 7-0 deficit and took a 14-13 lead into the ninth inning at Medlar Field, only to fall 17-14 after freshman reliever Tommy Molsky gave up an RBI single fol- lowed by a three-run home run. The Lions bounced back April 6-8 with a three- game sweep of Delaware State in which they outscored the Hornets 31-7. Heading into a non- conference game against West Virginia on April 11, Penn State was 17-11 on the season and 1-5 in Big Ten play. SOFTBALL: After surging to an 18-4 start in nonconference action, Penn State struggled in its first three Big Ten series of the season, taking just two of nine games in series against Iowa, Minnesota and Northwestern. The sweep in Evanston included a 24-6 loss on April 8 in which the 23rd-ranked Wildcats drove Penn State's ace, super senior Bailey Parshall, from the game in the second inning. MEN'S GYMNASTICS: The Nittany Lions posted a season-high team score of 410.700 to take sec- ond place at the Big Ten Championships March 31-April 1 at Ohio State. Penn State was especially strong on the paral- lel bars, winning the event with a team score of 69.850. Sophomore Josh Karnes led the way with a 14.550, the second-highest score of the night. "Really spirited effort from our team tonight. They fought all the way through," coach Randy Jepson said. "We are trending in the right direc- tion, and I like what I see." On the second night of the championships, Karnes won the individual title on the parallel bars with a 14.350. Penn State was set to host the NCAA Champi- onships at Rec Hall April 14-15. WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS: Senior Cassidy Rushlow and freshman Ava Piedrahita qualified as individuals for the NCAA Championships and were set to compete April 13 in the uneven bars and vault, respectively. Rushlow earned a 9.95 score on the bars at the Pittsburgh Regional on March 31, while Piedrahita turned in a 9.9 on the vault. They will be the first Penn Staters to compete at nationals since 2019. MEN'S AND WOMEN'S FENCING: Penn State placed eighth out of 24 schools at the NCAA Championships, which took place March 23-26 in Durham, N.C. The Nittany Lion men's and wom- en's teams posted a combined score of 579. Junior Arwen Borowiak was eighth in the men's foil, earning All-America honors for the third year in a row. — Matt Herb O L Y M P I C S P O R T S N O T E B O O K Coach Mark Pavlik's Penn State men's volleyball team will host the EIVA Tournament after clinching the league's regular-season title with a two-match sweep at George Mason. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS