Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1514597
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 51 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Penn State earned the 1,000th victory in pro- gram history when it defeated host Rutgers 94-80 on Jan. 14. Making her Penn State debut, Virginia Tech transfer Ashley Owusu totaled 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the Lady Lions, who improved their all-time record to 1,000-560. Owusu, a graduate guard, had missed PSU's first 15 games with an injury. Four days before heading to Piscataway, the Lady Lions dropped a 75-67 decision to 14th-ranked Indiana in Bloomington. Penn State led by as many as nine points in the second quarter but couldn't hold off the Hoosiers af- ter the break. Redshirt junior guard Leilani Kapinus led PSU with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Heading into a Jan. 18 visit from Purdue, the Lady Lions were 11-5 over- all and 2-3 in Big Ten play. MEN'S ICE HOCKEY: The 18th-ranked Nittany Lions completed the big- gest comeback in program history when they rallied back from a four-goal deficit to defeat visiting Army 7-6 on Jan. 6. The Black Knights led 6-2 with a little more than five minutes gone in the second period, but Penn State responded with 5 unanswered goals, including 3 in a row by junior forward Ryan Kirwan. The last goal of Kirwan's hat trick tied the score at 6-6 with just under three minutes gone in the third period. Freshman forward Aiden Fink suppled the winner midway through the period, scoring his second goal of the night to propel the Lions to victory in their first game since Dec. 9. Penn State wasn't able to maintain its momentum into the resumption of its Big Ten campaign. Eighth-ranked Michigan State outscored the Lions by a combined margin of 12-3 in a two-game series Jan. 12-13 at Pegula Ice Arena. The losses dropped PSU to 10-9-3 overall and 2-7-3 in confer- ence play. WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY: After splitting nonconference series against 13th-ranked Yale and Union, Penn State resumed College Hockey America competition with a two-game road set against the Rochester Institute of Technology in mid-January. The Nittany Lions ended up splitting that one, too. They won the opener, 4-0, getting all of their goals in the final 11 minutes of the third period. Soph- omore forward Tessa Janecke opened the scoring with her first tally since Dec. 1 against Robert Morris, and she later added 2 assists. Senior goalie Josie Bothun earned her 20th career shutout, the most in CHA history. The next day, Penn State rallied back from a two-goal deficit but lost when RIT's Kylie Aquaro scored a little more than two minutes into over- time. The defeat dropped PSU to 13-10-1 overall and 8-2-0 in CHA play. MEN'S GYMNASTICS: Penn State captured first place at the West Point Open for the 10th consecutive year, totaling 401.300 points to outpace Navy (394.500), Army (388.650) and William & Mary (359.350) on Jan. 13 in West Point, N.Y. Senior Michael Artlip won the all-around title with a score of 81.400, while freshman Luke Esparo was fourth (76.500). The Nittany Lions had opened their season a week earlier with a 393.800-370.450 dual-meet win over Army at Rec Hall. WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS: Penn State won its first four dual meets of the season, including a 196.625-196.150 victory over No. 21 Iowa State on Jan. 12 at Rec Hall. Sophomore Ava Piedrahita took first place in the all-around with a score of 39.475, and Penn State claimed four of the five event titles. "I'm really proud of the way the team put together a complete meet to- night," coach Sarah Brown said. "I thought from start to finish, our athletes were extremely gritty and full of positive energy." MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING: Sophomore Eduardo Cisternas posted times of 15:15.57 in the mile and 4:26.91 in the 500-yard freestyle, taking first place in both events to lead the Nittany Lions to a 183-117 win over Army on Jan. 13 in West Point, N.Y. WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING: Graduate Daphne Wils set a pool record with a 320.25 score in the 1-meter dive, helping Penn State defeat host Army 156.5-143.5 on Jan. 13. Freshman swimmer Morgan Moore also had a big day, winning the mile in 16:37.60. MEN'S LACROSSE: Coming off a 2023 season in which it reached the NCAA Tournament semifinals, Penn State was ranked fourth nationally in USA Lacrosse's preseason top 20. The Nittany Lions headed a five-team Big Ten contingent in the rankings, with Maryland appearing fifth, Johns Hopkins sixth, Michigan 13th and Rutgers 15th. Defending national champ Notre Dame topped the poll. The Lions will open their season against visiting Colgate on Feb. 3. WOMEN'S LACROSSE: The Nittany Lions were ranked 14th in the USA Lacrosse preseason top 20, one of four Big Ten teams to appear in the poll. Northwestern was No. 1 overall, while Maryland was sixth and Michigan 17th. Penn State opens its 2024 season Feb. 13 at Bucknell. — Matt Herb W I N T E R / S P R I N G S P O R T S N O T E B O O K Ryan Kirwan's hat trick helped Penn State put together the biggest comeback in program history when it rallied from a four-goal deficit to defeat Army 7-6 on Jan. 6. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE