Penn State Sports Magazine
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A P R I L 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 Buckeyes and will look to keep rolling as they head into the heart of the Big Ten schedule. That won't be easy; all four of their upcoming opponents are also in the top 20, with Johns Hopkins ranked eighth, Maryland 12th, Michigan 14th and Rutgers 19th. What's more, only two of those games will take place at Panzer Stadium. The Nittany Lions will play host to the Ter- rapins and Wolverines, with the latter visiting on April 13. The Big Ten has only six lacrosse-play- ing schools, even with Johns Hopkins on board as an affiliate member. The league's small size magnifies the importance of every game, and the schedule is especially challenging in years like this one in which PSU will spend more of the conference season on the road than at home. "When you only play five games, you're going to have to steal one or two on the road to be competitive," Tambroni said. "Unfortunately, we have three this year — three chances on the road. We know how valuable each and every one of those are. You want to make sure you're super focused on everything you need to do in a hostile environment and hope to respond." ■ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Denied a spot in the NCAA Tournament, the Lady Lions regrouped with an 84-80 overtime victory over George Mason in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament on March 21 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Redshirt junior guard Leilani Kapinus had 15 rebounds and 13 points, help- ing PSU battle back from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit. Hosting Belmont in the second round on March 25, Penn State ex- tended its season with a 74-66 victory. Kapinus totaled 11 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, propelling PSU into the quarterfinal round against visiting Mis- sissippi State on March 28. MEN'S ICE HOCKEY: Penn State concluded its season in the Big Ten Tour- nament with a pair of losses to Minnesota in a best-of-three quarterfinal series March 8-9 in Minneapolis. After dropping the series opener, 5-1, Penn State rallied back in Game 2, tying the score at 2-2 on goals by senior defenseman Jimmy Dowd Jr. and freshman forward Matt DiMarsico. But a goal by Minnesota's Aaron Huglen with 68 seconds left gave the Gophers a 3-2 victory and ended the Nittany Lions' campaign. Penn State finished 15-18-3 overall and 7-14-3 in Big Ten competition. The Lions were led in scoring by freshman forward Aiden Fink, who fin- ished with a team-high 15 goals and added 19 assists. WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY: Penn State's season ended with a 1-0 overtime loss to St. Lawrence in an NCAA Regional semifinal game March 14 at Madison, Wis. Sophomore goalie Katie DeSa made a career-high 43 saves to keep the game scoreless until Kristina Bahl tallied the winner with 10:25 remaining in the first overtime period. It was the second year in a row in which the Lions dropped their NCAA Tournament opener in overtime. Penn State finished its season at 22-13-3 and 14-4-2 in the College Hockey America conference. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL: The No. 11 Nittany Lions went 1-3 on their West Coast road swing, falling to second-ranked Long Beach State (3-1, March 1), 12th-ranked USC (3-1, March 6) and fourth-ranked UCLA (3-2, March 8), while defeating No. 16 Cal State Northridge (3-1, March 5). In the win over the Matadors, senior middle blocker Toby Ezeonu hit .692 with 10 kills. Heading into a two-game home series against Harvard March 29-30, the Lions were 15-6 overall and 4-0 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. BASEBALL: Penn State went 1-2 against visiting Michigan in its first Big Ten series of the season. The Lions won the opener, 4-3, March 22, when senior Tayven Kelley scored from third on an error in the bottom of the ninth. But the Wolverines answered back with 9-6 and 11-6 victories in the next two games. The Nittany Lions were 12-9 overall heading into a nonconference home game against Pitt on March 26. SOFTBALL: Penn State's hot start continued when it began Big Ten com- petition March 22-24 against visiting Indiana. The Nittany Lions swept their three-game series with the Hoosiers, winning 2-1, 8-3 and 5-2. Freshman pitcher Bridget Nemeth hurled a one-hitter in the opener, giving coach Clarisa Crowell her 300th career victory. Prior to their nonconference game against Bucknell on March 26, the Nittany Lions were 23-6 overall and had won 15 in a row at Beard Field, a streak dating back to last season. FENCING: Penn State finished fifth in the combined men's and women's team standings at the NCAA Championships March 21-24 at Columbus, Ohio. Sophomore Neil Lilov was the Lions' top individual finisher, placing second in men's sabre. WOMEN'S LACROSSE: Senior midfielder Kristin O'Neill scored 6 goals, including the decisive tally in overtime, to lift Penn State over No. 1 Northwestern, 14-13, on March 22 at Panzer Stadium. O'Neill had given the Lions a 13-12 lead with a fourth-quarter goal, but Northwestern's Erin Coykendall tied the score with 1:17 left to play. The score was still tied late in the overtime period before O'Neill ended it on a goal off a free position shot with just 47 seconds remaining. Penn State was 6-4 and 2-0 in Big Ten play heading into a trip to Ohio State on March 28. MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD: Graduate sprinter Cheickna Traore finished second in the 200-meter race at the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 9 in Boston. His time of 20.30 seconds was fifth-fastest in the world this year and set a school record. As a team, Penn State finished in a tie for 21st at the championships. WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD: The Nittany Lions were 31st at the NCAA Indoor Championships March 8-9 in Boston. Sophomore middle-distance runner Hayley Kitching earned first-team All-America honors by finishing fourth in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:02.16. MEN'S GYMNASTICS: The sixth-ranked Nittany Lions dropped their regular-season finale to No. 4 Illinois, 406.500-405.950, on March 23 at Rec Hall. Penn State fared best on the rings, with freshman Luke Esparo (14.150), sophomore Ian Raubal (13.650) and graduate Nate Warren (13.800) capturing the top three spots. The Nittany Lions will now move on to the Big Ten Championships, which are set to take place April 5-6 at Illinois. WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS: Penn State came in eighth at the Big Ten Championships on March 23 at Michigan State, finishing with a team score of 195.825. Junior Isabella Salcedo and sophomore Amani Herring both posted 9.9 scores on the floor exercise to earn all-tournament recognition. — Matt Herb W I N T E R / S P R I N G S P O R T S R O U N D U P Redshirt junior guard Leilani Kapinus helped the Lady Lions reach the quar- terfinals of the WNIT. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS